ArticleNature2015
Seed coating with a neonicotinoid insecticide negatively affects wild bees.
Article in Nature, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 277 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
277 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Weak evidence base for bee protective pesticide mitigation measures.Journal of economic entomology · 2023Pooled it
- 'Inert' ingredients are understudied, potentially dangerous to bees and deserve more research attention.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2022Pooled it
- Fungicides, herbicides and bees: A systematic review of existing research and methods.PloS one · 2019Pooled it
- The Future of Native Bees in Australia Under Environmental and Anthropogenic Change.Ecology and evolution · 2026Review
- Article
- Species-specific brain transcriptomic responses to clothianidin and sulfoxaflor in pollinators.iScience · 2026Article
- Carbohydrate limitation, but not exposure to the insecticide flupyradifurone, impairs wild bumblebee nest initiation.Environmental entomology · 2026Article
- Acute Exposure to Traces of Chlorantraniliprole Does Not Alter Antipredator Behaviour in Wild Crickets.Ecology and evolution · 2026Article
- The Effects of Thiacloprid on Essential Components of Navigation and Pollination in Bumble Bees: A Laboratory Approach.Insects · 2026Article
- From Plant Metabolites to Pollinator Safety: Rethinking Selectivity of Botanical Insecticides in Bees-A Review.Biology · 2026Review
- Behavioral disruption in honey bees (Apis mellifera) exposed to isolated and combined insecticides.Ecotoxicology (London, England) · 2026Article
- Insecticide exposure alters feeding and impairs ovary development in a solitary bee.Ecotoxicology (London, England) · 2026Article
- Article
- Pesticides and habitat loss additively reduce wild bees in crop fields.Nature ecology & evolution · 2026Article
- Perinatal Exposure to the Neonicotinoid Thiacloprid Impacts Transcription of Neuroplasticity and Neuroendocrine Markers in Mice but Not in the Zebrafish Model.Journal of applied toxicology : JAT · 2026Article
- Effective disposal and remediation of chemical agents with designer living biofilm materials in soil and water.Fundamental research · 2025Article
- Assessing species-specific neonicotinoid toxicity using cross-species chimeric nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in a Drosophila model.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Sulfoxaflor Impairs Bumblebee Memory Across Moderate and Extreme Temperatures.Ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- Neonicotinoid-Induced Cytotoxicity: Insights into Cellular Mechanisms and Health Risks.Toxics · 2025Review
- Bumble bee movement ecology: foraging and dispersal across castes and life stages.Annals of the Entomological Society of America · 2025Review
217 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Understanding the effects of neonicotinoid insecticides on bees is vital because of reported declines in bee diversity and distribution and the crucial role bees have as pollinators in ecosystems and agriculture. Neonicotinoids are suspected to pose an unacceptable risk to bees, partly because of their systemic uptake in plants, and the European Union has therefore introduced a moratorium on three neonicotinoids as seed coatings in flowering crops that attract bees. The moratorium has been criticized for being based on weak evidence, particularly because effects have mostly been measured on bees that have been artificially fed neonicotinoids. Thus, the key question is how neonicotinoids influence bees, and wild bees in particular, in real-world agricultural landscapes. Here we show that a commonly used insecticide seed coating in a flowering crop can have serious consequences for wild bees. In a study with replicated and matched landscapes, we found that seed coating with Elado, an insecticide containing a combination of the neonicotinoid clothianidin and the non-systemic pyrethroid β-cyfluthrin, applied to oilseed rape seeds, reduced wild bee density, solitary bee nesting, and bumblebee colony growth and reproduction under field conditions. Hence, such insecticidal use can pose a substantial risk to wild bees in agricultural landscapes, and the contribution of pesticides to the global decline of wild bees may have been underestimated. The lack of a significant response in honeybee colonies suggests that reported pesticide effects on honeybees cannot always be extrapolated to wild bees.
Indexed as
Identifiers
25901681What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.