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Large-scale insecticide application is a primary weapon in the control of insect pests in agriculture but we know that around the world, insect

Pesticides May Be Slowly Killing Bees, Study Says Australian research has found that an insecticide may slowly contribute to bee population decline even at low doses. A study by the University of Melbourne exposed bees to only small amounts of neonicotinoid insecticides (the most frequently used class of pesticides globally) including imidacloprid, akin to what one might expect in nature. The insects still suffered—it lowered their energy levels, impacted their metabolism, killed brain cells, and caused blindness. Emeritus Professor Philip Batterham said the insecticide throws off their gui...

Is this a new Silent Spring? Decline of insects is a catastrophic loss we can ill afford. Credit: CC-0 Entomologists have united to take stock of growing warnings about an “insect apocalypse” in a special feature published in the journal PNAS. These teeny little critters, some of which have been around for about 475 million years, provide vital ecosystem services yet have received relatively little attention compared to other animals as the Earth faces a sixth mass extinction. And while awareness is rising, the emerging picture is far more nuanced than initial reports suggested, accordin...