The disappearing act: Policy proposals surrounding neonicotinoid use and pollinator populations

Abstract

<p>Honeybees help provide vital services to farmers and their crops and wild plants in the form of pollination and spreading of seeds. The use of systemic insecticides in agriculture, which include but is not limited to neonicotinoids, has been shown to harm honeybees and other native pollinators due to the presence of the neonicotinoids and residuals in pollen and nectar. This paper highlights the possible policies surrounding the continued use of neonicotinoids weighed against policies that would aim to ban their use in favor of pollinator populations. Two policy recommendations are made at the conclusion. One, where neonicotinoid use is banned in the United States, and the second advocates for a reduction of the use of neonicotinoids on flowering crops and private flowers.</p>