Researchers from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) have published results of a large-scale field experiment, paid for by neonicotinoid (also shortened as “neonics”) manufacturers Syngenta and Bayer, to assess neonicotinoid impacts on honeybees and wild bees across Europe. There were 258 data points, nine of which were negative, seven were positive and four were inconclusive. So 238 of 258 showed no effect. By my count, over 90 percent of the hives had no detectable levels of the agents. Yet despite that the environmental Twittersphere is already abuzz saying that they have a smoking gun for neonicotinoids and bee health. Just the opposite of what an impartial analysis would find. If spin were happening on the science side, it could instead be claimed neonicotinoids are helping bee health.
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