Bumblebees acquire a taste for pesticide-laced food that can be compared to nicotine addiction in smokers, say scientists. The more of the nicotine-like chemicals they consume, the more they appear to want, a study has shown. The findings suggest that the risk of potentially harmful pesticide-contaminated nectar entering bee colonies is higher than was previously thought. Controversial neonicotinoid pesticides are chemically similar to nicotine, the addictive compound in tobacco. In 2013 the European Union imposed a partial ban on three widely used neonicotinoids because of evidence that they may be harmful to bees.
— source theguardian.com, rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org | 29 Aug 2018