--- description: New research could lead to pesticide bans in the U.S. and Europe title: Popular Pesticide Hurts Wild Bees, Study Finds image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt56c2d9f0a8bd1d80/6987ec88a988ca1ee56b054b/bees.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Science](/section/science/) ## Science Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [animals](/tag/animals/) ## animals Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Popular Pesticide Hurts Wild Bees, Study Finds by [Eliza Gray](/author/eliza-gray/) ## Eliza Gray Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 23, 2015 3:08 PM CUT  European honeybees are busy at work on a honeycomb in their behive on the rooftop of the town hall in Stuttgart, Germany, 13 April 2015. European honeybees are busy at work on a honeycomb in their behive on the rooftop of the town hall in Stuttgart, Germany, 13 April 2015.Marijan Murat—picture-alliance/dpa/AP by [Eliza Gray](/author/eliza-gray/) ## Eliza Gray Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 23, 2015 3:08 PM CUT A common pesticide is hurting wild bees, while sparing their honeybee cousins, a new study found. The data, published[ in _Nature_](http://www.nature.com/articles/nature14420.epdf?referrer%5Faccess%5Ftoken=R-AMVZXOwhn7Ftw4%5Ffks5NRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0MaSPtpLz%5FckFYIaSyHtmn2xvPzIUVr6af6KITGwmLx4%5FHECvblicyMBzZsO2w-k7LkgH3OaZIAyqDOq2vZ374e0Lx8x%5FdymZUOaxF5R6ELMeiTOkiDtvKKfgnDUVMhCFOz65PlJpOC5Jt9wdLLl4LQ9zob24St75t-EwE8k42Gvg%3D%3D&tracking%5Freferrer=www.nature.com "undefined") on Wednesday, could have an effect on whether regulators in the U.S. and Europe will continue to allow the use of the pesticides. The study showed that neonicotinoids, a commonly used class of insecticides, “reduced wild bee density, solitary bee nesting, and bumblebee colony growth and reproduction,” indicating that the insecticides could be contributing to the decline in wild bee populations globally, a key issue in food security. The study found that the insecticide was not as harmful for human-raised honeybees, suggesting that scientists cannot extrapolate a chemical’s effects on honeybees to their wild cousins. [**Read More: A World Without Bees**](http://time.com/559/the-plight-of-the-honeybee/ "undefined") Adding to the concern, a [second study](http://www.nature.com/articles/nature14414.epdf?referrer%5Faccess%5Ftoken=hKuzHlFBqs-GfLhRUxMW%5FdRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0MduC3nHCOl2J2ECXCmE9hd2x8RlCnEGmk8ywijoGHvRvePt5iOSRTu235EXr9Vo8M8UVsrY8ZiC61C-wfCSm5PlFg-e2VHR9keu0RBYfVXXCZWjcNaB0dIeD8HpIAZLYvwCs%5FFLBwVTHSFfhh8qQp1M9MJpdX3rWrkkZFvKyu6QQ%3D%3D&tracking%5Freferrer=www.nature.com "undefined") published in Nature showed that two different kinds of bees seem to prefer crops coated in the pesticides, undermining the claim from pesticide defenders that bees can choose pesticide-free crops. The European Union has instituted a temporary ban of the pesticides that is up for review [in December](http://www.nature.com/news/bee-studies-stir-up-pesticide-debate-1.17366 "undefined"). The U.S. does not have a ban, but the Environmental Protection Agency[ announced ](http://www.epa.gov/oppfead1/cb/csb%5Fpage/updates/2015/neonic-outdooruse.html "undefined")earlier in April that it was unlikely to approve new outdoor use of neonicotinoid pesticides, pending new data. These new studies may have an effect on that decision. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3832788/pesticide-hurts-wild-bees-study/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3832788/pesticide-hurts-wild-bees-study/"},"headline":"Popular Pesticide Hurts Wild Bees, Study Finds","datePublished":"2015-04-23T15:08:03.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T06:36:49.875Z","description":"New research could lead to pesticide bans in the U.S. and Europe","url":"https://time.com/3832788/pesticide-hurts-wild-bees-study/","keywords":["animals","Bees"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt56c2d9f0a8bd1d80/6987ec88a988ca1ee56b054b/bees.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliza Gray","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eliza-gray/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt56c2d9f0a8bd1d80/6987ec88a988ca1ee56b054b/bees.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"European honeybee","caption":"European honeybee","creditText":"Marijan Murat—picture-alliance/dpa/AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/animals/","name":"animals"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3832788/pesticide-hurts-wild-bees-study/","name":"Popular Pesticide Hurts Wild Bees, Study Finds"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Waking the Dead: Bringing Extinct Species Back to Life","description":"Conservationists and scientists have a saying, \"extinction is forever.\" But soon biologists will clone long-gone animals in the hope to redefine that axiom to \"DE-extinction is forever.\"","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/7mURxfr4/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-03-12T14:27:23.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/7mURxfr4.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3832788/pesticide-hurts-wild-bees-study/","duration":"PT4M3S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3832788/pesticide-hurts-wild-bees-study/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```