Neonicotinoid is a class of insecticide that is the basis for several different brands of insecticides, including imidacloprid – the most common insecticide in the world. It is used in pretty much all parts of the world, including all continents and a lot of different countries. However, it will soon be banned in all of the European Union in order to save the bees!
The chemical structure of imidacloprid. Image is Public Domain.
A closer look at the neonicotinoids
Neonicotinoid is chemically alike the well-known substance nicotine, which is located in cigarettes and other nicotine products (yes, stating the obvious here), and both these chemicals act by binding to the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors found inside your cells. In mammals, these receptors are found in cells in both the central nervous system and peripheral nervous systems, but insects only have them in the central nervous system.
As you might know if you have ever smoked, a low or moderate activation of these receptors lead to nervous stimulation, and you can feel dizzy or even vomit if you “overdose”. However, if you get a real overdose you will experience paralysis, and eventually death! This is of course highly unlikely to happen when you smoke cigarettes, but it is what happens to the insects when they are exposed to neonicotinoids.
It's also worth keeping in mind that the body will gradually get rid of the nicotine that is bound to the receptors in these cells, while the neonicotinoids is bound to these permanently, which means that it will have an additive effect that eventually kills the insect that is exposed to it.
Due to anatomical and chemical differences between insects and mammals, neonicotinoids are generally a lot more dangerous for insects, which is why this pesticide became popular in the first place. However, there’s also a lot of problems with neonicotinoid when used as an insecticide.
A plane that applies insecticide to a field. Image is Public Domain.
Environmental impacts of neonicotinoids
There are a few big impacts from using neonicotinoids as a pesticide. I won't go into the details of each single problem, but it pretty much boils down to these three issues:
Most neonicotinoids are soluble in water, and break down very slowly in the environment. This means that they are a big pollutant, and can also be absorbed into the mass of plants and animals when they drink or absorb water that is filled with neonicotinoid.
Lakes and other masses of water can also potentially store a lot of this toxin for a long time, and thus increase the range of the neonicotinoid.While it’s not that toxic to mammals compared to other insecticides, it is still toxic to a certain degree, and it has a negative effect on both wildlife and aquatic organisms.
The biggest problem in the eyes of the EU is its toxicity on bees. When it was first developed, it was not believed that this insecticide was negative for bees, but during the last few years, evidence showed otherwise. Some even believe that it has a lot to do with the Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) that is ravaging the honey bee community these days.
Not only is it believed to be responsible for CCD, it is also damaging for the brains of the bees, and it can even make them become addicted!
Image by Muhammad Mahdi Karim, posted with the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2.
The EU is banning all outdoor use of neonicotinoids!
Time to get back to the great news in the title. The European Union has voted for the ban of all outdoor use of neonicotinoids for all the countries that are members, and it will officially be illegal to use it outdoors after the end of 2018. This means that farmers only have 6 months left to use the supplies they already have, and need to find another insecticide to use after this point.
It will still be allowed to use it inside closed greenhouses, since the bees are unlikely to be there anyway.
It is of course uncertain how it will help in the long run, because a lot of concerned people fear that the farmers will simple move to another insecticide that is just as harmful to the environment and the bees.
Neonicotinoids is also used for other purposes, such as getting rid of fleas in farm animals, and this will still be legal. This means that there are still possibilities for neonicotinoids to get into the environment and harm bee colonies, but at least the exposure should be a lot lower in the EU after 2019 begins.
Thanks for reading
Thanks for checking out my post about neonicotinoids and the harm it does to the environment. If you want to learn more about neonicotinoids, check out the Wikipedia page, which is pretty good - or follow some of the links in the text above.
I hope you found the post interesting, and I hope to see you in the comment section below!
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