Neonicotinoid pesticide exposure in bees ‘harms pollination’

Pollination by bumblebees is impaired when the insects are exposed to a type of pesticides, a study has shown.

The bees collected pollen from apple trees less often and visited flowers less frequently than when they were not exposed to neonicotinoid pesticides, scientists said.

Trees pollinated by affected bees produced apples with 36% fewer seeds, a factor closely associated with fruit quality.