Neonicotinoid pesticides, already blamed for short-circuiting honeybee brains, also diminish their sperm, possibly contributing to the pollinators' worrying global decline, researchers said Wednesday. Widespread neonicotinoid use may have "inadvertent contraceptive effects" on the insects which provide fertilisation worth billions of dollars every year, said a study in the British journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. <a href="http://www.seeker.com/bees-to-get-pesticide-protection-from-maryland-1771123837.html">RELATED: Bees To Get Pesticide Protection from Maryland</a> In their experiment, researchers divided bees into two groups. One group was fed pollen containing field-realistic concentrations of two neonicotinoids -- thiamethoxam and clothianidin. The other group was given untainted food. After 38 days, the male drones -- whose key role in life is to mate with the egg-laying queen -- had their semen extracted and tested. The data "clearly showed... reduced sperm viability" -- which is the percentage of living versus dead sperm in a sample, said the study. <a href="http://www.seeker.com/bee-die-offs-second-highest-ever-in-past-year-1769840485.html">RELATED: Bee Die-Offs Second-Highest Ever in Past Year</a> Honeybee queens mate for just a single short period, but with many males in a sort of bee orgy, before storing the sperm for the rest of their fertile lifetime. Bees have been hit in Europe, North America and elsewhere by a mysterious phenomenon called "colony collapse disorder", which has alternatively been blamed on mites, a virus or fungus, pesticides, or a combination. The new study adds reduced sperm quality to the list of possible causes. "As the primary egg layer and an important source of colony cohesion, the queen is intimately connected to colony performance," the paper said. <a href="http://www.seeker.com/us-plan-to-help-bees-focuses-on-more-land-1769851595.html">RELATED: U.S. Plan to Help Bees Focuses on More Land</a> Previous studies have found neonicotinoids can cause bees to become disorientated to the extent that they cannot find their way back to the hive, and can lower their resistance to disease. The European Union has placed a moratorium on the sale of neonicotinoids. Last year, a study found that wild bees provided crop pollination services worth more than $3,250 (2,950 euros) per hectare every year. Bees account for an estimated 80 percent of plant pollination by insects. WATCH VIDEO: Why Are All the Bees Dying?

Neonicotinoid pesticides, already blamed for short-circuiting honeybee brains, also diminish their sperm, possibly contributing to the pollinators' worrying global decline, researchers said Wednesday.

Widespread neonicotinoid use may have "inadvertent contraceptive effects" on the insects which provide fertilisation worth billions of dollars every year, said a study in the British journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

<a href="http://www.seeker.com/bees-to-get-pesticide-protection-from-maryland-1771123837.html">RELATED: Bees To Get Pesticide Protection from Maryland</a>

In their experiment, researchers divided bees into two groups.

One group was fed pollen containing field-realistic concentrations of two neonicotinoids -- thiamethoxam and clothianidin.

The other group was given untainted food.

After 38 days, the male drones -- whose key role in life is to mate with the egg-laying queen -- had their semen extracted and tested.

The data "clearly showed... reduced sperm viability" -- which is the percentage of living versus dead sperm in a sample, said the study.

<a href="http://www.seeker.com/bee-die-offs-second-highest-ever-in-past-year-1769840485.html">RELATED: Bee Die-Offs Second-Highest Ever in Past Year</a>

Honeybee queens mate for just a single short period, but with many males in a sort of bee orgy, before storing the sperm for the rest of their fertile lifetime.

Bees have been hit in Europe, North America and elsewhere by a mysterious phenomenon called "colony collapse disorder", which has alternatively been blamed on mites, a virus or fungus, pesticides, or a combination.

The new study adds reduced sperm quality to the list of possible causes.

"As the primary egg layer and an important source of colony cohesion, the queen is intimately connected to colony performance," the paper said.

<a href="http://www.seeker.com/us-plan-to-help-bees-focuses-on-more-land-1769851595.html">RELATED: U.S. Plan to Help Bees Focuses on More Land</a>

Previous studies have found neonicotinoids can cause bees to become disorientated to the extent that they cannot find their way back to the hive, and can lower their resistance to disease.

The European Union has placed a moratorium on the sale of neonicotinoids.

Last year, a study found that wild bees provided crop pollination services worth more than $3,250 (2,950 euros) per hectare every year.

Bees account for an estimated 80 percent of plant pollination by insects.

WATCH VIDEO: Why Are All the Bees Dying?

Neonicotinoid pesticides, already blamed for short-circuiting honeybee brains, also diminish their sperm, possibly contributing to the pollinators' worrying global decline, researchers said Wednesday.Widespread neonicotinoid use may have "inadvertent contraceptive effects" on the insects which provide fertilisation worth billions of dollars every year, said a study in the British journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.<a href="http://www.seeker.com/bees-to-get-pesticide-protection-from-maryland-1771123837.html">RELATED: Bees To Get Pesticide Protection from Maryland</a>In their experiment, researchers divided bees into two groups.One group was fed pollen containing field-realistic concentrations of two neonicotinoids -- thiamethoxam and clothianidin.The other group was given untainted food.After 38 days, the male drones -- whose key role in life is to mate with the egg-laying queen -- had their semen extracted and tested.The data "clearly showed... reduced sperm viability" -- which is the percentage of living versus dead sperm in a sample, said the study.<a href="http://www.seeker.com/bee-die-offs-second-highest-ever-in-past-year-1769840485.html">RELATED: Bee Die-Offs Second-Highest Ever in Past Year</a>Honeybee queens mate for just a single short period, but with many males in a sort of bee orgy, before storing the sperm for the rest of their fertile lifetime.Bees have been hit in Europe, North America and elsewhere by a mysterious phenomenon called "colony collapse disorder", which has alternatively been blamed on mites, a virus or fungus, pesticides, or a combination.The new study adds reduced sperm quality to the list of possible causes."As the primary egg layer and an important source of colony cohesion, the queen is intimately connected to colony performance," the paper said.<a href="http://www.seeker.com/us-plan-to-help-bees-focuses-on-more-land-1769851595.html">RELATED: U.S. Plan to Help Bees Focuses on More Land</a>Previous studies have found neonicotinoids can cause bees to become disorientated to the extent that they cannot find their way back to the hive, and can lower their resistance to disease.The European Union has placed a moratorium on the sale of neonicotinoids.Last year, a study found that wild bees provided crop pollination services worth more than $3,250 (2,950 euros) per hectare every year.Bees account for an estimated 80 percent of plant pollination by insects.WATCH VIDEO: Why Are All the Bees Dying?

Read More:
"Winter Loss Survey 2012 - 2013: Preliminary Results" 
<a href="http://beeinformed.org/2013/05/winter-loss-survey-2012-2013/" target="_blank">beeinformed.org/2013/05/winter-loss-survey-2012-2013/</a> 
"Preliminary survey results indicate that 31.1% of managed honey bee colonies in the
United States were lost during the 2012/2013 winter."

"Honey constituents up-regulate detoxification and immunity genes in the western honey bee Apis mellifera" 
<a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/04/26/1303884110.abstract" target="_blank">pnas.org/content/early/2013/04/26/1303884110.abstract</a> 
"As a managed pollinator, the honey bee Apis mellifera is critical to the American agricultural enterprise."

<a href="http://www.ars.usda.gov/News/docs.htm?docid=15572" target="_blank">ars.usda.gov/News/docs.htm?docid=15572</a>

"Team finds substances in honey that increase honey bee detox gene expression" 
<a href="http://phys.org/wire-news/128878194/team-finds-substances-in-honey-that-increase-honey-bee-detox-gen.html#ajTabs" target="_blank">phys.org/wire-news/128878194/team-finds-substances-in-honey-that-increase-honey-bee-detox-gen.html#ajTabs</a> 
"A new study led by Illinois professor of entomology May Berenbaum shows that some components of the nectar and pollen grains bees collect to manufacture food increase expression of detoxification genes that help keep honey bees healthy."

"Bees & Pesticides: Commission goes ahead with plan to better protect bees" 
<a href="http://ec.europa.eu/food/animal/liveanimals/bees/neonicotinoids_en.htm" target="_blank">ec.europa.eu/food/animal/liveanimals/bees/neonicotinoids_en.htm</a> 
"The European Commission will in the coming weeks adopt a proposal to restrict the use of 3 pesticides belonging to the nenicotinoid family (clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiametoxam) for a period of 2 years."

"Einstein was right - honey bee collapse threatens global food security" 
<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/8306970/Einstein-was-right-honey-bee-collapse-threatens-global-food-security.html" target="_blank">telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/8306970/Einstein-was-right-honey-bee-collapse-threatens-global-food-security.html</a> 
"The bee crisis has been treated as a niche concern until now, but as the UN's index of food prices hits an all time-high, it is becoming urgent to know whether the plight of the honey bee risks further exhausting our food security."

"Disappearing Bees: Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD)" 
<a href="http://science.howstuffworks.com/zoology/insects-arachnids/bee8.htm" target="_blank">science.howstuffworks.com/zoology/insects-arachnids/bee8.htm</a> 
"In the spring of 2007, news agencies began to report on a disturbing phenomenon in the bee population."

"How Colony Collapse Disorder Works" 
<a href="http://science.howstuffworks.com/zoology/insects-arachnids/colony-collapse-disorder2.htm" target="_blank">science.howstuffworks.com/zoology/insects-arachnids/colony-collapse-disorder2.htm</a> 
"Researchers have sifted through the list of possible Colony Collapse Disorder causes extensively during the past few years and haven't come up with one definitive answer."

Why All The Bees Are Dying

Animals

Earth & Conservation

Pesticides Diminish Bee Sperm

Pesticides Decrease Bee Sperm

Neonicotinoid pesticides, already blamed for short-circuiting honeybee brains, also diminish their sperm, possibly contributing to the pollinators' worrying global decline, researchers said Wednesday.

Fermentation is a natural process that humans have been hacking for millennia.

Your Next Burger Could Be Made With Microbes

The European honey bees are crucial to our food systems, but they may soon be under threat from a microscopic pest.

The Threat to Our Food Supply You Never Knew Existed

Woolly Mammoths could soon make a comeback.

The Wild Plan To Bring Back Woolly Mammoths

Woolly Mammoths could soon make a comeback. A new company is on a mission to create a mammoth-elephant hybrid, and their reason might surprise you. 

Bacteria have a biological clock just like humans, animals, and plants.

Bacteria Can Tell Time...Wait, What?!

Bacteria have a biological clock just like humans, animals, and plants. If we can better understand how how exactly the microorganisms tick, there could be incredible implications for medicine, agriculture, and more.

Half a mile beneath the harsh ice sheets of Antarctica, scientists from the British Antarctic Survey found something surprising: stationary life.

Scientists Discovered Mysterious Life Forms Hiding Beneath Antarctica

One of the largest broods of cicadas is about to swarm the Midwest and Northeast of the United States for the first time in 17 years.

Why Billions of Cicadas Are About to Emerge After 17 years

The immense density of the rainforest is one of its more incredible defining characteristics, so this company uses a combination of drones and advanced AI technology to spot poachers and stop them before any animals are harmed.

How Drones Are Fighting Poaching in South Africa

Pangolins are known as the most poached animals in the world — here's how they're being saved.

Why the Strangest Mammal Is Also the Most Trafficked

Pangolins are known as the most poached animals in the world — here's how they're being saved

These Very Good Dogs Are Combating Poaching

Dogs have seriously impressive noses — especially when it comes to catching wildlife poachers

Singing competitions are putting Indonesian songbirds at risk of extinction.

Inside the Illegal Songbird Trade in Indonesia

Singing competitions are putting Indonesian songbirds at risk of extinction

A lack of predators is tipping the ecosystem into imbalance in Gorongosa National Park — reintroducing painted wolves might be the solution.

Why Fear Is So Important to an Ecosystem

A lack of predators is tipping the ecosystem into imbalance in Gorongosa National Park — reintroducing painted wolves might be the solution

Mountain lion numbers are dwindling due to the highways that fragment their habitat — this highway overpass disguised as wild hills attempts to restore genetic diversity to the species.

Could These Bridges Keep Mountain Lions Safe?

Mountain lion numbers are dwindling due to the highways that fragment their habitat — this highway overpass disguised as wild hills attempts to restore genetic diversity to the species

Pesticides Diminish Bee Sperm

The chemicals may be yet another contributor to the global decline in bees.