Article content continued

After beekeepers started sounding alarm bells about mass deaths of honeybees, scientists began to zero in on neonics as one of the culprits. Bees were consuming pollen contaminated with neonics as well as flying through chemical-laden clouds of dust from farm fields.

But bees, said Bonmatin were only the most “visible part of the problem” because beekeeping is a big business and without bees, billions of dollars of farm crops would go unpollinated.

“Beyond honey bees, there are all the wild bees, all these pollinators and behind all these pollinators there are some other invertebrates, the ones living in the soil, flying invertebrates, the ones in the water,” said Bonmatin.

“Nobody cares about that. There is no money in these invertebrates. However they are giving a huge service to the quality of soil, to all the ecosystem services that we need.”

Research suggest neonics can affect reproduction, growth and movement for these species, as well as make them more susceptible to disease.

Bonmatin, vice-chair of the task force, said evidence from Europe suggests these chemicals don’t actually help farmers much. Since Europe clamped down on their use four years ago, there hasn’t been a substantial reduction in farm yields.

Lisa Gue, a senior researcher with the David Suzuki Foundation which is involved in the release of the updated report, said Canada has to catch up to Europe and ban the use of all neonics.

Since 2013 the European Union hasn’t allowed the use of the three most common neonics in any crops which attract bees and is looking at extending that to additional crops. France is phasing in a complete ban on all agricultural uses of neonics, with the full ban set to take effect next year.