The importance of pollinators was a hot topic in agriculture and beyond in 2017, as initiatives to protect bees and butterflies continued to emerge.

Pesticide manufacturers and applicators are examining the impacts of a California decision to “freeze” uses for neonicotinoids while the state’s Department of Pesticide Regulation re-evaluates their effects on pollinators.

UNITED KINGDOM, July 5, 2017 - A large, field-scale study that examined the effects of two widely used neonicotinoid insecticides on bees in three European countries has produced mixed results, which are being interpreted in starkly different ways.