Butterfly Conservation is pleased that the EU has imposed a ban on the use of neonicotinoid pesticides which are implicated in the decline of bees.
There are concerns that these chemicals may have sub-lethal effects that disorient bees and cause colonies to fail.
Butterfly Conservation believes that the balance of evidence has recently shifted in favour of a ban as a precaution until better evidence becomes available.
We are also calling for more research on how the pesticides impact on butterflies and other insects that breed in field margins and may obtain nectar from crops treated with the pesticides.
Chief Executive, Dr Martin Warren said: “This two-year ban is a sensible step, but must now be followed by properly designed field trials into the impact of these pesticides on butterflies and other insects as well as bees.
“We need far more evidence to judge whether they cause real harm and whether alternatives might be worse.”
Butterfly Conservation’s policy on neonicotinoid pesticides can be found here.
With thanks to Flikr via Flickr for the image under the Creative Commons license.