Swedish monitoring data reveal negative effect of neo-nicotinoids on bumblebee abundance

Neo-nicotinioids are used as insecticides in a variety of crops, e.g. as seed-coating, but have also been found lethal to pollinating insects. In 2013, the European Union introduced a moratorium on some of these compounds. At the same time, the Swedish monitoring program NILS (National Inventory of Landscapes in Sweden) had completed its first round and today a second round has been completed. Thus, it is possible to analyze the effect of the moratorium on monitoring data on bumblebees in N=419 sites in southern Sweden. The presence of neo-nicotiniods was assessed using the official records of the type of crop grown on a field (Blockdatabasen), maintained by the Swedish board of Agriculture…