Stirling University researchers have said bees exposed to neonicotinoids fail to learn how to buzz properly and in turn they fail to release the pollen from some flowers, such as those of crops like tomatoes and potatoes.
A study this year found a link between oilseed rape crops grown from neonicotinoid-treated seed to the long-term decline in wild bee species across the English countryside.
That research, led by the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, examined changes in the occurrence of 62 wild bee species with oilseed rape cropping patterns across England between 1994 and 2011 - the time period spanning the introduction of wide-scale commercial use of neonicotinoids.