Neonicotinoid insecticides can cause a variety of adverse sub-lethal effects in bees. In social species such as the honeybee, Apis mellifera, queens are essential for reproduction and colony functioning

Bees are vital to global biodiversity and food security through their pollination of plants, including several key crops. Overwhelming evidence now suggests that numerous wild and managed bee populations are in decline,

Due to concerns over negative impacts on insect pollinators, the European Union has implemented a moratorium on the use of three neonicotinoid pesticide seed dressings for mass-flowering crops

In recent years, an intense debate has been generated about the environmental risks posed by
neonicotinoids, a group of widely-used, neurotoxic insecticides.

The immune system of bees is influenced by a diversity of factors, some of which have changed in the last 10 years such as the application of pesticides. In addition to pollen, nectar and dust, guttated water of seed-dressed plants

The French government is currently exploring a risky possibility by opening the gates for banned substances'

Thirty-two honeybee (Apis mellifera) colonies were studied in order to detect and measure potential in vivo effects of neonicotinoid pesticides used in cornfields (Zea mays spp) on honeybee health.

Worldwide pollinator declines are attributed to a number of factors, including pesticide exposures.

Apis mellifera, is the most important managed pollinator globally and has recently experienced unsustainably high colony losses. Synergistic interactions among stressors are believed to be primarily responsible.

Despite their profound impact on honeybees and wild bees (impairment of memory, impact on immune system), their presence in humans is far less reported, possibly due to the low to moderate toxicological effects that they elicit.