Bombus impatiens queens and nests
Researchers at the University of Minnesota measured the nest development of Bombus impatiens queens that had been exposed to small amounts of the neonicotinoid insecticide imidacloprid. They found that queens exposed to amounts that would equate to what queens in the wild might encounter in flowers contaminated by drift from nearby agricultural fields showed slower nest initiation and brood development than queens not exposed to the insecticide. (Photo credit: Judy Wu-Smart, Ph.D.)