Bee-killing neonicotinoids also lower crop yields by poisoning slugs predators

The world's most widely used pesticides - already implicated in worldwide declines in pollinator populations - may actually reduce crop yields by wiping out native predators of agricultural pests, suggests a study conducted by researchers from Penn State and the University of South Florida and published in the Journal of Applied Ecology. The research focused on slugs, which are not insects and are not killed by the pesticides. "Slugs are among the most challenging pests faced by Mid-Atlantic no-till growers," said researcher John Tooker. "Our research reveals that neonicotinoids can indirectly increase slug damage to crops by poisoning insects that eat slugs. As a result, crop yields are lower."