WILDFLOWERS around arable fields do not offer bees and other pollinating insects a 'safe haven' from neonicotinoid pesticides, the Soil Association has claimed.

Citing new research from Sussex University, the organic watchdog said this week that the UK government's Pollinator Strategy - which recommends increasing flower habitats next to fields - is doomed to failure because the farm chemicals impacting on bee populations have spread into the wider environment.

Soil Association policy director Peter Melchett said: “Neonicotinoids are supposedly highly targeted insecticides yet the researchers have found that they are turning up in the pollen of poppies, blackberries and hawthorn blossom in hedges, at levels that on their own are enough to cause harm to bees.

“The UK government must act," he said. " Until now, the government’s main solution to the bee crisis is to pay farmers a small chunk of the £900 million Common Agricultural Policy money available to help wildlife, to create flower rich habitat next to crops. Yet this research suggests that these supposedly safe havens for bees are actually potentially dangerous chemical cocktail bars.

“These flower margins must be protected with a full ban on neonicotinoids; the current EU ban is only partial, and in the UK mainly applies to just one crop– oilseed rape. Neonicotinoids are still used on other crops, for example on over 25% of all UK cereals," he claimed.

"Neonicotinoids will be poisoning the field margins of many of these crops. We also want to see the government finally setting out a strategy for reducing pesticide use in farmland – as is required by EU law. This has always been the gaping hole in the government’s strategy to save our bees."

One of the authors of the paper, Sussex Uni's Professor Dave Goulson, said: “It is clear that insects visiting wildflowers in field margins are chronically exposed to a cocktail of chemicals. The effects that this has on their health have never been studied, and there is an urgent need to do so. In the meantime, the precautionary principle would suggest that we should take steps to reduce this exposure as much as possible.”

Speaking from the University of Dundee's School of Medicine, Dr Christopher Connolly - who was not involved in the research - commented: “Validating semi-field studies on neonicotinoids requires confirmation that bees do actually get exposed to these levels of pesticide in the field where multiple sources of pollen and nectar exist.

"This study provides such a bridge to validate previous studies. Furthermore, of the 20 pesticides examined, most OSR pollen samples contained 7-12 different pesticides, whilst pollen gathered by honeybees and bumblebees contained 2-10 pesticides. This does not represent the full pesticide load, only a reflection on the few examined.

"Pesticide levels in pollen gathered in urban areas were much lower, but still contaminated, demonstrating both the value of the urban environment and need to minimise garden pesticide use," added Dr Connolly.

For in-depth news and views on Scottish agriculture, see this Friday’s issue of The Scottish Farmer or visit www.thescottishfarmer.co.uk