Commonly-used pesticides confuse bees by disrupting the learning circuits in their brains, a Scots study has found.
Researchers at Dundee and Newcastle universities found the effects could make it harder for bees to forage among flowers for food, thereby threatening their survival and reducing pollination.
Bees exposed to two kinds of pesticide were slower to learn or completely forgot important associations between floral scents and nectar.
The impact of the chemicals increased when they were combined together. One group of compounds tested were neonicotinoids, which are related to nicotine and used around the world to control a variety of pests. The other pesticide, coumaphos, is employed outside the EU to kill the varroa mite that attacks honeybees.
Dr Christopher Connelly, from Dundee University, said: "Much discussion of the risks posed by the neonicotinoid insecticides has raised important questions of their suitability for use in our environment.
"However, little consideration has been given to the miticidal pesticides introduced directly into honeybee hives to protect the bees from the varroa mite. We find that both have negative impact on honeybee brain function."
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