European ban on Neonicotinoids brightens the future for bees and other pollinators

摘要

Pollination is an ecosystem function that is fundamental to plant reproduction,agricultural production and the maintenance of terrestrial biodiversity.> Bees are the dominant pollinators in most ecosystems, although flies, butterflies, moths, wasps, beetles, thrips, birds and bats also pollinate plants. Studies worldwide find that pollinators and insects in general are declining. In Germany, 80% of flying insects, including butterflies, moths and wild bees, are shown to have declined in nature reserves. In Europe, bee and butterfly populations are estimated to have declined 37% and 31 %, according to the Intergovernmental Science-policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Trends are less clear in other parts of the world because data are scarce and baseline datasets are lacking. The drivers of specific local and regional pollinator declines are varied and include climate change, land use change, environmental contamination, invasive alien species, parasites, and pathogens.