EU expands neonicotinoid ban

The European Union Commission recently voted to ban all outdoor uses of neonicotinoid insecticides, expanding upon a ban initially put into place in 2013. The expanded ban now prohibits the use of clothianidin, imidacloprid, and thiamethoxam to all field crops, because of growing evidence that the pesticides can harm domesticated honeybees as well as wild pollinators.