These pesticides aren’t intended to kill bees. But, according to filmmakers, around the time bee deaths started being reported, a new type of neonicotinoid-based “systemic” pesticide produced by Bayer Crop Science and other agrochemical companies was deployed by farmers.
The new pesticide is either placed in the seed, and remains in the plant for its lifetime, or is delivered through irrigation systems. Both the makers of “Vanishing of the Bees” and many beekeepers believe it is at the heart of the problem.
Although Bayer’s tests have confirmed that the chemicals are not toxic to bees in the short term, according to the filmmakers and beekeepers interviewed for the “Vanishing of the Bees”, the long-term impacts have not been studied, nor the effects of the combined pesticide residues being found in hives.
” The mysterious vanishing act of bees - CNN.com