European governments have banned the use of three common neonicotinoid pesticides due to insufficiently identified risks to bees. This policy decision is controversial given the absence of clear consistency between toxicity assessments of those substances in the laboratory and in the field. Although laboratory trials report deleterious effects in honeybees at trace levels, field surveys reveal no decrease in the performance of honeybee colonies in the vicinity of treated fields.

During 2007, counties across the Midwestern US with relatively high levels of landscape simplification (i.e., widespread replacement of seminatural habitats with cultivated crops) had relatively high crop-pest abundances which, in turn, were associated with relatively high insecticide application. These results suggested a positive relationship between landscape simplification and insecticide use, mediated by landscape effects on crop pests or their natural enemies.

Children’s toys are made of artificial material often softened by phthalates. These are synthetic compounds added to PVC as plasticizers for the purpose of improving its elasticity and flexibility. Phthalates can endanger the health of children exposed to their effect by inducing reproductive, hormonal and developmental disorders. The goal of the present study was to determine phthalate presence in children’s toys and childcare articles from different sources sold in different areas in Croatia in 2012 and 2013.