extensive use of Gaucho, a pesticide containing the active substance imidacloprid, has killed hundreds of thousands of bees in France, as per a report. "The results are alarming. The treatment of crops by Gaucho poses risk to bees in several stages of life,' concludes the 108-page report, compiled on behalf of the agricultural ministry of France by the universities of Caen and Metz as well as the Institut Pasteur.

The use of Gaucho for sunflower cultivation was forbidden in France a few years ago because of the high risk to bees. "But the bee mortality rate did not decline noticeably, as the agricultural toxin is being utilised for maize cultivation,' assert bee-keepers. Even the report concludes the same. "The consumption of contaminated pollen can lead to an increased mortality of care-taking bees, which can explain the persisting deaths even after the ban