A study carried out by Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health has unveiled that more than 70% of pollen and honey samples taken from foraging bees in Massachusetts were having neonicotinoid. It is a class of chemical, which was found to be involved in Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).

Study's lead author Chensheng (Alex) Lu, associate professor of environmental exposure biology in the Department of Environmental Health, stated, "Data from this study clearly demonstrated the ubiquity of neonicotinoids in pollen and honey samples that bees are exposed to during the seasons when they are actively foraging across Massachusetts".

Lu said that the neonicotinoids found are of the level that could prove detrimental for health of the bees. Researchers have affirmed that a loss in honey bee colonies has been witnessed since 2006. This has led researchers, experts, farmers, policymakers and scientists to be quite concerned as bees are main pollinators of almost one-third of all crops across the world.

The researchers in the study have looked at pollen samples to know the levels of eight neonicotinoids and also to know about high-risk locations. In order to do so, the researchers have worked with 62 Massachusetts beekeepers who voluntarily provided monthly samples of pollen and honey from foaging bees.

From the samples, the researchers have found neonicotinoids in pollen and honey. The most common neonicotinoid was imidacloprid. The researchers think that the study data should be considered to serve as a basis for public policy that aims to reduce neonicotinoid exposure.