A new study of nine pesticides, three fungicides, insecticides and herbicides, including two neonicotinoids and Roundup, the most frequently used pesticide worldwide, have found that they are more harmful than previously believed. Pesticides contain two types of chemicals, the ‘active ingredient' which is tested during the regulation process, and adjuvants, chemicals added to the product which the pesticide companies call '‘inert'. These ‘inert' chemicals change the effect of other ingredients and so are added to increase the efficiency of the overall product, however the combined product is often not tested.

The study, carried out in France, compared the toxicity on human cells of the active ingredient to the overall product used by the consumer. They found that 8 out of 9 products were up to one thousand times more toxic than the approved active ingredients with Roundup being one of the most toxic.

Vanessa Amaral-Rogers, Buglife's Campaigns Officer said "There is a serious problem if the end product hasn't been properly tested. If we don't even know what these pesticides can do to humans, it's impossible to understand their effect on other wildlife and the environment. This has been flagged up in other studies but still hasn't been addressed".

Last year, the European Commission restricted the use of three of the five neonicotinoids approved for use in the European Union. The remaining two were deemed less dangerous and were not reviewed, even though a study in 2004 had shown that they became over a thousand times more toxic to bees when used with common fungicides, which often happens when crops are sprayed.

Buglife-The Invertebrate Conservation Trust is the only charity in Europe devoted to the conservation of all invertebrates, and is actively working to save Britain's rarest bugs, bees, butterflies, ants, worms, beetles and many more fascinating invertebrates. To find out more about Buglife's campaign on neonicotinoids visit www.buglife.org.uk/neonics

Neonicotinoids: have been the focus of many recent studies published in esteemed respected journals such as Nature and Science. Even small amounts of the chemical have been found to have ‘sub-lethal' and even deadly effects on wildlife. Studies have found that levels in water systems have been high enough to significantly reduce aquatic invertebrate numbers, small doses can increase the susceptibility of bumblebees and honeybees to diseases, and can wipe out other beneficial invertebrates, such as beetles and ladybirds, which feed on and help control pest species found in farmland.