Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM)

Imidacloprid does not affect activity level, feeding rate or mortality in honeybees. However, honeybees fed with imidacloprid did perform poorer than the control bees on the olfactory learning test and   memory retension test.

If honeybees cannot remember the necessary information about a food source, then they cannot pass on vital information to the other workers. A decrease in food availability will affect the whole hive.