Current EU restrictions on neonicotinoid pesticides must be extended to wheat to protect bees and other wildlife, Friends of the Earth warns today (Thursday 5 January 2017) in a new report published at the Oxford Real Farming Conference.

https://www.foe.co.uk/resource/press_releases/bees-pesticide-restrictionss-must-be-extended-wheat-new-friends-earth-report

https://www.foe.co.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/farming-wheat-without-neonicotinoids-102577.pdf

Three neonicotinoid pesticides were banned on flowering crops in December 2013 after scientists concluded they posed a ”high acute risk” to honey bees when used on crops attractive to them. But these chemicals can still be used on other crops.
One of the restricted neonicotinoids (clothianidin) is widely used on wheat. In 2014 it was used on over 700,000 ha of wheat in the UK. This is greater than the total area of oilseed rape – a crop which is covered by the restrictions.