Fears for bees as US set to extend use of toxic pesticides that paralyse insects

EPA to approve plan for four types of neonicotinoid chemical to be used on US farmland - despite being banned in Europe

The US Environmental Protection Agency is poised to allow the use of four of the most devastating chemicals to bees, butterflies and other insects to continue in America for the next 15 years, despite moves by the European Union to ban the use of toxins that have been blamed for widespread insect declines.

The EPA is widely expected to confirm a proposed plan outlined last year that will extend the use of imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, clothianidin and dinotefuran on US farmland for the next 15 years, even though the agency has noted ecological risks of concern, particularly to pollinators and aquatic invertebrates".