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Neonicotinoids are the most widely used insecticides in the world (1). They are applied to a broad range of food, energy, and ornamental crops, and used in domestic pest control (2). Because they are neurotoxins, they are highly toxic to insects (2), a group of organisms that contains the majority of the described life on Earth, and which includes numerous species of vital importance to humans such as pollinators and predators of pests (3). Neonicotinoids have proved to be highly persistent in the environment, such that substantial residues are commonly found in soils, wildflowers, streams, and lakes (4). One recent study found neonicotinoids in 75% of honey samples collected from around the world (5). Hundreds of independent scientific studies have been performed to assess their impacts on beneficial organisms such as bees, aquatic insects, butterflies, and predatory beetles (4, 6).

It is the view of the undersigned …