Daniel Zeichner MP recently made a b-line for the Botantic Gardens.

Mr Zeichner who is vice president of the Cambridgeshire bee keepers association and a species champion for the Ruderal bumblebee will join Gill Perkins, CEO of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, at the bee border, as they spot bees and discuss the future of our pollinating friends after the EU referendum. 

Research from the University of Bern in Switzerland has found that two neonicotinoid pesticides -; clothianidin and thiamethoxam -; may damage bee fertility by acting as contraceptives. The study also showed neonicotinoids cut bees’ lifespan by one-third.

The bee friendly EU banned neonicotinoids despite protests from the Conservative Government. But following the vote to leave the EU Daniel Zeichner MP is concerned.

Mr Zeichner said: “When I asked the Secretary of State for Environment whether the Government would continue to adhere to the European Commission ban on the use of neonicotinoid pesticides after the UK leaves the EU, I didn’t get a straight answer.” 

He continued “I’m quite sure people who voted for Brexit, didn’t cast their vote, because they were anti-bees. As EU Directives and Regulations stop applying to the UK the Government must ensure new arrangements are put in place to safeguard our precious natural heritage. Bees are essential for pollinating our crops – we can’t afford to gamble with their future.”