SWITZERLAND — Neonicotinoid pesticides are showing up in honey on every continent with honeybees, according to a new study. <br /> <br />"On the global scale, the contamination is really striking," said study coauthor Edward Mitchell, a soil biologist at the University of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. <br /> <br />Around 200 samples of honey were tested and 75 percent found to contain measurable levels of at least one of the five common neonicotinoids, Science News reported. <br /> <br />Neonicotinoids are used on various crops grown in different climates, but still showed up in honey from remote islands with almost no agriculture. <br /> <br />The insecticide works by targeting crop-destroying insect's central nervous system. <br />A number of studies have found the insecticide also reduces and weakens honeybee hives. <br /> <br />Pesticide levels varied from region-to-region. In North America, 86 percent of samples contained pesticides; Asia, 80 percent; Europe, 79 percent; Africa, 73 percent; the Australian region, 71 percent and South America, 57 percent. <br /> <br />Bees and other pollinators are necessary to three-quarters of the world's food crops, but have been declining in number in recent decades, the Guardian reported. <br /> <br />Destruction of wild habitats, disease and massive pesticide use are all contributing factors.
