The mystery of plummeting global bee populations may just have been partly solved in Britain. Research carried out by the insect research charity Buglife and the Soil Association indicates that a group of pesticides known as neonicotinoids could be responsible. The study offers proof that these chemicals damage the health and life cycle of bees over the long term by affecting the nervous system. This evidence puts pressure on the British government to ban the pesticides, which are already prohibited in much of Europe, including France and Germany.