This product kills Bees. #Confidor #Bayer sold by Yates at Bunnings and Woolworths contains the insecticides #clothianidin #imidacloprid #thiamethoxam and #methiocarb. These insecticides are all currently registered for use in Australia on a range of pests and crops by farmers, growers and home gardeners. While methiocarb is a carbamate insecticide, the other chemicals all belong to a class called neonicotinoids, which are based on the nicotine molecule. Neonicotinoids are systemic nerve poisons and kill insects on contact or ingestion. Exposure to sub-lethal doses causes behavioural disturbances and disorientation, which is ultimately fatal for beehives. The US Environment Protection Agency’s fact sheet on clothianidin, says the pesticide is highly toxic to foraging honeybees and other pollinators, and there is a risk from chronic exposure because the systemic poison finds its way into the nectar and pollen of treated plants. Dr Simon Cubit, Public Affairs spokesman for the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA), confirmed there are two clothianidin products registered in Australia which are likely to come into contact with bees, unfortunately these commonly sold products are not adequately labelled. Clothianidin is registered for use on cotton, bananas, apples, pears, peaches and nectarines to treat a range of pests. The French government banned imidacloprid, Bayer CropScience’s top selling insecticide as a seed treatment for sunflowers in 1999, and for corn in 2004, because of its clear link with mass bee deaths.French regulators recently rejected an application to register clothianidin and have also banned fipronil for its role in killing bees. Australian regulators must do whatever they can to protect bees as they provide an irreplaceable pollination role in our food production. Without bees we would likely not survive ourselves.Being systemic these poisons end up within the plant permanent our skin. If they are killing bees they are also killing us slowly . Through organic farming methods permaculture there are infinite solutions that involve wisdom and diversity. Bayer has huge lobbying capabilities. We are risking life by using neonicotinoids. Stop buying this poison. Sharing will save the bees.