Three widely used neonicotinoids are likely to adversely affect, in at least some way, most of the threatened and endangered species in the country, said the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday. It said it was consulting with wildlife agencies about whether the insecticides were likely to jeopardize the species’ survival or damage their habitats.
The consultations would help the EPA decide if adjustments were needed to the rate or timing of insecticide applications to mitigate the impact of the chemicals. The “likely to adversely affect” determinations, which can involve a single animal or plant, were part of final biological evaluations for the neonicotinoids: imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, and clothianidin. The evaluations involve 1,700 listed species and 800 designated critical habitats.
According to the EPA, imidacloprid was likely to adversely affect 79 percent of listed species, followed by thiamethoxam (77 percent) and clothianidin (67 percent).
The Center for Biological Diversity said that all three neonicotinoids were likely to harm rusty patched bumblebees, whooping cranes, chinook salmon, northern long-eared bats, and orcas, among others. “We’re in the midst of a heartbreaking extinction crisis, and neonicotinoids are playing an outsized role in driving it,” said the group.