Anonymous,

We know that bees are dying at an alarming rate. But did you know that bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides (neonics) can also cause serious brain damage in baby bees?1

That's right -- neonics poison baby bees' brains, stunting development and causing irreversible brain damage. And when baby bees who suffer from neonic poisoning grow up, they become adult bees who struggle to find food and defend their hives.2

If we want to protect dwindling bee populations, we have to protect their young by banning the worst uses of neonics.

Will you tell Gov. Jared Polis to ban the worst uses of neonics in Colorado?

For vulnerable baby bees, the poison is everywhere -- even the food worker bees bring back for baby bees is often contaminated with pesticides.3

Bees face many threats -- including climate change, habitat loss and disease -- but exposure to neonics diminishes their ability to learn and remember. Those are critical skills for bees, who often fly up to seven miles away from their hives for food.4 But when baby bees' brains are poisoned, they can't find their way home.

Tell Gov. Polis to ban the worst uses of neonics.

Neonics are popular because they provide a simple, convenient way to kill unwanted insects. But the convenience of these bee-killers pales in comparison to the long-term damage they are doing to bees and every single ecosystem in which bees live.

We have to do better. We have to act now before bee species slip to extinction. Already in North America, the chances of seeing a bumblebee have decreased by 50 percent since the 1970s.5

Connecticut has implemented a ban on consumer use of neonics to protect bees, so we know that effective neonic bans are possible. And now more than ever, we know these bans are necessary -- but we need your voice to make it happen.

Help us save bees from the pesticides that poison and kill them.

Thank you,

Hannah Collazo
State Director

1. "Pesticides impair baby bee brain development," Science Daily, March 3, 2020.
2. "Pesticides impair baby bee brain development," Science Daily, March 3, 2020.
3. Katie Hunt, "Pesticides damage the brains of baby bees, new research finds," CNN, March 3, 2020.
4. Alessandra Potenza, "Bad news for bees: three-quarters of all honey on Earth has pesticides in it," The Verge, October 5, 2017.
5. Douglas Main, "Bumblebees are going extinct in a time of 'climate chaos'," National Geographic, February 6, 2020.