A new study has revealed that the death of many Honeybee colonies in the United States can be traced to pesticides which were deemed to be "bee-safe."

Honeybees have been falling in number due to a phenomenon referred to as "colony collapse disorder." The reason for the phenomenon seemed unclear until recently, when scientists discovered that pesticides could be harmful to the insects.

In a recent study, scientist investigated the effects of various substances that Honeybees were exposed to. Since these insects get pollens from trees, flowering plants, and gardens, they are exposed to a lot of chemicals that homeowners use such as fungicides and common insecticides. These substances were previously thought to be safe for bees, but it turns out that they are killing a number of colonies.

Bees are incapable of detoxifying themselves from the effects of pesticides which is why the compounds are deadly to them. The researchers explained the phenomenon using a concept used in cancer research called "exposome."

According to scientists, exposome is the total number of chemicals that the human body is exposed to in its entire life. Instead of analyzing each Honeybee, the scientists looked at the exposome for the entire colony functioning as a whole. The most critical is the death of the queen bee because it endangers the entire superorganism. 

The United Nations has voiced concern about the decline of the Honeybee colonies since these insects are vital in terms of pollinating three-quarters of the world's food crops. If the population of bees continues to decline, humans will soon pay for the consequence of their absence.