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Amid noted declines in honeybee and insect-eating bird populations, some scientists suggest<\/a> that U.S. farmers' use of pesticides known as neonicotinoids could be contributing to a rise in the toxicity of American farmlands.<\/p>\n A recent study found that the country's "agricultural landscape" is now 48 times more toxic for honeybees<\/a> than it was a quarter of a century-ago. The study estimates that neonics have accounted for 92% of the toxicity increase – although it's worth noting that the study is "based on correlations" and does not account for the exact pesticides insects ingested.<\/p>\n In addition, results from at least two studies noted a decline in the numbers of insect-eating birds in recent decades. Canadian researchers found that white-crowned sparrows' ingestion of Imidacloprid caused them to lose 6% of their body weight<\/a> within six hours before their release, on average.<\/p>\n Not only do some scientists attribute the insectivorous bird decline to ingestion of neonicotinoids, but they also believe that the toxic agricultural landscape for insects has left the fowl with less to eat.<\/p>\n Kendra Klein of Friends of the Earth US referred to the potential harm caused by the use of neonicotinoids as a "second 'Silent Spring'" and claimed that the drugs are "like the new DDT, except they are a thousand times more toxic to bees than DDT."<\/p>\n