Neonicotinoid Insecticides. What are they? Where do you find them? Why should you care? NOFA Director of Advocacy, Dr. Kimberly Stoner, has all the answers.

Neonicotinoids are systemic insecticides widely used in agriculture, as well as the commercial plant and flower industry. They have been restricted use pesticides in Connecticut since 2017 and are being restricted as seed treatments in other states because of concerns about their effects on beneficial insects, including pollinators, insect predators on pests, and aquatic insects that are the basis of the food chain in rivers and streams.

Presenter bio:

Dr. Stoner is the current Director of Advocacy for CT NOFA and recently retired (after 35 years) as an Agricultural Scientist with the CT Agricultural Experiment Station. Her background is in vegetable entomology, particularly breeding plants for resistance to insect pests, biological control of insect pests, and other alternatives to insecticides for managing vegetable insects. Her more recent research has been measuring the exposure of honey bees to pesticides, studying the pollination of pumpkins and squash, and cooperating with other bee experts to create the checklist of the 385 species of bees in Connecticut. In her current role with CT NOFA, Dr. Stoner advocates for organic agriculture, organic land care, resources to assist new farmers, environmental rights, and food equity.

This program is made possible by the Friends of Cheshire Public Library, the Coalition for a Sustainable Cheshire and the Cheshire Pollinator Pathway.