http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/may/23/wildlife.endangeredspecies

“Germany has banned a family of pesticides that are blamed for the deaths of millions of honeybees. The German Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) has suspended the registration for eight pesticide seed treatment products used in rapeseed oil and sweetcorn.”
“The move follows reports from German beekeepers in the Baden Wurttemberg region that two thirds of their bees died earlier this month following the application of a pesticide called clothianidin.”
“It’s a real bee emergency,” said Manfred Hederer, president of the German Professional Beekeepers’ Association. “50-60% of the bees have died on average and some beekeepers have lost all their hives.”
“Tests on dead bees showed that 99% of those examined had a build-up of clothianidin.” It is “a systemic chemical that works its way through a plant and attacks the nervous system of any insect it comes into contact with. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency it is ‘highly toxic’ to honeybees.”