Explanation: Neonicotinoids are a new class of insecticides chemically related to nicotine. The name literally means “new nicotine-like insecticides”.

• Like nicotine, the neonicotinoids act on certain kinds of receptors in the nerve synapse.
• They are much more toxic to invertebrates, like insects, than they are to mammals, birds and other higher organisms.
• Neonicotinoids share a common mode of action that affects the central nervous system of insects, resulting in paralysis and death.

Source: SHANKAR IAS Environment