No. Thiamethoxam is already known to be 'acutely toxic for bees', quoting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiamethoxam .

As the NYT piece says, this isn't about killing the insects:

> “Most of the studies in the past have focused on direct effects on the bees, both the adults and the larvae,” said Robbin Thorp, professor emeritus and bee expert at the University of California Davis, who was not involved in this paper. These can include effects on bee mortality or reproduction.

> “This study now clearly demonstrates that in addition to effects on the bees, both direct effects and sublethal indirect effects, that these effects are influencing their ability to pollinate plants,” Thorp said. “And they used apple as an example of this, as an important crop.”

Monsanto doesn't sell neonicotinoid pesticides as far as I can tell.