Poisoning pollinators FAQ: Bees have legal right of way

Poisoning pollinators FAQ: Bees have legal right of way

I often receive questions about protecting bees while using pesticides in the 
garden. Here is a general response:

6-21-99
    You are to be commended. Many gardeners never give bees a thought. I can
show you numerous gardens around here right now, that have butter beans,
squash, cucumbers and other blooming plants covered with Sevin dust. This not
only kills bees, but it is illegal.

    Understanding the law is quite instructive. The label directions give the
law for the particular pesticide; it also gives guidance as to which
pesticides are hazardous, and tells the means of hazard. This is true for all
pesticides.
Insecticides are the ones of concern to us here. All insecticides that are
toxic to bees have specific directions to protect the bees that come to any
blossoms in the treatment area. Look for these directions under the title:
Environmental Hazards. The bees are considered an environmental resource, and
pesticide applicators must protect them.

    So first we need to determine if the law applies. Are bees visiting the
tomato (squash, cucumber, bean, etc.) blossoms?  If there are no blossoms
yet, no bees will be there, and, as long as you don't contaminate other
blossoms on other vegetables, you need not be concerned with bees. They will
not be exposed, if they are not there. After blossoms form, are bees coming
to them?  Tomatoes are not highly attractive to bees. They often are entirely
wind and motion pollinated (of course they yield better, if they are bee
pollinated). You need to make some
observations to see if bees are coming. If no bees are visiting, the label
law does not apply and you can use the material.

    If bees are coming to blossoms within the spray area, then the
bee-protection directions will apply. If there are no bee protection
directions on the material, then you can be assured that it is not hazardous
to bees, and you can go ahead and use it, even if bees are coming.

    There are two types of bee directions. One explains that the material is
toxic to bees by direct contact. This is a material that works fast, but it
does not have a residual effect. To use this material without hazard to bees,
simply wait until late in the day, when no bees are coming to the flowers,
and spray then. If bees are visiting, and the pesticide is applied, the adult
field force of the hive can be killed off. Often with contact poisons, the
bees never make it back to the hives. The hive has lost the adult portion of
the population that is responsible for feeding it, and the hives begin a
desperate race for survival, as they use up their feed resources to try to
produce more field force before the nectar season is over. Hives that are
badly damaged by non-residual, contact poisons don't usually die at once, but
often die of starvation the following winter.

    The second type of bee direction label explains that the material is also
toxic to bees by residue. If you use this material while bees are not
visiting the blossoms, there will still be residues the next day that can
kill the bees. Most powered or dust forms of insecticides are only mildly
poisonous by contact, but are extremely residual and extremely potent when
eaten, and they become part of the pollen loads that bees carry back to the
hive. So young bees and brood can be fed this poisoned pollen and also die.
Many times these residual poisons kill hives outright in just a few days.

    The bee directions are extremely important for the protection of our
pollinators. They are frequently ignored, but the applicator is responsibile
and action is being taken more and more often, as the pollination crisis
raises consciousness. One applicator on a farm crop paid a $1500 fine here
in South Carolina recently, when he applied insecticide while bees were
visiting the blossoms (and did several thousand dollars worth of damage to
my bees).

    It has become a shibboleth among extension agents: "Read and follow label
directions." Oftentimes its just a way to protect their butts, because they
say it when they have just finished giving pesticide applicators a way to
AVOID following the directions ("Call your local beekeeper and make HIM
protect the bees.") That's a recommendation of misuse, and it's time to begin
prosecuting those who make such recommendations.

    Gardeners may say that the small amounts of pesticides used will limit
the damage, and this may be true, but those who poison any pollinators, any
time, are biting the hand that feeds them.

    If you have honeybees, you have a high probability that you have a
beekeeper in the neighborhood. People who routinely poison bees would be
horrified at the thought of driving up to a neighbor's pasture and shooting
the cows.

     Honeybees are in a unique position among livestock. Their behavior is
fixed and not controllable. One aspect of this is that they have no regard
for property lines, and cannot be fenced. So the law treats them instead as
an environmental resource.

    There are always a few hardheads who say, "This is MY property, and I'll
do as I please here."  Americans have traditionally had a high regard for
private property. But this has some limitations. You may not kill songbirds,
poach wild game, fish with dynamite, poison your stream, or poison the bees
that forage on your property. Simple as that! 


Pollinator@aol.com     Dave Green  Hemingway, SC  USA
The Pollination Scene:  http://users.aol.com/pollinator/polpage1.html
The Pollination Home Page:    http://www.pollinator.com

Jan's Sweetness and Light Shop    (Varietal Honeys and Beeswax Candles)
http://users.aol.com/SweetnessL/sweetlit.htm
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