Honey Bees and Pesticide Problems
Honey Bees and other insect pollinators play an important role in the production of many crops in Ohio. Notwithstanding, since most crops should be protected from insect pests and illnesses, pesticide poisoning is the most serious problem for pollinating insects in agricultural areas.
Protecting pollinators, particularly Honey Bees, from pesticide poisoning must be part of any pesticide program. The following recommendations can help minimize bee kills.
Pesticides on Blossoms.
The blossom is typically the only part of a plant that honey bees visit. To avoid killing honey bees, do not apply pesticides perilous to honey bees during the blooming period.
When the treated area contains the only attractive plants, in bloom within flight range, injury may occur to colonies several miles away. Treating non-blooming crops with a hazardous pesticide when cover crops, weeds, or wild flowers are in bloom within (or near) the treated field might also cause heavy bee losses.
Drift of Pesticides.
Drift occurs from nearly all spray or dust applications of pesticides from a short distance to miles downwind. Pesticide dusts drift farther than sprays.
Pesticides applied by plane generally drift farther than those applied by ground equipment. Typically, it is less hazardous to apply pesticides near apiaries with ground equipment than by plane. Drift may be lowered by applying pesticides in the evening or early morning when the air is calm.
Time of Application.
Ideally, pesticides ought to be applied when there’s no wind and when honey bees are not visiting plants in the area. The time and intensity of bee visitation to a given crop depends on the abundance and attractiveness of the bloom.
For instance, apple trees or clover in bloom could be attractive to honey bees all day while cucumbers and corn are generally attractive in the morning and early afternoon hours. In general, evening or early night applications are the least harmful to honey bees.
Formulation of Pesticides.
Dusts are generally more hazardous to honey bees than sprays. Wettable powders often have a longer residual effect than emulsifiable concentrates. Granular pesticides seem to present very little hazard.
Ultra-low volume (ULV) formulations of some pesticides are much more toxic than regular sprays. No effective repellent has been created that may be added to pesticides to keep honey bees from treated areas.
Toxicity of Pesticides.
Most agricultural pesticides have been tested for their toxicity to Honey Bees. Nonetheless, laboratory and field results do not always coincide, due to peculiarities of bee behavior, length of residual life of the pesticide, or the effects of different formulations.
Insecticides affect honey bees in one or more ways – as stomach poisons, as contact poisons, and as fumigants. Pyrethroids, organophosphates, and carbamates vary in their toxicity to honey bees from relatively nonhazardous to very hazardous, depending upon the individual material or combination of materials.
Some bacteria, protozoans, and viruses that are currently recommended for biological control pose a serious hazard to honey bees.
Herbicides, defoliants, and desiccants like paraquat, MAA, and MSMA reportedly were extremely toxic when fed to newly emerged worker Honey Bees or when sprayed onto older honey bees in field tests. Most tests have shown other materials in this class to be nonhazardous to honey bees, except that they kill or damage nectar- or pollen-producing plants.
Fungicides seem to cause little trouble for honey bees. Captan at field dosages has caused brood damage.
Sex Lures, Attractants, and other Hormones ordinarily cause no problem for honey bees. Occasionally, several Honey Bees and bumblebees have been found in traps containing Japanese beetle lures.
Precautions for Farmers and Applicators
1. Be sure to apply pesticides only when needed.
2. Make certain to use the recommended pesticide at the lowest effective rate.
3. Make certain to use the pesticide least dangerous to honey bees that’ll control the pest involved. When all advised pesticides are equally dangerous to honey bees, use the one that has the shortest residual effect.
4. Make sure to use sprays or granules instead of dusts.
5. Make sure to use ground equipment in lieu of aerial application to apply pesticides near bee hives.
6. Be certain to apply pesticides in late afternoon or at night when honey bees are not working the blooms.
7. Be sure to prevent drift of pesticides onto plants that are attractive to honey bees.
8. Be sure to notify beekeepers several days before applying any pesticide that is dangerous to Honey Bees. This will give them a chance to protect their colonies. Nonetheless, notifications are not a release of responsibility.
Precautions for Beekeepers
1. Make sure to place colonies where they will be away from fields that are routinely treated with perilous pesticides and will not be subjected to pesticide drifts.
2. Make sure to identify your apiary. Post your name, address, and phone number in a conspicuous place near your apiary. Let farmers and custom applicators in your area know where your apiaries are located so they’ll not unknowingly poison them.
3. Make absolutely certain to be familiar with pesticides widely used in your area and what their application dates are.
4. Make sure to relocate colonies that are exposed repeatedly to hazardous pesticides. Moreover, remember that soon after colonies are moved to a new location, foraging honey bees search for water. They might collect water that has been contaminated with pesticides. To reduce the chance of bee losses, provide clean water near the hives.
Bee Kill Estimations Number of deaths Severity
0 – 100 dead honey bees per day Normal die-off
200 – 400 dead honey bees per day Low kill
500 – 900 dead honey bees per day Moderate kill
1000 or more dead honey bees per day High kill
The Insecticide Container Label
Though not a long document, the insecticide label represents vast amounts of research, legal regulations, and instructions.
There are thousands of registered pesticide formulations. Each label obviously gives a brand name in bold letters across the label while the common name and chemical ingredients follow in the section called “Active Ingredients.”
For instance, the Chevron Chemical Company manufactures Orthenex (brand name). In the “Active Ingredients” section of the label, the name acephate (common name), is followed by the chemical name.
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