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Subject: Orange County, NC Beekeepers

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  • From: Blair Christian <blair.christian AT gmail.com>
  • To: durham-county-beekeepers AT googlegroups.com, ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] [Durham County Beekeepers] Fwd: Support my bill to protect the bees
  • Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2013 11:23:14 -0400

Just to play devil's advocate here, I start with an email from an
Ontario beekeeper from yesterday's BEE-L listserv:

"Hi Pete and All

"I did not sign the petition, started by the Ontario Beekeepers
Association, calling on Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne to follow EU
in banning Neonics. The good arguments put forward by several Bee-L
members are my reasons for declining. The dust problem that those
same members seem to ho-hum away cannot be allowed to continue however.

"Bob Darrell
Caledon Ontario
Canada
44N80W"

Note that Bob is making a distinction between 2 of the 3 routes by
which bees are exposed to neonics (systemics/guttation vs planting
dust).

Here's another conversation talking about the percent of bee kills due
to neonics in the worst hit part of North America (planting dust
kills). (They're still only responsible for 10% of the pesticide bee
kills). The conversation continues below:

"> So, 89.55% of the colonies were NOT neonic. 10.45% were.
"> In other words, 90% of the damage reports were from the pesticides
that the 'ban' the neonic group want us to return to.

"Is this not being a little disingenuous?

"These are only the visible effects where there are bodies available
for postmortem; no account is taken of the sub-lethal effects of
neonicotinoids as far as I can see.

"Again I must say that in over 30 years of beekeeping we had no
problems with the 'old' insecticides that were only used when there
was a measurable problem. Now we have difficulty keeping colonies
alive. Is it unreasonable to consider what has changed in recent
years? Yes, we have varroa - but we seemed to cope with that for a
number of years; it made extra work, but the bees thrived and I had
some of my best ever years. British weather is notoriously fickle -
but we seemed to cope with that well enough. Then neonicotinoids came
on the scene and we have struggled ever since. Is it unreasonable to
question whether they are the root cause of our problems?"

Another good response to that by researcher Jerry Broemenshank:

"<<Is this not being a little disingenuous?

"These are only the visible effects where there are bodies available
for post mortem; no account is taken of the sub-lethal effects of
neonicotinoids as far as I can see.

"Again I must say that in over 30 years of beekeeping we had no
problems with the 'old' insecticides that were only used when there
was a measurable problem. >>

"I've just spent a week going through Johansen and Mayer's book on
pesticides. In the USA, they and Lawrence Atkins performed the
majority of the label registration toxicity and field weathered
residue tests for these 'older' pesticides. The book, dated 1999,
is now out of print, but I'm working to see if Larry Conner can
reprint. Its surviving author, Dan Mayer lives just down the road
from me.

"One thing that is apparent - sub-lethal effects were well known for
the 'older' pesticides AND bee losses weren't reported as number of
bees dead, but by the 1000s or 10s of 1000s of colony totally wiped
out, killed, per state per year.

"Neonics appeared in the 90s. Varroa and Tracheal mites first showed
up in US a bit earlier, but took a decade to spread over all of the
country. Look at this from the Nat Acad Report on Pollinator Decline:

"The supply of healthy and affordable honey bee colonies for crop
pollination clearly has been threatened by the arrival of parasitic
mites Varroa destructor and Acarapis woodi. Since 1981—just before
the arrival of A. woodi— stocks of honey bee colonies in the United
States have declined by 39 percent (_Figure 2-1_
(http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11761&page=40#p2001245e9960040001)
; USDA-NASS, 1995, 1999, 2005, 2006). Parasitism by mites of honey
bees is a relatively recent problem in North America. A 1980–1982
survey of samples from 4,400 apiaries in the United States and Canada
revealed no evidence of mite infestation (Shimanuki et al., 1983).
The varroa mite was first reported in the United States in 1987
(Anonymous, 1987) and within a decade it had become established
throughout the United States."

"That puts varroa widespread by 1997, same time as neonics. But
neonics were already being used in Canada and USA, while varroa spread
into Canada was delayed a bit by closing the borders. A 39% decline
is significant. Based on the Johansen and Mayer book, the number of
colonies lost to verified pesticides nowdays is far below that of
recent history. Now, I will admit that I freely tell the press, the
bigger issue in US, much of the world, is not the loss of colonies
per se but loss of numbers of beekeepers.

"CCD, varroa, neonics - all brought attention to Pollinator Decline.
As a result, we're seeing an unprecedented increase in numbers of
beekeepers, and again, this appears to be global.

"Jerry"


So here's an opinion:
There are 3 methods of exposure to neonics. (1) corn planting dust is
"obviously" immediately lethal and should be taken care of (a ban is
not needed. Some farmers have homemade devices to greatly reduce the
dust blown up; better pesticide application regulations would seem
more sensible). (2) Guttation: there isn't really any field research
as far as I can tell about this. It seems to be more prevalent in
drought conditions. It is related to Randy Oliver's comment in his
"What happened to the bees this spring?"(2013) paper in the "Drought
stressed plants section" about how pesticides, specifically systemics
are not field tested during droughts, which could change their
dilution factor: "That said, beekeeper Bret Adee brought an
interesting question to my attention: the dose of seed‐applied
systemic insecticides (whether neonic or other) is based upon the
dilution factor as the plant grows, so that the residues in nectar and
pollen will be reduced to below the “no observed adverse effects
level.” But what happens during drought, when the water‐stressed
plants only grow knee high before desperately flowering? There would
be far less plant biomass in which to dilute the insecticide (assuming
that drought‐stressed plants absorb the same amount from the seed
treatment)." and (3) exposure from dietary sources. I think this is
the weakest association. Canola is the shining counterexample; and
places where they are banned are not having any significant
turnarounds in bee colony mortality. If you look at a meta-analysis
(in the journal Ecotoxicology),
http://rd.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10646-010-0566-0
You can see that there appears to be a weakening of bees. However, I
would argue from a competing risks perspective, that varroa and nosema
(individually or combined) pose a much bigger risk.

I argue that by focusing on neonics, we are wasting/misappropriating
our political capital (outside the research community). One advantage
of publicity is, as Jerry says, that we are now getting a lot of new
beekeepers used to this new parasite paradigm (it's not your grandpa's
beekeeping anymore). Am I saying that I think pesticides are good?
No. They kill bees. But varroa kills bees. So do extreme weather
events. So do beekeepers. All I'm asking is that we try to order
these risks to bees using data and address them according to the
magnitude of their risks. Around here, varroa/nosema and lack of
management seem to be the big 3 from what I've seen.

Here's one more opinion: there's a reason honey bees are classified as
"livestock". They aren't native to North America. The pests they
face now have jumped species -- they never threatened Apis m in the
past. To maintain colonies for commercial use, there needs to be some
real selective breeding done to ensure that they are hardy (I didn't
say who should do the selective breeding). There will be "heritage"
breeds around that will require more care (against SHB, nosema c,
varroa) and have have less commercially valuable but interesting
attributes.

If you want to help native pollinators, don't want to build elaborate
boxes, manage huge colonies, have a good location for honeybees, or
possibly collect honey, you can always try to keep native bees:
http://www.hydro-gardens.com/bumblebees.htm
http://www.targetseed.com/wp-content/themes/3923/files/Leafcutter%20beesWeb.pdf
https://sites.google.com/site/hutchingsbeeservice/bumble-bees-life-cycle-and-bombus-boxes-for-sale
But note that some of these species are used for commercial
pollination too (tomato greenhouses; alfalfa) in places where Apis m
don't do well. And that there are even parasites to worry about like
Nosema bombi.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nosema_bombi

If anybody is interested in trying to work with some of the computer
models to try to better understand health effects, and to validate
those models I'm interested... Here's a review paper of the current
models in peer reviewed journals (only about 30 right now, most with a
specific focus like varroaPop for effects of varroa, etc):
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.12112/full

Best,
Blair

On Thu, Jul 25, 2013 at 9:39 AM, Frank Hyman
<Frankhyman AT liberatedgardener.net> wrote:
>
> fyi
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: "Rep. Earl Blumenauer via CREDO Action" <act AT credoaction.com>
> Date: July 25, 2013 9:17:23 AM EDT
> To: "Frank Hyman" <fincaminor AT mindspring.com>
> Subject: Support my bill to protect the bees
> Reply-To: "Rep. Earl Blumenauer via CREDO Action" <act AT credoaction.com>
>
> The email below is from Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), who is one
> of the leading environmental champions in Congress. This week, Rep.
> Blumenauer introduced legislation that would restrict the use of
> bee-killing pesticides. He started a petition on org.credoaction.com, where
> activists can launch their own campaigns for progressive change. We
> strongly urge you to sign Representative Blumenauer's petition telling
> Congress to stop the bee-killing pesticides.
> ________________________________
> Tell Congress: Stop the bee-killing pesticides.
>
> Dear Frank,
>
> Bee populations are in serious jeopardy. That's why Congressman John
> Conyers and I just introduced the Save America's Pollinators Act, which
> would suspend the use of bee killing pesticides. With the help of CREDO’s
> new petition site, I’m gathering support to alert my colleagues in the
> United States Congress to this important cause. My petition says the
> following:
>
>
> Last month, 50,000 bumble bees died after trees in Wilsonville, Oregon were
> sprayed with dinotefuran, the neonicotinoid ingredient in Safari pesticide.
> This was the largest bee die-off ever recorded. With bee populations
> declining across the country at an alarming rate, I urge you to support the
> "Save America's Pollinators Act" to restrict the use of these chemicals
> until we can be sure that they are safe and being used properly.
>
>
> From flowers to chocolate, berries to tequila, pollinators are integral to
> the planet, economy, and many aspects of our lives. In fact, the USDA
> estimates that about one in every three bites of food is either directly or
> indirectly made possible by bee pollination. Both our environment and food
> supply are inextricably tied to the welfare of bees, making the decrease in
> bee populations a cause for great alarm.
>
> The death of 50,000 bees after the neonicotinoid dinotefuran was applied in
> Wilsonville, Oregon last month is a wake-up call.
>
> The Oregon Department of Agriculture is investigating the die-off and is
> temporarily restricting the use of 18 pesticide products containing
> dinotefuran, and the Environmental Protection Agency is currently reviewing
> the use of these chemicals. However, that review is not scheduled to be
> completed for another five years. Meanwhile, Europe has already moved
> forward with restrictions on the use of neonicotinoids.
>
> We must act now. This week I introduced H.R. 2692, the Save America's
> Pollinators Act, with my friend Congressman John Conyers to suspend certain
> uses of neonicotinoids until the Environmental Protection Agency reviews
> these chemicals and makes a new determination about their proper
> application and safe use. This will increase pressure on the EPA to speed
> its review before another mass bee die-off occurs.
>
> Raising public awareness of the integral role of pollinators to the world,
> the precarious state of their population, and what we can do to protect
> them is of the utmost importance. I hope you’ll join me as a citizen
> co-sponsor of this important legislation.
>
> Will you join me and add your name to my petition to the United States
> Congress, to demand that it stops the pesticides that are killing bees?
>
> Thank you for your support.
>
> Congressman Earl Blumenauer
>
> ________________________________
>
> org.credoaction.com helps activists like you make progressive change and
> fight regressive policies by creating online petitions. Click here to start
> a petition today.
>
> This petition was created on org.credoaction.com, a new people-powered
> platform that allows activists to start and run CREDO-style campaigns.
>
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>
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  • Re: [ocba] [Durham County Beekeepers] Fwd: Support my bill to protect the bees, Blair Christian, 07/25/2013

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