6 www.FarmProgress.com ● October 2014
The Farmer
Minnesota NewsWatch
Crusader
for bees
By LIZ MORRISON
OMMERCIAL beekeeper
Steve Ellis of Barrett is only
half-joking when he says,
“These days, I have two jobs —
beekeeping and pesticide policy.”
Ellis and other commercial
beekeepers are sounding the
alarm about the role of agricultural pesticides in declining pollinator health.
“Part of my business now is education on this issue,” says Ellis,
secretary of the National Honey
Bee Advisory Board, which works
on national pesticide issues.
Honeybees — a vital part of agriculture — are failing to thrive
as they once did. “We have a sick
industry,” he says.
Honeybee die-offs in the U.S.
have risen sharply since 2006.
Winter losses for the past eight
years have averaged 30%, according to annual USDA surveys.
Colony losses over the spring
and summer — previously rare
— are also up. Many beekeepers
are blaming a widely used class
of systemic insecticides called
C
Key Points
■ Higher bee mortality has
numerous cause possibilities.
■ Federal funds are available to
improve bee habitat.
■ Minnesota established a team
to investigate bee die-offs.
neonicotinoids.
Farmers know these chemicals as Gaucho, Cruiser, Poncho
and others. Virtually all corn
seeds and most soybean seeds
are coated with “neonics.” They
are also used extensively on
nursery plants. In 2013, Ellis
and other beekeepers sued the
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, asking for a moratorium
on neonicotinoids until an expanded regulatory review is finished.
However, this is not a farmer
versus beekeeper issue, Ellis insists.
“Farmers need beekeepers
and beekeepers need farmers,”
he says. Beekeepers are seeking a
reasoned, level-headed approach
that would protect against the
harmful effects of pesticides and
still allow their proper and judicious use.
Multiple stressors
At this point, the causes of
higher honeybee mortality rates
are still unclear, says Robert
Koch, University of Minnesota
Extension
entomologist.
Research points to a combination of factors, including diseasecarrying varroa mites, a shortage
of nutritious food sources and exposure to insecticides.
Neonicotinoids are extremely toxic to bees, Koch says.
Research from Purdue University
found that bees can be directly
or indirectly exposed to these insecticides through contact with
contaminated dust from treated
seeds, soil or dosed plants. Like
SOOTHING SMOKE:
Steve Ellis prepares
a smoker: one of
the beekeepers’
tools for managing
honeybees.
Smoke calms the
bees, letting the
beekeepers handle
them.
QUEENS’ PALACE:
Beekeeper James
Cook holds a crate
that housed queens.
In the early spring,
beekeepers increase
their livestock
numbers by dividing
colonies and adding
new queens.
To protect pollinators, avoid ‘insurance’ pesticide applications
U
SE insecticides only when they are really needed.
That’s the single most important thing farmers
can do to protect honeybees and other pollinators, says Robert Koch, a University of Minnesota
Extension entomologist.
Growers should scout regularly, identify pests and
treat with foliar insecticides only if insect numbers
reach economic thresholds.
“If you treat at lower levels, you are unnecessarily
exposing pollinators to insecticides, not to mention
spending money for no yield benefit,” he says.
Beekeepers are convinced that overuse of pesticides is contributing to declines in honeybee health,
says commercial beekeeper Steve Ellis, Barrett.
As livestock farmers themselves, beekeepers
understand that there are pests and bad bugs to
manage. However, all farmers have to be more discriminating in how they manage them.
Ellis says it would be helpful if farmers restricted
the use of insecticide seed treatments to high-risk
areas, an approach that’s being taken in Ontario,
Canada.
Insecticidal seed treatments can provide effective
protection from seed- and seedling-feeding pests and
are an important tool in fields with high risk for such
pests, Koch says.
However, widespread prophylactic use of systemic
insecticidal treatments across many acres, regardless of pest risk, is counter to the philosophy of
integrated pest management, he says. Many times,
growers may not get a benefit from insecticide seed
treatments.
Unfortunately, Koch adds, some growers complain
that they can’t get untreated seeds.
In addition to avoiding preventive or “insurance”
insecticide use, Koch says, farmers can protect pollinators by:
■ handling treated seed carefully to avoid
spreading toxic dust over the landscape
■ spraying in the evening, when bees are not
foraging
■ choosing pesticides that are less toxic to bees
or have shorter residual activity
■ minimizing drift
In general, Ellis finds that most farmers he speaks
with are sympathetic to the plight of bees.
“The farm community wants to know, what’s the
deal with bees and what can we do to help?” he says.