In a message dated 96-02-14 10:25:23 EST,
[log in to unmask] writes:
> 1) Are there any sprays that can be used in this close proximity to
> hives?
>
> 2) Is is just a matter of when they apply the spray? (at night, after
> petal drop?)
The applicator has a legal responsibility to protect the foraging bees.
This is contained in the label directions, which vary according to the
material used. Each label has directions specifically designed to the
relative toxicity and residual activity of that material for bees.
If the material is quick acting, the label will usually indicate that the
material is toxic by direct contact, and direct that application not be done
while bees are foraging in the application area. This will protect the hives
in the area, as the spray will not be contacted by the bees. Many of the
modern sprays break down within minutes after contact with the plant, and
bees can come in a couple hours later with no significant danger.
If the material has a long life, the directions will indicate that it is
toxic by residual action. It would then be illegal to apply this to any
bloom attractive to bees, if its residual activity were long enough to last
until the next foraging period. There are tables that tell how long
materials will last.
I have personally kept bees along the edge of active orchards that I
sprayed on a regular schedule (I used to be an apple/cherry grower). It is
sometimes inconvenient to plan for the protection of the bees, but it is
necessary to protect pollinators (bumbles and solitary bees are likewise
included by the labels), and it is required by law. We never had damage from
our farm spraying, but sometimes were hit by neighbors.
Orchardist don't always seem to comprehend bee protection label
directions, and applicators must be held accountable by beekeepers. Don't
count on the Sierra Club to protect the bees, they aren't perceived as
loveable.
The most dangerous times are related to the bloom that is present. During
the actual fruit bloom time few orchardists will spray, because they want to
get pollinated, but they often jump the gun as soon as they feel confident
that they have a good set.
In fact many old extension spray manuals will recommend that petalfall
application be made at 3/4 petalfall. You need to get right after any agent
that still repeats this today, as it is a clear cut recommendation of
pesticide misuse. And recommendations of misuse, in most states, have
similar penalties to actual misuse. So get your current fruit
recommendations from your extension office. Also keep tabs on their day to
day advisories, often printed in local newspapers, and newsletters to
growers. Get on these lists. Make sure they get this straight and up to
date.
The second danger period is during the clover bloom. Many orchards have a
solid clover lawn underneath the trees. It starts bloom in late June or
early July - about the same time as the really powerful, broad spectrum
insecticides are used.
An applicator could comply by using quick acting materials at night, but
at this time, they usually want something much more powerful and long
lasting. So compliance with the label law would have to be based on getting
rid of the clover bloom, by herbicides, or by mowing the flower heads just
before the application.
If you check the bees and they have piles of stinking, dead bees in front
of the hives, you can be sure than an application was made in violation, and
it is your job to hold the perpetrators accountable. Don't expect to recover
losses; you've already lost more than you could recover. But you can make
them pay attention, and obey the law. They will lose their certification, if
they don't.
You might think this seems harsh and severe, but pesticide misuse is one of
the main reasons for a serious decline in pollinators, not just kept bees,
but wild bumblebees, and many species of solitary bees as well. I have lost
hundreds of thousands of dollars from misuse, so it has kept me a poor man;
certainly it has prevented me from doing a lot more pollination than I have.
The applicators need to understand this is serious, and keep strictly by
the rules.
It is somewhat easier if the grower himself does the spraying, because
even though his mind is currently on the pest he wants to kill, in the back
of his mind, he knows he needs you next spring.
If he contracts the persticide applications, you may have more difficulty
getting through. It doesn't usually occur to the applicator that the farmer
who goes under, because he can't get his crops pollinated, will not be around
to hire him in the future. That is just a little too profound, when it is
simpler to focus on the paychecks from spraying the most possible acres. You
have to motivate him by the certainty of being caught and prosecuted, if he
doesn't obey the rules.
IPM (Integrated Pest Management) may offer some slight help, but
unfortunately not much. When they speak of beneficial insects they are
talking about preditors on the bad bugs. Bees are generally ignored, and
little or no training is given to their protection. If they are dealt with,
it is usually in terms of pre FIFRA (Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
Rodenticide Act of 1976) methods that involve the beekeeper coming to the
site to "protect" the bees.
IPM advisors and applicators should understand that a demand for the
beekeeper to "protect" the bees is a statement of INTENT to MISuse, because
the label refers to all bees, not just those kept by the known beekeeper.
This includes wild honeybees, bees kept by unknown beekeeper, bumble bees,
and solitary bees. Point out that the label directions apply to "foraging"
bees, not beehives. If foraging bees are protected, beehives will as well.
Good luck.
[log in to unmask] Dave Green, PO Box 1200, Hemingway, SC 29554
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