I saw this on the ProMed listserv and thought I'd cross post. Let me
or the author know if there is anything grossly wrong about the
report:
DIE-OFF, APIS - USA: (CALIFORNIA), PESTICIDES SUSPECTED
*******************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>
Date: Tue 15 Apr 2014
Source: Capitalpress.com [edited]
<http://www.capitalpress.com/California/20140415/pesticides-malnutrition-blamed-for-massive-bee-die-off>
A top university expert urges beekeepers to start removing their hives
from almond orchards earlier to avoid die-offs like a massive one that
occurred at the end of almond bloom this year [2014].
Many California beekeepers -- particularly in the southern San Joaquin
Valley -- lost both adult bees and broods after a mixture of
fungicides used by almond growers and insecticides applied to field
crops proved harmful, said Eric Mussen, a University of California
extension apiculturist here.
The deaths of billions of individual bees affected as many as 20
percent of bee producers statewide, said Joe Traynor, whose
Bakersfield-based Scientific Ag Co. pairs beekeepers with growers
throughout the valley.
Many almond farmers want bees to stick around in orchards until pedal
drop to maximize pollination, which in turn boosts yields. But the
lack of forage so late in the blossom can cause bees to migrate up to
4 miles looking for nourishment, Mussen said.
"It's at that time when different pests start showing up in alfalfa
hay fields or other orchards or vineyards, and growers start spraying
for them," Mussen said. "There's a whole bunch of other places they
can get themselves in trouble."
Many losses appeared to occur when a fungicide that normally wouldn't
harm bees was blended with an insect growth regulator, Mussen said.
Added to the mix were adjuvants -- pharmacological agents added to the
chemicals to increase their effect -- which seemed to get into the
bees' food cycle and cause significant problems for bee broods, he
said. "All this new chemistry is staying way far ahead of us," he
said.
Perhaps contributing to the deaths of young bees were "starvation
conditions" after the almond bloom that may have caused some bees to
start cannibalizing their broods, Traynor said.
"It's very confusing as to what the problem actually was," he said.
Some bee producers, including Palo Cedro, California-based Wooten's
Golden Queens, removed their bees from orchards early enough that they
weren't affected. "We got out of there before all of this crazy stuff
started going on," co-owner Glenda Wooten said.
The latest die-off comes as the mysterious malady known as colony
collapse disorder has been decimating 1/3rd of the nation's honeybees
virtually every year since 2006, according to UC-Davis. While some
environmentalists have been quick to blame pesticides for the
die-offs, researchers have cited many other contributing factors,
including malnutrition, drought and inclement weather and climate
change.
Honeybees are shipped in from around the country to service
California's 800 000 acres of almond groves. A warm winter ignited an
early and vibrant almond blossom in February 2014, and beekeepers said
they had just enough bees to meet this year's [2014] contracts and
that their colonies were in good health.
The length of time the bees are deployed can be a point of contention
between beekeepers and growers, industry insiders said. However, bee
producers weren't necessarily in as much of a hurry this year [2014]
to move on from almonds, since there weren't as many other flowers
available because of the state's drought.
Mussen said it isn't necessary to keep bees around until the last
pedals fall, and it could actually leave them scrambling for
nourishment. While bees are present, Mussen advises growers to avoid
contaminating pollen or collectors with their applications, perhaps by
spraying in the afternoon or early evening after the bees had
completed their work.
[Byline: Tim Hearden]
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail from HealthMap Alerts
<[log in to unmask]>
[Recent research (see post 20120330.1085129) suggested that pesticides
were linked to the bee's colony collapse disorder. An even more recent
finding (post 20130728.1850594) showed that fungicides are implicated
in disease-driven bee mortalities. As stated in the article, a number
of contributing factors may be decimating bees.
For a HealthMap of the affected area, go to
<http://healthmap.org/r/awCT>. - Mod.PMB]
[See Also:
Colony collapse disorder, apis: possible cause 20140123.2227390
2013
----
Undiagnosed die-off, apis - Canada: (ON) pesticide susp
20130816.1884358
Parasite susceptibility, apis - USA: fungicides 20130728.1850594
2012
----
Colony collapse disorder, apis (03): pesticide link? 20120330.1085129
Colony collapse disorder, apis (02): Europe, poss. insecticide link
20120320.1075187
Colony collapse disorder, apis: USA, susp. cause 20120106.1001363
2010
----
Colony collapse disorder, apis - USA: possible cause 20101007.3635
Colony collapse disorder, apis - Europe: EU 20100915.3348
2009
----
Colony collapse disorder, apis - USA: cause 20090826.3008
Colony collapse disorder, apis - USA: multiple causes susp
20090731.2687
2008
----
Colony collapse disorder, apis - Germany: chemical ban 20080613.1868
2007
----
Colony collapse disorder, apis - USA: (FL) 20071026.3490
Undiagnosed die-off, apis - USA (Multistate) (03): agent identified
20070907.2960
Undiagnosed die-off, apis - USA : (Multistate) (02) 20070503.1436
Undiagnosed die-off, apis - USA : (Multistate) (02) 20070503.1435
Undiagnosed die-off, apis - USA (Multistate) 20070208.0497]
.................................................sb/pmb/msp/mpp
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Fri, 18 Apr 2014 05:52:05 +0000
From: [log in to unmask]
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Die-off, apis - USA: (CA), pesticides susp
To: [log in to unmask], [log in to unmask],
[log in to unmask]
Message-ID:
<[log in to unmask]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
DIE-OFF, APIS - USA: (CALIFORNIA), PESTICIDES SUSPECTED
*******************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>
[ProMED-mail apologizes for those receiving a duplicate of this post.
In the 1st round the post was not sent out to all who should have
received it. - Mod.MPP]
Date: Tue 15 Apr 2014
Source: Capitalpress.com [edited]
<http://www.capitalpress.com/California/20140415/pesticides-malnutrition-blamed-for-massive-bee-die-off>
A top university expert urges beekeepers to start removing their hives
from almond orchards earlier to avoid die-offs like a massive one that
occurred at the end of almond bloom this year [2014].
Many California beekeepers -- particularly in the southern San Joaquin
Valley -- lost both adult bees and broods after a mixture of
fungicides used by almond growers and insecticides applied to field
crops proved harmful, said Eric Mussen, a University of California
extension apiculturist here.
The deaths of billions of individual bees affected as many as 20
percent of bee producers statewide, said Joe Traynor, whose
Bakersfield-based Scientific Ag Co. pairs beekeepers with growers
throughout the valley.
Many almond farmers want bees to stick around in orchards until pedal
drop to maximize pollination, which in turn boosts yields. But the
lack of forage so late in the blossom can cause bees to migrate up to
4 miles looking for nourishment, Mussen said.
"It's at that time when different pests start showing up in alfalfa
hay fields or other orchards or vineyards, and growers start spraying
for them," Mussen said. "There's a whole bunch of other places they
can get themselves in trouble."
Many losses appeared to occur when a fungicide that normally wouldn't
harm bees was blended with an insect growth regulator, Mussen said.
Added to the mix were adjuvants -- pharmacological agents added to the
chemicals to increase their effect -- which seemed to get into the
bees' food cycle and cause significant problems for bee broods, he
said. "All this new chemistry is staying way far ahead of us," he
said.
Perhaps contributing to the deaths of young bees were "starvation
conditions" after the almond bloom that may have caused some bees to
start cannibalizing their broods, Traynor said.
"It's very confusing as to what the problem actually was," he said.
Some bee producers, including Palo Cedro, California-based Wooten's
Golden Queens, removed their bees from orchards early enough that they
weren't affected. "We got out of there before all of this crazy stuff
started going on," co-owner Glenda Wooten said.
The latest die-off comes as the mysterious malady known as colony
collapse disorder has been decimating 1/3rd of the nation's honeybees
virtually every year since 2006, according to UC-Davis. While some
environmentalists have been quick to blame pesticides for the
die-offs, researchers have cited many other contributing factors,
including malnutrition, drought and inclement weather and climate
change.
Honeybees are shipped in from around the country to service
California's 800 000 acres of almond groves. A warm winter ignited an
early and vibrant almond blossom in February 2014, and beekeepers said
they had just enough bees to meet this year's [2014] contracts and
that their colonies were in good health.
The length of time the bees are deployed can be a point of contention
between beekeepers and growers, industry insiders said. However, bee
producers weren't necessarily in as much of a hurry this year [2014]
to move on from almonds, since there weren't as many other flowers
available because of the state's drought.
Mussen said it isn't necessary to keep bees around until the last
pedals fall, and it could actually leave them scrambling for
nourishment. While bees are present, Mussen advises growers to avoid
contaminating pollen or collectors with their applications, perhaps by
spraying in the afternoon or early evening after the bees had
completed their work.
[Byline: Tim Hearden]
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail from HealthMap Alerts
<[log in to unmask]>
[Recent research (see post 20120330.1085129) suggested that pesticides
were linked to the bee's colony collapse disorder. An even more recent
finding (post 20130728.1850594) showed that fungicides are implicated
in disease-driven bee mortalities. As stated in the article, a number
of contributing factors may be decimating bees.
For a HealthMap of the affected area, go to
<http://healthmap.org/r/awCT>. - Mod.PMB]
[See Also:
Colony collapse disorder, apis: possible cause 20140123.2227390
2013
----
Undiagnosed die-off, apis - Canada: (ON) pesticide susp
20130816.1884358
Parasite susceptibility, apis - USA: fungicides 20130728.1850594
2012
----
Colony collapse disorder, apis (03): pesticide link? 20120330.1085129
Colony collapse disorder, apis (02): Europe, poss. insecticide link
20120320.1075187
Colony collapse disorder, apis: USA, susp. cause 20120106.1001363
2010
----
Colony collapse disorder, apis - USA: possible cause 20101007.3635
Colony collapse disorder, apis - Europe: EU 20100915.3348
2009
----
Colony collapse disorder, apis - USA: cause 20090826.3008
Colony collapse disorder, apis - USA: multiple causes susp
20090731.2687
2008
----
Colony collapse disorder, apis - Germany: chemical ban 20080613.1868
2007
----
Colony collapse disorder, apis - USA: (FL) 20071026.3490
Undiagnosed die-off, apis - USA (Multistate) (03): agent identified
20070907.2960
Undiagnosed die-off, apis - USA : (Multistate) (02) 20070503.1436
Undiagnosed die-off, apis - USA : (Multistate) (02) 20070503.1435
Undiagnosed die-off, apis - USA (Multistate) 20070208.0497]
.................................................sb/pmb/msp/mpp
***********************************************
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