August 22, 2013
In this video, Sensitive Sites: Bees and Pollinators, Buzz Vance (above) from the Nebraska Department of Agriculture discusses challenges faced by Nebraska's bee population. Vance, a beekeeper himself, offers suggestions to help ag producers avoid bee kills. Craig Romary, also with NDA, discusses how to use DriftWatch to avoid contaminating vulnerable bee populations. The video was produced by the UNL Pesticide Safety and Education Program.
Figure 1. Watch for this bee advisory box which will now be included on pesticide products that contain imidacloprid, dinotefuran, clothianidin, and thiamethoxam.
In an effort to protect bees and pollinators, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced that when bees are present, the use of some pesticide products will be prohibited.
New bee advisories will appear on labels of pesticide products that contain imidacloprid, dinotefuran, clothianidin, and thiamethoxam. These active ingredients are part of the neonicotinoid group of insecticides.
The new labels will have a bee advisory box and icon designed to alert applicators to specific use restrictions and instructions to protect bees and other insect pollinators. The new box can be viewed in Figure 1 and more fully on EPA’s website. EPA will work with pesticide manufacturers to update future labels to reflect these changes.
Currently, pesticide products that are considered toxic to bees and other pollinators contain label language that informs applicators about bee toxicity. These labels also have precautions for applicators who may be applying pesticides when bees are foraging in the treatment area.
EPA’s new pollinator advisory box for these labels will include reminders that bees and other insect pollinators forage on plants when they are flowering, shedding pollen, or producing nectar. The label also will encourage applicators to minimize exposure of bees and other insect pollinators to this product when they are foraging on plants around the application site. Recommendations include minimizing drift to attractive habitat around the application site and being cautious of drift toward beehives.
Clyde Ogg, Erin Bauer, Jan Hygnstrom, and Pierce Hansen
UNL Pesticide Safety and Education Program
