This honey bee was found dying on a deck, so it was placed in this tulip where it died. It is suspected the bee was a victim of the insecticide known as neonics. Photo by Janice Johnson
An Oliver property owner who discovered a paralyzed honey bee is echoing calls from the Wilderness Committee to ban bee-killing insecticides.
“We found this bee shaking and dying on our deck,” said Janice Johnson, who took a photograph of the insect. “Is it a victim of neonicotinoids, the bee-killing insecticide deemed to have killed millions of bees?”
After giving the bee some water and maple syrup, Johnson and her son placed the bee in a tulip but were unable to revive it.
“Would our local orchardists and farmers care so little for our collective future to still use this spray?”
Neonicotinoids have been scrutinized for their possible ecological harm shortly after becoming common practice in the 1990s.
“Neonicotinoids (neonics) are now the most widely used class of pesticides in the world and are commonly applied to BC crops including cherries, blueberries, apples and corn,” reads a release from the Wilderness Committee.
“In addition to outright mortality at lower doses, neonics also cause serious sub-lethal impacts to bees. These include impaired memory and learning, disorientation and difficulties returning to the hive, reduced resistance to disease, and lower breeding success.”
But Glen Lucas, general manager of the BC Fruit Growers’ Association, said neonics are only problematic for bees at certain times of the year, and that farmers are cognizant of when to spray.
“It is important not to use neonics when bees are actively foraging,” he said. “The issues previously identified were for neonic use in field crops when bees were out foraging (especially dust from treated seed during planting). New procedures are in place to reduce this dust. In orchards, there is no such problem and no problems have been reported by bee keepers that I am aware of (and I am sure this issue would have been reported on, but the reporting on issues is limited to field crops).”
But regardless of internal mitigative practices, Johnson believes the government should legislate against neonics instead of relying on the discretion of farmers.
“There are always alternatives,” she said. “They might be a little bit more expensive but for the well-being of humanity it’s probably worth going the extra mile.”
By Dan Walton
