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Along the way, you can take a look at some fun facts and trivia about bees, provided by Pennsylvania Apiculture Inc., the nonprofit that runs National Honey Bee Day.
Label Requirements
Registrants of certain pesticides that have been deemed harmful to bees are required to include instructions on the labels to applicators on minimizing exposure to bees.
Affected products are those containing the neonicotinoids imidacloprid, dinotefuran, clothianidin, and thiamethoxam.
The labels must include a pollinator protection box following the environmental hazards section. The box includes a bee icon that may not be altered.
If you are selling pesticides, you should check that any pesticides you are offering for sale are registered and have the proper EPA-approved labels, including the label requirements for bees.
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Restrict Application When Crops Are in Bloom
The EPA recently proposed to prohibit the applications of pesticides that are highly toxic to bees when crops are in bloom and bees are under contract for pollination services. These restrictions would prohibit application of most insecticides and some herbicides (76 altogether) during bloom.
The proposed restrictions would apply to all products that have:
- Liquid or dust formulations as applied;
- Foliar use (applying pesticides directly to crop leaves) directions for use on crops; and
- Active ingredients that have been determined via testing to have high toxicity for bees (less than 11 micrograms per bee).
This proposal applies to farmers who have agricultural crops that are attractive to pollinators, beekeepers, or pesticides manufacturers. The proposal would also call for states to develop pollinator protection plans.
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Enforcement
Believe it or not, the EPA even has a website and an e-mail for reporting bee kills. The idea behind it is to help the Agency identify patterns of bee kills associated with the use of specific pesticides or active ingredients.
There is also a guidance for inspectors who are looking into reports of pesticide-related bee deaths. It applies to the death of “honey bees and other social bees,” but not to other more solitary bees that don’t build colonies or produce honey, such as alfalfa leafcutting bees.