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<DIV>FYI. A new rule pertaining to insecticide applications is in effect
in<BR>Iowa. Read as your interest level
dictates…·´<BR><BR>Background:<BR>An Administrative rule was created in 1979 to
protect bees from<BR>applications of an emerging insecticide, Penncap M, which
appeared to be<BR>quite deadly to bees. Under this rule, applicators must
give 24-72 hour<BR>notice to beekeepers with registered hives/bee yards within
two miles of<BR>pending application of insecticides labeled as toxic to
bees. Why? So<BR>beekeepers could move their bees, or shut up the
hive, to keep the bees<BR>form foraging in freshly sprayed during critical
times. The ultimate<BR>goal was communication, hopefully resulting in
fewer pesticide-bee<BR>issues.<BR><BR>Fast forward through the decades … thanks
to soybean aphids, etc., we<BR>are seeing much higher levels of applications of
insecticides labeled as<BR>toxic to bees on soybeans than ever
before. The 1979 rule was archaic,<BR>created in a time before answering
machines, cell phones and email. The<BR>real ‘bug in the system’ was the
defining of notification. Applicators<BR>wanted to know if leaving a
message constituted notification. If a<BR>beekeeper never called the
applicator back, did that count as<BR>notification? What if the beekeeper
never received a message? Etc.<BR><BR>The issue is further complicated by
what a beekeeper could really do to<BR>protect the hive(s) once notification was
made. Moving them to another<BR>area may not keep the bees away from
insecticides, never mind that hives<BR>and supers can weigh 300+ pounds when
full – thus creating a secondary<BR>movement issue. Shutting the bees in
the hives created more problems<BR>for bees on hot days. Many beekeepers
told us that they ask the<BR>applicator to apply the insecticides early in the
morning or late at<BR>night to avoid times of the day when bees are most
actively foraging.<BR><BR>The New Rule:<BR>The new rule does away with the pesky
notification issue and cuts to the<BR>heart of the matter - - application of
insecticides labeled as toxic to<BR>bees by commercial applicators shall only
applied before 8 AM and/or<BR>after 6 PM when within one mile of registered
hive(s).<BR><BR>And finally …We believe that only a quarter, or maybe a third,
of the<BR>hives in Iowa are registered. – ONLY registered hives (via the
Iowa<BR>Sensitive Crops
Database,<BR>http://www.iowaagriculture.gov/Horticulture_and_FarmersMarkets/sensitiveCropDirectory.asp<BR>)
are afforded the protection offered by the limited spray window in the<BR>bee
rule. Yes, we hope this rule action increases registered hives,<BR>since we
inspect registered hives.<BR>- - - -<BR><BR><BR>Robin Pruisner<BR>State
Entomologist & Entomology and Plant Science Bureau Chief<BR>Iowa Department
of Agriculture & Land Stewardship<BR>515—725—1465<BR>515—231—4481
mobile<BR>Robin.Pruisner@IowaAgriculture.gov<BR><BR></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT lang=0 face="Gill Sans MT" size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
PTSIZE="10"><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>Laurie Davies Adams<BR>Executive
Director<BR><B>Pollinator Partnership </B><BR>423 Washington Street, 5th
floor<BR>San Francisco, CA
94111<BR>415-362-1137<BR>LDA@pollinator.org</FONT><FONT lang=0 face=Arial
color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10"><BR><BR></FONT><FONT lang=0
face="Gill Sans MT" color=#0000ff size=4 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="14"><B><A
href="http://www.pollinator.org/">www.pollinator.org</A></B></FONT><FONT lang=0
face="Gill Sans MT" color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
PTSIZE="10"></B><BR><A
href="http://www.nappc.org/">www.nappc.org</A><BR><BR></FONT><FONT lang=0
face="Gill Sans MT" color=#000000 size=3 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
PTSIZE="12"><B><I>National Pollinator Week is June 22-28, 2009. <BR>Beecome
involved at <A
href="http://www.pollinator.org/">www.pollinator.org</A></I></FONT></B></DIV></FONT><br/><font style="color:black;font:normal 10pt arial,san-serif;"> <hr style="margin-top:10px"/><a href="http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100000075x1217883258x1201191827/aol?redir=http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;211531132;33070124;e">Great Deals on Dell Laptops. Starting at $499.</a></font></DIV></BODY></HTML>