[Pollinator] New Rule on Insecticide Applications in Iowa

[Ladadams at aol.com]

FYI.  A new rule pertaining to insecticide applications is in effect  in
Iowa.  Read as your interest level  dictates…·´

Background:
An Administrative rule was created in 1979 to  protect bees from
applications of an emerging insecticide, Penncap M, which  appeared to be
quite deadly to bees.  Under this rule, applicators must  give 24-72 hour
notice to beekeepers with registered hives/bee yards within  two miles of
pending application of insecticides labeled as toxic to  bees.  Why?  So
beekeepers could move their bees, or shut up the  hive, to keep the bees
form foraging in freshly sprayed during critical  times.  The ultimate
goal was communication, hopefully resulting in  fewer pesticide-bee
issues.

Fast forward through the decades … thanks  to soybean aphids, etc., we
are seeing much higher levels of applications of  insecticides labeled as
toxic to bees on soybeans than  ever  before.  The 1979 rule was archaic,
created in a time before answering  machines, cell phones and email.  The
real ‘bug in the system’ was the  defining of notification.  Applicators
wanted to know if leaving a  message constituted notification.  If a
beekeeper never called the  applicator back, did that count as
notification?  What if the beekeeper  never received a message?  Etc.

The issue is further complicated by  what a beekeeper could really do to
protect the hive(s) once notification was  made.  Moving them to another
area may not keep the bees away from  insecticides, never mind that hives
and supers can weigh 300+ pounds when  full – thus creating a secondary
movement issue.  Shutting the bees in  the hives created more problems
for bees on hot days.  Many beekeepers  told us that they ask the
applicator to apply the insecticides early in the  morning or late at
night to avoid times of the day when bees are most  actively foraging.

The New Rule:
The new rule does away with the pesky  notification issue and cuts to the
heart of the matter - - application of  insecticides labeled as toxic to
bees by commercial applicators shall only  applied before 8 AM and/or
after 6 PM when within one mile of registered  hive(s).

And finally …We believe that only a quarter, or maybe a third,  of the
hives in Iowa are registered.  – ONLY registered hives (via the  Iowa
Sensitive Crops  Database,
http://www.iowaagriculture.gov/Horticulture_and_FarmersMarkets/sensitiveCropDi
rectory.asp
)  are afforded the protection offered by the limited spray window in the
bee  rule. Yes, we hope this rule action increases registered hives,
since we  inspect registered hives.
- - - -


Robin Pruisner
State  Entomologist & Entomology and Plant Science Bureau Chief
Iowa Department  of Agriculture & Land Stewardship
515—725—1465
515—231—4481  mobile
Robin.Pruisner at IowaAgriculture.gov

























































Laurie Davies Adams
Executive  Director
Pollinator Partnership 
423 Washington Street, 5th  floor
San Francisco, CA  94111
415-362-1137
LDA at pollinator.org

_www.pollinator.org_ (http://www.pollinator.org/) 

_www.nappc.org_ (http://www.nappc.org/) 

National Pollinator Week is June 22-28, 2009. 
Beecome  involved at _www.pollinator.org_ (http://www.pollinator.org/) 
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