[Pollinator] Mystery Bee Kill: Causes Being Sought

[Scott Black]

June 18, 2013

For Immediate release

Contact:  Scott Hoffman Black, Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation,
503-449-3792,  <mailto:sblack at xerces.org> sblack at xerces.org

For photos of the bees visit
<http://www.xerces.org/2013/06/18/mystery-bee-kill-causes-being-sought/>
http://www.xerces.org/2013/06/18/mystery-bee-kill-causes-being-sought/

Mystery Bee Kill: Causes Being Sought

Wilsonville OR: Tens of thousands of bumble bees and other pollinators were
found dead under trees at the Target store in Wilsonville on Monday, June
17th.  The discovery was a strange and ironic start to National Pollinator
Week, a symbolic annual event intended to raise public awareness about the
plight of bees. 

The massive bee kill was first documented on Monday by Rich Hatfield, a
conservation biologist with the Portland-based Xerces Society for
Invertebrate Conservation. Several shoppers at the store called him to
report that there were dead and dying bees all over the parking lot.
Specifically, the bees were clustered under dozens of European linden trees.
The Xerces Society is internationally known for their work on bee
conservation.   

"After several calls at the office I visited the Target store in Wilsonville
and found a parking lot full of dead bumble bees underneath blooming
European linden trees," said Rich Hatfield.  "They were literally falling
out of the trees. To our knowledge this is one of the largest documented
bumble bee deaths in the Western U.S. It was heartbreaking to watch."

The cause of the bee deaths in unknown but there are two possibilities:
acute pesticide poisoning, or a poisonous species of European linden tree. 

The Xerces Society contacted the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) who
responded by sending staff to collect samples of the bees and foliage from
the trees.  According to staff at the ODA, they will be working to determine
whether pesticides were used at the site.  

"We are very happy with the quick action by ODA to get to the site and
collect bees for testing," said Mace Vaughan, Pollinator Conservation
Program Director for the Xerces Society. "We are hopeful they will move
quickly to determine the cause of this catastrophe." 

Rich Hatfield estimated there were at least 25,000 dead bumble bees at the
site, a number that likely represents the loss of more than 150 colonies.
There were also dead honey bees, lady bird beetles and other beneficial
insects. Bumble bees are especially important to agriculture in western
Oregon, where they are considered vital pollinators of many berry crops and
Willamette Valley seed crops.

"If the trees are indeed toxic they should be cut down and replaced by
something that will provide non-toxic pollen and nectar for bees," said
Scott Hoffman Black, Executive Director at the Xerces Society. "On the other
hand, if pesticides are the cause, we need to spotlight this as a real-world
lesson in the harm these toxic chemicals are causing to beneficial insects.
It would be especially alarming to find out whether pesticides are the cause
in this case because the linden trees are not even an agricultural crop. Any
spraying that happened would have been done for purely cosmetic reasons."  

###

The Xerces Society is a nonprofit organization that protects wildlife
through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitat. Established in
1971, the Society is at the forefront of invertebrate protection worldwide,
harnessing the knowledge of scientists and the enthusiasm of citizens to
implement conservation programs. 

The Society uses advocacy, education, and applied research to defend
invertebrates.

Over the past three decades, we have protected endangered species and their
habitats, produced ground-breaking publications on insect conservation,
trained thousands of farmers and land managers to protect and manage
habitat, and raised awareness about the invertebrates of forests, prairies,
deserts, and oceans.

 

 

_______

 

Scott Hoffman Black

Executive Director

     The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

Chair

     IUCN Butterfly Specialist Group

 

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

628 NE Broadway, Suite 200, Portland, OR 97232, USA

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