[Pollinator] Oregon Department of Agriculture confirms deaths due to application of insecticide known as Safari

[Scott Black]

June 21, 2013



For Immediate Release



Pesticide Causes Largest Mass Bumble Bee Death on Record



Oregon Department of Agriculture confirms deaths due to application of
insecticide known as Safari



Contacts:



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



Mace Vaughan, Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, 503-753-6000,
<mailto:mace at xerces.org> mace at xerces.org





Wilsonville, OR:  Scientists investigating the mass death of bumble bees in
Wilsonville, Oregon say that pesticides are the most likely cause. The
incident first came to light on Saturday when shoppers at a Target store
reported finding tens of thousands of dead bees in the store$B!G(Bs parking lot.
News quickly spread to the Portland-based Xerces Society for Invertebrate
Conservation, a group known for their international bee conservation work,
who launched an investigation.



$B!H(BWe immediately contacted the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) and
asked them to test the bees for pesticide poisoning,$B!I(B said Mace Vaughan,
the Xerces Society$B!G(Bs Pollinator Conservation Director. $B!H(BTo our knowledge,
this incident is the largest mass poisoning of bumble bees ever documented,
and thankfully ODA is taking the issue very seriously.$B!I(B



Large-scale deaths of domestic honey bees have been reported in recent
years, but among wild pollinators, documented poisoning incidents of this
scale are largely unprecedented, according to experts. $B!H(BWild bees are
killed all the time in agricultural fields where nobody sees it happen,$B!I(B
said Vaughan. $B!H(BThe fact that this happened in an urban area is probably the
only reason it came to our attention.$B!I(B



After interviewing the landscaping company that maintains dozens of
ornamental trees around the Target parking lot, ODA investigators learned
that the pesticide Dinotefuran had recently been applied. Investigators
confirmed that Dinotefuran, sold under the trade name $B!F(BSafari,$B!G(B belongs to
a class of insecticides called neonicotinoids that have been linked to bee
deaths in recent years.



Rich Hatfield, a biologist with the Xerces Society, estimates that over
50,000 bumble bees were killed, likely representing more than 300 wild
colonies. $B!H(BEach of those colonies could have produced multiple new queens
that would have gone on to establish new colonies next year. This makes the
event particularly catastrophic.$B!I(B



ODA has confirmed that the bee deaths are directly related to a pesticide
application on the linden trees conducted last Saturday, June 15 to control
aphids. The pesticide product Safari was used in that application. Safari,
with its active ingredient dinotefuran, is part of a group of insecticides
known as neonicotinoids. According to investigators, the insecticide was
originally applied to control aphids, which secrete a sticky residue while
feeding, and can be a nuisance to parked cars. Dinotefuran and other
neonicotinoids are a relatively new group of insecticides that are
long-lasting in plant tissues. Because of this, the scientists are now
concerned about whether the trees will still be toxic next year when they
flower again. Emergency measures to prevent further bee deaths were taken
today by staff from the ODA, Xerces, and the City of Wilsonville. By the end
of the day all of the trees will be covered with large nets to prevent
bumble bees and other pollinators from reaching the flowers.



Scott Black, executive director of the Xerces Society, noted that the
pesticide was applied to the tree while it was flowering, an action that
violates the product$B!G(Bs instructions. $B!H(BBeyond the fact that a pesticide was
applied to plants while they were attracting large numbers of bees, in this
case the pesticide was applied for purely cosmetic reasons. There was no
threat to human health or the protection of farm crops that even factored
into this decision.$B!I(B



Investigators learned of the poisoning-the largest of it$B!G(Bs kind ever
recorded-on the first day of National Pollinator Week, an annual symbolic
event that is intended to raise awareness about the plight of bees, and
their role in the environment.









_______



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

 <https://webmail.integra.net/src/compose.php?send_to=sblack%40xerces.org>
sblack at xerces.org

Tel: (503) 232-6639 ext. 101

Toll free: 1-855-232-6639 ext. 101

Cell: (503) 449-3792

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The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation is an international
nonprofit organization that protects wildlife through the conservation of
invertebrates and their habitat.

To join the Society, make a contribution, or read about our work, please
visit  <http://www.xerces.org/> www.xerces.org.



Buy our best-selling book:


<http://www.xerces.org/announcing-the-publication-of-attracting-native-polli
nators/> Attracting Native Pollinators. Protecting North America$B!G(Bs Bees and
Butterflies





From: pollinator-bounces+sblack=xerces.org at lists.sonic.net
[mailto:pollinator-bounces+sblack=xerces.org at lists.sonic.net] On Behalf Of
Retha Meier
Sent: Friday, June 21, 2013 7:04 AM
To: $BG$=!z5(B; wanghong; Lincoln P. Brower; Pollinator List-serv; Jennifer
Tsang; Leonard Thien; tsage at botany.utoronto.ca; Gerardo Camilo; Bee United
Subject: [Pollinator] Mead's Milkweed Report



Dear Colleagues:



Attached please find our final three year report on research we completed on
Mead's milkweed. Our plans are to publish a paper based upon our results
from this project in the near future. Our findings on the presence of fungi
may have far reaching implications on the conservation of this rare and
endangered plant species.



Sincerely,



Retha Edens-Meier and Peter Bernhardt

Saint Louis University

St. Louis, MO

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