[Pollinator] Scientists Call for an End to Cosmetic Insecticide Use After the Largest Bumble Bee Poisoning on Record
Scott Black
sblack at xerces.org
Thu Jun 27 07:32:55 PDT 2013
June 27, 2013
For Immediate Release
Scientists Call for an End to Cosmetic Insecticide Use After the Largest
Bumble Bee Poisoning on Record
Contacts:
Scott Hoffman Black, Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation,
503-449-3792, sblack at xerces.org
Mace Vaughan, Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, 503-753-6000,
mace at xerces.org
Portland, OR: After the mass poisoning of over 50,000 bumble bees last week
in Wilsonville, Oregon and other incidents now being reported in neighboring
Washington County, scientists are calling on local officials to ban the
cosmetic use of insecticides on city- and county-owned lands. The mass
poisoning is the largest event of its kind ever documented, with an
estimated impact on more than 300 wild bumble bee colonies.
According to Oregon Department of Agriculture, the poisoning occurred after
an insecticide was sprayed on linden trees to control aphids, which secrete
a sticky residue while feeding, making them a nuisance to parked cars. The
pesticide, dinotefuran (also known as Safari), belongs to a relatively new
and controversial group of chemicals called neonicotinoids. Because
neonicotinoids are long-lasting in plant tissues and can be found in flower
nectar and pollen, and because they have been implicated in the global
decline of honey bees, there have been growing concerns about their safety
for pollinators.
"The cost of losing pollinators far outweighs any value of controlling
aphids on ornamental plants," said Mace Vaughan, Pollinator Conservation
Director at the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. "After the
events of last week, and based on the overwhelming science demonstrating the
harm that these products can cause, we are calling on city and county
governments to immediately stop the damage."
The University of Minnesota's Dr. Marla Spivak, a leading global authority
on bee health, echoed Vaughan's sentiment. "The Oregon bee poisoning is a
clear warning. We have to stop pesticide use in cases where human health or
food security is not at risk."
Spivak points out that neonicotinoids are now the most widely used
insecticides in urban and agricultural areas. "They are long-lasting in soil
and they readily move into water. If the Oregon event is an indication of
what is happening more widely, we will begin to see catastrophic threats to
food security and the pollination of wild plants."
In response to these concerns, several local governments are taking action
to prevent further bee deaths. One of the most startling of these efforts
was the City of Wilsonville's leadership in wrapping the insecticide-laden
trees with netting last week to keep any more bees from dying. The City of
Eugene had previously publicly stated that they are no longer using
neonicotinoids on city properties. In May, Commissioners from Thurston
County, Washington unsuccessfully petitioned their state department of
agriculture (WDA) to restrict some uses of these chemicals in their county.
It is unclear whether WDA is now reconsidering their earlier rejection of
the Thurston County petition, which was initiated out of concerns for
pollinators such as honey bees and bumble bees.
The Xerces Society applauds the actions on the part of Wilsonville and
Eugene to protect bees, but says more needs to be done.
"It is time to take a stronger stance on pollinator protection. The European
Union has put restrictions in place on several neonicotinoids, and Ontario,
Canada has gone further and banned all pesticides for cosmetic use," said
Scott Hoffman Black, Executive Director of the Xerces Society. "We need a
similar response here."
Neonicotinoid insecticides, with active ingredients like imidacloprid,
dinotefuran, thiamethoxam, and clothianidin, can be purchased in most
hardware stores and nurseries under various trade names. As scientists like
Vaughan and Spivak point out, most have no warning labels to alert consumers
about the potential hazard to bees, butterflies and other beneficial
insects.
To help prevent future bee poisonings, the Xerces Society is calling for
changes to both regulations and consumer behavior.
"In terms of what we would like to see, legislators, regulators, and
municipal leaders across the country should ban the use of neonicotinoids
and other insecticides for cosmetic purposes," said Black. "At a broader
level, it is time for the Environmental Protection Agency to re-assess the
ecological safety of neonicotinoids and immediately suspend any product
registrations that were made with incomplete data."
Jennifer Hopwood, the lead author of the Xerces Society's report on the
risks of neonicotinoids to bees (
<http://www.xerces.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Are-Neonicotinoids-Killing
-Bees_Xerces-Society1.pdf> "Are Neonicotinoids Killing Bees") says that
there are also steps that individuals can take to avoid harming pollinators,
like checking to see if they have neonicotinoid products in their garage or
garden shed. "Consumers should know that they can return pesticides to the
store where they purchased them for safe disposal. Beyond that, when buying
garden plants, people should ask the store if insecticides have been used on
them. If staff can't tell you, I would shop somewhere else."
The Xerces Society will be following up with mayors, city councils and
county commissions across the US with formal letters asking them to take
action.
The Xerces Society recommendations include:
For municipalities
* Municipalities should stop using all neonicotinoid insecticides on
city- and county-owned property, including schools, parks and gardens.
* City and county governments should require that warnings be posted
alongside displays of these chemicals at hardware stores and nurseries.
* Legislators, regulators, and municipal leaders across the country
should ban the use of neonicotinoids and other insecticides for cosmetic
purposes on ornamental and landscape plants, like the ban now in force in
Ontario, Canada
(http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/environment/en/category/pesticides/index.htm).
For homeowners
* Do not buy products that contain neonicotinoids. A list of products
can be found at www.xerces.org/pesticides.
* Check to see if you have these products in your garage or garden
shed. If so, do not use them. Make sure you dispose of them properly or
take them back to the store where you bought them.
* When buying plants for your yard, ask if neonicotinoids have been
used on them. If staff cannot tell you, shop somewhere else.
For nursery and hardware stores
* Stores should proactively take action by pulling these toxic and
poorly labeled products from their shelves.
* At a minimum, display materials should be placed at point of sale so
that consumers know that these products kill bees and other beneficial
insects, and that they can cause plants to produce toxic nectar and pollen
months after treatment.
* Nurseries should list plants that have been treated with these
chemicals.
For the federal government
* The EPA should work with pesticide companies to add clear warnings
to homeowner and ornamental neonicotinoid insecticides that are toxic to
bees and other pollinators.
For insecticide companies
* Companies that make homeowner pesticide products that contain
neonicotinoids should add clear language to product labels highlighting that
these products are highly toxic to bees and other pollinators, and that
treatment to plants may result in nectar and pollen that are contaminated
with the insecticide and may kill bees and other pollinators.
_______
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
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Cell: (503) 449-3792
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