[Pollinator] Bumblebee die-off in Eugene under investigation

[Matthew Shepherd]

From: Statesman Journal

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/tech/science/environment/2014/06/18/bumblebee-die-eugene-investigation/10804135/

*Bumblebee die-off in Eugene under investigation*

Tracy Loew, Statesman Journal 7:24 a.m. PDT June 19, 2014



Oregon regulators are investigating the first mass bee die-off of the year.

Residents of a north Eugene apartment complex found sidewalks littered with
dead and dying bees on Tuesday, said Rose Kachadoorian, pesticide
regulatory specialist for the state Department of Agriculture. The
residents said trees at the complex had been sprayed on Monday.

An ODA investigator was at the site Wednesday collecting bees, tree leaves
and flowers for testing, Kachadoorian said.

"We will consider this a number one priority," she said.

The bees may have died from misapplication of pesticides, but there could
be natural causes as well, she said.

The incident comes during "National Pollinator Week," so designated by the
U.S. Senate seven years ago to raise awareness that bees, butterflies and
bats are necessary for 90 percent of flowering plants to reproduce.

Pollinators are responsible for one out of three bites of food that we eat,
the U.S. Department of Agriculture says. And both native and domesticated
populations are declining.

The incident also comes exactly a year after 50,000 dead bumblebees were
found in a Wilsonville Target parking lot, one of three incidents last
summer where a Portland-area company misapplied pesticides, killing
pollinators.

All of the cases involved neonicotinoids, a class of pesticides that can
harm bees if used improperly.

The Wilsonville die-off, one of the largest recorded nationwide, spurred
calls for tighter restriction of neonicotinoid pesticides and prompted the
Oregon Legislature to form a task force to study improving pollinator
health and avoiding similar incidents.

The Joint Interim Task Force on Pollinator Health will hold its first
meeting at 10:30 a.m. June 30 at the Capitol.

It will study pesticide regulation, public education and outreach, and best
practices for pesticide management. It is expected to submit a report to
the legislature by Oct. 1 that could recommend legislation for the 2015
session.

ODA also has been working on several fronts during the past year,
Kachadoorian said.

The state forced manufacturers to change the labels, as a condition of
Oregon registration, on 160 products containing two neonicotinoids –
dinotefuran and imidacloprid – to state that they can't be used on linden
trees, which causes a special danger to bees.

At least two companies, including Bayer, voluntarily made the changes
nationwide as a result, Kachadoorian said.

Oregon officials also worked with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
to change labels on more than 800 pesticide products nationwide.

The state has updated its pesticide applicator exam to include many more
questions about pollinator protection, Kachadoorian said. It has developed
outreach material, put out newsletter articles, and done presentations
about pollinator health.

"We really did respond to what happened last year," she said. "Everybody
was deeply concerned."

[image: Dead Bumblebees]

An Oregon Department of Agriculture sweeps up dead bumblebees in
Wilsonville on June 18, 2013.(Photo: Oregon Department of Agriculture)





________



*Matthew Shepherd*, Communications Director



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