CATCH THE BUZZ - Movento and Ultor Pesticides Pulled

CATCH THE BUZZ

Two Stories from The Xerces Society and Pollinator Protection Big Win for Bees: Judge Pulls Pesticide

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NEW YORK (December 29, 2009) – A pesticide that could be dangerously toxic to America’s honey bees must be pulled from store shelves as a result of a suit filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Xerces Society. In an order issued last week, a federal court in New York invalidated EPA’s approval of the pesticide spirotetramat (manufactured by Bayer CropScience under the trade names Movento and

 

Ultor) and ordered the agency to reevaluate the chemical in compliance with the law. The court’s order goes into effect on January 15, 2010, and makes future sales of Movento illegal in the United States.

And, the reaction, from Bloomberg News…

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=awNvfcIKf4AY

Bayer ‘Disappointed’ in Ruling on Chemical That May Harm Bees

By Alan Bjerga

Dec. 29 (Bloomberg) -- A Bayer AG unit is “disappointed” by a U.S.

judge’s ruling that may prevent distribution of its spirotetramat insecticide, a spokesman said. Environmental groups say the chemical causes harm to honey bees.

U.S. District Court Judge Denise Cote on Dec. 23 ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to rescind approval for spirotetramat, which inhibits cell reproduction in insects. Cote said the EPA didn’t properly seek comments or publicize the review process. The judge in New York ordered the ruling stayed until Jan. 15 and sent the matter back to the EPA.

Spirotetramat, sold under various names including Movento, was approved for use in the U.S. last year, even though the agency was aware of its potential harm to bees, Cote said. The Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental organization in New York, and the Xerces Society, a Portland, Oregon, a wildlife conservation group, challenged the EPA’s actions.

The insecticide is fit for use and the ruling is based on EPA processes rather than product safety, Jack Boyne, a spokesman for Bayer CropScience LP, a unit of the Leverkusen, Germany-based company, said in a statement. The chemical “has shown excellent performance with regard to bee safety,” he said. Bayer is “evaluating our options”on how to respond to Cote’s ruling, he said.

Pest killers have been linked to honeybee colony collapse disorder, or mass deaths of the insects, which have been reported since 2006. Bees pollinate $15 billion of U.S. plants each year, according to the U.S.Department of Agriculture.

Viruses, mites, pesticides and poor bee treatment have been suggested as primary causes of the disorder, which has been reported in at least

35 states, as well as in Europe and Asia. The Bayer insecticide was approved in Australia in August, and the company said at the time that it also had been cleared for use in Canada and Austria.

Information provided by Eric Mader

National Pollinator Outreach Coordinator The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

The Xerces Society is an international nonprofit organization that protects wildlife through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitat. Our Pollinator Conservation Program works to support the sustainability and profitability of farms while protecting pollinator insects. To join the Society, make a contribution, or read about our work, please visit www.xerces.org.

 

This message brought to you by Bee Culture, The Magazine Of American Beekeeping. Watch this space, our web page, Brushy Mountain Bee Farm, and thedailygreen.com for registration information on our upcoming webinar on Urban Beekeeping.

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CATCH THE BUZZ - New Crop Loss Program Available for Honey Crops

CATCH THE BUZZ

New Supplemental Revenue Program Announced for 2008 Crop Losses, Including Honey

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WASHINGTON, Dec. 24, 2009 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that USDA has implemented the new Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments program (SURE) in accordance with the 2008 Farm Bill. Vilsack also encouraged producers to visit their USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) county office beginning on January 4, 2010, to participate in the program if they suffered crop production losses during the 2008 crop year. This includes loss of a honey crop.

"This program is an important component of the farm safety net and will provide financial assistance to producers who have suffered crop losses due to natural disasters," said Vilsack. "Producers will receive payments beginning in January, in time to help them with planning for next year's crop."

SURE provides crop disaster assistance payments to eligible producers on farms that have incurred crop production or crop quality losses. The program takes into consideration crop losses on all crops grown by a producer nationwide. SURE provides assistance in an amount equal to 60 percent of the difference between the SURE farm guarantee and total farm revenue. The farm guarantee is based on the amount of crop insurance and Non-insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) coverage on the farm. Total farm revenue takes into account the actual value of production on the farm as well as insurance indemnities and certain farm program payments.

To be eligible for SURE, producers must have suffered at least a 10 percent production loss on a crop of economic significance. In addition, producers must meet the risk management purchase requirement by either obtaining a policy or plan of insurance, under the Federal Crop Insurance Act or NAP coverage, for all economically significant crops. For 2008 crops, producers had the opportunity to obtain a waiver of the risk management purchase requirement through a buy-in provision. Producers considered socially disadvantaged, a beginning farmer or rancher, or a limited resource farmer may be eligible for SURE without a policy or plan of insurance or NAP coverage.

In addition to meeting the risk management purchase requirement, a producer must have a farming interest physically located in a county that was declared a primary disaster county or contiguous county by the Agriculture Secretary under a Secretarial Disaster Designation. Regardless of a Secretarial Disaster Designation, individual producers may also be eligible for SURE if the actual production on the farm is less than 50 percent of the normal production on the farm due to a natural disaster. For SURE, a farm is defined as all crops in which a producer had an interest nationwide.

There is a provision for loss of your honey crop due to some causes. An information file on causes not covered for loss of a honey crop can be found at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/Internet/FSA_File/sure_bkgder_122309.pdf

For more information on the new SURE program, please visit your local FSA county office or http://www.fsa.usda.gov, specifically at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/webapp?area=home&subject=diap&topic=landing

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CATCH THE BUZZ - How Bees Land

CATCH THE BUZZ

Final moments of bee landing tactics revealed

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Bee Supply Companies have for years sold a hive stand that had a slanted landing board. When asked why slanted, and why that particular slant, the answer has always been, that's the way it's always been. Perhaps there is a better reason.

Landing is tricky: hit the ground too fast and you will crash and burn; too slow and you may stall and fall. Bees manage their approach by monitoring the speed of images moving across their eyes. By slowing so that the speed of the looming landing pad's image on the retina remains constant, bees manage to control their approach. But what happens in the final few moments before touch down? And how do bees adapt to landing on surfaces ranging from the horizontal to upside-down ceilings? Flies land on a ceiling by simply grabbing hold with their front legs and somersaulting up as they zip along, but a bee's approach is more sedate. Mandyam Srinivasan, an electrical engineer from the Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland and the Australian Research Council's Vision Centre, knew that bees must be doing something different from daredevil flies. Curious to know more about bee landing strategies Srinivasan teamed up with Carla Evangelista, Peter Kraft, and Judith Reinhard from the University of Queensland, and Marie Dacke, visiting from Lund University. The team used a high-speed camera to film the instant of touch down on surfaces at various inclinations and publish their discoveries about bee landing tactics in The Journal of Experimental Biology on December 28 2009 at http://jeb.biologists.org.

First the scientists built a bee-landing platform that could be inclined at any angle from horizontal to inverted (like a ceiling), then they trained bees to land on it and began filming. Having collected movies of the bees landing on surfaces ranging from 0deg. to 180deg., and every 10deg. inclination between, Evangelista began the painstaking task of manually analysing the bees landing strategies, and saw that the bees' approach could be broken down into 3 phases.

Initially the bees approached from almost any direction and at any speed, however, as they got closer to the platforms, they slowed dramatically, almost hovering, until they were 16mm from the platform when they ground to a complete halt, hovering for anything ranging from 50ms to over 140ms. When the surface was horizontal or inclined slightly, the bees' hind legs were almost within touching distance of the surface, so it was simply a matter of the bee gently lowering itself and grabbing hold with its rear feet before lowering the rest of the body.

However, when the insects were landing on surfaces ranging from vertical to 'ceilings', their antennae were closest to the surface during the hover phase. The team saw that the antennae grazed the surface and this contact triggered the bees to reach up with the front legs, grasp hold of the surface and then slowly heave their middle and hind legs up too. 'We had not expected the antennae to play a role and the fact that there is a mechanical aspect of this is something that we hadn't thought about,' admits Srinivasan.

Looking at the antennae's positions, the team realised that in the final stages as the insects approached inverted surfaces, they held their antennae roughly perpendicular to the surface. 'The bee is able to estimate the slope of the surface to orient correctly the antennae, so it is using its visual system,' explains Srinivasan. But this is surprising, because the insects are almost completely stationary while hovering and unable to use image movement across the eye to estimate distances. Srinivasan suspects that the bees could be using stereovision over such a short distance, and is keen to test the idea.

Finally the team realised that bees are almost tailor made to land on surfaces inclined at angles of 60deg. to the horizontal. 'When bees are flying fast their bodies are horizontal, but when they are flying slowly or hovering their abdomen tilts down so that the tips of the legs and antennae lie in a plane that makes an angle of 60deg.' explains Srinivasan: so the legs and antennae all touch down simultaneously on surfaces inclined at 60deg. 'It seems like they are adapted to land on surfaces tilted to 60deg. and we are keen to find out whether many flowers have this natural tilt,' says Srinivasan.

Srinivasan is optimistic that he will eventually be able to use his discoveries in the design of novel flight control systems.

This article is published in the Journal Of Experimental Biology http://jeb.biologists.org

REFERENCE: Evangelista, C., Kraft, P., Dacke, M., Reinhard, J. and Srinivasan, M. V. (2010). The moment before touchdown: landing manoeuvres of the honeybee Apis mellifera. J. Exp. Biol. 213, 262‑270.

Full text of the article is available ON REQUEST. To obtain a copy contact Kathryn Knight, The Journal Of Experimental Biology, Cambridge, UK. Tel: +44 (0)7876 344333 or email kathryn@biologists.com

This message brought to you by Bee Culture, The Magazine Of American Beekeeping. Watch this space, our web page, Brushy Mountain Bee Farm, and thedailygreen.com for registration information on our upcoming webinar on Urban Beekeeping.

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CATCH THE BUZZ - Write In For A Langstroth Stamp

 

CATCH THE BUZZ

Langstroth's 200th Birthday- A Science Celebration

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Two hundred years after his birth in 1810, Rev. Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth, known as the “Father of American Beekeeping," will be honored, thanks, in part to the growing buzz of the sustainability movement. Langstroth's discovery of "bee space" and his invention of the movable-frame honey bee hive will be celebrated with a national network of exhibits, workshops and seminars and, with your help, perhaps a commemorative

U.S. postage stamp as well. Langstroth was employed as a tutor, a minister and a schoolmaster in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania in the 1830s and 1840s. Fascinated by their honeycomb, he began his beekeeping hobby with "two stocks of bees in common box hives." Before long he was exploring

the subject of beekeeping in depth. He observed his bees and sought to understand their ways in order to build better hive boxes which would allow him to combat the destructive wax moths, and collect surplus honey without harming the bees or damaging their wonderful honey comb.

 This is the essence of the scientific method. Those who might think that Langstroth was an unlikely scientist would be misunderstanding the role of science in our lives. The scientific method involves experiencing the world in which we live, responding to the curiosity that naturally resides inside us, devising a method of observing and recording, testing and confirming

our expectations, and evaluating the results we achieve. It is available and valuable to each and every one of us, just as it was to Langstroth. In the words of Thomas D. Seeley, Ph.D., Professor of Biology at Cornell University’s Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, “Without Langstroth's invention of the movable-frame hive, I'm sure that the honey bee would not have become the best studied insect on the planet.”

 Langstroth’s efforts gave us a way to raise large quantities of bees, keep them healthy and collect their honey in a truly sustainable way, without destroying their home. We all owe him a debt and the year 2010, his 200th birthday year is a great time to start repaying that debt in ways that benefit us all.

 The Down to Earth Project of the Science Friday Initiative • 4 West 43rd Street, NY, NY 10036

Step One in repaying our debt to Langstroth will be the study and appreciation of his efforts and what those efforts have yielded. Throughout the year 2010, the Down to Earth Program will be developing and coordinating a network of national workshops, exhibits and gatherings to teach and learn about the considerable science connected with the honey bee. There is so much more to what we will be doing in the next year to celebrate Langstroth's birthday, which I will describe at a later date. But I don't want to conclude this introduction before explaining Step Two.

 Step Two in repaying the debt we owe Langstroth would be to convince the U.S. Postal Service that we all deserve a commemorative postage stamp created in honor of his 200th birthday. It is my hope that the beekeeping community, anyone who enjoys honey, and everyone who appreciates all the foods we eat which would not be available without the work of the honey bee, will write a letter or sign a petition encouraging the U.S. Postal Service to honor Langstroth in this way at this special time.

Please spread the word. A flood of letters is necessary to convince the Postal Service how important Langstroth is to Americans across the country, and how a commemorative stamp would help him achieve the recognition he has so far been denied. The stamp is especially important at a time when honeybees are threatened by colony collapse disorder, and people all over the country, even in urban areas, are helping out by embracing beekeeping. Get everyone you know on board the postage stamp campaign, and have them tell their friends.

 The U.S. Postal Service Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee meets in January 2010, so please write a letter today. We need a pile of letters waiting for them when they arrive at their meeting. Letters sent directly to the Postal Service will be most effective. Below, please find the address to which people should send those letters. For those wishing to include their names on petitions which I will be preparing and submitting, as well as anyone who wishes to let me know they support this project, please send an email to me at LLL200@scifri.org and include your Zip Code so that we may know the breadth of our support. Or Write To: Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee c/o Stamp Development, U.S. Postal Service 1735 North Lynn St., Suite 5013Arlington, VA 22209-6432

 The Down to Earth Project of the Science Friday Initiative • 4 West 43rd Street, NY, NY 10036

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Apis Newsletter Template

Dear Subscribers,

I am just back from addressing the Colorado State Beekeepers Association.  Like others this group is going through a period of adjustment due to addition of new members and emergence of many urban beekeepers in the State.  I provided them some ideas concerning my reflections found in the shared vision statement I published some time back.    Ann Harman’s article this month is really appropriate to this discussion.  Read why it’s time for the East Cupcake Beekeepers to take a hard look at their governance issues.  I  also discussed the root causes of CCD and the honey standard, both found at the Apis web site.

I left Denver in snow flurries as a line of de-icing machines, complete with modified  cherry pickers, applied anti-freeze to all airplanes before taking off.  I got off just in time as  a blizzard descended on the Mile High City and then took off across the country’s midsection.  I returned to 78 degree weather in Jacksonville, but now we will experience temperatures in the mid 30s here tonight. Let’s hope our southern bees will not bee to hard pressed during this cold front.

Florida is gearing up for the new year with the North American Beekeeping Conference coming to Orlando, January 12-16.  This is a mega meeting with most of the alphabet soup organizations attending from both the  U.S. and Canada, including AAPA and ABRC, CAPA, CHC, AIA, etc.   See details at the revamped ABF web site.  Advance registration is available through the rest of December.

There’s a lot of buzz about the proposed L.L. Langstroth postage stamp. Please write to the Stamp Advisory Committee, directly. Tell them: "LL Langstroth, the Father of American Beekeeping, deserves a commemorative stamp." If everyone could get 3 other people to send a letter to the Postal Service imagine the flood of letters. Citizen's Stamp Advisory Committee c/o Stamp Development U.S. Postal Service 1735 North Lynn Street Suite 5013 Arlington, VA 22209-6432 Want to know more? Check out these links: Patent #9300 LL Langstroth's 200 Birthday Celebration Send a Letter OR Send an Email. Or for the biggest impact, do BOTH!” http://scifri.org/dte/about/projects/bee-science/postage-due/

Bee City is for sale for $375,000, if it hasn’t sold already.  Retire to South Carolina in style see: http://www.beecity.net/ (in this market probably the biggest problem would be financing—cash is king right now)

Fran Bach reports that the Western Apicultural Society now has a home page complete with past issues of its newsletter .  The next WAS conference will be in Salem, Oregon at the end of August 2010, with Dewey Caron driving it. Stay tuned for more details as they emerge.  This now makes a trifecta of EAS, HAS and  WAS for training beekeepers.

It’s time to circle the wagons as more and more beekeepers begin to have problems keeping bees in Urban areas.  I am making a list of what municipalities indeed have both bee friendly and bee unfriendly ordinances.  The idea is that any fight to legalize beekeeping should not be a local thing, but something that might better be nation wide.  There’s more strength in numbers.  So send me the name of the community you keep bees in and what is the current status.  Also include a copy of any ordinance that specifically states whether beekeeping is legal or not and why.  This will begin to provide the ammunition for a country wide-effort to legalize beekeeping everywhere.  As an example, check out Ypsilanti City.

All you beekeeping teachers out there take heed!  We no longer can say that Apis is an exotic genus introduced to the New World by Europeans.  :Engel, et al., found their bee, which they named Apis nearctica, in a fourteen-million-year-old shale formation in the Stewart Valley Basin in west-central Nevada. The remains were partially disarticulated, but enough components were there that it could be diagnosed as a honey bee. A. nearctica closely resembles a contemporary species from Germany, Apis armbrusteri. It was found in company with fossil ants and wasps, one group of which is characteristic of forested environments.

‘Since only one specimen was found, we can’t know whether A. nearctica was social or solitary. But its European relative A. armbrusteri was represented by a swarm of workers that had succumbed to carbon dioxide at a hot spring. (Ludwig Armbruster, an arch-category splitter, described a number of separate species based on variations among the bees and named them after his friends and colleagues. Later researchers decided they were all the same kind of bee.)

‘Two questions come to mind: how did A. nearctica get to Nevada, and what happened to it? Through geological time, North America has had land connections with both Asia and Europe. During the Miocene epoch, when A. nearctica was extant, only the route from Asia—an early version of Beringia—was open.

EPA (in cooperation with Oregon State University) has launched a new portal for the reporting of ecological incidents related to pesticides, through their "National Pesticide Information Center" website. This is an effort by the Office of Pesticide Programs to improve the quantity and quality of incident data they receive for pesticides, so please check it out, use it, and get the word out to other interested parties!

Editor Flottum writes: “WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has rolled out proposed guidance for new pesticide labeling to reduce off-target spray and dust drift. The new instructions, when implemented, will improve the clarity and consistency of pesticide labels and help prevent harm from spray drift. The agency is also requesting comment on a petition to evaluate children’s exposure to pesticide drift.

“The new label statements will help reduce problems from pesticide drift,” said Steve Owens, the assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances. “The new labels will carry more uniform and specific directions on restricting spray drift while giving pesticide applicators clear and workable instructions.” 
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Gleanings from the December 2009 Bee Culture

Lynn Kallus, Merry Point, VA agrees with  Jim Tew and is about to intentionally annoy her neighbors and friends.  John  Koster writes that the Allendale NJ Borough Council voted unanimously in October to rescind a ban on apiaries.  Joe Traynor says that guttation is the latest buzz in beekeeping circles and was discussed at Apimondia 09 in France  .  LeRoy Miller, Jr. Galion, OH asks about winter cover as described by Dave Hemendinger in the October 09 issue.

Sky and Basil Campbell, Athens, GA suggest more research be done on organic beekeeping methods by those studying this area.  Peter Leighton, Jackson, NJ suggests a way to increase genetic diversity.  Peter Smith, Great Missenden, England sends a great picture of a wasp nest in his attic complete with wasps; a thing of beauty he says.  Joe Fitzpatrick, Blue Bell, PA suggests different placement of small hive beetle refugia traps.  Jim Cowan, Aberdeen, WA asks if bees are getting gentler; his experiences show they are.  Enos Miller, Ogdensburg, NY decides he likes 1/8 inch mesh for bottom boards rather than ¼ inch. 

David Bancalari, Norfolk, England is looking for a diseased comb and a web developer; for details, e-mail david@bnacalari.fslife.co.uk. John Hoffman, Mt. Holly Springs, PA uses a mirror to check his brood chamber via an open bottom board.  A Concerned Reader urges caution for Lyme disease; if one feels fatigued seek a physicians advice as if caught early the disease can be treated.  Robert Helmacy, Hop Bottom, VA is concerned that CCD articles do not point directly to neonicotinoids (imidacloprid and others in the same class).  This concern nets a response from Editor Flottum concerning the complex nature of CCD.

Postage Due, celebrating honey bee science with the 200th birthday of L.L. Langstroth, indicates that a flood of letters is needed to the U.S. Postal Service Service Citizens’ Stamp Committee for their January meeting.  Write CSAC, c/o Stamp Development, U.S. Postal Service,  1735 North Lynn St., Arlington,  VA 22209-6432 and also e-mail: lll2000@scifri.org.

New for the beekeeper is Beekeeping 101 by Dana Stahlman, ISBN 9780984275304; bulk orders from stahlmanapiaries@aol.com.  The 90-minute documentary, The Vanishing Bees looks to open pretty soon and is being marketed to bee clubs; $100 nets five copies to be sold or given away.  Bee-Pro Max patties are being offered by Mann Lake Supply, http://www.mannlakeltd.com and the IBRA publishes a number of volumes, including Anatomy and Dissection of the Honey Bee, Beekeepers Protective Clothing and Skeps, Tools and Accessories, http://www.ibrastore.org.uk.
  
Clarence Collison takes a closer look at Varroa and small hive beetles a virus vectors.  Read how both organisms are culpable.
Reed Johnson discusses When Varroacides Interact, a heretofore little studied situation that has big implications.  Read  the situation surrounding P450 detoxification and what happens when you mix chemicals as humans sometimes have with catastrophic results (Tylenol and excessive alcohol).

Dan Stiles set up a camera system with motion detector in his back yard.  Look at some  of the images that resulted.

Larry Connor looks at bee biology and how it effects colony management.  Read his analysis of pollen foraging and use by bees, nectar collection, water collection and even resin collection.

Ross Conrad says there are two approaches to requeening, actively doing so as part of management or letting nature take its course. Read how Mr. Conrad confesses he has never re-queened  a colony because he basically simply lets the bees do it.

Allen Lassiter describes producing queens in North Carolina.  He looks at Spring Bank Apiaries as an example of a growing number of “micro-breeders.” Read why timing is so essential in this activity.

Jill Jonnes describes the Paris Beekeeping School.  See pictures of beekeepers in the Jardin de Luxembourg in the 6th Arrondisement. See another discussion  at the old Apis Newsletter site.

Jim Tew has jumbled thoughts at what new beekeepers should know about old beekeepers and vice versa. Read about penalties for today’s mistakes, changes in information technology and compartmentalization.  These are all part of a very new boat that is current beekeeping.

Melanie Kirby begins a several part series on integrated top-bar hive management.  Read how the Peace Corps experience in Paraguay in 1997 shifted her thinking and what that means for fusion of  both top-bar and Langstroth beekeeping technique.

Joe  Traynor discusses immunity and resistance in the honey bee world.  Read his prescription for maintaining healthy bee colonies.

Walt Wright objects to the double deep brood chamber for several reasons.  Read what configuration he uses and why.  See his point of view at http://www.beesource.com.

Ann Harman writes it’s time for a change.  Read what this means for governance of beekeeping associations.

Abbas Edun looks at acerola, aconite, and globe artichoke as natural remedies.  Read what each plant appears to be good for and how to use it.

Leonard Riepenhoff writes that to be a good beekeeper one must keep good records.  Read why diaries aren’t just for lovesick girls.

I met the Bottom Board guy, Ed Colby in Longmont, CO  this month.  He’s a unique individual to bee sure.  Check out this month’s contribution “Vandals In The Apiary,” as he searches for answers to this timeless problem.

Sincerely,


Malcolm T. Sanford
beeactor@apisenterprises.com
http://apis.shorturl.com

Bee sure to subscribe to Catch the Buzz, Bee Culture's latest releases of importance to beekeepers.  Also access the Apis Information Resource Center , which contains archived articles, listing of  posts on blogs, web sites, and links to related materials.  .

CATCH THE BUZZ - Spray Drift Comments Deadline Close

Because of the Importance of this message we have been asked to resend it to our subscribers. If you have not responded to the request to comment on the proposals EPA is suggesting for regulating pesticide spray drift please do so...the hive you save may be yours.... CATCH THE BUZZ   EPA Proposes New Pesticide Labeling to Control Spray Drift and Protect Human Health Protein feeding pays off with better bee health, better survival, better production, and better wintering.  Learn More. Find out What’s New At Mann Lake right Here WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has rolled out proposed guidance for new pesticide labeling to reduce off-target spray and dust drift. The new instructions, when implemented, will improve the clarity and consistency of pesticide labels and help prevent harm from spray drift. The agency is also requesting comment on a petition to evaluate children’s exposure to pesticide drift. “The new label statements will help reduce problems from pesticide drift,” said Steve Owens, the assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances. “The new labels will carry more uniform and specific directions on restricting spray drift while giving pesticide applicators clear and workable instructions.” The new instructions will prohibit drift that could cause adverse health or environmental effects. Also, on a pesticide-by-pesticide basis, EPA will evaluate scientific information on risk and exposure based on individual product use patterns. These assessments will help the agency determine whether no-spray buffer zones or other measures – such as restrictions on droplet or particle size, nozzle height, or weather conditions – are needed to protect people, wildlife, water resources, schools and other sensitive sites from potential harm. In addition to the draft notice on pesticide-drift labeling, EPA is also seeking comment on a draft pesticide drift labeling interpretation document that provides guidance to state and tribal enforcement officials. A second document provides background information on pesticide drift, a description of current and planned EPA actions, a reader’s guide explaining key terms and concepts, and specific questions on which EPA is seeking input. These documents and further information are available in docket EPA–HQ–OPP–2009–0628 at http://www.regulations.gov . In a second Federal Register notice, EPA is also requesting comment on a petition filed recently by environmental and farm worker organizations. The petitioners ask EPA to evaluate children’s exposure to pesticide drift and to adopt, on an interim basis, requirements for “no-spray” buffer zones near homes, schools, day-care centers, and parks. EPA will evaluate this new petition and take whatever action may be appropriate after the evaluation is complete. For further information and to submit comments, please see docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2009-0825 at http://www.regulations.gov . More information: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/factsheets/spraydrift.htm   This message brought to you by Bee Culture, The Magazine Of American Beekeeping,   Subscribe to Malcolm Sanford’s Apis Newsletter right here For a comprehensive listing of beekeeping events around the country and around the globe, check out Bee Culture’s Global Beekeeping Calendar

EZezine

Central Beekeepers Alliance : Central Beekeepers Meet 12 January 2010

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Central Beekeepers Meet 12 January 2010 Posted: 06 Dec 2009 07:46 AM PST Central Beekeepers will hold our regular monthly meeting on 12 January 2010 at the Agricultural Research Centre (see map). Tuesday, 12 January 2010 Central Beekeepers Alliance Meeting Agricultural Research Centre, Fredericton, NB 7:30 p.m. Visitors and new beekeepers are welcome. Central Beekeepers Meet 12 January 2010 comes from the Central Beekeepers Alliance of New Brunswick, Canada. For more information on Honey Bees and Beekeeping, please: * Visit http://cba.stonehavenlife.com * Subscribe to our RSS feed * Get free updates by e-mail

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CATCH THE BUZZ - Disaster Sign Up Due

CATCH THE BUZZ 

ELAP DISASTER PROGRAM APPLICATION DEADLINE DECEMBER 10, 2009

From the ABF Web Page, Dec 4, 2009

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Any beekeeper interested in applying for aid through the ELAP program – Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees and Farm-Raised Fish Program – must make application by December 10, 2009, at their County Farm Service Agency Office (FSA). This application covers losses in 2008 and in 2009 through September 10 for commercial colonies.

The ELAP continues until October 1, 2011. After this initial period, losses must be reported to FSA within 30 days of discovery.

The ABF Legislative Committee is working with USDA to improve the regulations; however, the deadline will stand and applications must be filed by the deadline in the beekeeper’s headquarters county. Interested beekeepers are urged to apply to meet the December 10 deadline, then work with the FSA office to perfect their claims as new instructions are developed in Washington.

Additionally, beekeepers must be enrolled in the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) to qualify for the ELAP.

Eligible losses are feed being raised for bees and losses of colonies or beehives. The feed losses must be for feed intended as feed for the producer’s bees. In either case, the losses must be due to adverse weather or other eligible loss condition.

To be eligible for a loss of bees due to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), the beekeeper must provide documentation to support that CCD was the cause. An acceptable document includes, but is not limited to, a CCD certification by a registered entomologist, Cooperative Extension specialist or Land Grant University.

The above is a general summary of the current regulations. More information is available from the FSA county office. The full regulations were published in the Federal Register on September 11, 2009, beginning on page 46665.

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CATCH THE BUZZ - New Pesticide Reporting Page available

 CATCH THE BUZZ

New Pesticide Abuse Reporting Page Available

by Kim Flottum

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Protein feeding pays off with better bee health, better survival, better production, and better wintering.  Learn More.

Find out What’s New At Mann Lake right Here

 

The EPA, in cooperation with Oregon State University, has launched a new portal for the reporting of ecological incidents related to pesticides, through their "National Pesticide Information Center" website. This is an effort by the Office of Pesticide Programs to improve the quantity and quality of incident data they receive for pesticides, so please check it out, use it, and get the word out to other interested parties!

The portal is not without a few problems. Pertinent information asked for on the 4 page query include the type of incident you wish to report...terrestrial, aquatic, both, for plants or bees.

They also want significant contact and location information, which makes sense, including your state and county, but also the number of affected entities, date observed, the weather when the event occured and a short overview of the event.

But here's the kicker, in my opinion...you need a significant amount of pesticide information...or they don't let you finish the report. They want the Product name and the active ingredient, and if possible the EPA Registration number (which is conveniently located on the label, in case you didn't know). They also want the formulation, evidence of misuse, how certain are you it was misused, and whether it was an aerial or ground spray.

I'm quite certain they want more, but since I didn't have the registration number, I couldn't get past that page on the report, so had to quit...This is a short coming on this what-could-have-been very useful report for beekeepers. Maybe product names and formulations and active ingredients and registration numbers are move available to people other than beekeepers. But when you find a dead hive you probably don't have ample opportunity to carefully read the label. Thus, this reporting device is meaningless. That is unfortunate.

To take a look at this report, and if you have a registration number, go to the web page below and make a report...

http://npic.orst.edu/eco

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This message brought to you by Bee Culture, The Magazine Of American Beekeeping,   

Subscribe to Malcolm Sanford’s Apis Newsletter right here

For a comprehensive listing of beekeeping events around the country and around the globe, check out Bee Culture’s Global Beekeeping Calendar