1 of Publication30th Year Volume XXX, Number 9/10, September/October 2008 Pesticides and Honey Bee Colony Collapse Disorder By William Quarles Photo courtesy of Kathy Keatley Garvey bout one-third of all the food we eat requires animal polli- A nation, and most of our fruits, vegetables, and nuts are pol- linated by bees. Due to increased development, pesticides, and habi- tat destruction, native bees that pollinated many of our crops are in decline (Buchmann and Nabhan 1996). Crop production in the U.S. has shifted to large monocultures, pollinated almost entirely by com- mercially managed colonies of the honey bee, Apis mellifera. Large beekeepers transport thousands of bee colonies long distances to pro- vide crop pollination throughout the U.S. (USHR 2007; 2008; NAS 2007). Large numbers of bees are needed for pollination, and available colonies are overworked. About half University of California, Davis researcher and beekeeper Michael “Kim” the honey bees in the U.S. are Fondrk is shown tending bees in the Roy Gill almond orchard, Dixon, needed just to pollinate the 650,000 California. The boxes are beehives, and more than a million of these acre (263,000 ha) California almond colonies are needed to pollinate California almonds. crop. Honey bees are trucked like migrant workers into California for and Calderone 2000; Losey and This 45% reduction in honey bee the almond crop, then to Washing- Vaughn 2006). colonies has been a slow decline ton and Oregon for apples, to marked at points by disaster. Florida for citrus, and into the Disasters include widespread honey Northeast for blueberries. In transit, Decline of the Honey Bee bee deaths due to pesticides, mites, bees are fed poor diets of corn Despite our dependence on honey diseases, and recently, colony col- syrup and soy proteins. Pollination bees, we have lost about 45% of lapse disorder (see below). of diverse crops at a large number them over the past 60 years. of locations increases exposure to According to the USDA, there were pesticides, mites, and diseases 5.9 million colonies in 1947 and (Delaplane and Mayer 2000; USHR about 2.4 million today. However, In This Issue 2007; Cannell 2008; Covina 2007). since 1985, beekeepers with fewer Honey bee pollination is big busi- than five colonies have not been ness, and its crop value has been counted. This change results in an Honey Bee Collapse 1 estimated at $14.6 billion. If the undercount of about 0.86 million ESA Report 11 value of animals fed on forage crops colonies each year. So we have are added to the estimate, honey about 3.3 million colonies today, Calendar 12 bee pollination is worth about $19 and have lost at least 45% of our billion each year (NAS 2007; Morse bees (NAS 2007). 2 Update The first round of major losses mites. Exposure to these pesticides The IPM Practitioner is published six times was due to the careless use of pes- depresses bee immune systems and per year by the Bio-Integral Resource ticides, development, loss of forage, makes them even more susceptible Center (BIRC), a non-profit corporation undertaking research and education in inte- and other factors. Honey bee to varroa transmitted pathogens grated pest management. colonies declined from 5.9 million (Desneux et al. 2007; Morse 1975). Managing Editor William Quarles in 1947 to 4.1 million in 1972—a The mite-pesticide combination has Contributing Editors Sheila Daar loss of about 30%. This first crisis caused a drop from 4.2 million Tanya Drlik was mentioned by Rachel Carson in honey bee colonies in 1981 to 2.4 Laurie Swiadon Silent Spring (NAS 2007; Carson million colonies in 2005. This is a Editor-at-Large Joel Grossman 1962). In California alone, pesti- decline of about 43% using raw Business Manager Jennifer Bates cides killed about one million bee USDA data. When this figure is cor- Artist Diane Kuhn colonies between 1966 and 1979. rected for a change in USDA count- Large numbers of bees were killed ing methodology in 1985, the esti- For media kits or other advertising informa- by organochlorine, carbamate, mate of colony losses due to pesti- tion, contact Bill Quarles at 510/524-2567, [email protected]. pyrethroid, and organophosphate cides and mites is 22% (NAS 2007). pesticides. In the 1970s, farmers Advisory Board George Bird, Michigan State Univ.; Sterling adjusted application methods to Pesticide Resistance Bunnell, M.D., Berkeley, CA ; Momei Chen, help protect bees. Efforts were Pesticide treatments were effective Jepson Herbarium, Univ. Calif., Berkeley; made to restrict pesticide applica- for a time, but varroa mites are now Sharon Collman, Coop Extn., Wash. State tions while crops are in bloom, and Univ.; Sheila Daar, Daar & Associates, resistant to both fluvalinate and Berkeley, CA; Walter Ebeling, UCLA, Emer.; during times when honey bees are coumaphos. Replacement pesti- Steve Frantz, Global Environmental Options, actively foraging. However, residual cides, including biocontrol fungi Longmeadow, MA; Linda Gilkeson, Canadian pesticides have undoubtedly kept Ministry of Envir., Victoria, BC; Joseph have been studied, but have not Hancock, Univ. Calif, Berkeley; Helga bees under stress (NAS 2007; been widely adopted. Many experts Olkowski, William Olkowski, Birc Founders; Atkins 1992; Johansen 1977; Morse believe that IPM management, George Poinar, Oregon State University, 1975). Corvallis, OR; Ramesh Chandra Saxena, including resistant queens may be ICIPE, Nairobi, Kenya; Ruth Troetschler, PTF necessary in the future (Baxter et Press, Los Altos, CA; J.C. van Lenteren, Mites and Pesticides al. 1998; Delaplane et al. 2006; Agricultural University Wageningen, The Netherlands. Disaster struck again in the Oliver 2007; Elzen and Westervelt 2002; NAS 2007). Manuscripts 1990s. The weakened bees were The IPMP welcomes accounts of IPM for any attacked starting in 1984 by the Other stresses contributing to pest situation. Write for details on format for trachael mite, Acarapis woodi, and U.S. honey bee decline include manuscripts or email us, [email protected]. by the “vampire mite” Varroa invasion of Africanized bees in Citations destructor in 1987. Tracheal mites 1990, pathogens such as Nosema The material here is protected by copyright, and Paenibacillus larvae, and pests and may not be reproduced in any form, interfere with bee respiration. either written, electronic or otherwise without Varroa mites are lethal to a colony such as the small hive beetle, written permission from BIRC. Contact because they interfere with repro- Aethina tumida, and the wax moth, William Quarles at 510/524-2567 for proper Galleria melonella (NAS 2007; publication credits and acknowledgement. duction and carry pathogens that infect and destroy the bees. Bee lar- Quarles 1994). Subscriptions/Memberships vae and pupae are parasitized, and A subscription to the IPMP is one of the bene- fits of membership in BIRC. We also answer those that live to become adults are Massive Losses of Bees pest management questions for our members weakened. They are starved, show- In the last ten years, we have and help them search for information. Memberships are $60/yr (institutions/ ing low weight, low serum proteins, seen large, dramatic losses of honey libraries/businesses); $35/yr (individuals). severe wing deformations, and bees both in the U.S. and else- Canadian subscribers add $15 postage. All reduced longevity. Varroa infesta- other foreign subscribers add $25 airmail where. Massive honey bee deaths postage. A Dual membership, which includes tions are fatal to a colony within six have been seen in France, a combined subscription to both the IPMP months if untreated, and honey bee Germany, Belgium, and the UK. and the Common Sense Pest Control Quarterly, costs $85/yr (institutions); $55/yr colony losses of 30-80% were seen Problems were first noticed in (individuals). Government purchase orders in some states in 1995-1996 (NAS France in 1994. Beekeepers there accepted. Donations to BIRC are tax- 2007; Sammataro et al. 2000; blamed the sudden deaths on deductible. FEI# 94-2554036. Benjamin and McCallum 2008). Gaucho®, a new systemic pesticide The mites were bad, the reaction with the active ingredient imidaclo- Change of Address also bad. Beekeepers treated mite When writing to request a change of address, prid. Gaucho was used to protect please send a copy of a recent address label. infestations with pesticides intro- sunflower seeds against pests. © 2008 BIRC, PO Box 7414, Berkeley, CA duced directly into the hive. First, Treated seeds grow into sunflowers 94707; (510) 524-2567; FAX (510) 524-1758. the pyrethroid tau-fluvalinate containing imidacloprid in flowers All rights reserved. ISSN #0738-968X (Apistan®), then the organophos- (8 ppb), pollen (3 ppb) and nectar phate coumaphos (CheckMite®) (1.9 ppb). Perhaps coincidentally, were used to control the parasitic the French honey bee population IPM Practitioner, XXX(9/10) September/October 2008 2 Box 7414, Berkeley, CA 94707 3 Update started to crash as the treated sun- flowers began to bloom and nectar Photo courtesy of Kathy Keatley Garvey began to flow. The manufacturer denied that there was any relation- ship between seed treatments and deaths of the bees (Bonmatin et al. 2005; Schmuck et al. 2001). Bees in France had definitely been exposed to pesticides. One study used traps to collect pollen samples at 125 widely separated colonies throughout the country. They analyzed for 36 different pesti- cides and found residues of 19, including fipronil, imidacloprid, car- baryl, aldicarb, cypermethrin, chlorpyrifos and others. Pesticides found in largest concentrations were coumaphos and tau-fluvali- nate—the chemicals used to treat varroa mite infestations. The most A honey bee is headed toward an almond blossom. Honey bee frequent residues found were imida- pollination is essential for the California almond crop. cloprid (49.4%), imidacloprid metabolites (44.4%), and fipronil (12.4%). Imidacloprid or its Baden-Wurttemberg were killed.