Millions of honeybees killed in South Carolina

Talk about doing things the wrong way.
Instead of spraying when bees are not active, Dorchester County, South Carolina sprayed Sunday morning. And apparently neglected to tell farmers.
They mention collateral damage.
I call it negligence.

The pictures are heartbreaking: Millions of honeybees lie dead after being sprayed with an insecticide targeting Zika-carrying mosquitoes.

“On Saturday, it was total energy, millions of bees foraging, pollinating, making honey for winter,” beekeeper Juanita Stanley said. “Today, it stinks of death. Maggots and other insects are feeding on the honey and the baby bees who are still in the hives. It’s heartbreaking.”

wqad.com...


This poison was known to be toxic to bees.
It can also be a risk to aquatic and terrestrial wildlife...so the damage may not be final.
www.huffingtonpost.com...

Death came suddenly to Dorchester County, S.C. Stressed insects tried to flee their nests, only to surrender in little clumps at hive entrances. ....

Instead, the dead heaps signaled the killer was less mysterious, but no less devastating. The pattern matched acute pesticide poisoning. By one estimate, at a single apiary — Flowertown Bee Farm and Supply, in Summerville — 46 hives died on the spot, totaling about 2.5 million bees.

Walking through the farm, one Summerville woman wrote on Facebook, was “like visiting a cemetery, pure sadness.”

www.washingtonpost.com... s/
They claim they notified by putting something in the newspaper....ORLY????????????
Not many read the papers anymore.
Something more should have been done before spraying....

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

This makes me so sad. We don't take care of our planet and it's creatures. As evidenced by this, we don't even give them a second thought. If it's good for us, go with it. To hell with everything else.

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe


If an average citizen made this error there would be fines and possible prison. When the government does it, OOPS!

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

I really think this Zika hysteria is getting out of hand. We get in a panic every year about some new pandemic that is going to decimate the population and we end up chronically overreacting.

I believe the state of South Carolina hires local contract companies to do the Arial application (flying). So it is up to the contractors to follow the label law and required notifications. The contractors hold public health and pesticide licenses, IMO they should be revoked and their contracts null and voided. There is no excuse in applying pesticides that late in the morning, not just for the bees sake but for the other beneficial species.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

I agree, Whatever happened to the west Nile virus and the bird flu? A big panic and now you don't even hear about them anymore.

I just can't.......






As a gardener and honey bee devotee, this makes me really cranky and frustrated.

originally posted by: zazzafrazz
As a gardener and honey bee devotee, this makes me really cranky and frustrated.

I am growing a good amount of zucchinis and pumpkins this year and I usually like to cook the blossoms but there were so many bees this year I decided to not trim any of the flowers because I keep reading about how many bees are dying.

This pisses me off as well.

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

What's even scarier is that the spray is known to be harmful to humans during spraying (when it is most concentrated). I saw on local news interviews with residents who said their children were outside playing when this happened.

So far I have heard nothing about sick children... thankfully.

TheRedneck

Whatever happened to mosquito borne viruses almost being extinct in the early 70's? Oh wait! They banned DDT.

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

This was deliberate.

I don't know why, but people can't be that effing stupid!

a reply to: DBCowboy



Oh, yes they can.

TheRedneck

a reply to: TheRedneck

That sign is hilarious! We spayed the bees at our family picnic yesterday and it just made them more pissed off.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Dammit, this is very sad, should be criminal.
I just moved into new digs, there are some very overgrown patches of wildflowers. Like you, after seeing all the bumblebee's and honeybee's I decided to leave it alone.

What a bummer.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus
a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

I really think this Zika hysteria is getting out of hand. We get in a panic every year about some new pandemic that is going to decimate the population and we end up chronically overreacting.

I agree to a point. But I started to understand why they do this after researching the original HIV outbreaks in the US. For several years, the Reagan administration brushed off the rising number of HIV cases because it was thought to be a gay-related disease. At the time, it was usually referred to as GRID or "Gay-Related Immune Deficiency". It's both heartbreaking and infuriating to see the growing number of cases during those years and how govt would ignore it. 300 new cases here, 75 new cases there.

By the time the number of cases reached into the 10s and 100s of thousands, it was obviously too late to be contained. I honestly believe it could've been stopped in its tracks if govt would've taken it seriously back then.

As for the OP: It's definitely heartbreaking to see this. My Mom & my sister have organic urban gardens at their homes and there are a lot of bees out there (and mosquitos, wasps, hornets, flies, moths, and butterflies). I'd hate to see all of those suddenly die off, both because it would be a tragedy and because it would devastate their crops.

a reply to: carewemust

I'm not sure you care as much as you username suggests?
Please do not spray the damn bee's

Just when I think that I have seen a human do the stupidest thing I have ever seen. Along comes some over reacting idiot to prove there is no limit to human stupidity.

originally posted by: JIMC5499
Whatever happened to mosquito borne viruses almost being extinct in the early 70's? Oh wait! They banned DDT.

1. DDT also causes birth defects in humans and various other animal species. It was banned for good reason. Do a google search of "ddt birth defects" to see what I mean.

2. Mosquitos will always adapt, just as different vegetation has started adapting to common herbicides and things are adapting to penicillin.

a reply to: enlightenedservant

That research bit is just BS. The head of the EPA, at that time stated that if we can ban DDT we can ban anything.

originally posted by: DBCowboy

I don't know why, but people can't be that effing stupid!

Yeah....I think they can.
I see people that stoopid on a daily basis.

I can imagine the pilots wanted to get an extra hour or two of sleep....why spray at 4-5am.....who would know the difference....as an example.