Pesticide kill?

[Barry Digman]

I'm thinking this was pesticide. What else does this?


http://www.beesource.com/forums/show...410#post322410

[Jim Fischer]

Nothing else does that.

Steve Winwood of the group "Traffic" said it best back in the 1970s:
"Dont worry too much, it'll happen to you..."

[BEES4U]

Pesticide kill--probably. Vandels??

What is the closest agricultural flowers in bloom near your bees?

You may want to collect the bees and freeze them for future data.

You may want to check out another bee yard within 1-3 miles of your kill to see if their is a pattern. The dead bees on the hive floor indicates a rapid pesticide kill.

You may want to make the entrance smaller to prevent robbing.

Can you register the hive location so that you will be notified about pesticide applications in the future?
Regards,
Ernie Lucas Apiaries

[Chef Isaac]

Barry:

Looks like pesticides to me. Were the bees that were in there still alive, lathargic? had a good number of pesticide problems last year. My advice is to feed them a lot which will help get the population back.

[Barry Digman]

Pesticide kill--probably. Vandels??
What is the closest agricultural flowers in bloom near your bees?
You may want to collect the bees and freeze them for future data.
You may want to check out another bee yard within 1-3 miles of your kill to see if their is a pattern. The dead bees on the hive floor indicates a rapid pesticide kill.
You may want to make the entrance smaller to prevent robbing.
Can you register the hive location so that you will be notified about pesticide applications in the future?
Regards,
Ernie Lucas Apiaries

These are right on the edge of alfalfa. I'm pretty sure it's from someone spraying the alfalfa fields for weeds. The weeds were in bloom and the bees were on them. Lots of bees. I think they've already been robbed pretty well. I don't think there's any registering here. I don't even think there's an inspector any more in New Mexico. I did get a couple of baggies full of the dead bees.

What a bummer. These two little hives have toughed out all the other stuff and this was gonna be their year. The center medium was a swarm that was really rolling. Ah well...

[mike haney]

not herbicide that kills weeds. most likely pesticide for the alfalfa weevil. don't bet on the farmer admitting it. good luck,mike

[BEES4U]

http://news.ucanr.org/newsstorymain.cfm?story=46

Pesticide Use on Alfalfa for Forage in 2005

http://pesticideinfo.org/DS.jsp?sk=23001



http://pesticideinfo.org/Detail_Chem...Rec_Id=PC33392
Neurotoxicity


Many pesticides, particularly insecticides, are neurotoxic to humans and other animals because their mechanism of action targets the insect nervous system. The most common mechanism of action is inhibition of the enzyme cholinesterase, which is essential for transmission of nerve impulses. Most pesticides in this category are organophosphorus or carbamate compounds.


Cholinesterase Inhibitors
Other Neurotoxic Pesticides
Regards,
Ernie Lucas Apiaries

[BEES4U]

http://pesticideinfo.org/Docs/ref_to...raseInhibitors
Here is the full data;
Neurotoxicity


Many pesticides, particularly insecticides, are neurotoxic to humans and other animals because their mechanism of action targets the insect nervous system. The most common mechanism of action is inhibition of the enzyme cholinesterase, which is essential for transmission of nerve impulses. Most pesticides in this category are organophosphorus or carbamate compounds.


Cholinesterase Inhibitors
Other Neurotoxic Pesticides



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Cholinesterase Inhibitors

Proper functioning of the nervous system requires an enzyme called cholinesterase (ChE), which facilitates the transmission of nerve impulses. ChE-inhibiting pesticides disable this enzyme, resulting in symptoms of neurotoxicity---tremors, nausea, and weakness at low doses; paralysis and death at higher doses. Most of these pesticides are insecticides with a similar mechanism of action in both insects and humans.

Exposure to cholinesterase-inhibiting pesticides has been linked to impaired neurological development in the fetus and in infants, chronic fatigue syndrome, and Parkinson's disease.

About the Data: Accuracy, currency, comprehensiveness and source

Our list of ChE inhibitors was constructed based on the California Department of Pesticide Regulation's list of ChE-inhibiting pesticides (1). For pesticides not registered in California, the chemical structure or Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) was used to classify the pesticide as a cholinesterase inhibitor. This data was last updated July 10, 2000 by PAN Staff. This list is relatively static, since few newly registered pesticides are cholinesterase inhibitors.

References:

Summary of Pesticide Use Report Data, 1998, Table 5A, California Department of Pesticide Regulation (Sacramento, CA, November 1999). Viewed on October 31, 2002.
PAN staff evaluation of chemical structures and toxicity using: Chem Finder, Materials Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), and The Pesticide Manual, 11th edition, C. D. S. Tomlin, Ed., British Crop Protection Council (Farnham, Surrey, UK, 1997).
Top of page



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Other Neurotoxic Pesticides
Some pesticides cause neurotoxicity that is unrelated to cholinesterase inhibition. Exposure to neurotoxic pesticides has been linked to impaired cognitive development in children, behavioral abnormalities, and Parkinsons disease. The U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory list provides information on the neurotoxicity of the chemicals in the list, but not for all pesticides.


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Last updated November 11, 2002 .
Regards,
Ernie Lucas Apiaries

[Barry Digman]

Chef,
Yeah, the survivors were really lethargic when I discovered it. They were doing much better yesterday. I put two frames of honey on each one. Hope they pull through.

Mike and bees4u,
It certainly could have been pesticide rather than herbicide. (I'm bad about using the terms interchangeably.) A friend mentioned that they were spraying weeds in alfalfa a couple of weeks ago, so I was basing the assumption on that conversation. Thanks for the input.

[mike haney]

my personall advice would be get rid of all the comb abd nectar in case its contaminated. if you want to try and save the bees i'd move them away from this farmer and shake them into another box or onto new foundation and feed them. good luck,mike

[stangardener]

don't take this post as saying this isn't poisoning.
i've had colonies with many dead and lathargic bees from starvation at odd times. the colonies were putting all resources into brood and had no stores. the bees were living from day to day, very short periods of no fly weather can cause death.

[Barry Digman]

I got my bee disease diagnosis back from Beltsville.

"This sample was screened for Varroa and honey bee trachael mites, and nosema disease. No disease or parasitic mites were detected."

They don't test for pesticides, and I think that the absence of varroa on the bees may not mean much if they all jumped ship when the bees died.

[Michael Bush]

I've only seen that with pesticides. It's such a sad sight...