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WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BEES? We have all heard that the bees are disappearing from the planet, and our agricultural food sources are in danger of not having enough bees to pollinate our ever growing food necessities. Terms such as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) have been used to create panic. The environmental movement has besieged regulators, legislators and the general public that the bees are dying, but how true is this? Well, like the false quote the environmental movement attributes to Albert Einstein, "If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man would have no more than four years to live," which he never said, the bemaggedon crisis is a crisis that never was.
From 2007-2012, some 30 percent of honeybees in the United States failed to survive the winter. That was 50 percent more than expected. Why were bees dying in higher numbers in California and parts of Europe while thriving in other European countries, Western Canada and Australia — where I might add, Neonicotinoids are used? Hardcore environmentalists initially blamed genetically modified organisms (GMOs). When this did not work out because of zero evidence to support this claim, they eventually moved to Neonicotinoids. This claim gained steam with the improper Neonic application at a Target parking lot in Wilsonville, Oregon. Neonicotinoids were introduced in the mid-1990s without incident as a less toxic alternative to Organophosphates and Pyrethroids and are often applied only to the soil or as a seed treatment. In his article, "Beemageddon? As hysteria over honey bees recedes, anti-neonic narrative refocuses on wild bees," Jon Entine, executive director of the Genetic Literacy Project and senior fellow at the World Food Center Institute for Food and Agricultural Literacy, University of California- Davis, says: "In 2013, panicked European Commissioners passed a two-year ban on neonics after sketchy reports of higher-than-normal winter deaths. Now the unintended consequences of what seems like a hasty decision are emerging." "The commission’s moratorium vote came despite contradictory field evidence–and well before the release of a spate of new studies suggesting that bee health had been improving globally even while neonics have been in use." "According to the latest report from the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, world-wide bee populations have been steadily increasing over the past decade and have hit a record high dating back to 1961. Both Europe and the U.S. are at record highs sinceneonics first came on the market in the mid-1990s." "The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported bee deaths have dropped nearly 25 percent over the past two winters and the overall population has increased 17 percent since 2008. Beehives regenerate quickly in the summer, so normal winter losses don’t necessarily translate into declining populations, which is why initial reports should not be taken at face value, as many reporters do. Overwinter losses in the U.S. are now just a few points above the 18.9% average losses considered acceptable by beekeepers, according to US DA’s Bee Informed Partnership, which runs the annual survey." Over the past two winters, bee survival rates have improved dramatically, especially in North America and Europe. But the crisis has been set in the public eye and the mainstream media with no amount of field evidence able to sway the scare. Even Dennis van Englesdorp, the University of Maryland researcher who coined the term, said last year that he had not seen a true case of CCD — a unique phenomenon involving bees abandoning their hives — in more than three years. Nine years ago, after CCD affected the bee population, honey production continues to improve — up 14 percent, according to the Department of Agriculture in March 2015. The total number of hives has increased again this year by 100,000 or 4 percent as it has for several years now. Even the EU found that through the winter of 2013-14, bee losses were dramatically down well within the normal range, below 15.4 percent. Most of the general population does not understand, but a decline in bee populations over the winter is a natural process, and much of the scare over bee losses is attributed to overwinter losses, not necessarily losses throughout the year. Their populations recover quickly over the summer when bees are the most active. And statistically speaking, in Europe, bee populations have continued to go up from 11,050,307 hives in 1995 to 11,965,007 in 2012. Jon Entine also stated, "The flood of recent studies challenging the ‘Neonics kill bees’ hypothesis may have delayed the release of the long-awaited White House Pollinator Task Force report, which activists thought might endorse a ban on Neonicotionids. But with commercial honeybee colonies stabilized and growing, the May report recommended a more measured approach, committing funds to increase pollinator habitats while ordering the EPA to review the effects of pesticides on pollinators over the next two years." For additional information, see Bayer’s powerpoints on the PCOC website – link below: http://pcoc.org/member-resources/technical-resources/
DPR LICENSE AND CERTIFICATE HOLDER RENEWAL NOTICE
DPR to applicators: Renew early Renewing applicator licenses today prevents delay The California Department of Pesticide Regulation urges pesticide license and certificate holders to submit renewal paperwork by Nov.19 to ensure timely approval of their licenses. The early deadline helps ease the end-of-year bottleneck of applications received by DPR; provides time to work out application problems like insufficient continuing education credits, incorrect payments, or missing or incorrect information; and, upon timely renewal, enables applicators to continue their work unabated into the New Year. "We receive most of the 13,000 renewal applications in the month of December," said Cynthia Ray, a DPR supervisor."This results in delays or the need to retest, due to insufficient Continued Education hours, for those applying just under the wire." Pest control business employees cannot legally buy, sell, or apply pesticides or make pesticide recommendations without valid certificates or licenses. DPR’s Licensing Program examines, licenses, or certifies commercial pest control applicators, aerial applicators, pesticide dealers and brokers, and pest control advisers. Those who send in renewal applications early are best ensured they will get their renewed license by Jan. 1.
Applications filed after Nov. 19 could face longer waiting periods. Filing early avoids late fees. It also lets DPR alert you to any application errors and allows time for you to fix them. For many applicators and advisors (individuals with surnames beginning with M-Z) and pesticide dealers and brokers, renewal packets will go out in the mail early this fall. The information required is contained inside your packet. For more information about the renewal process, the continuing education hours required, and the status of your renewal once submitted, see the DPR’s website: |
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