Agricultural experts question whether banning or limiting the use of neonicotinoid insecticides is the most effective way to protect the bees.
Bees are dying, and some Massachusetts lawmakers hope to limit the use of pesticides in order to save them. But agricultural experts question whether banning or limiting the use of neonicotinoid insecticides is the most effective way to protect the bees.
"You can read 100 different studies and get 100 different answers, so the science is still kind of all over the place regarding neonics and pollinators," said Taryn Lascola, director of the crop and pest services division at the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources.
Over the last decade, beekeepers have been reporting high death rates among bees. The problem began in the winter of 2006-2007, when beekeepers reported unusually high losses of 30 to 90 percent of their hives, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Annual losses of honey bee hives since then have averaged around 30 percent, according the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The loss of bees is problematic because bees are necessary to pollinate crops, including berries, almonds, fruits and vegetables.
According to the USDA, there are multiple causes of bee death. Mites are the most serious problem. There are also viruses and poor nutrition.
Pesticides, including neonicotinoids, are another factor. Neonicotinoids are nicotine-based insecticides that were developed in the 1990s. They have become widely used in commercial agriculture and in tree and garden products sold to homeowners because they have less toxic effects on people and wildlife than other pesticides.
"One reason neonics became popular is because of lesser toxicity to birds and mammals," Lascola said, using the common nickname for the insecticides.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a preliminary study in January showing there is some threat to bees from a particular neonicotinoid insecticide. The EPA is still studying three other pesticides as part of a review to decide whether to prohibit the use of certain pesticides, including neonicotinoids, that are harmful to bees during the season when crops are in bloom and bees are pollinating them.
Europe banned some neonicotinoid pesticides in 2013 and is now reviewing the ban to decide whether to keep it.
Environment Massachusetts is part of a national campaign to get the EPA to ban neonicotinoids. "We're working on this campaign to protect our pollinators and our food supply," said Environment Massachusetts campaign director Emily Rogers. "Thirty to forty percent of our bees are lost every year, and this is a really unsustainable rate of bee loss."
State Sen. Jamie Eldridge, D-Acton, a member of the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture, has joined the call for a ban on neonicotinoids. "It's really destroying a lot of the honey bee colonies across the country and here in Massachusetts," Eldridge said. "Generally, that could harm our ecosystem, and then more specifically, it could have a real damaging effect on the growing of crops and fruits and vegetables in Massachusetts, because you're going to have fewer bees to pollinate the crops."
But Ed Davidian, president of the Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation, called the science about the pesticides' impacts on bees "speculative," and said farmers use neonicotinoids because they are safer for people than other pesticides. "It's a safer product for me to use, it's a safer product for my customers, a safer product for my employees," Davidian said.
Davidian said rather than targeting agricultural pesticides, beekeepers should focus on treating their hives for mites and improving hive nutrition. He suggested the state look at requiring beekeepers to go through training on how to keep bees healthy.
"A lot of the backyard beekeepers are choosing not to treat their hives, therefore their hives are weak, and they want to point to the agricultural person as the reason why the hives are dying," Davidian said. "It's not true. There are tremendous amounts of other issues. Pesticides has an influence, but it's not the only factor."
Itzi Garcia, a beekeeper at Allandale Farm in Boston, said bee die-offs are already causing fewer crops to grow and are making it harder for beekeepers to stay in business. "I'm in a community garden in Lincoln, and we don't even have half the crop we used to have," Garcia said.
Garcia attributed the problem to a range of factors, from mites to climate change to construction to pesticides.
State Rep. Carolyn Dykema, D-Holliston, a member of the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture, sponsored a bill, H.655, that would require a license to use neonicotinoids, so the only people applying the pesticides would be those who are trained in how to use them properly. These products would no longer be sold to the general public in garden centers. The bill would also place some restrictions on how the pesticides could be used. For example, during the blooming season, they could only be used for agricultural or horticultural purposes.
Dykema stressed that her bill is not a ban. "It's an attempt to recognize that there is a need (for neonicotinoids) while balancing that and trying to mitigate the bee impact," Dykema said.
Dykema's bill would also require the labeling of plants that are pre-treated with neonicotinoids, so consumers planting gardens are able to choose to plant gardens that are bee-friendly.
"My bill is about labeling so that informed consumers can make smart choices about what they want to put in their yards," Dykema said.
The bill was given a favorable recommendation by the Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture and is now pending before the House Ways and Means Committee.
Maryland recently banned the use of neonicotinoids by consumers, and Connecticut also passed a law restricting their use.
Peter Lorenz, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, declined to take a position on Dykema's legislation or proposals to ban neonicotinoids. "The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources recognizes the critical role of beekeepers in Massachusetts, and looks forward to continuing to work with the Massachusetts Farm Bureau, beekeeping groups, and stakeholders to ensure apiaries across the Commonwealth remain viable and successful while producing a safe, local, healthy product for generations to come," Lorenz said.
The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources announced the opening this month of the state's first apiary, at the UMass Agricultural Learning Center in Amherst. The apiary has 12 honey bee hives that will be used for education and research on issues related to honey bee health, pollination and hive management.