Nov 6, 2014: Pollinators cubed: A Flawed

System? Insecticides and bees

Vera Krischik, Associate Professor, Depart

of Entomology, UMinnesota and others

www.entomology.umn.edu/cues

Visit pollinator conservation website:

Bulletins, posters, online workshop, research,

http://www.entomology.umn.edu/cues

Many stresses contribute to CCD in honeybees

3

Controversy over neonicotinyls and bees

• 2014 Oct Council on Environmental Quality and

Government Services Agency The wording on

page 15 states "5. Acquire seeds and plants from

nurseries that do not treat their plants with

systemic insecticides".

• 2014 June 14 Presidet Obama meorandum on

united policy for pollinator conservation

• 2013 Dec: EFSA (European Food Safety

Authority) European Union enacts a 2 year ban

• 2013 June: EFSA neonicotinyl treated-seed are a bee risk

Controversy over neonicotinyls and bees

2013 June: Oregon bans dinotefuran for 6 mos

2012 March: US Beekeepers petition for clothianidin to be withdrawn from sale 2008-2011: Bee deaths are linked to the planting of neonicotinyl treated-seed crops 2009: California calls for a review of the effects of neonicotinyl insecticides on bees 2004-2009: New York restricts use of imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, dinotefuran, and clothianidin 1996: France bans imidacloprid use as treated-seed on sunflowers, Germany, Spain, Italy and Slovenia, follow

What are bees? »Most bees are solitary; honey bees, bumble bees, and some sweat bees are social.

» Among the social bees, only honey bee colonies are perennial (survive year to year).

» Solitary and social wasps are sometimes mistaken for bees. Social wasps have annual colonies like bumble bees. 6

Red-tailed bumble bee (Bombus ternarius)Rob Routledge, Sault College, Bugwood.org

Common eastern bumble bee (B. impatiens)David Cappaert, Michigan State University, Bugwood.org

These large (10 to 23 mm), hairy bees are the only truly social bees native to the United States.

Colonies are annual.

Fecundated queens emerge in spring and begin colonies in the ground.

Queens mate with unrelated males before overwintering in the ground.

Bumble Bees, Bombus spp.,Order HymenopteraFamily Apidae

7

1. A queen emerges from hibernation in spring and finds a nest site, such as an abandoned rodent burrow.

2. She creates wax pots to hold nectar and pollen, on which she lays and incubates her eggs.

3 In autumn the colony produces new queens and male bees.

4. Newly mated queens hibernate and the rest of the bees die.

Bumble bee colony life cycle

8

Honey Bee Colony

Inside a honey bee colony. Note capped brood cells containing pupae and open brood cells with larvae (unlike bumble bees, who cap cells immediately after laying eggs). 9

Bumble Bee Colony

Inside a commercial bumble bee colony. Note capped brood cells, shiny “honey pots” full of nectar, and size difference between workers and two large queens (one is newly produced). 10

Save the bees by planting flowers and trees

1. Use contact insecticides on flowering

plants, such as bifenthrin, cyfluthrin, neem,

azadirachtin, and spinosad.

2. Do not use systemic insecticides.

3. Plant a seasonal phenology of native and

garden plants for nectar and pollen.

4. Only single-flowered plants, not double

flowers, provide pollen and nectar.

5. Provide overwintering habitat for bees.

6. Do not kill queen bees in the spring/fall,

they will not sting.

7. Understand the different types of bees and

wasps so you can conserve bees. 11

Neonicotinyl insecticide use in 2011

143/442 US million acres use neonicotinyl

insecticides

83+ million acres of corn have neonicotinyl treated-

seed and honeybees use corn for pollen

Active ingredient (ai) in lbs

imidacloprid clothianidin thiamethoxam

MN 52,048 43,663 68,876

CA 348,247 3,812 30,687

US 700,000 1,2000,000 990,000

Imidacloprid, USGS map, EPA registered 1994

Thiamethoxam, USGS map, EPA registered 2000

Clothianidin, USGS map, EPA registered 2003

Dinotefuran, USGS map, EPA registered 2004

Contact insecticides:

Many used; sprayed on foliage

Insect must eat leaf or walk on leaf to be killed

Toxicity lasts 1-3 weeks

Flowers that open after spraying do

not contain insecticides.

Systemic insecticides:

Uncommon; treated-seed, soil drench, trunk-inject

Insect must eat leaf, pollen, or nectar to be killed

Toxicity can least for months to years, unknown

Flowers that open will have the insecticide in

pollen and nectar for months to years, unknown

Contact compared to systemic insecticides

Systemic insecticides

Organophosphates

aldicarb (Temik), oxamyl (Vydate), dimethoate (Cygon)

Neonicotinyl

imidacloprid (Marathon, Merit), clothianidin, thiamethoxam,

dinotefuran, spirotetramat (Movento/Kontos, class tectronic

acid, lipd synthesis), sulfloxaflor (Transform/Closer)

Novel mode of action

pymetrozine (Endeavor)

Translaminar, or local, systemic activity

Botanical- azadirachtin, neem

Microbial- abamectin (Avid)

IGR- pyriproxyfen (Distance)

PR- chlorfenapyr (Pylon)

SP-spinosad (Conserve)

OP- acephate (Orthene)

C-carbofuran (Furadan)

Insecticides are threats to bees

Organophosphates + Pyrethroids, are very toxic to bees.

• Dimethoate is highly toxic, LD50 15 ng/bee

• Chlorpyrifos is toxic, LD50 70 ng/bee

• Methyl parathion is highly toxic, LD50 11 ng/bee

• Coumaphos is 180 times less than methyl parathion, with LD50 of 2030 ng/ bee

• Esfenvalerate is highly toxic, LD50 15 ng/bee

• Cyfluthrin is highly toxic, LD50 37ng/bee

• Zeta-cypermethrin is extremely toxic, LD50 2 ng/bee

• Lambda cyhalothrin is highly toxic, LD50 38 ng/bee

• Permethrin is extremely toxic, LD50 8 ng/bee

Water solubility: Neonicotinyl insecticides

imidacloprid clothianidin dinotefuran thiameth-

oxam

emamectin

benzoate

nameMerit

Marathon

Arena SafariFlagship

MeridianTree

age

KOC 132-310 160 23 64 283,000Solubility

(mg/l) 514 259 259 327 101

LD50

(acute rat

oral)

(mg/kg)

>5,000 4,870 >2,000 5,523 1,516

dinotefuran is 80 times more water soluble than imidaclopridemamectin benzoate has very low mobility (KOC) and long duration

Chemical

class

Examples of

common

names

Bee Toxicity

No Low Mod High

Carbamates carbaryl,

methomyl

All x

Neonicotinoid imidacloprid

thiamethoxam

clothianidin

dinotefuran

imid+bifenthrin

All x

Less toxic:

acetamiprid

(A)

thiacloprid (T)

All x

Chemical class Examples of

common

names

Bee Toxicity

No

n

Lo

w

Mod High

Organophosphates acephate,

chlorpyrifos,

dimethoate,

malathion,

phosmet

All x

Pyrethroids bifenthrin,

cyfluthrin,

fenpropathrin

, lambda-

cyhalothrin,

permethrin

All x

Botanical pyrethrins

azadirachtin x

x

Insect growth

regulators

diflubenzuron

tebufenozide

All x

azadirachtin

buprofezin

pyriproxyfen

x

x

x

novaluron x

cyromazine x

Juvenile

hormone

s-kinoprene x

Diamides chlorantranilipro

le

cyantraniliprole

x

Chemical

class

Examples of

common

names

Bee Toxicity

Non Low Mod High

Macrocyclic

lactones

abamectin/

avermectin

x

Chemical

class

Examples of

common

names

Bee Toxicity

Non Low Mod High

Miticides acequinocyl,

extoxazole,

fenpyroximate,

fenbutatin-

oxide

All x

clofentezine,

hexythiazox

x,x

bifenazate x

pyridaben x

chlorfenapyr x

spiromesiifen x

Spinosyns spinosad, less

toxic when dry

x

Tetronic acids spirotetramat x

GABA-channel fipronil x

Chemical

class

Examples of

common

names

Bee Toxicity

Non Low Mod High

Pyridine

carboxamide

flonicamid x

Pyridine

azomethines

pymetrozine x

Avermectin emamectin

benzoate

x

Other

insecticides

Bacillus

thuringiensis,

x

potassium salts

fatty acids

soaps

x

horticultural

mineral oils,

neem oil

x

Linden trees: Imidacloprid applied to linden to

kill adult JB, but linden is a favorite bee plant

26

IncidentAround 25,000 bumblebees and others were found

dead under trees at the Target store in Wilsonville,

Oregon on Monday, June 17, 2013. The neonicotinyl

insecticide dinotefuran (label Safari) was applied

pre-bloom according to label.

Dead in the parking lot, Bombus vosenesenskii

Residue data confirmed dinotefuran, but data was

not released by Oregon Depart. Agriculture. Another

bee kill occurred in Hillsboro, OR. Trees were

covered in nets and dinotefuran use is banned for 6

months in Oregon.

Incident

Incident: 2009 Imidacloprid residue in

linden trees.Report from 2009

Imidacloprid soil injection at a golf course

State of California, Department of Pesticide Regulations,

Evaluation report on Merit 2F applied to 11

Tilia cordata linden trees at a golf course in Willimington

DE in 2006 and 2007 and hundreds of dead bees found at

the trees in 2008

Imidacloprid in leaves was 2,600 -11,700 ppb

Imidacloprid in dead bumblebees was 146 ppb

For regulatory purposes, the LD50 of imidacloprid to the

honey bee is 3.7 ng/bee=37 ppb. Bayer CropScience

indicated the amount in the bees exceeded the LD50.

Neonicotinyl insecticide toxicity

Sublethal dose: more than 20 ppb (2ng/bee)

reduces foraging, memory, and navigation

Aspirin 80mg = 80,000microg = 80,000,000ng

Lethal dose Oral LD50

ng/bee

in 20µL

Pollen/

nectar ppb

(ng/.1gbee)

Reference

imidacloprid 3.7-40 37-400Schmuck et al. 2001,

EFSA 2013

clothianidin 3-22 30-220Iwas et al. 2004, EFSA

2013

dinotefuran 23-47 230-470EFSA 2013

thaimethoxam 5-30 50-300EFSA 2013

0.1 mg/canola seed

1.2 mg/ corn seed

300 mg 3 gal pot

250 times more in pot compared to corn seed

3,000 times more in pot compared to canola seed

Landscape Ornamental tree label:

Used 29 g on basswood tree and 33 ppb found in

Flowers (Krischik et al. 2015).

Agricultural citrus tree label:

Used 4 g on citrus tree and 10 ppb found in nectar

(Byrne et al. 2013).

Comparing seed treatment, agricultural rates, and

landscape rates.

Linden soil drench 2012

2012 June Aug

leaves 554 ppb 1,023 ppb

soil 15,436 ppb 5,956 ppb

flowers 30 ppb (3.6 to 72 ppb, n=8)

2013 sampled leaves, soil, flowers from

trees1- 8 did not retreat

Duration of imidacloprid from 1X application

• 12 months on linden (Frank et al. 2007, Johnson

and Williamson 2007)

• 12 months on poplar (Tenczar and Krischik 2007)

• 12 months on ash (McCullough et al. 2003)

• 24 months on hemlock (Cowles et al. 2006)

• 24 months cotoneaster (Szczepaniec and Raupp

2007

Site

Imidacloprid

Treatment Rate

Seed

treatment

Gaucho*

0.1 mg AI/seed canola

1. 2mg AI/seed cornEFSA 2012

Field crops/

turf

4 mg/sg ft Dively and Kamal 2012,

Stoner and Eitzer 2012

Larson 2012, 2014

Greenhouse/

nursery pot

300 mg AI/potKrischik et al. 2014

Landscape,

rose

600 mg AI/plant

(2 times)Krischik et al. 2015

10 in DBH

24 in DBH

28 g AI

67 g AIKrischik et al. 2014

Insect Species Level

Kills lady beetle,

lacewing, parasitic

wasp, and bumble

bees

1X label rate

Krischik 5 papers

3 sp lady beetles

1 wasp

1 lacewing

Kills honeybees in one

sip

185-192 ppb

(CA EPA290,

Fischer and

Chalmers 2007)

Foraging behavior 6-100 ppb

Foraging behavior

reduced, which results

in less colony weight

and fewer queens

produced

6-100 ppb

penick.net

Imidacloprid residue in landscape plants

Dose in mg/soil Dead bees on

Agastache

Agastache spp.

nectar

ppb

Asclepias spp.

nectar

ppb

Esperanza

spp.

nectar

ppb

Rosa spp.

pollen

ppb

0 0.6b 6b 3c 0c 26b

25 0.6b 52b 80c 8c 36b

50 0.5b 133b 175bc 21c 30b

300 1X

3 gal

1.1ab 1973b 1568bc 106c 95b

600 2X

3 gal

2.4a 5265ab 2950b 276b 332b

1200 2.4a 9335a 8337a 9162a 720a

Plant Neonicotinyl ppb Reference

Sunflower

(treated-

seed)

2 nectar

4 pollen

Schmuck et al.

2001

Pumpkin

(soil drench)

4-12 nectar

37-87 pollen

Dively & Hooks

2010

Milkweed

(soil drench)

1,973-6,000 ppb

nectar

Krischik 2013

Clover nectar

(soil drench)

171 ppb

(1X, clothianidin)

Larson et al. 2013

Residue in pollen and nectar, very few papers

Residues of neonicotinyls in pollen and nectar

Plant Imidacloprid ppb Reference

Maple tree 199 ppb flower USDA APHIS 2003

Eucalyptus tree

(soil drench)

550 ppb nectar Paine et al 2011

Horsechestnut

(trunk injection)

5-283 ppb flower Bayer, Maus et al. 2004b

Serviceberry

(soil drench)

1,038- 2,816 ppb

flower

Bayer, Doering et al.

2005a,b

Rose outside

(soil drench)

95-1175 ppb pollen Krischik et al. 2015

Rose GH

(soil drench)

32 ppb pollen Krischik et al. 2015

Yellow bells

(soil drench)

106 nectar ppb Krischik et al. 2015

Bee ppb Reference

Honey bee recruit

to food

20 ppb imidacloprid Schmuck et al. 2001;

Schmuck 1999

Honey bee

orientation

25 ppb clothianidin Lambin et al. 2001

Honey bee

foraging

6 ppb Colin et al. 2004

Honey bee

foraging

50 ppb Colin et al. 2004

Honey bee dance

effectiveness

50 ppb Schneider et al. 2012

Honey bee

directionality

during flight

75 ppb imidacloprid

25 ppb clothianidin

Menzel et al. 2014

Other aspects of foraging and neonicotinyls

Bee ppb Reference

Honey bee

foraging

15 ppb imidacloprid Schneider et al. 2012

Honey bee

foraging

5 ppb clothianidin Henry et al. 2012

Honey bee

foraging

67 ppb thiamethoxam Schneider et al. 2012

Bombus terrestris

foraging

10 ppb imidacloprid Mommaerts et al. 2012; Gill

et al. 2012

Bombus impatiens

foraging

30 ppb imidacloprid Morandin and Winston

2003

Bombus impatiens

foraging

10 ppb imidacloprid,

50% did not return

Gill et al. 2012

Foraging and neonicotinyls

Bee ppb Reference

Bombus terrestris 0.7 nectar and 6 ppb pollen

imid; 8% - 12% Colony weight

lower; 85%Queen product

lower

Whitehorn et al. 2012

Bombus terrestris 10 ppb, Pollen collecting

efficancy/brood care reduced

Gill et al. 2012

Bombus impatiens 114 ppb, reduced colony

weight, no queen production

Larson et al 2012

Bombus terrestris 10 ppb, reduced pollen

foraging

Gill and Raine 2014

Bombus terrestris 0.7 nectar and 6 ppb pollen

imidacloprid, reduced pollen

foraging

Feltham et al. 2014

Bombus impatiens 10 ppb reduced feeding, food

storage, colony weight

Scholer and Krischik

2014

Foraging and neonicotinyls

Save the bees by planting flowers and trees

1. Use contact insecticides on flowering

plants, such as bifenthrin, cyfluthrin, neem,

azadirachtin, and spinosad.

2. Do not use systemic insecticides.

3. Plant a seasonal phenology of native and

garden plants for nectar and pollen.

4. Only single-flowered plants, not double

flowers, provide pollen and nectar.

5. Provide overwintering habitat for bees.

6. Do not kill queen bees in the spring/fall,

they will not sting.

7. Understand the different types of bees and

wasps so you can conserve bees. 42

Neonicotinoids and bumblebees

0 ppb = control

10 ppb = pollen from seed treatments

20 ppb = NOEC from Bayer,

but affects behavior

50 ppb = Field pumpkin study

100 ppb = Lower level found in

landscape plants

LD50 imidacloprid 4-40 ng/bee = 40-400 ppb

LD50 \clothianidin 4 ng/bee = 40 ppb

Bumble bee colonies in the greenhouse

Bumble bee colonies with flight box

Flight boxBrood box

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

0 10 20 50 100

Pe

rce

nt

Mo

rta

lity

Neonicotinoid (ppb)

Imidacloprid Clothianidin

Queen mortality (week 8)

1/8

3/8

2/9

7/8

5/8

8/8

6/9

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

0 10 20 50 100Pe

rce

nt

Co

ns

um

pti

on

Neonicotinoid (ppb)

Imidacloprid Clothianidin

Sugar syrup consumption (Week 8)

CC

B

A

ANOVA: F = 22.2, df = 4, 35, p = 0.0001

BC

ANOVA: F = 34.5, df = 4, 28, p = 0.0001a

b

c

c c

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

500

0 10 20 50 100

Weig

ht

g.

Neonicotinoid (ppb)

Imidacloprid Clothianidin

Mean colony weight (final)

ANOVA: F = 16.2, df = 4, 35, p = 0.0001

CC

BCB

A

ANOVA: F = 16.1, df = 4, 37, p = 0.0001a

a

bb

b

0

50

100

150

200

250

0 10 20 50 100

Ho

ne

y p

ots

Neonicotinoid (ppb)

Imidacloprid Clothianidin

Mean number of honey pots (final)

ANOVA: F = 5.3, df = 4, 35, p = 0.0020

BB

AB

ABA

ANOVA: F = 12.7, df = 4, 37, p = 0.0001a

ab

bcbc

c

Soil-applied imidacloprid alters predator and parasitoid

survival and behavior:

1. Coleomegilla maculata, Harmonia axyridis, Hippodamia

convergens (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

2. Anagyrus pseudococci

(Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae)

3. Chrysoperal carnea (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae)

4. Bombus impatiens (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

Soil-applied imidacloprid alters survival and

behavior of Coleomegilla maculata by 14 d

sunflower dandelion chrysanthemum

Fecundity P < 0.010 ns ns

Walk rate P < 0.010 P < 0.010 P < 0.010

Flip time P < 0.010 P < 0.010 P < 0.010

Day 3

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Coleomegilla Hippodamia Harmonia

% S

urv

ival

C-C

1X-C

1X-1X

2X-C

2X-2X

a abaa

c

c

c

b

a

abab

bb

abb

F= 23.177

P<0.0001

df= 4, 149

F= 3.506

P= 0.0097

df= 4, 117

F= 2.756

P= 0.033

df= 4, 84

Soil-applied imidacloprid alters behavior

and survival of Coleomegilla, Hippodamia

Harmonia

Day 12

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Coleomegilla Hippodamia Harmonia

% S

urv

ival

C-C

1X-C

1X-1X

2X-C

2X-2X

bc

c

abc

ab

a

cc

c

b

a

c

bc

c

b

a

F= 33.921

P<0.0001

df= 4, 117

F= 4.907

P= 0.001

df= 4, 84

F= 44.066

P <0.0001

df= 4, 149

Soil-applied imidacloprid alters behavior

and survival of Coleomegilla, Hippodamia

Harmonia

Soil-applied imidacloprid alters survival and behavior of

Anagyrus pseudococci (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae)

0

25

50

75

100

% S

urv

ivors

hip

Experiment 2

Day 1

**

0

25

50

75

100

2X 1X AZ UF UFS LVS S N

Treatments

% S

urv

ivors

hip

Experiment 3

Day 1

*

*

0

25

50

75

100

% S

urv

ivors

hip

Experiment 1

Day 1

*

*

*

% survivorship of

Anagyrus pseudococci

at 1 d

Soil-applied imidacloprid alters behavior and

survival of Anagyrus

(Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae)

% survivorship of

Anagyrus pseudococci

at 7 d

0

25

50

75

100

% S

urv

ivo

rsh

ip

Experiment 2

Day 7

*

*

0

25

50

75

100

2X 1X AZ UF UFS LVS S N

Treatments

% S

urv

ivo

rsh

ip

Experiment 3

Day 7

0

25

50

75

100

% S

urv

ivors

hip

Experiment 1

Day 7

*

*

Soil-applied imidacloprid alters behavior and

survival of Anagyrus

(Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae)

Soil-applied imidacloprid alters behavior and

survival of Chrysoperal carnea (Neuroptera:

Chrysopidae)

Soil-applied imidacloprid alters behavior and survival of Chrysoperal carnea (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae)

Chrysoperla carnea mean percent trembling (Day 6)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

10/3/2005 10/24/2005 11/7/2005 Combined

Replicate Start Date

% t

rem

bli

ng

C

1X

2X

F= 384.0

df= 2,5

p<.0001

b

b

F= 11.7

df= 2,4

p= 0.0186

a

ab

F= 7.6

df= 2,9

p= 0.0118

a

b b

F= 16.4

df= 2,24

p<.0001

a a

b b

Soil-applied imidacloprid alters behavior and survival of Chrysoperal carnea (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae)

Chrysoperla carnea mean percent survival (Day 10)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

10/3/2005 10/24/2005 11/7/2005 Combined

Replicate Start Date

% s

uviv

al

C

1X

2X

F= 83.3

df= 2,5

p= 0.0051

F= 1512.3

df= 2,9

p= <.0001

F= 195.5

df= 2,9

p= <.0001

F= 456.91

df= 2,24

p= 0.0246

a

b

b

a

b b

a

b

c

a

b

b

Bee Plants

How are plants pollinated?

• Pollen collects on hairs and scales of insects.

• Most bees also have specialized structures called corbiculae or scopae to collect pollen.

corbicula

Early Season Bloomers

Photos: Prairie Moon Nursery, www.prairiemoon.com

Bee Plants

Serviceberry

(Amelanchier spp.)

Pussy willow

(Salix discolor)

Early Season Bloomers

Photos:

Carolina lupine: Prairie Moon Nursery, www.prairiemoon.com

Siberian squill: Heike Löchel (fotografiert von Heike Löchel) [CC-BY-SA-2.0-de (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/de/deed.en)], via Wikimedia Comms

Bee Plants

Carolina lupine

(Thermopsis villosa)

Siberian squill

(Scilla siberica)

Early to Mid Season Bloomers

Photos:

Wild rose: Prairie Moon Nursery, www.prairiemoon.com

Basswood: Paul Wray, Iowa State University, Bugwood.org

Bee Plants

Wild rose

(Rosa species)

Basswood, linden

(Tilia americana)

Catmint

(Nepeta x faassenii)

Garden sage

(Salvia nemorosa 'May Night')

Early to Mid-Season Bloomers

Photos: North Creek Nurseries, www.northcreeknurseries.com

Bee Plants

Swamp milkweed

(Asclepias incarnata)

Mid Season Bloomers

Photos:

Purple prairie clover: Prairie Moon Nursery, www.prairiemoon.com

Swamp milkweed: North Creek Nurseries, www.northcreeknurseries.com

Bee Plants

Purple prairie clover

(Petalostemum candida)

*Also consider: Common milkweed (A. syriaca), butterfly weed (A. tberosa)

Mid Season Bloomers

Photos:

Billard’s Spiraea: Alfred Osterloh, via Hortipedia Commons

Catnip: Theodore Webster, USDA Ag Research Service, Bugwood.org

Bee Plants

Catnip

(Nepeta cataria)Billard's spiraea

(Spiraea x billardii 'Triumphans')

Anise hyssop

(Agastache foeniculum)

Wild bergamot

(Monarda fistulosa)

Mid to Late Season Bloomers

Photos:

Anise hyssop: Prairie Moon Nursery, www.prairiemoon.com

Wild bergamot: North Creek Nurseries, www.northcreeknurseries.com

Bee Plants

Sunflower

(Helianthus species)

Mid to Late Season Bloomers

Photos:

Sunflower: Prairie Moon Nursery, www.prairiemoon.com

Globethistle: Barbara Tokarska-Guzik, University of Silesia, Bugwood.org

Bee Plants

Globethistle

(Echinops species)

Late Season Bloomers

Photos:

New England aster: North Creek Nurseries, www.northcreeknurseries.com

Goldenrod: Prairie Moon Nursery, www.prairiemoon.com

Bee Plants

New England aster

(Symphyotrichum novae-angliae)

Goldenrod

(Solidago species)

Late Season Bloomers

Photos:

Korean angelica: Hardyplants at English Wikipedia (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Stonecrop: North Creek Nurseries, www.northcreeknurseries.com

Bee Plants

Korean angelica

(Angelia gigas)

Stonecrop

(Sedum species)

Save the bees by planting flowers and trees

1. Use contact insecticides on flowering

plants, such as

bifenthrin, cyfluthrin, neem, azadirachtin, an

d spinosad.

2. Do not use systemic insecticides.

3. Plant a seasonal phenology of native and

garden plants for nectar and pollen.

4. Only single-flowered plants, not double

flowers, provide pollen and nectar.

5. Provide overwintering habitat for bees.

6. Do not kill queen bees in the

spring/fall, they will not sting.

7. Understand the different types of bees and

wasps so you can conserve bees.

71

Conclusions

1. Most bedding plants and hanging baskets contain cultivars

not visited by bees.

2. So neonicotinyl use in nurseries and greenhouse do not

affect beneficial insects as they do not feed on these plants.

3. Many new EPA registered insecticides can be used on

native and heirloom plants visited by bees.

4. Seed treatments result in the lowest levels of

neonicotinyl insecticide in nectar and pollen. Few studies

demonstrate that seed treatments reduce honeybee health.

5. However, greenhouse and landscape applications use

higher rates compared to agriculture.

6. However, many, many papers demonstrate that

neonicotinyl insecticides affect foraging, learning, and

orientation at sub lethal levels below 192 ppb.

7. The n-nicotinic acetylcholinesterase receptors are 40%

higher in bees that use dancing, navigation, and learning to

find food.