Tel: 503-232 6639, Fax: 503-233 6794
The Xerces Society is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of invertebrates. For three decades, the Society has been at the forefront of invertebrate conservation, and for more than five years has been active in pollinator conservation. The Society is a founding member of the Forgotten Pollinators Campaign, is working with scientists and landowners to implement pollinator habitat enhancement projects, and has an education campaign to inform people about the importance of pollinators.
Protection of native bees and other pollinators
We do not share the Agency’s belief that the Bee Precautionary Labeling Statements will provide adequate protection to native bees and other pollinators, as stated in the opening paragraph of the draft Pesticide Registration Notice (“…the Agency believes if honey bees are protected…then other bee species and other pollinators will also be protected.”). We would be interested in hearing what evidence the EPA has for this claim.
· Native bees are especially vulnerable to pesticide application, as they are central place foragers; i.e. they create a permanent nest, typically in the ground, and forage in the area around that. They can not move out of their home range into less toxic areas as more mobile insects like butterflies are able to.
· The nesting habits and daily patterns of foraging activity of our nearly 4,000 native bee species are all quite unlike those of honey bees, which often makes them more susceptible to harm under the proposed labeling statement.
· The majority of native bee species nest in the ground. The provision in the labeling statement that allows application of pesticides by methods such as soil incorporation as long as this does not result in residues on “blooming, pollen-shedding or nectar-producing parts of plants” may not be adequate to provide protection to ground nesting bees.
· Daily patterns of foraging activity of some native bees differ from honey bees, foraging earlier in the morning or later in the evening. Bumble bees, in particular, are active in cool or damp weather when honey bees remain in their hive. If “bee activity” is based on honey bees, pesticide application will be allowed at times that will place these native bees at risk from residual toxicity.
The proposal to establish a defined time period after pesticide application in which the crop is toxic to bees will work only if the defined period is long enough to provide adequate protection to managed and feral colonies of honey bees and populations of native bees. The alternative of a label prohibition based on bee activity would be harder to apply and wide open to interpretation of whether bees were or were not active.
· Where adequate data is provided that identifies the period of residual toxicity, then this period should be adjusted appropriately.
· In the absence of residual toxicity data, no approval, temporary or otherwise, should be given.
When there is any doubt in deciding the length of the “safe” period of residual toxicity, the decision should always be made in favor of the bees by declaring a longer period rather than a shorter one. It should be assumed that the pesticide is toxic, thus placing the burden of proof on the registrant to show that the pesticide is not toxic. The default decision should not be to assume the product is safe for bees.
It is unclear from the draft Pesticide Regulation Notice if the toxicity of pesticides is lethal or sub-lethal. As a highly social insect, the honey bee can be negatively impacted by sub-lethal intoxication that leads to disruption of colony organization. We urge that the period of residual toxicity is defined to include protection from sub-lethal doses.
Pesticide poisoning is one of the major causes of bee kills, often as a result of spray drift onto land adjacent to the treatment area. The consequences of drift are not addressed by the proposed precautionary labeling statement. Adjacent land may have managed colonies or native populations of bees and other pollinators that will not have to be considered in the decision to apply pesticides to treatment areas, and yet can be significantly damaged drift. The proposed labeling statement should include a clause warning of the hazard of drift.
The EPA labeling must create a minimum standard of protection for bees in all states. One concern of commercial beekeepers managing hives for pollination is that state-approved bee protection programs are inadequate and unable to provide protection. The labeling as required under this Pesticide Registration Notice should not be compromised by allowing protection to be pulled down to the level of the weaker state regulations. On the contrary, the labeling should establish minimum expectations for protection of bees and other pollinators and draw poor standards upwards. If state-approved programs are allowed to be at a lesser standard, then it is likely that pesticide manufacturers and users will press authorities to draft state regulations that undercut the EPA labeling standards.
In
situations where there is an identified and serious risk to public health, then
appropriate, emergency measures should be taken to contain the threat. In such situations,
granting of temporary exceptions from the labeling regulations may be necessary. Whenever this is required, the product or
treatment method that is least hazardous to bees should be chosen. If a clause is included
in the labeling to allow exceptions for public health reasons, guidelines should also be
issued that clearly state when such exceptions are appropriate and who can invoke the
exception.
There are many insect pollinators that are listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. They will undoubtedly be impacted in some way by the EPA’s new regulation. Any federal agency that initiates new policies that may impact endangered or threatened species must consult with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The consultation is required under the Act. Some of these species may need special consideration because of their small population size or because their populations are declining. A thorough review of the endangered species that may be impacted by this labeling should be instituted to determine the impact on them.
In
2000, the American Beekeeping Federation passed a resolution regarding EPA labeling of
pesticides. In part, the resolution read:
“THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED, that the ABF recommend to the U.S. EPA that if any changes are made to the
bee hazard warnings on pesticide labels, the label language must be clear, enforceable, more protective of bees than existing label language,
and fully applicable in all 50 states.” (emphasis added)