New app won’t protect bees from neonics says Ontario Beekeepers VP

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Maybe the bee keepers need to keep their bees in their hives while planting season is happening . You know just like keeping your livestock at home or in your barn !

While keeping the bees inside seems like a good idea, it is not a practical one. Especially when planting occurs during weeks that also provide some of the best forage for bees to build up to get through the rest of the season. There are not any easy answers here, but restricting use of neonics is a good start.

While keeping your bees in for a day or two while nearby planting is going on may sound like a good idea it won’t help with the planter dust that has contaminated nearby dandelion fields, water puddles or contaminated corn pollen bees may collect or is being blown around by the wind later on in the season. These products are thousands of times more toxic to bees than DDT, so I can’t see how they could be used safely.

Another practical impediment to keeping bees in during planting is that they will forage about 1.5 concession roads or lines in any direction. That will cover more than 1000 acres, not all of which are planted the same day. It will be hard to be aware of and act upon all planting intentions. As well locking bees up for extended periods at that time if year could lead to swarming, poor feed collection and thus productivity. We already can guess that corn and soy will be planted nearby. We can't manage around that, and in itself is not really the issue Greg Hawkins

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