KEEPING THE STING OUT OF POLLINATOR PROTECTION

Senior Pesticide Managers Workshop April

24, 2012Presented by

Dennis Howard

Maryland Department of Agriculture

Population: 5,633,597Land Area: 9,774 Sq. MilesLand in Farm Acres: 2,035,000Farms: 12,000Average Farm Size: 170 AcresReg.Bee Colonies: 10,011

In the mid and late 1980’s Maryland beekeepers experienced several bee kills that resulted from use of Penncap-M, a micro encapsulated formulation of methyl parathion.

At that time, the Environmental Hazard Statements on the product label did not provide adequate protection for bees.

Bees foraging on crops treated with Penncap-M picked up the Micro capsules and took them back to their hives, where it killed the majority, if not all of the bees in the hives.

PESTICIDE DRIFT Historically, Maryland has experienced a number of bee kills due to bees foraging on crops that had been treated with the pesticide product Sevin (Carbaryl) or, to crops where Sevin had drifted on crops where bees were foraging.

OBJECTIVE

To provide pesticide applicators with geographic information that will assist them in locating sensitive crops and commodities before applying pesticides so they can take appropriate precautions to reduce the risk of off-target movement of pesticides and possible exposure and harm to non-target crops/commodities and habitat.