EPA vs. Stink Bugs

[mikecva]

FYI

The EPA has granted a Section 18 exemption to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to permit the limited sale and use of the insecticide Dinotefuran for use on apples and peaches and other stone and pome fruit in Virginia and elsewhere for the control of the Asian Stink bug.The EPA has also issued guidelines for the use of the product to guard against unintended consequences of the pesticide, including its toxicity to honey bees. (Leesburg Times, July 8,2011)

-Mike

[BjornBee]

This was one of the points I mentioned in March concerning the use of chemicals on stink bugs and the ramifications. The same university extension services, EPA, and others that we seemingly put our faith in, thinking they are our friends, are those who I have become to fear. The chemical express fast lane has accelerated in many other areas beyond the toxic sprays now being push for the stick bug. Food production will always out trump any concerns for honeybees. And beekeepers are very weak in doing anything as a group against it.   

Scroll down to "Beekeeping 20 years from now".

http://www.bjornapiaries.com/beekramblings2011.html

Beekeeping will not get any easier moving forward.

[AllenF]

Before long we will be like parts of Asia where they have to pollinate apple and peach blossoms by hand every year due to the fact they killed off all the bees.  Helping the economy by putting people to work?

[BjornBee]

Nope.

We are also on the fast track of developing crops that require no pollination. They will perfect the almond tree within 10-15 years. We already have many fruits, and a cucumber this year, that require no insects for pollination. Then they can spray us all into oblivion.

[kingbee]

... We are also on the fast track of developing crops that require

no pollination. They will perfect the almond tree within 10-15 years...

I heard that the self fertile almond is being test grown NOW!

There is a nectar less cotton variety and it has been around for 20 years or more.  The idea behind nectar less cotton was to deny adult insects a ready food source thus discouraging them from living in and raising their young in cotton fields.  However cotton has never required the services of honey bees, so cotton farmers were not overly interested in planting this variety.  Besides, if there was an insect infestation the farmer still had to spray his cotton or go bust.  Bt cotton changed all of that for the better. 

The green alternative was to plant a narrow strip of an early bait crop like alfalfa or clover alongside the cotton, and then spray the bait crop every week to kill Mrs Bowl Weevil before the cotton produced enough nectar to lure the pests in.  Someone tell me how's that going to help bees?

Multi-national corporations have not bought and paid for our government.  The citizens who vote for a living beat them to it.  All the shouting, arm waving and hand wringing in the world is useless unless we have a seat at the table and even then we must sit down and talk about our concerns in an adult manner.  Doing otherwise only encourages Monsanto, Bayer, or Federal government agencies to ignore us.  If you doubt my words, then ask bin Laden.