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13 tweets,
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1/ When @EPA extended its approval of a drift-prone weed killer last October, the agency predicted “no adverse impacts to bees or other pollinators.”
But beekeepers across the U.S. and some scientists are convinced it’s to blame for devastating losses. revealnews.org/article/bees-f…
But beekeepers across the U.S. and some scientists are convinced it’s to blame for devastating losses. revealnews.org/article/bees-f…
2/ In November, we reported that @EPA ignored scientists’ warnings and extensive research showing that dicamba would evaporate into the air and ruin crops miles away. revealnews.org/article/scient…
3/ Now, as beekeepers suffer massive losses, they’re convinced dicamba is killing critical sources of food for their bees. One keeper told us the evidence is "pretty damning."
There’s science to back up his fears.
There’s science to back up his fears.
4/ Dicamba damaged nearly 5 million acres of soybeans in the Midwest over the past two years.
As this has happened, beekeepers saw their colonies shrink and their honey production drastically reduced.
As this has happened, beekeepers saw their colonies shrink and their honey production drastically reduced.
5/ It’s not just honey, either. Did you know that more than 70 percent of the nation’s commercial honeybees are trucked into California each year to assist with the state’s annual almond pollination? academic.oup.com/ajae/article/1…
6/ And – mini tangent here – did you know that the demand for these bees has created a black market? One that recently produced a million-dollar theft? revealnews.org/article/califo…
7/ Anyways, back to dicamba. Many beekeepers near soybean fields said they are losing half their hives – losses similar to those attributed to colony collapse disorder.
These losses are putting a squeeze on the national supply for the almond harvest.
These losses are putting a squeeze on the national supply for the almond harvest.
8/ Gary Mackrill, who runs Mackrill Honey Farms in North Dakota, lost nearly 40 percent of his hives last fall.
Over the last two years, when hundreds of thousands of acres of ND soybeans were damaged by dicamba, Mackrill lost more than $250 million in pollination contracts.
Over the last two years, when hundreds of thousands of acres of ND soybeans were damaged by dicamba, Mackrill lost more than $250 million in pollination contracts.
9/ He’s convinced that dicamba has invaded his bees’ bodies and jeopardized their ability to stay warm throughout the winter.
10/ Meanwhile, science is backing up some of these keepers’ fears. Research shows that doses of dicamba that mimicked the drift associated with spraying the weed killer cut pollinator visits in half. setac.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.100…
11/ The devastation has gotten so bad that some beekeepers are packing up their colonies and moving to other states.
“We can only produce about 50 percent of the honey that we’ve produced prior to in-crop use of dicamba,” one told us.
“We can only produce about 50 percent of the honey that we’ve produced prior to in-crop use of dicamba,” one told us.
12/ For more stories like this, please consider subscribing to our newsletter: revealnews.org/newsletter
CORRECTION: In tweet no. 8, we misidentified a loss figure at $250 million. It was $250,000.
