On the last Sunday of August in South Carolina death came quickly, and in unbelievable numbers to the Honey Bee population in Dorchester County, SC. The bees fled their colonies leaving behind clumps of dead bees at hive entrances, and became littered across the farms they were raised on. What could caused such destruction and chaos? Something not so mysterious it turns out, ACUTE PESTICIDE POISONING. At Flowertown Bee Farm and Supply located in Summerville, SC reported 46 hives died on the spot, totaling about 2.5 MILLION bees.
A scientist from Clemson University collected soil samples from Flowertown on Tuesday morning to investigate the cause of death, although it was clear to the bee farmers what had happened to their bees. The bees had been poisoned by Dorchester's insecticide efforts, causalities in the war against disease-carrying Mosquitoes.
On Sunday morning, parts of Dorchester were sprayed NALED, a commonly used insecticide that is known to kill mosquitoes on contact. The United States began using Naled in 1959, and according to the infamous Environmental Protection Agency, the chemical dissipates so quickly that is not harmful to humans. They also say that human exposure to Naled during spraying "should not occur".
In parts of South Carolina it is not unusual to see trucks with trailing pesticide clouds, thanks to a mosquito-control program that also destroys larvae. Lately the mosquito scare has grown with the continued threat of West Nile, and more recently Zika. There have been several dozen travel-related cases of Zika in South Carolina, but no one has been infected by a local mosquito-yet.
Dorchester County decided to try something different.
For the first time, an airplane dispensed a mist of Naled across the town, raining down like a nuclear attack on insects from 6:30 am- 8:30 am on Sunday. The county says it gave citizens plenty of warning about the chem-trailing plane, via a Newspaper announcement on Friday, and a Facebook Post on Saturday.
The bee keepers feel much differently though.
“Had I known, I would have been camping on the steps doing whatever I had to do screaming, ‘No you can’t do this,'” beekeeper Juanita Stanley said in an interview with Charleston’s WCSC-TV. Stanley told the Charleston Post and Courier that the bees are her income, but she is more devastated by the loss of the bees than her honey.
The county acknowledged the bee deaths Tuesday. “Dorchester County is aware that some beekeepers in the area that was sprayed on Sunday lost their beehives,” Jason Ward, county administrator, said in a news release. He added, according to the Charleston Post and Courier, “I am not pleased that so many bees were killed.”
Dorchester County administrator Jason Ward wrote to The Washington Post in a statement on Thursday, clarifying that the county sent out a press release at 9:15 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 26.
“The beekeepers that were on the county’s contact list that were in the zone to be sprayed were called with one exception. Mr. Scott Gaskins, who runs the Mosquito Control program, failed to call Mitch Yawn, Ms. Juanita Stanley’s business partner,” Ward said in the email.
“The second issue regarding beekeepers like Mr. Andrew Macke revolves around the fact that the county did not have these locations on its list. However, we have reached out to the Lowcountry Beekeepers Association and they provided us with the names and locations for other beekeepers in Dorchester County."
As for the dead bees, as Stanley told the AP, her farm “looks like it’s been nuked.”
A Summerville resident started a Change.org petition calling for Dorchester County to halt aerial Naled spraying. It is unclear whether those who lost bees are pursuing other recourse.
A scientist from Clemson University collected soil samples from Flowertown on Tuesday morning to investigate the cause of death, although it was clear to the bee farmers what had happened to their bees. The bees had been poisoned by Dorchester's insecticide efforts, causalities in the war against disease-carrying Mosquitoes.
On Sunday morning, parts of Dorchester were sprayed NALED, a commonly used insecticide that is known to kill mosquitoes on contact. The United States began using Naled in 1959, and according to the infamous Environmental Protection Agency, the chemical dissipates so quickly that is not harmful to humans. They also say that human exposure to Naled during spraying "should not occur".
In parts of South Carolina it is not unusual to see trucks with trailing pesticide clouds, thanks to a mosquito-control program that also destroys larvae. Lately the mosquito scare has grown with the continued threat of West Nile, and more recently Zika. There have been several dozen travel-related cases of Zika in South Carolina, but no one has been infected by a local mosquito-yet.
Dorchester County decided to try something different.
For the first time, an airplane dispensed a mist of Naled across the town, raining down like a nuclear attack on insects from 6:30 am- 8:30 am on Sunday. The county says it gave citizens plenty of warning about the chem-trailing plane, via a Newspaper announcement on Friday, and a Facebook Post on Saturday.
The bee keepers feel much differently though.
“Had I known, I would have been camping on the steps doing whatever I had to do screaming, ‘No you can’t do this,'” beekeeper Juanita Stanley said in an interview with Charleston’s WCSC-TV. Stanley told the Charleston Post and Courier that the bees are her income, but she is more devastated by the loss of the bees than her honey.
The county acknowledged the bee deaths Tuesday. “Dorchester County is aware that some beekeepers in the area that was sprayed on Sunday lost their beehives,” Jason Ward, county administrator, said in a news release. He added, according to the Charleston Post and Courier, “I am not pleased that so many bees were killed.”
Dorchester County administrator Jason Ward wrote to The Washington Post in a statement on Thursday, clarifying that the county sent out a press release at 9:15 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 26.
“The beekeepers that were on the county’s contact list that were in the zone to be sprayed were called with one exception. Mr. Scott Gaskins, who runs the Mosquito Control program, failed to call Mitch Yawn, Ms. Juanita Stanley’s business partner,” Ward said in the email.
“The second issue regarding beekeepers like Mr. Andrew Macke revolves around the fact that the county did not have these locations on its list. However, we have reached out to the Lowcountry Beekeepers Association and they provided us with the names and locations for other beekeepers in Dorchester County."
The insect neurotoxin cannot discriminate between honey bees and bloodsuckers. A profile of the chemical in Cornell University’s pesticide database warned that “Naled is highly toxic to bees.”
Although the insecticide was known to kill bees, to South Carolina beekeepers spraying had not been as significant a concern as parasites, disease and other hive threats. As South Carolina Beekeepers Association President Larry Haigh told the Post and Courier in June 2015, many counties will spray at night, when honey bees do not forage for pollen. Plus, given sufficient warning, beekeepers will shield their hives and protect the bees’ food and water from contamination.
Sunday was different. Summerville resident Andrew Macke, who keeps bees as a hobby, wrote on Facebook that the hot weather left bees particularly exposed. Once temperatures exceed 90 degrees, bees may exit the nest to cool down in what is called a beard, clustering on the outside of the hive in a ball. Neither Macke nor Stanley had covered their hives.
And then came the plane.
"They passed right over the trees three times," Stanley said to ABC 4 News. After the plane left, the familiar buzzing stopped. The silence in its wake was like a morgue, she said.Although the insecticide was known to kill bees, to South Carolina beekeepers spraying had not been as significant a concern as parasites, disease and other hive threats. As South Carolina Beekeepers Association President Larry Haigh told the Post and Courier in June 2015, many counties will spray at night, when honey bees do not forage for pollen. Plus, given sufficient warning, beekeepers will shield their hives and protect the bees’ food and water from contamination.
Sunday was different. Summerville resident Andrew Macke, who keeps bees as a hobby, wrote on Facebook that the hot weather left bees particularly exposed. Once temperatures exceed 90 degrees, bees may exit the nest to cool down in what is called a beard, clustering on the outside of the hive in a ball. Neither Macke nor Stanley had covered their hives.
And then came the plane.
As for the dead bees, as Stanley told the AP, her farm “looks like it’s been nuked.”
A Summerville resident started a Change.org petition calling for Dorchester County to halt aerial Naled spraying. It is unclear whether those who lost bees are pursuing other recourse.
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