Ecological Solutions Management Plan #3 - Colony Collapse Disorder
Strategy 3 - Take precautionary actions against neonicotinoids-infected seeds
The majority of crops that will be planted this year use neonicotinoids, which are highly toxic to honey bees. The neonicotinoids are most harmful to honeybees around the time of planting and research shows that actions as simple as foraging near plants with neonicotinoids can harm the honeybees.
Details
· Around La Plata County, many farms such as the Animas Valley Farm, harvest corn (Animas, 2012).
· Most corn planting in Colorado takes place at or during the last frost, in mid to late May (Powell, 2009).
· In a recent study, all dead bees that were found at the time of corn planting were contaminated with high levels of neonicotinoids (Protecting, 2012).
· These neonicotinoids are very harmful to honey bees, and it is thought that the bees are flying near crops that have neonicotinoids on them, putting the population of the honeybees at risk (Protecting, 2012).
· In solution, it will be encouraged that farmers in La Plata County don’t use neonicotinoids. It is respected that neonicotinoids may be unavoidable in the harvest of corn for several years.
· In solution whenever farms in La Plata County are planning on planting corn using these neonicotinoids, they will be required to inform the National Forest Service of Durango of their planting plans with two months advance.
· The National Forest Service of Durango will then inform the beekeepers of the date that they will be required to place netting over stable hives to ensure that no honeybees are exposed to the neonicotinoids.
· The netting will be placed on the hives by the beekeepers. If the beekeepers need assistance placing netting over hives, employees and volunteers from the National Forest Service will be responsible for helping net the hives.
· Every beekeeper will be required to purchase the netting for the amount of hives they own and collect honey from. Each net costs $24.95 (Beekeeping, 2012)
· This solution will be communicated to our beekeeper and farming community through letters that are sent to all of the beekeepers and farmers in La Plata County.
· A meeting in which the farmers and beekeepers are informed of the problem in detail will follow the mail. Then, the speaker will inform the crown of the plan that is being put into place. Finally, a question and answer session will follow.
· The speaker of the meeting will be the founder of the Durango Buzz Club, Tina Sebestyen.
· This plan will be considered successful if after two years, hives have 30% less residue of neonicotinoids.
Benefits
· This will prevent the honeybees from being exposed to harmful chemicals for a decent amount of time.
· A few of the local corn producers, such as Animas Valley Farms, already use organic cord seeds (Animas, 2012).
Cons
· Restricting traffic in and out of hives may affect bee health especially at an extended amount of time.
· There are natural hives that cannot be netted. These bees will still be exposed to the neonicotinoids.
· With 2,110 hives in the La Plata County, it will cost $52,395.00 to net all of the hives in La Plata County (Honeybees).
The majority of crops that will be planted this year use neonicotinoids, which are highly toxic to honey bees. The neonicotinoids are most harmful to honeybees around the time of planting and research shows that actions as simple as foraging near plants with neonicotinoids can harm the honeybees.
Details
· Around La Plata County, many farms such as the Animas Valley Farm, harvest corn (Animas, 2012).
· Most corn planting in Colorado takes place at or during the last frost, in mid to late May (Powell, 2009).
· In a recent study, all dead bees that were found at the time of corn planting were contaminated with high levels of neonicotinoids (Protecting, 2012).
· These neonicotinoids are very harmful to honey bees, and it is thought that the bees are flying near crops that have neonicotinoids on them, putting the population of the honeybees at risk (Protecting, 2012).
· In solution, it will be encouraged that farmers in La Plata County don’t use neonicotinoids. It is respected that neonicotinoids may be unavoidable in the harvest of corn for several years.
· In solution whenever farms in La Plata County are planning on planting corn using these neonicotinoids, they will be required to inform the National Forest Service of Durango of their planting plans with two months advance.
· The National Forest Service of Durango will then inform the beekeepers of the date that they will be required to place netting over stable hives to ensure that no honeybees are exposed to the neonicotinoids.
· The netting will be placed on the hives by the beekeepers. If the beekeepers need assistance placing netting over hives, employees and volunteers from the National Forest Service will be responsible for helping net the hives.
· Every beekeeper will be required to purchase the netting for the amount of hives they own and collect honey from. Each net costs $24.95 (Beekeeping, 2012)
· This solution will be communicated to our beekeeper and farming community through letters that are sent to all of the beekeepers and farmers in La Plata County.
· A meeting in which the farmers and beekeepers are informed of the problem in detail will follow the mail. Then, the speaker will inform the crown of the plan that is being put into place. Finally, a question and answer session will follow.
· The speaker of the meeting will be the founder of the Durango Buzz Club, Tina Sebestyen.
· This plan will be considered successful if after two years, hives have 30% less residue of neonicotinoids.
Benefits
· This will prevent the honeybees from being exposed to harmful chemicals for a decent amount of time.
· A few of the local corn producers, such as Animas Valley Farms, already use organic cord seeds (Animas, 2012).
Cons
· Restricting traffic in and out of hives may affect bee health especially at an extended amount of time.
· There are natural hives that cannot be netted. These bees will still be exposed to the neonicotinoids.
· With 2,110 hives in the La Plata County, it will cost $52,395.00 to net all of the hives in La Plata County (Honeybees).