Pesticides Cause Massive Bee Kill in Wilsonville

The Oregonian is reporting that the discovery of 50,000 dead bees in Wilsonville was caused by a pesticide called Safari.

The state is investigating any violation of pesticide laws, which could take up to four months, said Dale Mitchell of the Agriculture Department. 

Mitchell said the bee deaths, the largest documented die-off of bumblebees, could prove important in determining the use and regulations of Safari and other insecticides in the United States. 

Safari's main ingredient is dinotefuran, a neonicotinoid. There are two main kinds of neonicotinoids, both of which are general use insecticides. Safari is a member of the nitro-group.  Research published in 2012 shows these are generally more toxic to bees than the other type. The European Union issued a temporary ban on three other kinds of nitro-group neonicotinoids, which will go into effect this December.

EU Bans Pesticides Linked to Bee Deaths

The European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) has recommended a 2 year suspension on pesticides linked to bee deaths, and it appears the EU will implement the ban, to be formally announced

Three neonicotinoids will be banned from use for two years on flowering crops such as corn, oil seed rape and sunflowers, upon which bees feed. Neonicotinoids have been widely used for more than decade and are used as seed treatments rather than sprays, meaning the insecticide pervades the growing plant, as well as its nectar and pollen. They are less harmful that some of the sprays they replaced, but scientific studies have increasingly linked them to poor bee health. Many, including the National Farmers' Union, accept that EU regulation is inadequate, as it only tests on honeybees and not the wild pollinators that service 90% of plants. The regulatory testing also only considers short term effects and does not consider the combined effects of multiple pesticides.
The chemical industry has warned that a ban on neonicotinoids would lead to the return of older, more harmful pesticides and crop losses. But campaigners point out that this has not happened during temporary suspensions in France, Italy and Germany and that the use of natural pest predators and crop rotation can tackle problems.

The Chemical Industry has come out swinging, with massive lobbying to protect the billions of dollars in sales.  In the summer of 2012, they thought they were winning, but that soon changed.

One Syngenta executive, mentioning in passing his recent lunch with Barack Obama, claimed that "a small group of activists and hobby bee-keepers" were behind that campaign for a ban. 

At that time, the European Crop Protection Association – of which Syngenta and Bayer are members – welcomed the continuing EFSA evaluation. But in January, as the EFSA prepared to issue the damning verdict of its experts, the industry immediately turned on it. Syngenta's lawyers demanded last-minute changes to a press release to prevent "serious damage to the integrity of our product and reputation" and threatened legal action.
The EFSA stood its ground, prompting Syngenta to demand all documents, including handwritten ones, relating to the EFSA's decision and the names of individuals involved. A month later, it told EFSA officials it was considering the "identity of specific defendants" for possible court action. On a more conciliatory note, Syngenta told the EFSA it was considering "large-scale" bee-monitoring studies to "close data gaps", despite previous claims its product had been introduced only after "the most stringent regulatory work". Critics have condemned companies for keeping trial data secret.