# Almonds and Fungicides



## Beeslave (Feb 6, 2009)

Do any of you that pollinate almonds worry about the repeated fungicide spraying that occurs on nice sunny days when the bees are flying and working the blossoms. From what I seen while the almonds were in bloom and there was forecasted rain coming every orchard was being sprayed. I'm going through deadouts from last summer to get them ready for packages and splits. I'm seeing entombed pollen in most of those hive bodies and I'm wondering if the fungicide sprays are the culprit.


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## Ben Brewcat (Oct 27, 2004)

I recently went to a lecture by Dianna Sammataro in which she talked about this very topic. Her recent research is exploring the microflora of the honeybee gut, which includes scores to hundreds of organisms (including fungal organisms like yeasts). These help the bee (just as microbes in our guts do) by producing B vitamins and other compounds that may play important roles in individual and colony health. Fungicides, usually thought to not affect honeybees much, seem to (predictably) be damaging to the bene microbes in bee guts, potentially contributing to nutritive deficiencies. Her presentation showed a couple pallets of colonies in a fog from the fungicide sprayers/generators that were just down the row from them...

Note that there were a lot of "may" and "potentially" caveats in there... it's deliberate . She was at great pains to stress that this is an avenue of investigation at this point. But the premise, to me, is compelling and merits investigation.


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## Tom G. Laury (May 24, 2008)

In general, the fungicides are not highly toxic to the bees. However, in the right conditions being sprayed with cold water can drop them to the cold ground where they perish. One exception to this is a formerly common fung. Captan. It will kill the heck out of all the brood.


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## JohnK and Sheri (Nov 28, 2004)

Yes, it is a growing concern, not just for almond pollinators but queen rearing colonies coming back from almonds.where fungicide (Pristine is the one I've heard mentioned) is being used. If fed to the larvae it kills it, so pollen in the combs of queen builders is a serious issue. In the case of pollination colonies, if that pollen can cause losses of brood, it could set a colony way back, while not necessarily causing it to totally collapse. This could happen months later if that pollen were stored and gotten into later.
The fungicide distributors tell the growers it is not toxic: the growers tell the beeks it is not toxic, but there seems to be enough smoke to seriously suspect a fire. 

Growers expect a certain frame count going into the groves. Perhaps beeks will need to consider inspections of colonies leaving the groves as well. 
Sheri


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## loggermike (Jul 23, 2000)

This will be a good year to look for any effects from fungicide. I think they sprayed around 3 times during bloom.I am finding the hives to be fairly heavy, with an abundance of almond pollen stored around the brood. The hives are looking really good right now


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## Tom G. Laury (May 24, 2008)

The Captan kills would be evident while still in the orchard. They threw out piles of pupa.


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## mbholl (Dec 16, 2007)

Used to think of all that stored pollen as a good thing... Now I wonder if it will be something that will be detrimental next fall/winter when the reserves are dug into?


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## Beeslave (Feb 6, 2009)

Tom G. Laury said:


> Captan kills . They threw out piles of pupa.


Are you saying you saw this or if captan was used that is what would have been seen?


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## Tom G. Laury (May 24, 2008)

I personally observed this in my own colonies three years in a row in the same orchard. So many dead pupa in the front it looks like flying bees got knocked down, but on closer look it's all pupa. Like all that there were inside. Really ruins the colony. Captan.


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## JohnK and Sheri (Nov 28, 2004)

Tom, that is pretty much identical to what I've heard, but with Pristine being named the culprit: virtually all larvae dumped out in front of the hive, in the orchard. If someone wasn't paying attention it could easily be missed when colonies got scooped back up and sent home. Without seeing the dead pupa and quick decline of the colony, an owner might just figure it had been going backwards for a while and consider himself lucky to get paid on his contract. It is sometimes difficult to connect the dots, especially if one doesn't want to deal with accusations of PPB.

But also reported were more delayed effects on larvae feeding from Pristine sprayed pollen stores, again, with pupa all around the entrance. Devastating enough to any colony but doubly devastating to queen rearers and those who depend on them.
I would imagine queen pricing would take a substantial hike if those colonies had to be quarantined from the valley during almond bloom.

Sheri


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

I spray fungicide on my growing crops, one crop being blooming canola. I have never seen any losses directly related to my applications of fungicides, but I would be able to relate my application to any long term colony depression.

One thing I will pass on, out of all the chemicals I apply fungicides are the hard on the system. They have a binding agent in them that can make a guy ill.


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## MABee (Jun 18, 2007)

My hives were in an orchard that was sprayed 3 times, during the day. Once with Pristine. Like L. Mike, my bees look really good. Guess wait and see.

SIDE NOTE... Give almond growers some credit. They aren't out to kill the bees that are putting food on their tables. All they do is follow the fungicide product label instructions. And if the label says not harmful to bees, then thats all most will ever know. How many beeks are using off label or homemade treatments knowing its not good for bees/queens, but "what else am I supposed to do?"
A lot of growers in my area in the last couple years have tried spraying more at night with the understanding that when the bees are working and you spray them with cold water, its gonna knock them down or send them back to the hive. They know how important the bees are to their bottom line. If anything higher pollination prices make them realize that they need to take care of every little bee in the orchard! But like this year when rain storms were so close together and they have x # of acres to spray with y # of machines with only so many hours of non bee flying time, they start to get nervous and spray during the good bee flying weather! Just insight from the almond grower side in me or my 2 cents worth.


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## Ramona (Apr 26, 2008)

I've been looking at the bee associated microbes for about two years now, ever since I heard that pollen has to ferment to become viable food for bees. Fermented pollen (beebread) boosts the protein content of pollen and supplies necessary substances. The beebread functions not only as food but medicine for the colony. 

The fermentation process takes a couple of weeks, beginning with inoculation of the pollen by the bees with unique bacteria from the honey stomach. Fermenting yeasts provide food for more bacteria and eventually lactic acid ends up preserving the pollen creating a "pollen pickle". Because amino acids, vitamins, enzymes, antibiotics, proteins, sterols, etc., are being synthesized and/or released during this process, it's really important that it be allowed to occur uninterrupted. One sterol, 24-methylene chloresterol, is necessary for developing brood . If it is unavailable in the beebread, the bees will pull it from their bodies. After ~ two brood cycles, the bees will run out and be unable to feed the brood properly unless they have an influx of real pollen. Pollen supplement preserved with lactic acid is not the same as real fermented pollen. Any pollen supplement must have at least some (10-15%?) to be effective.

Formic acid, oxalic acid and HFCS all alter the fungal mycroflora of the colony. Balanced fungi are important in disease resistance as some fungi that can cause one bee disease can prevent another. Inhibiting some can open up niches for others to expand. The fungi also synthesize antibiotics and one particular fungus seems to be responsible for synthesizing 24-methlene chloresterol (this seems to happen within an hour or so of the bee collecting?inoculating the pollen).

When we first started looking into the microbes two years ago we immediately thought of the implications of formic acid which on the Miteaway 2 site is described as an anti-microbial. Fungicides also came to mind as a concern. Since then, we've learned that while fungicides are considered OK for bees as they don't outright kill them, they end up highly concentrated in beebread. Even if the grower is extra careful to not spray on open blooms, some fungicides that are labeled as "contact" actually function as "systemic", migrating through the foliage, and can show up in the nectar and pollen 3-5 days after spraying. Before the bees can even gather and inoculate the pollen, the microbes are already inhibited with the fungicides. The yeasts and their byproducts seem to play an extremely important role in the nutrition and "medicinal" value of the beebread to the bees...it makes sense that fungicides could inhibit the fermentation of the yeasts outright.

Because the window of opportunity for larval feeding is so short (6 days) any colonies exposed to fungicides or organic acids could experience glitches in larval development. Those bees suffering from sub-par nutrition and underdeveloped hypophrangeal glands (where brood food comes from) then have to go on to feed a next generation. Small deficiencies over time can have big impacts.

There was a recent discussion on Bee-L about the pollen being so contaminated on crops that beekeepers doing pollination are now feeding pollen patties while the bees are foraging to discourage them from collecting and/or consuming the pollen in the field. 

The more we learn about the microbes the more fundamental they appear to be to the working of the bees and the colony. The microbes, bees, flowers and pollen have co-evolved over millions of years to function together in highly specialized ways.

I'm away from my house right now but have a whole file box full of studies that back up everything here. If anyone is interested, I'll be happy to post the titles of relevant studies when I get a chance. There are also pending releases of studies looking specifically at the effect of fungicides on beebread...not sure when they will be out. 

Our best hives are far from any agriculture. Our most challenging locations are the ones closest to farms and orchards (not monoculture crops, small operations). This is our observation, not a statistically significant sample.

Ramona


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## peterloringborst (Jan 19, 2010)

I think it is time to reevaluate the effect of fungicides used on blooming crops. Since these don't usually kill bees outright they are allowed. There is mounting evidence that they are harmful to colonies if stored in the hives with pollen



> Fungicides usually are not a cause of concern for honey bee poisoning. At labeled field application rates, captan sometimes is associated with larval and pupal mortality. Honey bee broods are lost at a time when the colony population should be expanding. Studies by staff at the USDA Bee Lab in Weslaco, TX, show that honey bee impacts due to captan are related to formulation. These results suggest that it is not the captan itself, but other ingredients in some formulations, that cause developmental problems. These findings are under review for publication.
> 
> Iprodione (Rovral) is another fungicide of concern. During studies at University of California–Davis, some honey bee larvae died when exposed to iprodione. Others develop into large, robust pupae that do not develop into adult forms. Other dicarboximide fungicides might affect bees similarly, but such effects have not been determined experimentally.
> *
> ...


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## Action (Jan 8, 2005)

Arn't you working in (Spraying) The Orchards you are pollinating?
Jack




MABee said:


> My hives were in an orchard that was sprayed 3 times, during the day. Once with Pristine. Like L. Mike, my bees look really good. Guess wait and see.
> 
> SIDE NOTE... Give almond growers some credit. They aren't out to kill the bees that are putting food on their tables. All they do is follow the fungicide product label instructions. And if the label says not harmful to bees, then thats all most will ever know. How many beeks are using off label or homemade treatments knowing its not good for bees/queens, but "what else am I supposed to do?"
> A lot of growers in my area in the last couple years have tried spraying more at night with the understanding that when the bees are working and you spray them with cold water, its gonna knock them down or send them back to the hive. They know how important the bees are to their bottom line. If anything higher pollination prices make them realize that they need to take care of every little bee in the orchard! But like this year when rain storms were so close together and they have x # of acres to spray with y # of machines with only so many hours of non bee flying time, they start to get nervous and spray during the good bee flying weather! Just insight from the almond grower side in me or my 2 cents worth.


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

>>I think it is time to reevaluate the effect of fungicides used on blooming crops. Si

That is so easy for a beekeeper to say, but tell that to a farmer and they will out right tell you to bugger off.
I know what your saying, and in a way agree, I also would wave a HUGE wand of caution before we go down this path.

Are we not having trouble enough with insecticide poisoning? Here we can directly link improper application to colony death.
Now try to tell a farmer not to apply fungicide?

ya, reevaluate fungicide application,
but lets get some hard science behind us first


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## Beeslave (Feb 6, 2009)

Ian said:


> They have a binding agent in them that can make a guy ill.


While I was working the bees in the almonds that were blooming I had no problems(health). One day later that week my sinuses were running and I got a terrible headache. I figured it was from the pollen, and it could have been but I had no problem the previous 4 days. I heard the sprayers working and never thought of that being the cause. Later they got closer to me and a cloud of the spray hit me in the face. That's when I realized I had been working for 4 hrs with the wind blowing the spray from the other side of the grove towards me. I stopped the bee work and went back to the hotel. The next morning the orchard manager told me that the applicator of the fungicide doesn't need to wear a respirator when applying and that was not the cause of me feeling bad. Needless to say I used my own judgement and avoided the turbo sprayers and the drift. No more runny nose or headache. While I was there I made 100 splits. They were made with 1 frame hatching brood with attached bees, 2 frames with honey/pollen and attached bees, plus I shook bees from 3 frames of brood to repopulate deadouts. I figured I shook plenty of bees so when the foragers flew back there would still be enough bees to cover the brood and then some. 50% of those are now empty with abonded brood. I'm not saying the fungicides caused this problem but it has me wondering. I've made plenty of splits this way in WI and never had anything like this happen. The bees will be back to WI this week so I will be able to see for myself what I have to deal with. If a hive is just starting to have some good brood hatching and most of the population consists of foragers that are in the field getting knocked down it can't be good for them.


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## peterloringborst (Jan 19, 2010)

Ian said:


> >>I think it is time to reevaluate the effect of fungicides used on blooming crops. Si
> 
> That is so easy for a beekeeper to say, but tell that to a farmer and they will out right tell you to bugger off.
> 
> ya, reevaluate fungicide application, but lets get some hard science behind us first


If you read the rest of the message, it is clear that Oregon has already revised its recommendations, advising not to apply certain fungicides on blooming plants. 

If I was a beekeeper, and pollinated a crop, and the grower told me to bugger off, I would cancel the contract. The main leverage the beekeeper has is the pollination he/she provides. 

Meanwhile, regulations on fungicides are based on toxicity studies on adults. If studies show longterm effects, the regs will have to be changed. 

Why are they spraying plants in bloom, anyway?


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

Ya, your talking almonds, Im talking canola
farmers who arnt totally dependant dont see pollination as a service, just a side benifet

>>Why are they spraying plants in bloom, anyway?

Most all fungicides are applied during the crop bloom period, reason for the application of the fungicide in the first place, to protect the seed
also some to protect plant


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## peterloringborst (Jan 19, 2010)

Ian said:


> >>Why are they spraying plants in bloom, anyway?
> 
> Most all fungicides are applied during the crop bloom period, reason for the application of the fungicide in the first place, to protect the seed
> also some to protect plant


I still don't get it. Is there seed when the plant is in bloom ???


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

peterloringborst said:


> I still don't get it. Is there seed when the plant is in bloom ???


A retorical question I imagine?


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## loggermike (Jul 23, 2000)

I have been chased out of an orchard by the grower when the fungicide spraying is going on. But,hey, I have to get MY work done too.
I always develop a cough when doing almond pollination, regular as clockwork, year after year. I always figured it was the fungicide. But could just be all the stress involved and working in the damp cold.
When you see a spray rig blast the bees out of the trees , and watch the disoriented workers landing all over the hives trying to clean themselves,you know its not good for bees. 
But the grower HAS to protect his bloom from rot. So its a compromise.The bees are tough and always seem to recover from whatever damage was done.So far anyways.


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## peterloringborst (Jan 19, 2010)

sqkcrk said:


> A rhetorical question I imagine?


I don't know, he's talking about canola. Maybe seed is there at the same time as bloom. Anyway, it's a cost/benefit ratio. How much honey do you get from canola vs how many dead colonies you get from spray

This is an old problem. Guys put bees on alfalfa seed in the Imperial Valley, California. They try to make honey before the hives are killed off. But this fungicide is different IF it is stored in the hives and has long term consequences. 

I am not all about banning this or that. I think beekeepers and growers have to have the best information and then make informed decisions. That's my take.


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

>>I don't know, he's talking about canola. Maybe seed is there at the same time as bloom. Anyway, it's a cost/benefit ratio. How much honey do you get from canola vs how many dead colonies you get from spray


Ya, I have not experience with almonds, as your reffering to. Im speaking in general of all other fungicides used on the country side. My experience being canola, from which I pull honey from.
In canola, the bloom is targeted to minimize scarlotina stem rot. Its the petals that fall onto the stem, which creates an environment for the rot to set in. Wheat, we target the flower also, but to prevent a seeding disease.
Sunflower, soybeans, the list goes on.

I dont see any dead colonies from the application of fungicide. But what I was trying to comment on is maybe there is some long term hampering to the hive. Nothing has been found to prove there is any effect on the hive with the fungicides used on field crops. I am interested in some research on this though

So there you have it, a A rhetorical question , maybe. Its so hard to tell in fourms like this


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## peterloringborst (Jan 19, 2010)

Ian said:


> I dont see any dead colonies from the application of fungicide.


The effect may be delayed by months



> Growers of many bee-pollinated crops routinely apply fungicides during bloom, while pollinators are present [35] as there are currently no label restrictions for this action. Thus it may not be surprising that fungicides account for most of the pesticide content of pollen. Kubik et al. [36] noted high residues of the fungicides vinclozolin and iprodione up to 32 and 5.5 ppm respectively, in beebread.
> 
> Chlorothalonil is a highly reactive, widely-used, broad-spectrum fungicide that promotes oxygen stress [37] and is overtly toxic to fish and other aquatics at ppb levels [38]. We found chlorothalonil to be a marker for entombing behavior in bee colonies associated with poor health [24], and it was suggested that entombing may be a new defensive behavior of bees faced with large amounts of potentially toxic food stores.
> 
> ...


High Levels of Miticides and Agrochemicals in North American Apiaries: Implications for Honey Bee Health -- Plos ONE


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## Allen Martens (Jan 13, 2007)

peterloringborst said:


> If I was a beekeeper, and pollinated a crop, and the grower told me to bugger off, I would cancel the contract. The main leverage the beekeeper has is the pollination he/she provides.
> 
> Why are they spraying plants in bloom, anyway?


Across the Canadian prairies a large percentage of honey produced comes from canola; yield averages are 165+ lbs with many individual beekeepers producing over 200 lbs per year. Farmers don't need bees to produce a crop, but gratuitously allow beekeepers to place hives in their fields. There may be a minimal increase in yield for the canola with the bees present, but not enough for the farmer to worry about. However, in a moist year, fungicide can save a crop. Most of the other nectar yielding plants around here are in the same situation. 

In light of this, as Ian stated, we really have no recourse but to work with the farmers. So far, if disease level are kept low and fall pollen levels are good, the benefits greatly outweigh the costs of dead hives (if in actually fungicides lead to dead hives).

This is not to say we aren't concerned. However, in this neck of the woods, without strong empirical evidence that changes the label, I don't see farming practices changing. Farmer benefit to greatly from the fungicides and don't really need bees for seed production


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## Tom G. Laury (May 24, 2008)

Benlate, Ziram, Rovrol, many others pose no apparent threat to the bees. But note that Captan is mentioned specifically in post #25. I think it was Dr. Atkins at UC Riverside that did a study confirming the brood damage and it was serious. There are enough alternate materials that I haven't heard of it being used in almonds for some years. It seems growers voluntarily quit using it. Brown rot and so on will wipe out a crop in a wet warm spring like this one.


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## BEES4U (Oct 10, 2007)

peterloringborst said:


> I still don't get it. Is there seed when the plant is in bloom ???


It's called Brown Rot prevention.
Oops. I now see Tom has it covered.
Ernie


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## JohnK and Sheri (Nov 28, 2004)

It may have been Captan in the past and kudos for growers restraint, and switching to alternatives. What I am hearing about now (just talked to another queen breeder today) is Pristine. 
He talked about entombed pollen cells, this sounds like what Shannon reported seeing. It might be enlightening to analyze some of those pollen frames.
Sheri


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## Tom G. Laury (May 24, 2008)

Captan and Pristine may be essentially the same thing, those are just brand names. Like TacTic and Ovasyn.


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

>.Benlate, Ziram, Rovrol, many others pose no apparent threat to the bees. But note that Captan

I know the conversation was mostly directed towards the almond growers, and their use of fungicide, Captan. Its so easy for someone outside looking in to misinterpretation the conversation and brush a broad stroke, they are all fungicides.


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## Ramona (Apr 26, 2008)

Here is Eric Mussen, et.al. (UC Davis) paper: "Effects of fungicides on growth and development of larval honey bees". 2004


http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1603/0046-225X-33.5.1151

From the abstract: "No larvae fed Captan, Rovral, or Ziram completed development to adults. In the case of Rovral, a novel amorphogenic effect was observed."

I haven't been to the library in a while where I can access academic documents without paying for each download so haven't read the complete study yet.

Ramona


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## peterloringborst (Jan 19, 2010)

Tom G. Laury said:


> Captan and Pristine may be essentially the same thing, those are just brand names.


It is so easy to look this stuff up! No, they are not the same at all. Some recommendations suggest using one or the other or both.



> There are whole classes of fungicides:
> 
> phthalimides: includes captan captafol folpet
> 
> ...


﻿
Fungicides are not all the same, not at all. 



> Sulfur is one of the oldest fungicides and pesticides. Dusting sulfur, elemental sulfur in powdered form, is a common fungicide for grapes, strawberry, many vegetables and several other crops. It has a good efficacy against a wide range of powdery mildew diseases as well as black spot. In organic production, sulfur is the most important fungicide. It is the only fungicide used in organically farmed apple production against the main disease apple scab under colder conditions.


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## Tom G. Laury (May 24, 2008)

No kidding, they're not all the same. Who would have ever known?

I was just pointing out that brand names are not that informative.


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

>>Sulfur is one of the oldest fungicides and pesticides

ya, its cheap too. But not near as effective as some of the commercial formulation they have out now. In regards to canola, a sulfur treatment is about as 1/3 as effective in its treatment.


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## Jeffzhear (Dec 2, 2006)

Ramona said:


> Here is Eric Mussen, et.al. (UC Davis) paper: "Effects of fungicides on growth and development of larval honey bees". 2004
> 
> From the abstract: "No larvae fed Captan, Rovral, or Ziram completed development to adults. In the case of Rovral, a novel amorphogenic effect was observed."


Ramona, ty for providing the abstract. I wrote a white-paper for one of the blueberry growers I may provide honeybees to pollinate his fields. He planned on spraying 4 fungicides including Captan during the bloom. I've been pulling together data to support my contention that he can't spray fungicides or pesticides while my bees are in his bushes. The link to the abstract helps support my position. Thank you.


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## peterloringborst (Jan 19, 2010)

Ian said:


> In regards to canola


I regards to canola oil, I am thinking about never buying it again


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## Beeslave (Feb 6, 2009)

Canola Oil-Are you afraid you will leave your hive and not find your way back?


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## beemandan (Dec 5, 2005)

Beeslave said:


> Canola Oil-Are you afraid you will leave your hive and not find your way back?


I already have that problem....I doggone well better stay away from canola oil...


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## Ramona (Apr 26, 2008)

New research being given yesterday at the Southeastern Biologist's Association:

P2.59 BRADY S. CHRISTENSEN1, TRAVIS J. CROXALL1, JAY A. YODER1, DIANA SAMMATARO2 AND GLORIA DeGRANDI-HOFFMAN2. Wittenberg University1, USDA-ARS, Carl Hayden Honey Bee Research Center2. Spraying fungicides reduces symbiotic microbes necessary for bee bread production.
Honey bee (Apis mellifera) development depends on fungal conversion of stored pollen into bee bread that is fed to larval bees. A combination field-mycological study was done surveying 21 hives in orchards representing various levels of fungicide treatment to determine the amount of fungi present and affected in bee bread. All bee bread samples are characterized by a regular mycoflora profile dominated by Aspergillus spp. and Penicillium spp. and to a lesser extent Cladosporium spp. and Rhizopus spp. Minor components were Alternaria spp., Aureobasidium spp., Bipolaris spp., Colletotrichum spp., Fusarium spp., Mucor spp., Paecilomyces spp., Scopulariopsis spp., Stigmella spp. and Trichoderma spp. (mixed composition), presumably reflective of habitat differences. Bee colonies in direct fungicide spraying resulted in an overall decrease of all fungal components, not a select group or single kind of fungus. This decline correlated with a 3-4 fold suppression in conidia production, 16 hours or 68 hours after spraying. Even if not sprayed with fungicide directly, colonies within 3.2km bee flight range of sprayed areas showed similar reductions in fungal loads as observed in bee bread from directly sprayed
areas. Surprisingly, this included colonies from an organic orchard. We conclude that direct and indirect fungicide exposure is disrupting the bee colony fungal community, with implications for death by production of nutritionally-poor food. Beekeepers report increased incidence of chalkbrood disease after fungicide spraying that we now attribute to the pronounced reduction of Aspergillus spp. and Penicillium spp. that are inhibitory toward bee pathogens.


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