60,000 bees wiped out by lethal pesticides

‘THINK of the bees when spraying chemicals’ is the message from bee-keeper Mags Moriarty after she made the grim discovery of over 60,000 dead bees in her apiary at the Kerries, Tralee.

Mags sent a sample of the dead bees to the Federation of Irish Beekeepers’ Association (FIBKA), which ruled out any disease in her hives, while poisoned bees tend to die with their proboscis (tongue) sticking out – a key characteristic present in Mags’ dead bees.

Mags is Secretary of the Kingdom Beekeepers’ Association, and she explained that bees can forage up to two miles in search of pollen, making them vulnerable to dangerous chemicals being sprayed by farmers and gardeners.

“It was a devastating sight, and it’s horrible to see all of them dead, especially after all the work that goes into minding them,” Mags said.

Ideally, chemicals should be sprayed in the evening, when the bees are less active.

Local bee-keepers need to be informed when spraying is taking place so they can lock their hives and keep bees safely confined for 24 hours.

Mags said that one member of their association recently lost 15 hives because of chemical spraying in a part of north Kerry.

“I’m aware that farmers have to spray and do their work. I’ve even contacted the farmers in my area asking them to let me know when spraying is happening.

“This also gives me a chance to inform other bee-keepers that there is spraying going on. Something like this could have been avoided by simply locking the bees in the night before,” she said.

Mags believes more education is now needed as many people do not realise the distances bees can fly and the harm that spraying pesticides and weed killer causes bees.

“It’s a silent problem, and people are not being made aware when they buy weed killers that they kill bees. Spraying in the evening avoids coming into contact with pollinators.

“People need to know this when spraying weeds – do it in the evening and notify a local bee-keeping club.”

Contact info@kingdombeekeepers.com for more information about bees.

Photo by Joe Hanley. Mags Moriarty at her apiary, where she made the grim discovery.