Do you know about pesticide damage to bees in your country?

Do you know about pesticide damage to bees in your country?

The Centre for Overseas Pest Research, UK has commissioned IBRA to prepare a report on bees, pollination and integrated pest management, from both published and unpublished data. We Know that pesticides used on crops can seriously affect beekeeping in the temperate zones, but we have little information on the effects on bees of pesticides (and of integrated pest management) in the tropics and subtropics.

Most of the available publications are now assembled at ISRA, but this still leaves many gags in our knowledge. Can you help by sharing with IBRA information you may have, either unpublished or published but not recorded in the "Bibliography of Tropical Apiculture’, For instance:

1. Bo you have knowledge of the benefit of hive bees (or wild bees} for pollinating crops in your country, and so, what crops?

2. Can you tell us whether hives of bees are actually taken to any crops for pollination purposes?

3. Are bees (or even whole colonies) killed or damaged by the application of pesticides to any crop? If so, does the honey yield and/or the crop yield suffer as a result?

4. Is any system of integrated pest management used, in order to) prevent harm to natural pest control agents, e.g. parasites, predators.

5. No any pest control agents other than chemicals (e.g. insects, birds, amphibia, light traps) kill or damage bees? Give examples if you can.

Please send replies to any of the above questions (whether positive or negative), and we will be most grateful for any publications you may be able to send, especially recant ones.