BEES AND PESTICIDES
PESTICIDES ARE DEADLY FOR BEES AND PEOPLE
FORBIDDEN
PESTICIDES Many pesticides have been forbidden in Europe and the USA because they are too dangerous. Some producers and dealers have then tried to intensify the sale of these
Pollution of the environment by
pesticides is an increasing problem in the tropics and subtropics. It arises from the development of large-scale cultivation of single crops monocultures. Increased use of exotic cultivars of crops is a
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often accompanied by increased use of pesticides. When these plants growing under new environmental conditions are attacked by pests to which they are not -74pted, the problem is often yroached by using more and more pesticides.
products in developing countries where they are delivered to farmers without any warnings.
Dead bees on the ground after honey hunters had killed the bees with pesticides. Figure The honey they are selling in the market is contaminated by the spray, and probably some people will die from eating it The Gambia 1994 OLE HERTZ |
We often find heavy use of pesticides in small vegetable gardens producing food for the family and local markets.
Some pesticide producers are more interested in selling their products than in giving information concerning the dangers of
The use of pesticides should be banned in these places. Pesticides used on crops often contaminate farmers, and the food and drinking water of local people. From my own experience in Africa and the Caribbean, it seems that the basic problem is lack of information about the harmful effects of pesticides. Most farmers and ny extension officers are not aware of the risks to people, nor of the risks to useful honeybees and other bees.
Knowledge is lacking also about the need for bees to pollinate most tropical fruits, nuts, berries and some of the seeds. We cannot expect farmers to protect bees unless they understand the bees’ importance for pollination. Better knowledge is necessary both for the farmers, and for the beekeepers, so that they can co-operate to protect bees against destruction from sprays. Use of pesticides without care for pollinating bees has brought disaster for many beekeepers. Wherever this has OCCUITEG
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pesticides. In developing countries, it is easy to get hold of cheap pesticides, but often impossible to get sufficient protective equipment for use by the person spraying (see Figure 6).
DO NOT USE
INSECTICIDES (FLY KILLER) TO KILL BEES Some honey hunters in the tropics are now using insecticides made for spraying mosquitoes, to kill bees {see Figure 1). They do not know that the poison enters the honey. People who eat this honey can become very ill some people die from eating the poisoned honey. -
NAS disO CaudSeU a puYviITl
harvest of bee-pollinated crops.
The problem is still growing.
Lack of knowledge about the need for bees to pollinate many crops has resulted in careless use of pesticides on flowering plants, and this causes the death of all the bees in a neighbourhood. The result is that harvests are never as big as they could be if the pesticides were used ina way safe for bees.
You are welcome to make photocopies of this feature for distribution to your beekeeping or farming group. No copyright restriction.
The use of pesticides in countries where people are not told, or are not able to read warnings written in foreign languages, has caused plenty of accidents. In many countries pesticides are sold in second-hand food containers like cola bottles or sugar bags. This results in people accidentally drinking or eating the poison. In some places pesticide containers are subsequently used for rainwater containers, and people are poisoned in that way. In 1981
OXFAM declared that 750,000
people were poisoned in one year from pesticides (especially insecticides). Half of these incidents and 75% of the people killed were in developing countries. Other statistics from the World Health Organisation tell that one person dies from pest icide poisoning every minute in this part f the world.
The situa tion is even worse now.
ABees for Development publication
