An estimated one hundred people braved scorching outdoor
temperatures to attend a memorial service earlier this month. The honorees,
however, were not heroes, community figures, or even human. They were bees
apparently killed by accident in Wilsonville, Ore. Deemed a "bee
kill," the insects were found dead in a Target parking lot after a
pesticide was sprayed on trees infested with aphids.
Media attention to the incident has been heightened by
anti-agricultural pesticide activists trying to score political points off the
dead bugs. According to experts, however, the problem wasn't the pesticide, it
was the application.
"The mistake was that the trees were sprayed while
they were in full bloom," said Dr. Dewey Caron, an affiliate professor of
horticulture at Oregon State University. The pesticide was sprayed during a
window of time in which bees were most attracted to the trees. "It was a
bad oversight," …….. the Oregon agriculture department is blaming a
product for simple (and blatant) human error. That's like banning electricity
because improper use can cause electrocution. While it is truly unfortunate
that bees were killed by misuse of a safe product, subsequent regulatory
over-reach over the deaths is a different matter…..To Read More…..
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