One of the last places I expected to find an article about the demise of the honeybee was the Religious Herald [“To bee or not to bee,” Herald, July 24]. But it was a pleasant surprise! And I think the article to be quite appropriate for a Christian publication. After all, the Lord did put mankind in charge of his creation and something bad is happening to the honeybees. I'm convinced that Pastor Warren's concern is justified and that he is on the right track. And far more than a lowly honeybee may be at stake. As he said, the honeybee may be the “canary in the mine.”
The chemical industry would probably dispute that the use of any of their products could be responsible. But some chemicals are unquestionably poison to the bee. Let me cite a real live example about the effect of only one insecticide, Sevin. Sevin is widely used by gardeners to protect their plants from harmful insects. Sevin solved a problem for me, but its success also alarmed me as to its dangers.
To wit, a few years ago, I discovered that honeybees had made a hive within the wall of my house. Their entrance was a small hole next to a chimney where caulking had fallen out. I failed to discover the hive until it had been well-established. All practical solutions proposed for ridding the wall of the bees involved removal of some of the siding and sheathing. It seemed to me that there had to be some other solution. I found one. Place a small landing for the bees, just below their entrance. Put Sevin dust on it. The bees would have to land prior to going into the hive. The bees legs would be covered by the dust. They would then track the dust into the hive where it would cause those bees which don't leave the hive (including the queen) to also be affected.
Did it work? Less than a day later the bees were all dead. None going in, none coming out! Now silence within the wall. I was not proud that I had resorted to such a solution but justified it because it was most effective and saved removal of the wall.
Thereafter, I began to notice the indiscriminate use of Sevin dust. I noticed garden plants liberally dusted. Some gardeners were using the dust not only on their food-producing plants but even flowers. When I remembered that bees will forage for two to three miles from their hive, I began to realize the danger of such pesticides.
It is also noteworthy that wasps and their nests were many in my outbuildings when I first moved to this location over 42 years ago. Today, nests are seldom seen.
I am afraid that the vast majority of our research into the question of the demise of the bees has been funded by industry which is not impartial to the culprit. The result has convinced many beekeepers that something other than pesticides is responsible. Certainly, there's evidence of parasites and stress involved, but bees weakened by chemicals would lend themselves to be victims as such.
What can I do? Sevin ranks third in domestic sales among all insecticides. Although gardeners probably only account for a relatively small usage, we should try to not use it, or use as little as possible. We could try to communicate our concerns to our legislators. If we Virginia Baptists start the movement, maybe it would spread. And we should seek wisdom from the Lord. The future generations may be dependent upon our care today.
L. Hoyt Griffith, Wirtz