Deargeneralpublic,

Honeybeesareresponsiblefor $15billionofagriculturalcrops,plusanother$150millionforhoneyproduction
annually.Scientistsarenowreportingthatinthelasthalfdecadealone30%ofthenationalbeepopulationhas
disappearedandnearlyathirdofallbeecoloniesintheU.S.haveperished.

Howcouldthisbe?Whatiscausingthismassivedropinbeepopulations?Ihaverecentlybeenresearchingtheeffects
ofpesticidesonbeebehaviorandpopulation.Ihavefoundnumeroussourcesthatsupportmyhypothesisthattheuseof
toxicpesticidesdoaffectbeebehaviorandcausesymptomsofCCD(colonycollapsedisorder).

Mostofmysourcessupportthetheorythatcertaintoxicpesticidescanalterthebeessenses.Accordingto
Hiveand
HoneyApiary
inthearticle,"TheHarmfulEffectofPesticidesonHoneyBees"Newresearchsuggeststwopesticides
commonlyusedbyBritishfarmerstodaycouldaffectbeesbrains.Thetwopesticidesnamely,neonicotinoidsand
coumaphostargetbeesbrains,thusmakingitaslowlearnerandcauseslossoffloralscents.

Notonlydothesespecificpesticidesaffectbeebehaviorandsurvivalinstincts,butitalsoaffectsthecolonyand
productionofhoney,Accordingtoanewstudy,pesticidesdamagetheabilityofbeestogatherfoodandarealso
killingthem.Sincebeesarethemostimportantpollinatorsofcrops,theuseofpesticidescanconsiderablyreducethe
yieldofcrosspollinatedcrops.Inadditiontotheaboveeffects,contaminationofbeeproducts,andlossinproduction
ofhoneyaretheothereffectscausedbypesticidesonbees(
HiveandHoneyApiary).

Therehasalwaysbeensuspicionthatpesticideshaveplayedaroleinthebeesdiminishingpopulation.Studiesshowa
newgroupofpesticides,neonicotinoids,mimicnicotineandpoisonnerves.Unfortunately,neuralpathwaysofinsects
arefarmoresusceptibletoneonicotinoidsandgivesinsectschemicallyinducedcasesofdementiawithinthehourof
beingexposed,eventuallyleadingtotheirdeath.EricMussen,ahoneybeeexpertattheUniversityofCaliforniaat
Davis,estimatesthat10%ofbeedeathsareduetopesticides.

Dosingbeeswithanothertoxicpesticide,imidacloprid(severalexperimentsconfirm)impairstheirbasiclearning
responsesotheycantmaketheconnectionbetweenodorandfood.Autopsiesrevealbraindamage.Whateveris
killingbeesisusingitsMO.Forinstance,FloridasJerryHayessaidthatwhenhefirstsawcolonieswithCCD,My
firstthoughtwasimidaclopridbecausewehavethathereintermitecontrol.Itmakesthemforgethowtogetbacktothe
nestandcausestheirimmunesystemtofallapart.Thoseareclassicsymptomsofimidacloprid(
FruitlessFall:The
CollapseoftheHoneyBeeandtheComingAgriculturalCrisis
).

P.O. Box 4414 Durango, CO 81302 (970) 247-2474 animashighschool.com

Imidaclopridcancausebeestobecomedisorientedandforgettheirwaytothenestcausingthemtodieinthefield.If
thedosageisnttoohigh,thenitispossiblethatthesepesticidesarecarriedbackwiththebeestothenestandthen
maketheirwayintothehoneyproduced.In2008,Frazierdroppedabomb,announcingtheresultsofherpesticide
study.Her196pollenandwaxsamplescamefromCCDhives,controlhives,andhivesthathadbeenpollinating
PennsylvaniaAppleOrchardsofthe196samples,193hadpesticideresidues(
FruitlessFall:TheCollapseofthe
HoneyBeeandtheComingAgriculturalCrisis
).

Thisdoesnotonlyaffectbeepopulations,behavior,andgeneralsurvival,butthelongtermeffectsareaffecting
us.
Whenweconsumehoneyproducedbybeesthereisa(accordingtoFraziersstudy)98%chancethatwewillconsume
toxicpesticidesthatwereappliedtoplantsthatbeespollinate.

Thedecliningbeepopulationisaffectingplantsaswell.Beesarethemainpollinatorofplantsandwithoutpollination,
plantswillnotbeabletosurvive.Thegoalofeverylivingorganism,includingplants,istoreproduce.Successful
pollinationallowsplantstoproduceseeds,withoutpollinationplantswouldlosethisability.Therefore,ifbee
populationsweretodisappear,therewouldbeasmallerreproductionrateforpollinatedplants,eventuallyresultinga
massivedecreaseinpopulationforthatspecies.

Beesare
vital
totheagriculturalindustryandourfoodsupply.Ifwecontinuetobeabystanderintheprocessofthese
wonderful,fascinatingcreaturesdisappearing,wewillloseanessentialpartofourlivelihood.Unfortunatly,Home
DepotandLowesHomeImprovementsellsmanyofthesetoxicpesticidesIhavementionedinthisletter.Iencourage
youtosignapetitionagainstHomeDepotandLowesHomeImprovementtostopsellingthesetoxicpesticidesthat
havedreadfuleffectsonbees.Helpmestoptheunspeakablefromhappening.

Sincerely,
EmilyVierling

P.O. Box 4414 Durango, CO 81302 (970) 247-2474 animashighschool.com