About Pesticides

Current as of October 2008

The honeybee is essential for crop production, particularly for specialty crops such as nuts, berries, fruits and vegetables.  Honeybees pollinate over 90 commercial crops, so that the plants can reproduce and provide the abundance and variety of foods we enjoy.  According to USDA, honeybees pollinate about one-third of the human diet, and pollination is responsible for $15 billion in added crop value.

Discovering a problem

During the winter of 2006-2007, some beekeepers began to report unusually high losses of 30-90 percent of their hives.  As many as 50 percent of all colonies reported lost demonstrated symptoms inconsistent with any known causes of honeybee death – sudden loss of a colony’s worker bee population with very few bees found near the colony. The queen and brood (young) remain, and the colonies had relatively abundant honey and pollen reserves but the hive cannot sustain itself without worker bees and would eventually die. This phenomenon has been called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) because of its sudden onset.  Further investigation suggests that these outbreaks may have been occurring for the last two years and periodically for several decades.

Why it's happening

Current theories about the cause(s) of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) include:

• increased losses due to the invasive varroa mite (a pest of honeybees);
• new or emerging diseases such as Israeli Acute Paralysis virus (IAPV);  
• pesticide poisoning through exposure to pesticides applied to crops or for in-hive insect or mite control;
• potential immune-suppressing stress on bees caused by one or a combination of factors. 

This last theory is the most highly suspected cause of CCD.  Stressors may include poor nutrition, drought, and migratory stress brought about by the increased need to move bee colonies long distances to provide pollination services.

What is being done

In 2007, the U.S. Department of Agriculture established a CCD Steering Committee with representatives from other government agencies, academia, beekeepers, professional organizations, and other stakeholders.  EPA is an active participant in the CCD Steering Committee. The Steering Committee has developed the Colony Collapse Disorder Action Plan (PDF) (28 pp, 2MB, About PDF). The plan has four main components:

1. Survey/Data Collection to determine the extent of CCD and the current status of honeybee colony production and health;
2. Analysis of Bee Samples to determine the prevalence of various pests and pathogens, bee immunity and stress, and exposure to pesticides;
3. Hypothesis-Driven Research on four candidate factors including new and reemerging pathogens, bee pests, environmental and nutritional stresses, and pesticides; and
4. Mitigative/Preventive Measures to improve bee health and habitat and to counter mortality factors. 

What EPA is doing

EPA is responsible for evaluating all pesticides to ensure their use will not pose unreasonable adverse effects to man or the environment.  As part of the evaluation process, EPA reviews standard bee toxicity data and, where warranted, may require additional testing.  The Agency also requires labeling that contains both advisory and mandatory bee protection language to restrict the use of certain pesticides that are toxic to bees. 

Because of these responsibilities, EPA is focusing on the elements of the Action Plan that address pesticide exposure and the possibility that pesticides are a contributing factor in CCD.  If there are actions identified that EPA can take to prevent CCD, we will be ready to take the appropriate steps.

For more information

• Find out more about colony collapse disorder from the USDA Agricultural Research Service.
• Additional information about EPA efforts to protect bees, including docket links