Elle Newlands Instagram – Yesterday I came out to find 100’s of dead and dying bees in a cut back area of my yard. If it wasn’t so bare I might never have seen this. I cleaned up and today there are more dead bees and more showing up, distressed, disoriented and dying. They are also dead in the pool. I called a local bee keeper and she told me this is a mass poisoning from local insecticide/rodenticide. She said if the tongues were sticking out it was poison. I checked and they were. It’s possible someone local sprayed an active hive to kill them or a nearby swarm were poisoned by plants that had been sprayed and this is as far as they got but regardless, the outcome is catastrophic.
The worst offender for pollinators is neonicotinoids. The CDC reports that this is the number one killer of bees/butterflies, from agricultural and local insecticide and pesticide sprays. Please commit to stop using pesticides and rodenticides around homes or at the very least, minimize use during the day when pollinators are active and avoid neonicotinoids. The ecosystem is delicate and this is what happens when plants are sprayed. Bees are community driven and will die en masse. If you find a bee hive, please Google and find local bee keepers that can advise on safe removal. The ecosystem can’t survive without bees and THIS is what happens when a hive is exposed to poison. I hate that they died here and I’m honestly so angry right now but maybe it’s for the best because now I can post this to show what is happening every day – the ecosystem extends beyond our perimeter and it’s up to us to do our part. | Posted on 12/May/2024 00:51:03
