RICHMOND—Knowing where beehives are located and when producers plan to apply crop protectants can go a long way to safeguarding pollinators.
That’s where the Virginia’s BeeCheck program comes in. The free, voluntary mapping tool helps facilitate communication and connect beekeepers with agricultural producers, landowners and pesticide applicators.
“Pesticide applicators can search online for apiaries located near a treatment site and contact beekeepers to inform them of a pending application,” explained Keith Tignor, Virginia’s state apiarist who works with Virginia’s BeeCheck program. “Beekeepers can assess risk to their honeybee colonies based on the information provided by the applicators and take appropriate action when necessary to protect colonies from exposure.”
The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services adopted BeeCheck as part of its Voluntary Plan to Mitigate the Risk of Pesticides to Managed Pollinators. The program has two components—beekeepers can register their hive locations and contact details through BeeCheck, while agricultural and commercial pesticide applicators can register through FieldCheck. FieldCheck users can view local hives and make application plans based on hive location and weather conditions to mitigate chemical drift.
“When an application will occur is important,” Tignor explained. “The day—as in how much preparation time—as well as the time of day is important. Most pollinators actively forage in the morning through mid-day. A late afternoon or early evening pesticide application lessens the toxic risk to many beneficial insects.”
VDACS’ Office of Pesticide Services is responsible for registering pesticides for use in Virginia. Tignor noted that granular products pose less contact risk to beneficial insects than aerial applications, which may drift into non-targeted areas or impact pollinators if they fly through application areas.
Enrollment in Virginia’s BeeCheck is monitored by VDACS and hosted through FieldWatch. The nonprofit aims to improve communication between specialty and row crop producers, beekeepers, seed companies and pesticide applicators to support stewardship efforts.
“It’s been very successful,” Tignor said, noting Virginia’s BeeCheck program has more than 3,000 registered users with apiary listings statewide. There are currently over 440 registered applicators on the program, and facilitators are continuing outreach to encourage more beekeeper and applicator registrations.
“Beekeepers see this as a beneficial tool for receiving information regarding pesticide applications in the vicinity of their beehives,” he commented.
BeeCheck is just one tool for minimizing risk of pesticide exposure for honeybee colonies. Tignor added that several localities offer similar notification services to residents when applications are planned as part of local operations, like utility work and maintenance.
“We encourage participants to reach out to neighbors, nearby farmers, agricultural pesticide applicators and non-agricultural pesticide applicators to establish direct lines of communication,” he said.
-Virginia Farm Bureau
