So that's what's killing the honey bees.

Citrus grower fined for killing honeybees
August 29, 2013 15:59 EDT


WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- A major Florida citrus grower has been fined after a state investigation found it illegally sprayed pesticide that caused the death of millions of honeybees.

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services fined Ben Hill Griffin Inc. $1,500 last week.

The Palm Beach Post (http://goo.gl/VWjxv6 ) reports that beekeepers have argued since at least 2006 that citrus growers have at times illegally sprayed pesticides to kill the Asian citrus psyllid. The tiny insect spreads greening, a lethal and widespread citrus disease that is devastating groves. But beekeepers say their honey-making insects have been killed along with psyllids.

A Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Department spokeswoman says the action against Ben Hill Griffin is the first case in recent years where a pesticide application by a grower was determined to be the cause of a bee kill.

Information from: The Palm Beach (Fla.) Post, http://www.pbpost.com

He was only fined $1500.00? That's sickening. That will not be a deterrent to other citrus growers - they'll just include the fine in their budgets in the future.

Arghhhhh......good story, though, GBB.

PBulldog2 wrote:He was only fined $1500.00? That's sickening. That will not be a deterrent to other citrus growers - they'll just include the fine in their budgets in the future.

Arghhhhh......good story, though, GBB.

I'm with you. $1500 fine for killing millions of honey bees?
Not right. Should be a much higher fine and maybe some jail time.

I have wild flowers on the islands which I usually cut with the mower. I have been struggling a bit and did not get my mowing up to date and all these flowers bloomed and the bees were amazing. I told my wife that we would not cut for a couple of weeks while the bees chowed down on the wild flowers......it got pretty shaggy, but I saw thriving natural bees everywhere. I tried a pumpkin crop two years ago, and I was told that I needed to bring in bees during pollination and the result was a small yield of pumpkins. Bees are essential for our survival.

That's a shame.  

Nekochan wrote:That's a shame.  

What? That the libs blame the wrong people? What's new?
Maybe it's the bees fault for eating the bee killing poison.