Bees and Banned Pesticide: Die-Off in Portland, Ore.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

1. That seems a bit odd.

Imidacloprid usually comes with a warning not to apply until after flower blooms, because, as a systemic pesticide, it is taken up into the plant, and if applied before the bloom, will show up in the pollen (thus poisoning bees and other pollinators).

Do linden trees in Oregon bloom that early in the season? I've always heard that they bloom in 'early summer'. February (or before) sounds like it's before 'early summer' to me.

Sounds like the people applying the pesticides didn't really know what they were doing if they're spraying systemic poisons on trees at that time of year.