http://www.postandcourier.com/20160830/160839915/dorchester-apologizes-for-bee-kill-off
Oops. That’s a lot of bees.
quote:
Dorchester County officials apologized Tuesday for unintentionally killing millions of honeybees when it failed to notify local beekeepers about its mosquito spraying over the weekend.“Dorchester County is aware that some beekeepers in the area that was sprayed on Sunday lost their beehives,” County Administrator Jason Ward said Tuesday. “I am not pleased that so many bees were killed.”
On Friday, when four travel-related cases of the Zika virus were confirmed in the Summerville area, according to the state Department of Health and Environmental Control, the county announced plans to spray for mosquitoes over the town between 6:30 and 8:30 a.m. Sunday. It was the first time the county sprayed from the air, officials said.
By Sunday afternoon, thousands of bee carcasses dotted Andrew Macke’s Spring House Lane property. A hobby beekeeper, he’s had two hives for about two years.
The Summerville fire captain was at work when he spotted the plane flying over.
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“My wife called a short time after the flyover and said, ‘We have a mass killing,’ ” he said. “ ‘We have thousands and thousands of bees dead all around our pool deck and our driveway, just everywhere.’ ”The county usually sprays for mosquitoes by truck from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. weekdays, Ward said.
“I am not aware of any other situations where bees, humans or pets were harmed,” he said. “We usually call registered beekeepers prior to spraying in their zone.”
But this time, Dorchester officials failed to alert them, Ward said.
“I can assure you that having a better relationship with the beekeeping community is paramount in avoiding this type of situation,” he said.
Flowertown Bee Farm and Supply on Pinehurst Avenue, lost more than 2.3 million insect