Bee protection
In order to protect bees and other insect pollinators, it is:
- Forbidden to use an insecticide during the flowering* or exudate production** period, unless the product used has a "bee" mention (see below);
- Mandatory to avoid any drift of phytopharmaceutical products towards hives;
- Forbidden to mix pyrethroids with a triazole or an imidazole (See decree "Mixes" of 12 June 2015).
" * Flowering": vegetative period extending from the opening of the first flowers of a plant grouping until the end of petal fall of the last flowers of the same grouping.
"**Exudate": honeydew, a sweet secretion produced by insects on plants, and the extrafloral nectar of plants, which are collected by bees.
In France, the Decree of 28 November 2003 legislates on the application of insecticides and acaricides:
"Prohibition of any application of insecticides or acaricides during flowering and exudate production periods regardless of the products on all crops visited by bees and other pollinating insects..."
The phrase SPe8 is expressed in different wordings:
- Dangerous for bees,
- To protect bees and other pollinator insects, do not apply during flowering,
- Do not use in the presence of bees,
- Remove or cover hives during application and (indicate the period) after treatment,
- Do not apply when flowering weeds are present,
- Remove weeds before their flowering,
- Do not apply before (indicate the date).
The Bee Mention is an exemption to the Decree of 28/11/2013. It is not granted to a product as a whole but, use by use.
There are 3 types of mention potentially written on the phytopharmaceutical product label:
- "use authorized during flowering outside the presence of bees"
- "use authorized during exudate production periods, outside the presence of bees"
- "use authorized during flowering and during exudate production periods, outside the presence of bees"
