Main Office: 660 Pennsylvania Ave., S.E., Suite 302, Washington, D.C. 20003 Phone: 202-547-9359 Fax: 202-547-9429

California Office: 303 Sacramento Street, Second Floor, San Francisco, CA 94111 Phone: 415-826-2770 Fax: 415-826-0507

Email: info@centerforfoodsafety.org www.centerforfoodsafety.org www.foodsafetynow.org

June 18, 2012

United States Environmental Protection Agency

Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention

Ariel Rios Building

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.

Washington, DC 20460

c/o: Marianne Lewis 

Attn: Docket No. EPA-HQ-OPP-2012-0334

Sent via Express Delivery and emailed to: 

Lewis.Marianne@epamail.epa.gov and Nesci.Kimberly@epamail.epa.gov

Re: SECOND SUPPLEMENTAL FILING for Emergency Petition for Suspension of Registration - Clothianidin 

dated 3/20/12

Dear Ms. Lewis and Ms. Nesci,

The following is submitted as a second supplemental filing in support of the above-referenced Petition

(Docket No. EPA-HQ-OPP-2012-0334). This consists of information that came to light after the Petition 

was filed on March 20 and after the Petitioners submitted their first supplement filing on May 3. This 

Second Supplement provides important new information on the issue of whether certain uses of 

clothianidin present an “imminent hazard” to honey bees and other beneficial insects? Recently, EPA 

staff indicated that issue will be decided in the first phase of decision-making on the Petition; to 

properly decide it the agency must have the benefit of the scientific and factual developments that 

have occurred over the last two months. 

The original Petition cited extensive past information on abnormal honey bee mortality; this Second 

Supplement contains an order of magnitude more information on recent major bee kills. The EPA

Office of Pesticide Programs has failed to make the full extent of this bee kill information to Petitioners 

in response to their Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking it.

1

Based on Petitioners’ 

independent research, as well as some of the EPA FOIA response documents, it is apparent that a 

severe hazard does exist to honey bees and other beneficial insects. A shocking amount of new 

information about this hazard has developed very recently that bolsters the case for suspension of 

clothianidin’s registration.

 

1 EPA response to FOIA request filed by Center for Food Safety, dated March 21, 2012; EPA number HQ-FOI-1000-12.
2

1) Determination of the “imminent hazard” issue. The agency states (emphasis added):

In cases where EPA believes that an "imminent hazard" would exist if a 

pesticide were to continue to be used during the cancellation 

proceedings, EPA may use an emergency order to suspend the pesticide 

registration and thereby the sale, distribution, and use of the pesticide. 

An "imminent hazard" is defined as an unreasonable adverse effect on 

the environment or an unreasonable hazard to the survival of a 

threatened or endangered species. The administrator then has 90 days 

to issue a notice of intent to cancel the registration or change its 

classification before the emergency order expires.2

EPA must recall that under FIFRA the burden of proof in determining whether clothianidin presents 

an imminent hazard rests not with Petitioners, rather it rests on the proponents of its registration.3

The evidence provided in the original Petition (which was extensive and will not be re-stated here), 

as supplemented here and in the Petitioners’ first supplemental filing, clearly describes an 

“unreasonable adverse effect on the environment” in terms of a vast number of bee kills impacting 

likely hundreds of colonies and tens of millions of valuable honey bees. The photograph below of a 

recent bee kill in Ontario illustrates this kill phenomenon, tightly associated with spring planting of 

treated corn seed. The proponents of the registration cannot reasonably rebut that the effects of 

this type of kill, repeated across a vast swathe of the United States and Canada, are acute and 

unreasonable. 

An illustration of the unreasonableness of these effects: Petitioners’ counsel has witnessed two 

grown male beekeepers crying because of similar losses to those in the photograph. Beekeepers are 

a tough, independent, lot by nature, but there is no doubt that the emotional impact is devastating 

– not only must they witness severe damage to their unusual and valued livelihoods, but also they

feel guilt over being powerless to protect the living beings they steward from painful spasmodic 

deaths.

Beekeepers cannot prevent the Spring bee kills - with corn increasingly becoming ubiquitous in so 

many regions - nor can they obtain compensation when losses occur. Pesticide kills typically are not 

covered by insurance or indemnification programs, nor is civil action feasible as in many cases there 

are too many farms as potential sources to be able to identify one probable cause provable in a 

court of law. The present EPA proceeding represents our nation’s beekeepers’ best hope to 

prevent recurrence of this devastation.

 

2 EPA FIFRA webpage, Cancellation and Suspension of Pesticide Registrations, online at: www.epa.gov/agriculture/lfra.html .

3 40 CFR § 154.5 on Special Review petitions.
3

The same acute mortality pathway affects uncounted valuable native pollinators whose demise is 

not monitored. This evidence also points to “unreasonable hazard to the survival of a threatened or 

endangered species,” that is, it meets the second prong of the EPA’s “imminent hazard” definition. 

There are at least 18 threatened and endangered invertebrates potentially jeopardized, in the same 

way that the millions of honey bees have been killed. EPA’s nine years of clothianidin registration 

records to date, including the recent responses by EPA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

(USFWS) to the FOIA requests filed by Petitioner Center for Food Safety, provide no indication 

whatsoever that EPA is taking the steps required by the Endangered Species Act to conserve 

Federally-listed species or to mitigate the jeopardy clothianidin poses to them.4

The next Spring planting season begins nine months from now. Repeated annual patterns going 

back several years leaves little doubt that Spring bee kills will recur in 2013 and 2014, i.e., during the 

time period it is likely to take EPA to resolve the Petition if it does not suspend clothianidin’s

registration in the interim. Thus continuing harm and emotional damage to beekeepers continues to 

be imminent, by any reasonable definition. As discussed herein, France and Canada have responded 

to this new risk information by taking regulatory actions within just the last weeks. The United 

States can show international leadership by not taking the imminent hazard issue lightly and 

recognizing the long-term health of honey bees and other beneficial insects is at stake.

 

4 Agency responses to FOIA requests filed by Center for Food Safety with EPA (see fn. 1) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

dated March 27, 2012; number FWS-2012-00664. 
4

2) New science on neonicotinoid effects. In the past month an important new study identified how a 

related neonicotinoid, imidacloprid, affects honey bees. (Eiri, DM and JC Nieh. 2012. A nicotinic 

acetylcholine receptor agonist affects honey bee sucrose responsiveness and decreases waggle 

dancing. J Exp Biol 215, 2022-2029). According to the summary:

...imidacloprid temporarily increased the minimum sucrose concentration that 

foragers would accept (short time scale, 1 h after treatment) and reduced waggle 

dancing (longer time scale, 24 h after treatment). The effect of time suggests 

different neurological effects of imidacloprid resulting from the parent compound 

and its metabolites. Waggle dancing can significantly increase colony food 

intake, and thus a sublethal dose (0.21 ng bee–1, 24 p.p.b.) of this commonly used 

pesticide may impair colony fitness. 

This study provides additional indication, together with the recent studies cited in Petitioners’ first 

supplemental filing, that field-realistic, sublethal, neonicotinoid doses threaten the survival of honey 

bee colonies.

3) Rebuttals of Bayer’s “Overview” of new science on neonicotinoid hazards. The registrant for 

clothianidin, Bayer CropScience, has attempted to influence EPA officials and others by denying 

that the recent science supports a hazard finding (see unpublished “Overview of publications on 

neonicotinoids and pollinators,” prepared by R, Heintzelman, I.D. Kelly, D.L. Fischer and C. Maus, 

dated 23 May 2012). It is noteworthy that co-author Dr. Fischer has been investigating recent bee 

kill incidents and reportedly has acknowledged the role of his company’s products and the need for 

modifications in its use to avoid future harm. (Steve Ellis, pers. comm.)

Out of concern that Bayer’s paper may influence EPA’s views on the pending matter - as it was sent

to agency officials - Petitioners request the same officials to consider the attachments in Appendices 

A and B. The first was prepared by Christian H. Krupke, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Entomology, 

Purdue University, dated June 7, and entitled: A response to a recent review of publications on 

neonicotinoids and pollinators prepared by Heintzelman, Kelly, Fischer and Maus. As Heintzelman et 

al. had critiqued a seminal new paper on toxic dust by Dr. Krupke, he rebuts their critique.

5

Key

points include:

....data suggest that there is a strong likelihood that the neonicotinoids 

thiamethoxam and/or clothianidin were responsible for the bee kills we 

investigated. Corn and soybean seed treatments are the only major use of 

clothianidin and thiamethoxam in our study area. All reports of bee kills occurred 

when corn was being planted nearby.

The spurious claim that the concentrations of neonicotinoids we reported in

stored pollen (2.9-10.7 ppb clothianidin and 6.2-20.4 ppb thiamethoxam, found

co-occurring) were “not high enough to represent a significant risk for honey

bees” is not supported by data. Sublethal effects of these compounds remain an

 

5 Krupke, C. et al. (2012). Multiple Routes of Pesticide Exposure for Honey Bees Living near Agricultural Fields, PloS ONE 

vol.7, which is discussed extensively in the Petition.
5

active area of research and what constitutes a “significant risk” is far from well

defined. Using figures from our study provide a case in point: a bee fed pollen

containing 20.4 ppb of thiamethoxam for the 10 d period it spends as a nurse bee

would be exposed to an equivalent of ca. 50% of the oral LD50 of 2.8 ng/bee.

While the effects of such levels of dietary exposure level on individual bees (and

colonies) remain unclear, dismissing these results out of hand and without

supporting documentation reflects a gross oversimplification of a complex

problem.

.... the current situation is that there are no recommended methods for 

minimizing or preventing exposure of honey bees to planter exhaust. No 

recommendations exist for disposal of used talc. In short, growers planting 

treated seeds using currently recommended practices for planting and cleaning 

of equipment will result in large volumes of exhaust talc being distributed to the 

outside environment.

.... the extremely high levels of seed treatment pesticides found in talc exhausted 

from planters stands out as a potential source of acute exposure and a previously 

unidentified target for remedial action. The lower concentrations found in many 

other sample types are certainly worthy of further study as well, and may act as 

important routes for sublethal exposure. 

Appendix B is the comparable rebuttal of Heintzelman et al., dated June 14, by James L. Frazier,

Ph.D., Professor of Entomology, Pennsylvania State University. Key points from Dr. Frazier include

(emphasis added):

Unlike a normal literature review where the pros and cons of a given paper are 

presented along with all pertinent literature that bear on alternate 

interpretations or provide conflicting results, the authors here provide only 

material used to refute the chosen study. This is done by carefully selecting the 

studies that are quoted and in further selecting specific statements to support 

their position without regard to the entire context or overall conclusions of the 

paper being cited. In addition, relevant published literature is not included or 

cited, and a reader not skilled in science or familiar with the pertinent literature is 

left with a carefully written justification for a specific viewpoint, and not an 

objective critique of the science pertaining to the issues raised.

To object to a specific [neonicotinoid] dose on the basis of an estimated level 

without giving the reader the actual basis for this neglects not only good science 

protocol, but also obfuscates any arguments.

All major reviews of the state of the science on neonicotinoids over the last few 

years, as well as two major bodies of scientists charged with reviewing the state 

of the science on pesticide risk assessment for pollinators, all agree that the 

actual field exposure levels of pesticides in pollen and nectar for pollinators are 

one of the major data gaps that prevent us from knowing the true risks 

associated with systemic neonicotinoids.

When one examines the total relevant published literature for neonicotinoids 

impacting pollinator foraging behavior and the actual likely doses that are 
6

encountered, we see a very different picture than that depicted by Heintzelman 

et al. in their overview.

Clearly this overview is not a balanced, objective review of the papers cited or 

interpretations of them put into the context of all of the current scientific 

literature and the major unresolved questions that need further research, as is 

typical of a balanced scientific critique. For me this raises real concerns that the 

neonicotinoids that are currently being used in the market place were 

registered by a risk assessment process that was seriously flawed in its capacity 

to evaluate systemic pesticides. The plethora of unanswered questions about 

their environmental fates, exposures to honey bees and native bees, potential 

sub-lethal impacts, interactions with other pesticides, and contributions of their 

formulation inerts and adjuvants leave little confidence that their continued use 

will be free from additional complications for pollinators and perhaps for humans 

as well. The unusually high number of beekeeper reported bee kills in 

association with corn planting across seven states in the Midwest so far this 

year, indicates that beekeepers bear the brunt of undue risks from this class of 

pesticides. 

In sum, the Bayer Crop Science Heintzelman et al. “Overview” stands thoroughly rebutted. EPA 

should disregard it.

4) Recent media reports on Spring bee kills. Dr. Frazier’s opinion points to the high number of bee 

kills reported this Spring. The media pieces and excerpts below are by no means exhaustive, but 

they illustrate the wide sweep of the hazard posed by clothianidin seed treatment during corn

planting season. Key quantitative points in the articles (in chronological order) are highlighted.

Thousands of local bees mysteriously die

19 April 2012, by Teesha McClam

http://www.whiotv.com/news/news/local/tipp-city-bee-keeper-has-thousands-deadbees/nMdRP/

A Tipp City beekeeper has been left with 25,000 dead bees, costing him 

thousands of dollars, and he wants to know what happened.

Tony Rimkus of Tipp City told News Center 7's Kate Bartley that his bees 

left the hive to get pollen and brought back a deadly pesticide. Rimkus said his 

bees were worth $5,000. 

Pesticides might be killing bees

2 May 2012, by Tara Bowie (Brantford Expositor)

http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/2012/05/02/pesticides-might-be-killing-bees

.........Van Blyderveen guessed roughly 20% of the hives’ populations have 

been killed in the past week. Similar losses are being reported all over the 

province.

“I know personally of about 30 other beekeepers that are experiencing 

the same thing. It’s everywhere from Chatham to Windsor and over to Niagara 
7

Falls and everything in between. I had someone drive in from Niagara Falls with a 

jar full of dead bees,” he said.........

Van Blyderveen said it’s been a difficult few years in the industry. Bees are 

busy working to just survive instead of collecting extra pollen that would make 

more honey. “We’re definitely not making any money because we are constantly 

trying to rebuild. It’s been tough,” he said.

Four days in April deadly for bees

6 May 2012, by Spencer Hunt (Columbus Dispatch)

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/05/06/four-days-in-april-deadly-forbees.html

Hundreds of thousands of dead honeybees were discovered outside 

hundreds of hives last month in Delaware, Fairfield, Hardin, Miami, Pickaway and 

Ross counties.....

Central Ohio beekeeper Jim North said he believes a class of insecticide 

called neonicotinoids is responsible for the dead bees outside of more than 300 of 

his 350 hives in Pickaway, Fairfield and Ross counties...

“The classic example is the pile of dead bees outside the colony,” said 

Reed Johnson, bee researcher with the Ohio State University Extension. “Having a 

lot of them happen simultaneously, it is almost certainly a pesticide.”

Nightly News with Brian Williams

10 May 2012

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/vp/47379683#47379683

(National news report on a Minnesota bee kill and broader role of systemic pesticides)

Bee mortality spikes as corn planting season begins; Beekeepers suggest there is a strong link 

to air seeders planting seed-treated corn

10 May 2012, The Western Producer 

http://www.honeycouncil.ca/index.php/current_news

Beekeepers in various parts of Ontario are reporting large numbers of 

bees they claim have acute poisoning symptoms. The source of the suspected 

poison is still open to speculation but the Ontario Beekeepers' Association has 

received more than 50 reports of observed bee mortality in recent weeks. The 

association said in a press release last week that anecdotal observations from 

beekeepers indicate that bee mortality has increased since planting season 

started. Those anecdotal reports from bee keepers indicate a strong link to airassisted planters planting insecticide-treated corn seed.....

Bill Ferguson is a beekeeper near Exeter who has experienced an increase 

in bee mortality in recent weeks. He said winter survival rates this year were the 

best in 10 years but more recently bees at some hives have been dying in large 

numbers. He claimed the combination of air-assisted seeders, the use of 

insecticide treated seed and the use of talc powder to assist seed flow was a 

possible culprit in the increasing mortality rates. "There is a lot of air flow around 

these planters and the insecticide particles are picked by the talc powder and are 

blown around and bees are contacting them."
8

Marketing Ploy Being Blamed for Massive Honeybee Disappearance

18 May 2012, by George Prentice (Boise Weekly)

http://www.boiseweekly.com/CityDesk/archives/2012/05/18/marketing-ploy-being-blamedfor-massive-honeybee-disappearance

........While Treasure Valley beekeepers have reported an increase in 

swarms this spring, the same cannot be said for several states across the U.S. In 

fact, Minnesota and Nebraska are reporting huge losses of honeybees.....

Pesticide found in dead bees

28 May 2012, by John Miner (Toronto Sun)

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/05/28/pesticide-found-in-dead-bees

The ongoing investigation into honeybee deaths that struck hives across 

southwestern Ontario this spring has turned up a pesticide used to protect corn 

and soybean seeds.

Thousands of dead bees were found in piles outside hives in early May, 

triggering an investigation by Health Canada and the province's agriculture and 

environment ministries. 

An agriculture ministry spokeswoman said Health Canada found residues 

of the insecticide clothianidin in 28 of 37 samples of bees from various sites......

Pesticides linked to bee deaths

29 May 2012, by Tara Bowie (Brantford Expositor)

http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/2012/05/29/pesticides-linked-to-bee-deaths

Test results released to QMI Agency this week from the Ontario Ministry 

of Agriculture and Food (OMAFRA) show the majority of dead bee samples 

collected during the past month include residue of a widely used corn pesticide. 

The pesticide, Clothianidin, was found in 28 out of the 37 samples tested as of 

Monday.

Hundreds of thousands of dead bees were found in piles outside hives 

across the province in early May, triggering an investigation by OMAFRA, the 

Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Health Canada......

In the past month, about 25% of his bees have died. On a trip to a set of 

his hives located just outside of Tillsonburg last week he found somewhere 

between 5,000 to 8,000 dead bees lying just outside the entrances.

Beekeepers blame pesticides for bee deaths

8 June 2012, by Jessica Murphy (Toronto Sun)

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/06/08/beekeepers-blame-pesticides-for-bee-deaths

The Ontario apiarist was getting used to losing some bees each year, but 

he never imagined he'd witness the devastation of May 24 - an inch-and-a-half 

thick of dead honeybees covering some three feet of lawn in front of each of the 

hives in his home yard.
9

"I don't know if I'm going to get a crop this year," he said. "We take great 

pride in selling our own honey at the market. And people love our honey. But it's 

pretty hard to get honey when the bees are dead."

By his count, the beekeeper in Elmwood, Ont., has lost 90% of the bees in 

his home yard - where he breeds the hardy and gentle line of Buckfast honeybees 

- and 50% of the bees in the rest of his 1,000 colonies, up to 50 million of the 

insects so far.

5) Independent reports of recent U.S. bee kills. As the United States lacks a publicly-accessible 

incident report database comparable to Canada’s (see below), Petitioners have pieced together 

reports beyond the media reports above. This is a very incomplete accounting. (Names are not 

given out of respect to the beekeepers due to the public nature of this document; if EPA officials 

want additional details they can contact Petitioners’ attorney.)

Below are States where kills were reported in April and May; virtually all documented reports were

associated with nearby corn planting in dry weather: 

Indiana: major losses in ten bee yards belonging to President of Indiana Beekeepers 

Association. Reportedly investigated and confirmed by Bayer Crop Science that bees contained

high levels of clothianidin. Bayer representatives reportedly acknowledged the need to change 

how corn seeds are treated. Lighter losses in ten other bee yards. One other report from 

Indiana involved a beekeeper whose operation crosses into Ohio also; this included acute 

mortality affecting about 75 colonies. Reportedly at least three (by one account “many”) other 

recent bee kills occurred in the State, but no other details are available. 

Iowa: one of the 25 beekeeper Petitioners reported a major spring kill pattern associated with 

spring neonicotinoid-treated corn planting (the only insecticide used broadly in the area). 

Occurred in Howard and Winchester counties, with major impacts on 400 colonies spread 

across several bee yards.

Michigan: reportedly two recent bee kills according to the responsible State official, but no 

details are available.

Minnesota: report of a major kill near Elbow Lake after nearby corn planting; made by one of

the 25 beekeeper Petitioners. One chemical analysis did not find high levels of clothianidin or 

thiamethoxam (they may have degraded). Another chemical analysis is pending. 

Nebraska: reportedly one or more recent bee kills, but no details are available.

North Dakota: reportedly one or more recent bee kills, but no details are available.
10

New York State: a report describing numerous colonies impacted in classic neonicotinoid dust 

poisoning circumstances and tens of thousands of dead bees piled in front of them; beekeeping 

operation devastated.

6

Ohio: in addition to media reports (above) of six counties affected involving > 300 hives in what 

clearly fit pesticide poisoning patterns, one account indicated there were “hundreds of 

incidents” in the State that went uninvestigated. One major kill was reported by the former bee 

inspector for Miami County, involving 20 colonies, some with as many as 20,000 dead bees 

piled up in front of them. At least four reports were made to the State Department of 

Agriculture, with one chemical analysis result still pending, whereas for the other three the

chemical analysis did not find clothianidin or thiamethoxam.

Pennsylvania: mortality observed by a small beekeeper in seven hives the next day after corn 

was planted nearby. Reportedly one or more other recent bee kills, but no details are available.

Utah: a report of 96 hives affected by light bee kill due to corn planting nearby.

While full facts are not available to Petitioners on the U.S. kills, those reported are connected to 

Spring corn planting and toxic dust associated with seed treatments. There typically are no other 

insecticides being used during Spring planting and the descriptions fit within the now-classic 

neonicotinoid dust kill pattern. Confirmation via chemical testing is often infeasible due to a variety 

of factors (lack of prompt investigation, costs of testing, delays in taking samples allowing 

degradation of chemicals, inadequate lab equipment, etc.). However, lack of chemical confirmation 

does not eliminate the only reasonable explanation for this pattern. The pattern of U.S. kills 

coincides with those from Canada and several European countries, discussed below. It further fits 

with similar incident reporting patterns from 2010 and 2011, for which EPA has many records.

Unlike Canada, the United States lacks a straightforward reporting system into the Federal 

regulatory agency and the reports made are not publicly accessible online. Further, EPA does not 

provide national summary reporting as is available from several European countries (see below). A 

State pesticide official from Ohio reportedly indicated that bee kills associated with dust from 

treated seed are not even considered a “FIFRA incident” therefore they are not necessarily 

reported to EPA. This appears to be a common practice that denies EPA critical information from 

the field. EPA has devolved much of the job of FIFRA compliance to the State agriculture agencies 

who often do not have the resources to investigate bee kills, may be more committed to enhancing 

crop agriculture and pesticide use, and appear to not view dust from treated seeds causing bee kills 

as events they need to report to EPA.

EPA’s incident reporting approach is so disjointed and ineffectual that beekeepers are reluctant to 

make reports, as doing so typically leads to no meaningful relief and distracts them from the extra 

work needed to cope with their incidents. Beekeepers certainly do not have independent access to 

analytical equipment to determine whether pesticides are involved. When they are able to get 

 

6 For a three minute video of the aftermath of this incident, see 

http://s225.photobucket.com/albums/dd179/themrbee/?action=view¤t=TowerSpray.mp4
11

State or other testing done, it often is after the neonicotinoid compounds have degraded in the 

dead bees and may no longer be detectable. 

In short, given the numbers of incidents in April and May that have been documented, above, as 

well as reported in the press, and in view of the reporting system defects, EPA can reasonably 

estimate that many times more U.S. bee kills occurred without good documentation. The solid 

documentation of four+ incidents from Ontario alone (as well as the comparable neonicotinoid bee 

kills from Austria, Italy and Slovenia, below) should be extrapolated to indicate that potentially 

hundreds of kills occurred across the vast U.S. “corn belt,” which is orders of magnitude larger than 

Ontario’s corn-growing region. 

6) Canada’s bee kill data and government response. The regulatory agency in Canada is more 

proactive in gathering incident data than is EPA. When an incident is reported to the Pest 

Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA), they investigate it and collect the dead animals and have 

them analyzed in a lab. The relatively small agricultural areas in the province of Ontario have been a 

focus of recent bee kills as indicated in the “recent media,” above, which reported >50 bee kill

incidents. At least four official reports were made into the publicly accessible PMRA reporting site

on serious bee kills in April and May, 2012; all were connected with dust from corn seed planting 

with clothianidin or thiamethoxam-treated seeds.7 Health Canada reportedly found residues of

clothianidin in 28 of 37 samples of bees from various sites.

It should also be noted that a review and evaluation of a similar 2011 bee kill involving 25 bee 

colonies in Quebec was determined to be “highly probable” due to exposure to clothianidin and/or 

thiamethoxam and fenitrothion.8That evaluation noted “clothianidin and/or thiamethoxam were 

detected in other incidents where high bee mortality was observed” and that the incident in 2011 

was the “fourth incident reported to the PMRA clothianidin and/or thiamethoxam and bee 

mortality.”

In addition, on June 4th, the Agriculture Committee of the House of Commons held a hearing on the 

topic, which included numerous powerful beekeeper testimonials of several of the recent kills.

9

It 

refers to non-target impacts beyond bees, including anecdotal impacts to birds, skunks and 

raccoons that fed on the vast amounts of contaminated dead bees. The Committee members 

indicated they are considering a possible moratorium on neonicotinoids.

Very recently, on June 12, Canada’s PRMA announced its decision to re-evaluate registration of 

imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam.

10 The announcement confirms that the agency has 

received:

 

7 Online at: www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/pest/part/protect-proteger/incident/index-eng.php. Incident Reports 2012-1869, 2012-

1679, 2012-1680 and 2012-1681. 

8 Evaluation of Pesticide Incident Report 2011-4412, online at: www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/pubs/pests/_decisions.epir-edirp2011-

4412/index-eng.php. 

9 Online at: http://parlvu.parl.gc.ca/Parlvu/TimeBandit/PowerBrowser.aspx?ContentEntityId=9163&EssenceFormatID=874.

10 Online at: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/pubs/pest/_decisions/rev2012-02/index-eng.php.
12

....reports relating to bee mortalities occurring in Canada and internationally. Should 

evidence become available demonstrating reasonable grounds to believe that health or 

environmental risks of a pesticide are unacceptable, the PMRA will take appropriate 

regulatory action.

7) European bee kill data summaries and government responses. While the agency has 

acknowledged the infamous 2008 German bee kill of an estimated 11,000 colonies, EPA has not

made public the extensive kill data it has obtained from Austria and Italy.

11 Below are summaries of 

this data, as well as data from Slovenia, which Petitioners obtained in June 2012, via FOIA

(emphasis added).

Austrian – 2009 to 2011

In response to 2008 bee losses in several European countries, the Austrian 

Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management began a 

study to examine the effects of seed treatment pesticides on bee colony health. 

The project aimed to identify correlations between the incidence of honey bee 

losses in corn and canola regions with bee diseases or the use of seed 

protectants. Incidents of bee poisonings were reported from 2009 to 2011, and 

samples were analyzed for pests, parasites, and insecticide seed treatment 

residues. In 2009, 24 beekeepers (with 27 bee yards) reported bee poisonings 

suspected to be related to seed treatments, affecting 676 hives. Symptoms that 

were observed included: increased bee mortality, acute intoxication, flightless 

bees, crawlers, clustered groups of flightless bees in front of hives, trembling bees 

and decreases in colony strength. Insecticidal seed treatments were detected in 

29 of 29 analyzed bee samples, 39 of 60 beebread samples, and all of the 14 

plant samples. In 2010, 76 beekeepers (with 95 bee yards) reported bee 

poisoning incidents. From the 89 bee samples analyzed, clothianidin was found 

in 51% and thiamethoxam was found in 23%. In 2011, 88 beekeepers 

(representing 142 bee yards) reported bee poisonings. The corn sowing period

that spring coincided with a period of very windy conditions. The study indicates 

there is a relationship between bee poisonings and the seed treatment coatings 

and that mitigation measures should be implemented including using insecticidal 

seed treatments solely based on a given risk in plant protection and the further 

improvement of the quality of seed treatments.

Slovenia - 2011 

A large number of bee poisoning incidents were reported in the eastern region of 

Slovenia during the corn sowing season of 2011. That season, sowing of corn 

coincided with the flowering of oilseed rape in adjacent fields. Nearly 10% of the 

beekeepers in the region were impacted, with incidents in more than 2,500 

hives. Forty-one beekeepers reported losses of foraging bees and broods. 

Clothianidin was the most frequently identified compound in samples taken from 

dead bees, pollen, nectar, honey combs, flowering oilseed rape and corn seeds. 

 

11 The German kill and other bee kill data were discussed in the Petition, at pp. 17-18.
13

Clothianidin was found in 24 out of 51 samples, and thiamethoxam was in 4 of 

the samples. The corn seed was sampled, and found to meet the national quality 

standards for dust abrasion implemented after 2008 bee poisonings. As the 

weather was windy and dry during the corn sowing, it was concluded that bees 

may have been exposed to clothianidin and thiamethoxam in the dust clouds 

from corn sowing. Clothianidin and thiamethoxam were subsequently banned 

in seed treatments because bee kills were reported despite the seed’s 

compliance with dust abrasion standards.

Italy - 2008

Some Italian regions began a network to collect and test samples of dead bees 

for pesticide residues in the spring of 2008. In 5 regions of Italy, 6,328 hives were 

reported damaged, affecting 185 beekeepers. Results of sampling from two 

regions (Lombardy and Veneto) indicate that the majority of the bee losses 

occurred in flat cultivated areas of Northern Italy, mostly during or after corn 

sowing. Three neonicotinoid residues were identified: clothianidin was present in 

25.7% of the samples, imidacloprid in 25.7%, and thiamethoxam in 2.8%. The 

spatial and temporal connection between hive damage and corn sowing, 

combined with the identification of active ingredients in seed treatments, 

confirms the connection between corn sowing and spring hive deaths. Following 

these incidents, the Italian government suspended the use of imidacloprid, 

thiamethoxam, clothianidin, and fipronil, effective in September 2008.

These reports are very similar in nature to the 2010 through 2012 U.S. and Canadian kills and 

establish a crystal clear pattern of treated corn planting associated with clothianidin/thiamethoxamcaused honey bee colony deaths. It is remarkable that these other countries have a more systematic 

reporting approach than the United States. The summaries indicate which of the governments 

imposed bans and suspensions of seed treatment use of these chemicals in response. These should 

be considered in conjunction with the additional bans or suspensions imposed in France and 

Germany.12

8) Recent proposal by France to suspend Cruiser seed treatment

In keeping with the clear European government trend, on June 1 it was announced, following 

research linking neonicotinoid pesticides to the decline in bee populations, the French government 

plans to ban Cruiser OSR, a thiamethoxam-based insecticide used for seed treatments, produced by 

Syngenta.

13 This decision relates to clothianidin as thiamethoxam is its closely-related chemical 

precursor.

 

12 The earlier European bans and suspensions were discussed in the Petition, at pp. 18-19.

13 Online at: www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/01/us-france-cruiser-idUSBRE8500LO20120601 .
14

Conclusion

If EPA fails to suspend the registration for clothianidin by a prompt order during this first phase of 

resolution of the Petition, the hazard posed to honey bees and pollinators in the interim would be 

unacceptable to the nation. There is no doubt that the likely several-year period necessary to resolve 

the issues if EPA opens a “public docket” and takes public comment will allow repeated acute Spring 

bee kills to recur, will allow continued build-up of long-persisting clothianidin in dusts, soils and 

vegetation, and will contribute to the chronic aspects of Colony Collapse Disorder, which is steadily 

putting beekeepers into “the red” and in many cases out of business altogether. It also will allow 

additional years of unanalyzed and unmitigated jeopardy to Federally-protected threatened and 

endangered species, which would be blatantly unlawful under the Endangered Species Act.

In view of all of the evidence, and in accordance with the Statements of Legal Grounds numbered VII, 

VIII and IX in the Petition, EPA must issue an emergency order to suspend the registration of 

clothianidin. Thank you for your attention to this Second Supplemental Filing. Please contact me if you 

have any questions.

Sincerely,

/s/

Peter T. Jenkins, Attorney for Petitioners 

Center for Food Safety and International Center for Technology Assessment

660 Pennsylvania Ave., SE Suite 302

Washington, DC 20003

Phone: (202) 547-9359

Email: PJenkins@icta.org

Appendices

Appendix A – Opinion of Prof. Christian Krupke

Appendix B – Opinion of Prof. James Frazier