Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor – December 2025

- December 1, 2025 - -(excerpt)

Don’t Blame Hobbyists for Tropilaelaps

Charles Linder in his column (ABJ August) wrote about biosecurity in the bee yard and the risk for Tropilaelaps arriving at ports. He commented on an East Coast port allowing local “hobbyist” beekeepers to remove “imported” swarms from the port. I don’t know which East Coast port Mr. Linder is referring to, but let’s use common sense and look at the facts.

The Tropilaelaps mites cannot survive more than 2-3 days on adult bees and need constant access to brood to feed and reproduce, according to USDA. Even if a swarm would survive an ocean voyage, the Tropilaelaps mites would not.
I find it highly unlikely that honey bee swarms are “imported” on cargo ships to the ports on the U.S. East coast from Asia or Europe. North America-bound container ships from Asia are now for safety reasons routed around Africa, crossing the Indian Ocean and then the Atlantic, which takes 4-6 weeks. The first port of call is typically Halifax or New York, depending on the service, and then Norfolk, Charleston, Savannah and Jacksonville.

When a container ship from Asia arrives at the SE ports, the voyage duration has been about 2 months from the port of origin. If the container ship takes the other route, across the Pacific Ocean and through the Panama Canal, the voyage duration is similar. While a voyage from Europe to North America is 12-14 days on average, it is still a long time for a swarm of bees to survive without comb and resources.

The question is, how long can a swarm of honey bees survive without food and water? If we compare a swarm to a bee package, which is shipped with a syrup can, the bees should be fine for up to 7 days with the right climate conditions. After a week, or even sooner in hot temperatures, the bees start to die off. Some die due to age. A swarm of bees without food and water, exposed to the elements, cannot survive an ocean voyage for weeks at sea. It’s a hostile environment for honey bees.

As a marine cargo surveyor, I inspect all sorts of marine cargoes and cargo ships and I’m also a beekeeper, so I would like to put things in perspective. I’m very familiar with ports and terminals in the Southeast and visit them every day. To be clear, I have not personally removed swarms from ports, but I know about swarms landing on equipment and traffic signs at one specific terminal during peak swarm season in the spring. These swarms are likely from nearby feral colonies in bee trees. There is an old cemetery in the middle of this container terminal, where century-old oak trees and other vegetation are growing. Further, there is a National Wildlife Refuge located adjacent to this particular port. There are bee trees with feral colonies within the wildlife refuge.

Just because a swarm of bees lands inside a port does not mean they are imported. The bees could be coming from a local beekeeper’s colonies. A swarm could also arrive from an inland location, clinging to a freight train or a container truck. Shipping honey bees on airplanes is a much higher risk of spreading Tropilaelaps than through ocean cargo. Shipping honey bee colonies on trucks from areas where the mites are present is the highest risk.

Biosecurity is important when shipping goods across borders. Tropilaelaps mites are on beekeepers’ minds in Europe and in USA. There are several species of Tropilaelaps, of which some have been found in the Black Sea region, specifically in Russia and Georgia (the country). The imminent threat of spread is to Turkey, which is 200 km away from where Tropilaelaps have been confirmed. Turkey, being a significant beekeeping country, should be on high alert.

Finally, let’s not point fingers at hobbyist beekeepers. Their colonies are needed locally, raising awareness of the importance of pollinators where wildlife habitats are destroyed every day.

Annika Lundberg
Master Beekeeper, Master Mariner
Savannah, Georgia

Organic Cotton Likely Not Pesticide Free

In her article in the October 2025 ABJ in which she writes about organic cotton, Rusty Burlew makes the common, but false, assumption that organic products are fully free of pesticides. That is not true; all that can be said is that the pesticides applied to organic products are of natural origin. No synthetic substances are allowed.

Organic cotton is likely to have been sprayed with pyrethrin insecticides (from chrysanthemums) or copper (as sulphate or other oxides) as fungicides. Although natural, both of these could have adverse human health effects. Some people are allergic to pyrethrins, and excessive amounts of copper can be toxic. These effects are probably a lot less likely than health effects of synthetics, especially for babies in the womb, children up to 2 years old, and seniors.

The Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) reviews, approves, and lists materials allowed in the USDA Certified Organic program. The OMRI has approved many natural substances for application to organic products. So, organic cotton may have been sprayed with many other materials than just pyrethrins and cooper sulphate.

The other caution to note is that sometimes products known as organic are not USDA certified organic. These products cannot legally be called organic, although some people often loosely use the word “organic.”

We grow fruit with organic methods, although we are not Certified Organic, due to the inspections, restrictions, and costs required to be certified. We use only organic sprays on some of our tree fruits, such as apples, pears, peaches, plums, and cherries. We advertise our berries as “better than organic” because they have not been sprayed with anything, even organically approved sprays. However, we cannot use the term “organic” without legal certification.

All this is not to scare people from preferring to minimize their risks of adverse health effects by choosing to consume organic products, but to correct a mistaken idea of what organic really means.

Arthur T. Johnson
SweetAire Farm
Darlington, MD

Rusty responds:

Arthur,

You seem vexed by the high bar to organic certification, “due to the inspections, restrictions, and costs.” I can appreciate that.

I have never been a fan of the USDA organic program as written, beginning with the name. Years ago, I was one of many who objected to the word “organic” because it commonly denotes “carbon-containing compounds,” a set of substances — including carbohydrates, fats, and proteins — that are found in all foods. For anyone familiar with organic chemistry, a label reading “organic bananas” seems odd because all food contains organic compounds.

In addition, I think the program is overly ambitious, mismanaged, and loosely regulated, all of which can result in poor compliance. When I was consulting for the organic training farm at The Evergreen State College, the most common questions centered on the exemptions list, which included hundreds of substances, most of which were natural, although some were not. Not only does the list of allowed chemicals read like an encyclopedia, but the chemicals appear under multiple trade names and in a variety of formulations.

If you asked me how many certified organic items meet all the regulations, I might guess 20 or 30 percent. Some non-compliance may result from malicious rule-breaking, but I think most results from confusion and misunderstanding. For example, you mention pyrethrins are allowed, which is true. However, pyrethroids are not allowed, yet very few people know the difference.

Even so, consumers who choose organic products likely reduce their overall exposure to synthetic agrochemicals, even if they cannot eliminate them. I especially like organic choices when I’m trying to avoid — or at least reduce — my exposure to certain additives.

In any case, the point of my article was not to evaluate the pros and cons of organic certification, but simply to describe what I see as an expanding market for organically grown cotton. For cotton growers interested in organic certification — and their beekeepers — organic cotton holds promise in an increasingly toxics-averse society.

As an aside, an attorney friend of mine said your advertising slogan, “Better than Organic,” could invite trouble, especially if the word “organic” is bigger or brighter than the words “better than.” Certain customers will inevitably grab anything labeled “organic” without reading the fine print, and some of those may later feel duped. Consider running the question past your own attorney.

Rusty Burlew