Regardless of the region, the recent outbreaks that have killed bees in different parts of Brazil have in common, in addition to mass mortality, the same product, fipronil.
Synthesized in the 1980s, its patent has now expired and it can be produced by any company. Use has become indiscriminate, as reported by academics and agricultural technicians.
Agronomists say that other pesticides, such as nicotine-based insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides, slowly undermine the bees' organism, weakening their physical functions until death, which reduces the number of hives over time.
Fipronil is different: it acts on the central nervous system of insects, causing overexcitation in the muscles and nerves. It is relentless as an agent of acute death.
"A systemic insecticide with prolonged and aggressive action, today it is used in different cultures, which explains the occurrence of bee contamination in various parts of Brazil", says Ricardo Orsi, a veterinary professor at Universidade Estadual Paulista.
According to a survey by Folha, tests have shown that fipronil is what killed 100 million bees in Mato Grosso, in June, and 80 million in Bahia, in July.
Translated by Cassy Dias