Your article in Monday’s (Aug. 21) “Good News” cited the mass treatment of Natchez’s crape myrtles by the Adams County Master Gardeners and the City of Natchez. Well, the news is not so good for our honeybees.

I have kept bees for many years, and when we moved into our home on South Commerce almost six years ago, we brought two hives from Baton Rouge. My daughter introduced herself to our neighbors by pulling a wagon around the block giving away free honey.

Now let me preface this with the statement that I love our crape myrtles and appreciate the contribution of our beautiful flowering trees to the tourism industry, the only thing that keeps this town afloat. I am very appreciative of the efforts of groups like the master gardeners to promote the stunning beauty of our downtown. However, this well-intentioned organization received some very bad advice from a local extension agent and continues to unwittingly implement it.

Just two weeks after last year’s mass treatment of the city’s trees, both of my hives collapsed. The pesticide used was imidaclopramid, which is the single most toxic bee poison known. Imidaclopramid is scheduled to be banned by the European Union this year for this very reason. I walked the streets and did not see a live honeybee south of Madison Street from Broadway to MLK.

This spring, I acquired a swarm who happily installed themselves in one of my backyard hives and were apparently thriving, filling three boxes with honey. Then the tree treatment began again, and last week the colony departed, having lost all of its foragers to another round of poisoning. I have only seen two honeybees in downtown Natchez since.

Bark scale, while admittedly unsightly, doesn’t usually harm the tree. The LSU AgCenter recommends simply cleaning the sooty mold off the trees rather than treating them with toxic chemicals. The MSU Extension Service recommendations (see extension.msstate.edu/sites/default/files/publications/publications/p2938.pdf), which I assume were referenced by the local extension agent, clearly state that if treatment with imidaclopramid is done, it should NEVER be applied while the trees are in bloom to minimize the impact on bees and other pollinators. All of the applications to date have been made at the height of the blooming season, when the bees are actively foraging on them. Furthermore, that MSU article acknowledges that this treatment is not curative and must be repeated on a yearly basis.

I urge the master gardeners, whom I assume are concerned about the role of pollinators in healthy gardens, to obtain better advice regarding the control of bark scale in the city. Having our bees back would be truly “good news.”

Jim Waddill

Natchez resident