Pile of dead bees with tongues out the morning after the next farm sprayed canola — what do I do RIGHT NOW?
Minnesota, first year, two hives, and I walked out this morning to something awful: hundreds, maybe more, of dead and twitching bees in front of both hives. Many have their tongues (proboscis) sticking out, wings hooked out at odd angles, and some living ones are spinning in circles on the ground. The farm across the road sprayed their canola yesterday evening — it's in full bloom and my bees have been all over it for two weeks.
From searching, tongues-out mass die-off right at the entrances looks like acute pesticide poisoning, not disease. I'm heartbroken and honestly angry, but I want to do this right, not just rage at the farmer.
What's the actual procedure? Photos, samples, who do I even report to in the US? And is there any saving the colonies themselves — the foragers are dying but there's still brood and house bees inside. Please help me do today correctly.
#pesticide-kill#canola#bee-poisoning#reporting
▲ 24 votes💬 5 replies
5 replies
GeorgiaWes · Jul 12, 2026
First, document before you touch anything: photos and video with timestamps, wide shots showing both hives and the field, close-ups of the tongues and twitchers. Then collect samples — a few hundred of the freshest dead bees, paper bag not plastic, into the freezer. Pesticide residues degrade fast in sun, so do this today. Sorry you're dealing with this in year one.
ImkerinLena · Jul 12, 2026
Reporting in the US: your state department of agriculture investigates pesticide misuse — Minnesota's has a formal bee-kill investigation process and can take official samples, which carry more weight than yours. There is also the EPA's beekill@epa.gov for incident reports. Spraying insecticide on a crop in full bloom with foraging bees present is a label violation in most cases, and the label is federal law. Report it properly.
AbejaMiguel · Jul 12, 2026
For the colonies: the poisoned foragers mostly die in the field or at the entrance, and colonies with intact brood and house bees usually pull through if the contaminated nectar wasn't stored heavily. Reduce entrances, make sure they have clean water NOW so they're not drinking contaminated dew off that field, and just let them reorganize. Check in a week for the queen.
CorkBeeRon · Jul 13, 2026
And when the paperwork's filed — talk to the farmer, calmly. Most genuinely don't know hives are nearby or that evening spraying on bloom kills. Many of us end up with a deal: they text before spraying, we close up the hives that night. An ally across the road is worth more than a won argument.
mn_newbee · Jul 13, 2026
Update: photos and video taken, about 300 bees bagged and in the freezer, report filed by phone with MDA who are sending someone Tuesday, email to the EPA address sent. Entrances reduced, fresh water out. Queen was seen alive in hive two this evening. Farmer conversation is tomorrow, and I'll try CorkBeeRon's approach even though today I mostly want to yell. Thank you all — I'd have just cried and hosed off the evidence without this thread.