EPA is asked to OK emergency use of bee-killer on stink bugs

摘要

For the 10th year in a row, states are asking EPA to approve a pesticide dangerous to bees for emergency use onfruit trees.The pending approval of dinotefuran for brown marmorated stink bugs on peach and apple trees in Virginia,Maryland and Pennsylvania draws attention again to EPA's practice of emergency exemptions that allowexpanded use of certain pesticides - a situation that critics say has become so routine it's no longer anemergency.Stink bugs are annual visitors to orchards that have surged in some areas and declined in others since a majorinfestation about a decade ago. A major invasion can wreak havoc on trees as the insects, up to a half-inch long,feed on the sap of ripening fruit.