To the editor:
Spring has arrived and you may soon be buying plants at a nursery. Do be on the lookout for those labeled ‘Pollinator Friendly’ or those with images of a bee or butterfly. That tells you pollinators are attracted to those plants. It does not tell you whether those plants are free of insecticides.
Let the nursery manager know you want insecticide-free plants. What customers want matters and all of this matters a great deal to our ever-decreasing numbers of pollinators. Toxic amounts especially of neonicotinoids, ensure that plants are ‘pest’ free, but they kill pollinators. Neonics (for short) are systemic insecticides; the poison is absorbed throughout the plant and remains in the stem, seeds, nectar and pollen.
It’s one of the reasons bees are dying in such great numbers that in 2016 the US placed them on the endangered species list. We could get on that list too because we can’t live without bees! They pollinate 70% of the world’s main food crops.
So when you shop for plants, think of bees and your food supply and ask for neonic-free plants.

Doris Chorny
Wallkill