To the editor:

Most of the scores of plants that I cultivate as host plants for bees and butterflies are in full bloom and there are usually hundreds of bees and butterflies present at this time. This year there are no bees of any kind, and infrequently only a few butterflies. My yard seems dead, even with its abundance of vegetation.

There are many theories about this, depending, I’m afraid, on who is paying for the study, but one thing keeps popping up.

There is a chemical that has been banned in some European countries due to bee die off, that is very available here. Imidacloprid is contained in flower insecticide sprays, some animal flea prevention products, agricultural products and who knows what all.

There may be a combination of herbicides and pesticides, cell-phones, bioterrorism or other unknown causes for bee disappearance, but this stuff will certainly kill the good insects, as well as the undesirable, and can be toxic to humans.

Look at it this way, the smaller creatures are going to show the effects of toxins first. It may take a bit longer for humans to begin to notice effects.

Einstein said after the bees were gone, humans had five years left. Products containing Imidacloprid should not be available. Please read labels, and don’t buy them.

Julie Matchett,

Lawrence