More than 50,000 bees killed in Oregon, insecticide blamed in largest bee die-off in recorded history

• Over 300 wild honeybee colonies have been wiped out
• Bee genocide took place during 'National Pollenator Week,' a commemoration of bees
• Officials are investigating whether the insecticide application broke any local or state laws

Scientists may have discovered how more than 50,000 bees suddenly died this week in an Oregon parking lot.

Locals became alarmed when tens of thousands of honeybees started dropping like flies at a local strip mall parking lot, a subsequent investigation has discovered a pesticide sprayed on over 50 trees to kill aphids instead resulted in what experts allege is the largest single bee die-off in recorded history.

‘This is a big mistake, somebody really screwed up,’ Mace Vaughn, of the Xerces Society, a local organization that works to protect bees, told KGW.

Local government workers and contractors in Wilsonville, Oregon worked feverishly on Saturday to cover 55 linden trees in a Target parking lot after it was discovered that a contractor mistakenly sprayed them June 15 with Safari, an evidently potent insecticide, the station reported.

The total bees killed represent more than 300 wild colonies, according to Xerces Society biologist Rich Hatfield, who explained in a statement on the group’s website that ‘each of those colonies could have produced multiple new queens that would have gone on to establish new colonies next year. This makes the event particularly catastrophic,' the worst in recorded history.

Even worse, the bees were killed, according to KATU, during ‘National Pollenator Week,’ a week aimed at celebrating the vital role the honeybee plays in our ecosystem.

Valent, the insecticide’s manufacturer, calls it’s toxic brew ‘super systemic’ and proudly claims that it’s ‘where the wild things aren’t’ on its website. The site claims that Safari is ‘clocked as the fastest broad spectrum insecticide on the market,’ saying that it’s ‘quick uptake and knockdown’ is effective against several bugs including ash borers, mealybugs, pine beetles and other invasive pests known to destroy high value greenhouse and nursery crops.Valant may as well add honeybees to the list as well, as this is not the first incident of the toxin killing them off in mass quantities, according to media reports.

The netting is expected to cover the trees for the next two to three weeks, according to KGW.

This incident is just the latest in a series of bee die-offs that has resulted in the decimation of 31% of the US’ bee population in 2012 alone, according to the Guardian. The large-scale erosion of bee populations, attributed mainly to ‘colony collapse disorder,’ poses a series threat to the food supply and the economy – bees contribute $20 billion to national economy.

Oregon officials are working to determine whether the application of Safari was in violation of any state or local laws, according to a statement obtained by Mail Online.

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