Certis Biologicals Product that Kills Bees

Certis Biologicals has a product that kills bees. It's BmJ (Bacillus mycoides Jacobsen) which induces the plant's systemic resistance. The supernatant of the product kills bees. Basically, the metabolites that this particular microorganism produces in this product is toxic to bees. 


We were not aware of this until the regulatory department sent the product out for various tests on animals and insects. This is to ensure that the product will actually be safe in the environment, and it won't disrupt other organisms. When regulatory received the results, they informed our research and development department that it kills bees and we cannot approve the product through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The whole year of work on the product was down the drain. We started over with this project.


Instead of eliminating the product, we decided to wash the product meaning diluting the supernatant with water so the metabolites will be lower than detectable levels. They hope that this will not kill bees. There's still a small amount in the product, which can potentially kill bees. Remember, the manufacturing site of this company is a disaster. If they forget to wash the product, the product will be super toxic to bees. 


When they wash the product, it's okay. If they forget to wash the product, we will be in trouble. Remember, they tend to make special batches for regulatory to get things approve. It doesn't necessarily mean that their customers will get something of the same quality. They usually send customers products that are contaminated and that do not meet spec. Hence, there are many customer complaints.


The reason why they didn't want to eliminate the product was because we bought it from a professor. We even tested the microorganism for induce systemic resistance in plants the same way his lab tested it, and the results were all over the place. When I took a look at their results, it was all over the place too. The product didn't really work if you are using molecular techniques. This is why field data is more important. Based on these results, I don't know who in upper management agree to buy this junk. 


If a biopesticide company offers a product that induces systemic resistance in plants, stay far, far away from it. It does NOT work, and it can potentially kill bees.

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