EPA is poised to approve a new biopesticide to fight varroa mites that are contributing to a steep decline in honeybees.
The environmental agency said it plans to approve Vadescana, a double-stranded RNA that interferes with a gene sequence within the mites.
In a public notice, EPA said it hasn’t identified any danger to human health or the environment from the product, developed by GreenLight Biosciences of Medford, Massachusetts. The company in 2023 petitioned EPA for an exemption from the risk tolerances the agency sets for pesticides.
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A public comment period on the new proposal ends June 12.
