In a private communication, Thom Bradley indicates that his mosquito
district is trying to get beekeepers to agree to a turn off of the spraying
for a few hundred feet near the hives.  I mention this because it is of
interest to all of us. This is a pretty common technique.  This in no way
complies with label directions; if fact it is an evasion of them.  Note that
the label directions refer solely to FORAGING bees, not beehives. Be sure to
point that out to your applicator.  By protecting foraging bees, the colony
is also protected.

    In order for the applicator to comply with the directions about FORAGING
bees he must have actual data, not just conjecture. That is why I suggest we
offer to help these mosquito districts monitor the times bees forage. We can
assume that nighttime applications of non-residual materials will not contact
bees, because they are not foraging.  But for daytime applications,
compliance can only be assured if there is actual monitoring of forage
sources within the application area, and times of foraging by the bees.

    Too many times beekeepers wimp out.  When applicators realize that we
know the law, and are going to be assertive about compliance, they will bring
their programs into compliance, and bee kills will drop dramatically.

[log in to unmask]     Dave Green  Hemingway, SC  USA
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