-- James Fischer <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>This sort of treatment has been tried...so APHIS should
have some sort of data on the potential for detectable
levels in nectar and pollen.

two things here:

1.  they don't have any such data...it has never been collected.  this is why have been working to collect it this time...and things look good.

2.  they are planning on using a new treatment plan that has only been used in china (and tested in worcester).  instead of taking down trees within 1/2 mile of infested trees (as they did in the other sites), they will treat them with twice the dose of imidacloprid that they have been using (when treating trees between 1/2 and 1 mile from infested trees).  

the previously used method of treatment was intended to poison the tree so that when the beetles emerge, and start to feed on the tree, they eat the imidacloprid and die (incidently, the alb has a fungus in it's gut that digests the wood for it).

this method is to poison the tree while the larvae/pupua are in the tree to kill them in this unemerged state.  again, this uses twice the dose of injected imidacloprid as they are using with the previously used methods.

>The good news is that ONLY maples are being injected 

this is not accurate information...not according to aphis or the city of worcester.


>Maples bloom really, really early.

one (if not "the") question is, given that they are doing these treatments over a number of years (at least 3, imho, it will be 5 at least for some areas), how much accumulates in the tree over this time?  i certainly don't "go for" maple honey, but i do often at least get some pollen from them.  what are the imidacloprid levels in pollen from trees that are treated with this high dose for 3 years in a row?  no one knows.  treating "after the bloom" doesn't really mean anything unless we assume that there is no residual imidacloprid in the tree from one year to another.

>Dean himself has nothing to worry about

our bees are not in the currently affected area (but not so far away either).  beekeepers can move hives in and out of an area if need be...but there are issues with other pollinators (and anything that eats tree parts dead or alive...and perhaps anything that eats things that eat tree parts).  the scale of what they are doing and proposing is staggering (can you imagine running a program that has to coordinate inspecting/mapping/treating tens or hundreds of thousands of individual trees?)...inspections are bucket trucks and tree climbers.

in any case, aphis has been wonderful to work with on this, and although there is no final plan for treatment, it does appear that we will be able to monitor and test bees in the affected area...and that beekeepers have ample warning and oppurtunity to get their hives out.

deknow

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