> From:          Brian Tassey <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject:       Re: Sevin XLR
 
> Rodney,
> What I know is that it is not as lethal as the other formulations of Sevin.
>  It's LD50 is 26.5 where the LD50 for Sevin SL is 13.7.  It's residual
> toxicity to honey bee populations in cage tests is less time depending on
> rates (hours as opposed to days).  All in all though it is still belongs in a
> class that is highly toxic and if it's possible to avoid I'd do it.  I've
> never sat through a spray job using the material the growers have opted for
 
To Brian Tassey,
 
Thanks for the response.  We had one of our largest Texas beekeepers
call Wednesday saying that a farmer had notified him of
plans to apply sevin XLR near one of his bee yards.  The applicator
had told him XLR was not as toxic as "regular Sevin".   Upon
reviewing the XLR label there is wording indicating a reduced XLR
toxicity to bees.  However Sevin XLR is toxic to bees.  Compounding
the problem was that the beekeeper was not going
to be able to get a truck to his yard in time to move  the bees
before the application.  If the bees do not come
in contact with the XLR either through direct application or drift
then bee loss should be minimal.  I believe they decided to treat in
late afternoon, cover the bees for a day and hope for the best.
There were several things in the beekeeper's favour: the XLR
application would be to grass which would probably have very few if
any visiting bees and the  field to be treated was about 1/4 mile
from the bee yard.
 
Thanks again for your help.
 
Rodney Holloway