In a message dated 3/23/00 12:32:28 AM, [log in to unmask] writes:

<<Sure the beekeepers were notified well in advance, and a letter was sent to
the Commissioner of Agriculture strongly requesting that flights be
restricted to hours between dusk and early dawn>>

   If the state was willing to distribute helium balloons to protect the
organic farmers' certification in 1990, why could it not take the extra step
and protect the acreage upon which large apiaries sit. Since previous
promises to limit spraying to after-dark hours were not kept, a physical
marker that marks the land for pilots to avoid spraying is a guarantee of
sorts that an effort will be made to minimize damage during the daytime.
   The state has established a precedent of setting some land aside to
protect a valuable agricultural resource. It's not that much of a reach to
extend it to large apiaries.
   Also, for the broader list, if we can establish a precedent here, or
somewhere, of protecting apiaries with physical markers (helium balloons) duri
ng nonspecific area-wide pesticide applications, it can be cited elsewhere by
beekeepers to set up the same protections there. I recently read on one of
the on-line lists about beekeepers losing hives during post-hurricane
spraying in North Carolina. And how about out in California when Gov. Brown
was spraying Malathion for Med Fly infestation? This type of pesticide
application may become a more frequent challenge for beekeepers nationwide as
the government tries to fight off harmful invasive insects and new diseases.
   The larger question is would such protection make any difference.
According to the books, whether the hives get sprayed or not doesn't matter
because the foragers will die on the blooms. However, that theory is based
wholly on the experience of pesticide application to agricultural crops. The
target is the bee's food. In the case of a non-specific area-wide public
health application, the bee's food is usually not the target. There may not
be much we can do about pesticide drift or the choices the bees make as to
where they forage, but we could potentially protect apiaries and any bee
forage directly adjacent to the hives.
   Of course, if the hives are sitting in the middle of prime mosquito
habitat, say, a cranberry bog or a wetland full of purple loosestrife—and the
mosquitos are the target—then an exception for those areas could just lead to
more spraying later. But since the best farmland is usually in low areas,
floodplains, near swampy areas, etc., why exclude the organic farmers?
   Are there any citations that anybody on the list could provide about
studies that have looked at the different effects (if any) on honey bees of a
massive public health pesticide application vs. the usual targeted
agricultural spraying? Any research anybody is aware of? Please don't let the
silence be deafening.