At 02:17 PM 9/13/00 -0400, you wrote:

Arsenic from this source may transfer to honey.  Depends on the time or
year, what your bees are doing, etc.; but definitely a risk.

What I know for sure is that arsenic is an accumulative poison and can and
probably will kill your bees over a period of time.  Bees poisoned by
arsenic get a form of dysentery and will spot the upper frame bars inside
the hive, and the cover and front of the hive.  As the poisoning progresses
you will find bees out front on the ground, often with the queen.

Jerry


>Hello,
>
>I have a small farm in west Texas with about 40 acres of heavy mesquite,
>other trees, and brush not currently in cultivation.  I want to put some
>hives on it, but the water supply has very high Arsenic levels.  It's ok
>for livestock, but not human consumption. Does anyone have information on
>how the Arsenic will affect the honey - possibly concentrate it?  If not,
>does anyone know how I can find out?
>
>Thanks
>Mark Coldiron
>
>
Jerry J. Bromenshenk, Ph.D.
Director, DOE/EPSCoR & Montana Organization for Research in Energy
The University of Montana-Missoula
Missoula, MT  59812-1002
E-Mail: [log in to unmask]
Tel:  406-243-5648
Fax:  406-243-4184
http://www.umt.edu/biology/more
http://www.umt.edu/biology/bees