In a message dated 3/20/00 11:00:07 AM, [log in to unmask] writes:

<< Not sure what they are going to spray, but
are we to assume that either of these pesticides are lethal to honeybees? >>
   The Bt is harmless. Malathion is another matter.
   Dave Green posted an extremely useful Web site listing several weeks ago
over on alt.sci.beekeeping to look up pesticides. It is
http://www.cdms.net/manuf/manuf.asp You can go there and look up pesticides
by label or generic name. I searched for Malathion and came up with 20
companies selling different (or similar) configurations.
   Here is the recommendation from the label for a Malathion product sold by
the Gowen Company:
   "This product is highly toxic to bees exposed to direct treatment on
blooming crops or weeds. Do not apply this product or allow it to drift to
blooming crops or weeds, if bees are actively visiting the treatment area."
   I hope the authorities have the political courage to move forward with
this quickly before the purple loosestrife starts blooming in the swamps and
wetlands, which I imagine would be a prime target for this kind of thing.
Otherwise, its going to be a honey bee massacre. Also, the sooner we have a
dieoff, if any, the better the chance the bees can be built back up to
survive the winter. That's no consolation to commercial operators, I'm sure.
   This will also have an effect on those of us who wanted to see how the new
Russian queens would perform. Hard to hold them accountable for a harvest
where the foragers got clobbered with Malathion.