queenbee wrote:

>> The use of carbolic acid on bees, which continues to this day, has its
>> roots at the dawn of modern disease treatment
>
>In Australia, carbolic acid is no longer used (there may be the odd idiot
or two).  This is because of residue problems in the honey.  

I worked in a bee supply store in the 1970s and we sold a lot of phenol
(carbolic acid) to beekeepers. I knew at the time it was not only dangerous
to handle but could cause liver damage in the long term. I got a real bad
burn from it filling gallon cans from a 55 gal drum. 

Stuff we sold in the 70s that is no longer legal:
Phenol for honey removal
Sodium sulfathiazole for AFB treatment
EDB (ethylene dibromide) against wax moths
Chlordane against ants
Cyanogas (cyanide) to kill bees
Resmethrin (ditto)

Stuff from the 1970s still used:
Benzaldahyde for honey removal
BeeGo (butyric anhydride) (ditto)
Terramycin for AFB
paradichlorobenzene for moths
Bt was introduced to control moths but never really caught on

Plastic foundation and combs (Prohibited by some organic standards. What is
the effect of raising brood in plastic cells?)

Bees have been fed cane sugar for over a hundred years with no apparent ill
effect. Many formulae for pollen substitutes have been tried for about as long

pb

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