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Stan says:
 
 >The crop is blueberries.  The pest is flea beetles.  My specific
>concerns are how long to wait after the crop has been sprayed with
>sevin xlr plus before moving bees into the field (the manufacturer says
>as soon as the spray has dried, can I believe them?).
 
>Regards,  Stan
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In fact the crop is low bush blueberries which do not have the same
pesticide registrations as cultivated blueberries.  At this time year it is not
the flea beetle adult which damages the crop but the flea beetle larvae.
The recommended control product for this pest is Dylox, not Sevin, not
Methoxychor.  Dylox (trichlorfon) is listed as moderately toxic to bees,
the same rating as methoxychlor.  Dylox is only applied when the larvae
are present which is usually just at the end of, or just after pollination.
 
Stan, maybe you could suggest that the grower contact me, he maybe
putting it on to early.
 
It is my understanding that the new formulation  Sevin (XLR) has a larger
grain size which accounts for its lowered ability to be moved by bees.
 
Chris Prouse
 
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Chris Prouse
Horticultural Specialist/ Provincial Apiarist
Prince Edward Island/Canada
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry