Bee kills were far worse in the good ole days before modern insecticides:

> A survey of the literature reveals a history of increasing losses of bees from poisoning with insecticides. The first record of the use of arsenic as an insecticide in the United States was in 1868, when Paris green was used to control potato insects. In 1881 Thompson observed that bees were killed after Paris green had been sprayed on a pear tree in full bloom. In 1892 the insecticidal value of lead arsenate was discovered, and it soon became the leading stomach poison for insects. The use of this insecticide in the control of the codling moth on fruit trees resulted in losses of bees and other pollinating insects.

> One sample of live bees, crawling near the hive entrance, aver-aging 0.75 microgram of As2 O3 per bee, was collected 2 to 5 miles from a field dusted with the 15 per cent calcium arsenate dust. More than half the colonies in this apiary died as a result of this single dust application. The arsenic content of bees continued to be high for months in hives containing stored pollen of high arsenic content.

> Honeybee losses in Arizona resulting from the dusting of crops with arsenicals have been heavy in recent years. The Arizona State Beekeepers' Association reports that in 1942 over 7,500 colonies were estimated to have been killed in this way. Losses in 1943 were not determined, but appear to have been less severe. In 1944 approximately 2,000 colonies were killed or seriously damaged in areas near insecticide-dusting crops. In 1945 more than 7,000 colonies were killed and as many more were seriously damaged.

> Such losses have forced many beekeepers to go out of business or to move to other locations; others have taken the loss and restocked their apiaries, only to suffer similar losses in following years. Similar reports issue from many other states, wherever crops are treated with arsenical insecticides.

HONEYBEE LOSSES AS RELATED TO CROP DUSTING WITH ARSENICALS
By S. E. MCGREGOR, A. B. CASTER, AND MARVIN H. FROST, JR.

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