> I am not trying to be confrontational, but I have been a beekeeper for 10 years 

Your letter was reasoned and appropriate. It was I who was confrontational, and I apologize. It's just that this whole battle between the beekeepers and the farmers has been going on for decades now, with the same old unsupported accusations. 

Many of us, including Bob, remember PennCap M. Beekeepers were instrumental in getting that product removed from general use. But based on actual data, not bogus studies and guesswork

PLB

References

> Foraging honey bees (Apis mellifera L.), exposed to birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.) bloom treated with microencapsulated methyl parathion, continued to display pollen and midgut microcapsule contamination up to 9 days postspray. Nearly 10% of all pollen storage cells examined in combs taken from honey bee colonies exposed to the treated area were found to contain microcapsules.

Recovery of Penncap-M® from Foraging Honey Bees and Pollen Storage Cells
BURGETT, MICHAEL; FISHER, GLENN C.
Environmental Entomology, Volume 9, Number 4, August 1980 , pp. 430-431(2)

* * *

> Because Penncap-M microcapsules mimic pollen grains in size, honeybees (ApismelliferuL.) are unable to dis- criminate the microcapsules and pollen and transport contaminated pollen back to the hive (Stoner et al., 1978). Thus, Penncap-M contaminates foraging honeybees in the field, but it also is introduced into the food chain of the colony (Stoner et al., 1979; Burgett and Fisher, 1977). Methyl parathion residues have been found in honeybee combs stored for 14.5 months; introduction of these combs into small colonies resulted in death of adult honeybees (Rhodes et al., 1979).

A rapid, inexpensive, quantitative procedure for the extraction and analyses of Penncap-M (Methyl parathion) from honeybees (Apis mellifera L.), beeswax, and pollen
Barbara Ross , Jack Harvey 
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 1981

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