In a message dated 96-06-08 15:27:04 EDT, Allen Dick wrote to me in private correspondance of some unclear statements I made. >> Wheat we've seen has been clean of >> mustard, or else perhaps hasn't been sprayed. The martins and >> swallows may have done a sufficient job. They sure were "swarming" >> over the wheat fields. > >What are we saying here? > >Are you talking about herbicides? > >Do the birds eat the mustard? Boy is this ever fuzzy! I am sorry, and will try to proofread more carefully next time. Most damage we've had in the early spring is from wheat spraying, which should not be a problem, as wheat is not attractive to bees. However, the wild mustard is a common weed in wheat fields, and foraging bees are killed by the application. This is, of course a label violation, to apply while bees are foraging, even though they are not on the crop; they are on a weed in the application area. The pest for which the application is made is, I believe, a fly, which causes damage just before the wheat heads. I cannot recall the name of the fly (perhaps Hessian Fly??). The martins and swallows were working these fields heavily this year, and may have caused sufficient control. I did not see any pesticide applications being made; they normally are aerial, and pretty obvious. I observed the martins and even more so, the swallows, concentrating on wheat fields for about two weeks. It was obvious that they were feeding heavily on something that was only over the wheat. In fact I got kind of high, watching them do their thing. -Obviously a kind of biological control..... Hope this helps clear the muddy waters. I'll pass it on to the list also, in case anyone else found it confusing. [log in to unmask] Dave Green, PO Box 1200, Hemingway, SC 29554 Practical Pollination Home Page Dave & Janice Green http://users.aol.com/pollinator/polpage1.html