Greetings
     We have received an eloquent plea for help in retaining strongly worded labels protecting honeybees on pesticides. I agree wholeheartedly with the need for adequate protection for honeybees from pesticide applications nearby.
     However, I have also tried to raise the topic of beekeepers going "off label". In the two years I have been working with beekeepers in New York State I have encountered a surprising disregard for labeling. Beekeepers routinely leave Apistan strips in the hive over the winter, claiming "better control". This may produce fewer mites in the spring but what few are left are sure to have some degree of ability to resist Apistan.
     Beekeepers are making their own strips with non-approved chemicals. I even met one beekeeper who still uses phenol (carbolic acid) to remove honey. This has been prohibited in the US for at least 25 years. I wonder if many still use sulfathiazole against AFB and even fumigate supers with bromide compounds (EDB).
    The point is, if we don't follow the labels, how can we expect decent labeling and compliance on the part of others? Furthermore, if we abuse chemicals and lose them either through resistance or outright bans, who is going to come to our aid? How many beekeepers have the resources to conduct large scale scientific testing of new substances and methods? Will you risk the concomitant heavy losses of bees, honey and equipment?
     I think there needs to be a concerted effort to persuade beekeepers that it is in their interest as well as the public's -- to stop going off label and to stop using banned chemicals.

Peter Borst