From:                   Matthew Shepherd <[log in to unmask]>

> We're looking for information about aerial spraying of malathion and the
> impacts of drift. Does anyone have anything that might be relevant? Can
> anyone suggest sources of information?

   Of course, daytime aerial spraying kills bees, the more that are
outside the hives, the more are killed. I've seen the losses many
times. I've also seen butterflies dying and dead after a spray.
Dragonflies are conspicuous by their absense after spraying.

   What you won't find mentioned in the pesticide manuals is that
daytime aerial spraying is usually a violation of the bee-protection
directions. because bees are foraging on *something.* The pesticide
police do their best to look the other way. Here is documentation of
one such incident (which reflects a similar case to several others).
Despite the wilful (therefore criminal) violation, the beekeeper
involved has never recovered a cent for his losses. Nor has anything
ever been done to mitigate native pollinator damage.
http://members.aol.com/gardenbees/

   Some will scoff at my years of observations in this regard. I'm
not a scientist, and I know it's "anecdotal," but I have also had to
make a living. I hope someday to find a funding source that will
enable me to equip some hives with sensors, and to do a
comprehensive, documented quantification of losses. It takes more
time and resources than I've had so far.

   I believe that honeybees, which have some aid from humans to
effect some recovery, generally fare better than wild bees, who have
no help, no voice to speak for them. After the Hurricane Hugo
sprayings in 1989 (dibrom, but similar in effect) wild bees were
conspicuously absent for several years. As one who continuously looks
at a lot of flowers to see what's foraging them, I can say with
assurance that it took about a decade to recover natural pollinator
populations.

   Aerial applications over wide areas scare me. The end result will
be loss of pollinators and beneficial predators/parasites, wild
swings in pest populations, and ultimately famine. With all the hype
about West Nile, you can probably buy stock in the pesticide
companies. That will take care of you, but you can shudder for your
grandchildren.

   As an observant layman, I assure you that I would not be so
passionate about this if I had not seen it, over and over, with my
own eyes.

   Some years ago, the University of Florida had a bibliography of
effects of spraying on non-target organisms on the web. I've looked
for it since but have not been able to locate it. Perhaps you can.

   South Carolina activist James Irwin has documentation of the
ineffectiveness and health hazards of malathion spraying for
mosquitoes at his web site. He told me he is working on an issue
about other environmental hazards. You may wish to contact him. His
site is http://nospraynews.org


Dave Green   SC   USA
The Pollination Home Page:  http://pollinator.com

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