http://swroc.cfans.umn.edu/SWMNPEST/03News/issue8/073103.PDF

from
U/M Extension IPM Newsletter

What about the potential for bee kills?
It may come as a surprise to many growers that honeybees actually forage soybean and
that soybean can be an important resource for honeybees. The importance of soybeans
varies with soybean variety, the presence and abundance of competing flowering plants,
and moisture. Because insecticides can be lethal to bees and, in some cases, residues
carried back to the hive, insecticides labeled for soybean aphid contain warning language
similar to the following: Do not apply this product, or allow it to drift, to blooming crops
and/or blooming weeds if bees are foraging (visiting) the treatment area. The key
challenge is that clause “if bees are foraging”. To minimize the chance for bee kills,
follow a few simple precautions:
·  Choose a product less likely to be transported back to the hive. Organophosphates
(Lorsban 4E, dimethoate, methyl parathion) and carbamates (Furadan 4F) generally
pose a greater risk than pyrethroid insecticides (Warrior, Pounce, Mustang Max,
Baythroid, or Asana). If in doubt, use products with lower REI.
·  Bees forage sun up to sundown with a peak in the late afternoon. Applications near
sundown (best option because sprays will dry) and early morning (next best option)
will have less impact on foraging bees.


Paul - without being disrespectful its obvious you do not keep bees. If you did and kept them near bean fields that were being sprayed and your crop was off or bees dead or whatever I think you would approach this with a much different view point.  Just having honeybees that you keep for honey production for your livelihood in the vicinity of Lorsban spraying is unsettling. 
 
As you may know, Lorsban is a very nasty insecticide that even the vapor from an application can kill an insect flying 10-20 feet above the field for the 20 hours after application. So we're supposed to feel ok because you inform us you drove around MN and never saw a honeybee on a soybean flower? I really encourage you to take up beekeeping and for your own education be sure and keep them in a heavily sprayed agricultural region.

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