Subject: | |
From: | |
Reply To: | |
Date: | Thu, 31 May 2012 10:38:31 -0400 |
Content-Type: | text/plain |
Parts/Attachments: |
|
|
< [log in to unmask] writes:
The idea that surfactant use in herbicides is new is false. This is from
1950>
Surfactants are used in both herbicides and insecticides.
Any pesticide applied in liquid form almost certainly has a surfactant
added. We've seen some discussion here on Bee-L of various uses of
surfactants: cleaning (basically its soap), wetting, dispersing, emulsifying,
foaming, anti-foaming. Snoop gas leak detector bubbles when a gas passes through
it. Photographers who print pictures using wet chemistry add it to their
processing chemicals so that they spread uniformly over the surface of the
film and paper.
Back in the 60s, the conventional advice was that surfactants were added
as wetting solutions. They themselves posed little risk to bees (i.e.,
toxicity), but if a spray application occurred just before or after a heavy
rain, puddles posed some increased risk of drowning of water gathering bees.
The surfactant alters the surface tension of the water, making it more
likely that some bees couldn't get out - if they fell in.
The comments on Bee-L about the Tucson lab's paper on use of fire
fighter's foam wasn't in my mind clear about the reason for this paper.
If a truck carrying bee colonies overturns, what it the quickest way of
controlling the situation without severely contaminating the salvageable bee
equipment, especially the combs? Eric E. came up with the recommendation
to knock down the bees that couldn't be gathered up using the relatively
'non-toxic' foam available to most Fire Departments. The foam knocks bees
out of the air by drenching them and drowning them (the reduced surface
tension allows more water to enter the spiracles). But, the idea of using foam
was that you could rinse the equipment (combs) and re-use after the
incident. That paper should be made available to every fire department and
highway patrol agency in the US - its almost universally forgotten or unknown by
First Responders.
Finally, I've known beekeepers and researchers who routinely kill every
plant in a bee yard. One 2500 colony MT beekeeper's yards were just bare
earth - however, his honey production records over several decades were some
of the highest I've ever seen documented. Personally, I don't like working
in a dirt patch; but he reasoned that vegetation in front of the hive
slowed up the flight of bees coming and going from the entrance, which in turn
could reduce numbers of forays per day.
Jerry
***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at:
http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm
|
|
|