On Fri, 12 Jul 1996, Vince Coppola wrote:
 
> On Wed, 10 Jul 1996, (Kevin & Shawna Roberts) wrote:
>
> > I will internationalize my statement:
> >
> > Do not put any fluvalinate in your hives that is not properly registered for
> > use in bee hives.
> >
> > Mites becoming resistant to fluvalinate is not just a U.S. concern; it is a
> > world-wide concern.  Improper use will hasten the time when fluvalinate will
> > no longer control the mites.
> >
> Words of wisdom indeed. We should also be concerned with the other
> materials used in some formulations of fluvalinate. These may be soluable
> in beeswax and or honey. The also may be toxic to humans or bees. Lets
> stick to beekeeping and leave chemical engineering to others.
 
 Hello All, Vince made a very important statement and everyone has to
think about it. It is too late when the public hears about honey that may
have unwanted chemicals in it and that beekeepers are using drugs on
there bees that are not legal.
  I want that mite gone as much as the next guy or gal. In fact I'm on
the soap box every weekend talking about the mite and what impact it has
on beekeeping and the food supply. I see at least 3,000 people each
weekend at the two farmers markets that I sell honey at.
  I was at a friends house last night who delivers 6,000 pound of honey a
week on one contract. He was telling me about the new mite control
chemicals that started up here in Washington state. It has been disscused
here on the list a couple of weeks ago. He said that the FDA has approved
it as a food product. This is all hear say. We have to work with facts. I
was told that many large beekeepers have been using it and it works. This
material has not been tested  by qualified researchers.We don't need a
loose cannon that can shoot us in the foot.We all want to save our bees,
but lets do it the right way.Get the word out to the public so we may get
more support for research and breeding programs. We have people working
on the mite problem and we need more info on progress , so we can cut
down on the backyard chemist that can get us all in trouble.
 I have asked before, for the USDA to give use a little info from time to
time. It is needed now. I lost 50 out of 80 last fall, and I know how I
feel about the mite and maybe loosing more bees this winter. I know that
this mite will be behind us and we will talk about the problems that we
did have in getting thru Varroa.Lets keep it just to Varroa and not a
quality problem with honey.That would be much worse than Varroa.
 
 Thank You
  Roy