In a message dated 7/2/01 3:48:36 AM Pacific Daylight Time, [log in to unmask]
writes:

<< Two days later the
 hoppers were back, so I tried parafinic oil.  This part of the orchard is
 about 150 ft (50 meters) from the hives and long past bloom.  I have seen
 no increase in bee mortality.  But, I am wondering, what if the problem had
 occurred next to the hives?  I can think of a lot of methods to try, but I
 would like to hear from people who  have had some practical experience with
 methods that work. >>

   Unfortunately grasshoppers can migrate for miles, so they are one of the
most  damaging pests, when populations build up. Normally they are kept under
control when the biological systems are healthy, but we are often at the
mercy of our neighbors, because control must be regional, not just on one
small property.

   Areawide spray programs backfire, simply because insecticides kill
insects. One important predator that helps control grasshopper populations
are the grasshopper hunter wasps, which are insects themselves.  The way many
people hate wasps, and go out of their way to kill them, it is no wonder we
have lost the balance and have explosions of these pest insect population.  I
love to see the wasps and hornets browsing in my garden. I know then that
they will keep the populations of caterpillars down and save me from
spraying.  Most wasps are either predators as adults, or parasites in the
juvenile stages.

   If you must use insecticides (and often this is the only solution
available, primarily because everyone else in the area also is doing so) you
can protect the bees with a little thought.

   Bees will not be affected by insecticides unless they contact it. What is
the means of contact?  Most often it is by contaminated nectar and pollen.
Sometimes it is by a direct hit as they visit flowers. This is why label
directions focus on the bee at the flower, not the bee at the hive. Only
fumigant type insecticides would kill a hive when sprayed directly on the
hive, and agricultural sprays that are used outdoors are not fumigants.

   I have seen Sevin dust on the covers of hives, so thick that you could
write your name in it, and the hives had very little damage. The application
was made when bees were not in the applications area, in other words, there
were no flowers in the application area.

   Think about this. Do you have clover under your fruit trees?  If so,
better mow the clover before spraying the trees. In fact, this would be
required by the implications of the label directions.

    There is a flow chart at:   http://pollinator.com/cotton/flowchart.htm
which is designed for cotton, but works in other situations, with a little
common sense.



Dave Green
No worms in my 'maters:    http://pollinator.com/tomatoworms.htm