> Other insecticides which we have used for years are a very different 
> breed
> of insecticide. Early attempts at systemic pesticides like *timek* were
> failures. 
Some minor corrections- Actually, systemic pesticides have been around 
for well over 30-40 years.I know, since I bought some over-the-counter 
back about 1970. There are lots of them now.

Many contact pesticides are much worse for bees (Sevin is classic) than 
many systemics, even when used according to directions. Think pollen.

It was Union carbide, not Bayer, that manufactured temik at the time of 
the watermelon posionings(1985).

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9E03E2DF1738F933A25754C0A963948260

As noted in the article it was not used according to directions. Plus it 
is still in use. Bayer owns it now. It is used on many crops. It is a 
nasty insecticide, but is one of the few that works against certain 
pests, hence Florida allows it with citrus crops.I am not sure you can 
call it a failure since it still is in use some 20+ years later.

Even the PBS show noted that Frances bee problems had not gone away 
after the gaucho ban. The driving force behind the ban was not 
beekeepers but a rival French chemical company which had a competing 
product. The French company piggy-backed on the hysteria to drive out 
competition. There was a massive bee die-off after gaucho from another 
pesticide.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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