>1. Does anyone have any knowledge of any study pertaining > to bees that use water from a waste treatment facility? > Would any heavy metals be possibly transferred to the hive > or the honey? My sense is that bees are themselves fairly good filters. If harmful substances are present in water or any other substance collected, the foragers will likely succumb before reaching the hive, or be so disoriented that they will be evicted from the hive before unloading occurs. A good general overview of honey bee poisoning--including discussion of specific pesticides but not, as far as I can tell, heavy metals in water--is E. Laurence Atkins, "Injury to Honey Bees by Poisoning" in _The Hive and the Honey Bee_ (1992 ed.). Dan Salemson <[log in to unmask]> North Carolina State University