798 



Gr^EANfNGS IN BEE CULTURE 



GENEMAL COM 



PONDENCE 



A Reply to Dr„ ¥M 



CV WESLEY FOSTER 



In the August 15tli issue, page 615, Dr. Phillips gave it as his opinion that the trouble complained 

 of in Colorado, of bees dying, was not the direct result of spraying, as has been alleged, but was due to 

 European foul brood. It seems this " raised a storm" of protest that this was not true in most cases, at 

 least. At all events, our correspondent, Wesley Poster, replies : 



Losses of bees from siDraying have been 

 reported to me from Montrose, Delta, Mesa, 

 and Fremont counties for three years. The 

 most disastrous lo.-ses that the writer has 

 observed were at Canon City, in Fremont 

 County, two years ago. The leaf-roller 

 threatened the destruction of the orchards, 

 and spraying was recommended during fruit 

 bloom, wluch was done. The destruction of 

 hundreds of colonies followed, and practi- 

 cally all colonies within range of the fruit- 

 trees were reduced in numbers very serious- 

 ly. The affected bees would be seen crawl- 

 ing and hopping away from the hives early 

 in the morning and in the evening, but 

 would not be so noticeable during the day. 

 The abdomens would be swollen, and the 

 bees able to tly but a few inches. A few 

 minutes later one would notice the same bees 

 scarcely able to crawl, many dying soon, 

 while others seemed to rally and fly away. 

 In the evening the bees would cluster in 

 little bunches in the grass or in depressions 

 in the gTound about the hives. Ditches and 

 lioles in the ground would often be found 

 full of dead and dying bees. No brood that 

 I saw at that time appeared to be affected 

 except from chilling and lack of care. T 

 think that but very little brood if any is 

 affected by the poison, as it seems the bees 

 I'ush out of the hive in agony as soon as thej' 

 get any of the feed. The poisoned nectar 

 must be carried into the hives by the field 

 workers, for newly hatched bees will be seen 

 crawling away from the entrances in large 

 numbers, probably getting poisoned with 

 their first sip of nectar from the cells. It 

 seems jirobable that the poison acts less 

 rapidly upon the bee when the nectar is in 

 the lioney-sac than when the nectar is taken 

 for food. 



In this connection I might say that tliere 

 has been considerable doubt whether bees 

 can be poisoned by arsenical spray, from 

 the fact that the spray as mixed by most 

 fruit-growers is hardly strong enougii lo 

 kill any thing but tlie larvae of the codling 

 iiiytli, 



I do not know what strength liquid was 

 used in spraying for the leaf-roller at Canon 

 City, but it was probably about the same as 

 used for the codling moth. 



SPRAYING AND COVER CROPPING. 



All successful orchardists now are real- 

 izing the importance of some cover crop in 

 the orchard. These cover crops have been 

 l^ut in vei'y largely during the last four 

 years, and the time is not far off when all 

 the commercial orchards will have some crop 

 — alfalfa, red clover, sweet clover, or alsike 

 sown under and between the trees. The 

 orchardist who sprays his trees during 

 bloom is not the peril, although he often 

 does serious damage. The spraying of the 

 trees from one to seven times during the 

 growing season of the apples when the cover 

 crops are in bloom is the menace, and has 

 been the cause of most of the losses in west- 

 ern Colorado this year. It was noticed in 

 Delia County, that, right after the large 

 alfalfa-fields were all cut, and before sweet 

 clover came in bloom, the red clover in the 

 orchards was visited very largely by the 

 bees; and right at this time, which was late 

 in June, spraying was being done. In one 

 week whole apiaries were either destroyed or 

 rendered nothing but nuclei. Dozens of 

 colonies swarmed out and absconded, leav- 

 ing honey and brood in all stages. New 

 swarms, hived previously to the scourge of 

 poisoned nectai", absconded also, after draw- 

 ing comb and getting nicely started at 

 brood-rearing. 



Many of the beekeepers in Montrose and 

 Delta counties saved their bees by moving 

 away from the orchards. 



I visited Montrose and Delta counties the 

 latter part of August, and spent some time 

 in Mr. J. G. Brown's apiary at Montrose. 

 This is the apiary that he gives an account 

 of in Gleanings for August 15, page 641. 

 Mr. Brown told me that he had not noticed 

 tlie brood as being affected to any great 

 extent, tlie main symptom being the adult 

 bees hopping about in front of the hives and 

 bunching up in little clusters. This was in 



