240 Maine Agricultural Experiment Station. 1917. 



The cost of the insecticide for four applications of the spray 

 to 33 bushes not including labor amounted to $.575. 



Are Honey Bees Poisoned? 



A serious objection to the adoption of the fruit fly remedy 

 would be the poisoning of the honey bees. Honey bees visit the 

 currant and gooseberry blossoms in enormous numbers and if the 

 bushes were sprayed during the flowering period there is a possi- 

 bility that the bees may be poisoned through feeding in spray- 

 poisoned blossoms. The first application of the spray, however, 

 was applied after the maximum period of emergence of the cur- 

 rant fruit fly had commenced, at the time when all of the goose- 

 berries and most of the currants had set. 



Are honey bees attracted to the poisoned diluted molasses 

 applied to currant and gooseberry bushes after all of the fruit 

 is set? On June 22, 1914, one hundred currant and gooseberry 

 bushes in the commerciat garden were baited, when honey bees 

 were visiting the flowers of raspberry and blackberry bushes in 

 large numbers. The raspberry and blackberry bushes were 

 growing between or near the currant and gooseberry bushes. An 

 entire day was spent in watching the honey bees, but the bees 

 paid no attention to the film of poisoned sweet on the leaves. The 

 next morning the raspberry and blackberry bushes were sprayed 

 and a half day's observation failed to show that a single bee 

 deserted the flowers for the poisoned diluted black strap molas- 

 ses. 



Summary. 



A summary of the different methods of control is herewith 

 given : 



The destruction of fallen infested fruit can not be advocated 

 as a method of control in commercial currant and gooseberry 

 gardens, for the expense of labor employed in gathering the 

 drops would consume most of the profits. Fallen infested berries 

 must be gathered daily. This system can not be relied upon to 

 destroy all of the flies, as some of the larvae issue from the fruit 

 before it falls to the ground. 



The daily destruction of all infested fruit by burning or 

 boiling is not always a convenient method and is somewhat 



