IDAHO BEE KILL INVESTIGATIONS
January, 1979
Dan W. Bench
RPAR Coordinator
Region VIII
February, 1979

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IDAHO BEE KILL INVESTIGATIONS
January, 1979
Dan W. Bench
RPAR Coordinator
Region VIII
February, 1979

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UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
REGION Vlu
1H6: L INC Oi N STFlff
[>tNvEP. COLORADO eo^'
March 13, 1981
Mr. Paul Vassalotti
South DaXota State University
Brookings, S.D. 57707
Dear Mr. Vassalotti,
Enclosed is a copy of the IDAHO BEE KILL INVESTIGATIONS,
January 1979 by Dan W. Bench, RPAR Coordinator EPA Region VIII.
This is an unpublished report. At this time, very few of the
samples collected during the investigation have been analyzed
for methyl parathion and none have been analyzed for the
microcapsules. The analytic results are on the last two
pages.
Further analyses for methyl parathion and microcapsules
are in process. When I receive the results I intend to
write a summary and publish the report.
Sincerely,
Dan W. Bench
U.S. EPA Toxic Substances Branch

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INDEX
INTRODUCTION
Zagata
Lemmons
Murdock
Mundel1
Pontius
DISCUSSION
APPENDIX
Sample Log Sunmary
Sample Log
Sample Method
Affidavits
Zagata (2)
Mundel1 (2)
Correspondence
Jan.	22, 1979
Feb.	1, 1979
Jan.	19, 1979
Jan.	31, 1979
Bee Yards In Nez Perce County
Mundel1
Pontius
Letters: Ruhter, Dean to Dan Bench
Bench, Dan to Dean Ruther
Bench, Dan to Rod Awe
Homan, Hugh to Dan Bench
References
Letters: Lehner, Yolanda to Charles Brokopp
September 28, 1978
Kellog, Wilson to Pesticide Dealers and Applicators
January 17, 1979
Johansen, Carl to Arthur Losey w/attachments
February 8, 1979
Pesticide Damage Investigation Report, Marilyn Butler,
Idaho State Department of Agriculture, October, 1978

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Untitled Bee Kill Investigation Report, Idaho State
Department of Agriculture, 1976
PENNCAP-M INSECTICIDE AND BEES: FACT AND FALLACY:
Lowell, Dr. James R., Jr., Pennwalt Corp., Feb. 6, 1978
Newspaper Articles
Twin Falls County 1978 - 1979
Nez Perce County 1976
Photographs
Twin Falls County 1978
Nez Perce County 1976
Additional Information

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INTRODUCTION
During the period January 9-13, 1979, I traveled to Twin Falls and
Lewiston, Idaho to sample brood chambers from honeybee colonies that were
suspected to have died from pesticide poisoning. The brood chambers
sampled belonged to Frank Zagata, and Bill Lemmons who reside near Buhl
in Twin Falls County, and Orie Mundell and Gene Pontius who reside in
Lewiston in Nez Perce County. The bee yards involved were located in the
respective counties. The sample log summary in the Appendix lists the
total numbers of samples taken.
Since this was an out-of-region trip, my activities were coordinated
with Robert Poss, Pesticide Branch Chief, Region X; Bill Freutel, EPA
Idaho State Coordinator; and Rod Awe, Supervisor, Pesticide Enforcement,
Idaho State Department of Agriculture. I was fortunate in having the
very capable assistance of Marilyn Butler, a State pesticide enforcement
inspector during my work in Twin Falls County. Contacts were limited to
beekeepers and Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS)
representatives.
The beekeepers had stored the brood chambers they suspected to have
been contaminated by pesticides separately from those they intended to
start new colonies in during the spring of 1979. The brood chambers that
could have come from any of several known bee yards were identified as
"other 1, 2, 3 ...". Those known to have come from a particular bee yard
were designated by its name.
Pollen samples were taken in accordance with a method developed in
conjunction with the USDA SEA honeybee research laboratory in Laramie,
Wyoming. Honey samples were taken when sufficient honey was found in the
brood chambers. Duplicate samples were obtained whenever possible.
The brood chambers sampled were in full depth hive bodies. With the
exception of CR 124314, I took all of the samples and when they were not
in my immediate presence, they remained in a cooler locked in the car.
The only exceptions to this were during the times they were checked in as
baggage with the airlines. They were delivered to the EPA Technical
Investigations Branch Laboratory at the Denver Federal Center upon my
return to Region VIII.
Frank Zagata (Buhl Honey Apiaries)
Frank Zagata claimed to have had about 400 colonies damaged in June
1978 due to an application of Penncap-M to nearby white pea fields. The
suspect contaminated brood chambers were stored in a warehouse in Buhl
and in a shed behind the Zagata residence. Seventeen brood chambers from
the "home" bee yard were placed in the shed after the colonies died last
June. Sixteen "other" brood chambers from colonies that died during the
summer were delivered to the shed from the warehouse just prior to my
arrival. The reason for this was that the shed was heated whereas the

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warehouse was not so that unsealed honey extraction in the warehouse
would have been difficult. The brood chambers designated "other" came
from the Konechny, Sonners, Johnston, Severa, Ponds, or Peterson bee
yards. Pollen samples (CR 124304) were taken by spatula. Unsealed honey
samples (CR 124307) were also taken by spatula since most of the honey
was crystallized and could not be pressed from the combs using a spoon.
Three uncontaminated pollen samples (CR 124305) were taken from a
brood chamber that had housed a queenless colony and came from the Upper
Robinson, Lower Robinson, or Hazen bee yards. Six "home" and seventeen
"other" brood chambers were sampled.
A sample of raw unfiltered honey for human consumption (CR 124309)
was taken from a coffee can in the Zagata kitchen. Affidavits describing
the raw unfiltered honey and describing a visit by Pennwalt officials to
investigate the bee kill are attached.
Bill Lemmons (B & B Aparies)
Bill Lemmons claimed to have had about 430 colonies damaged in June
1978 due to an application of Penricap-M to nearby white pea fields. The
brood chambers were stored in a warehouse in Buhl belonging to Mr.
Lemmons' father. Twenty brood chambers designated "other" were brought
to the warehouse belonging to Bill Lemmons just prior to my arrival. The
original site was unheated. Six of these brood chambers were sampled.
Pollen samples (CR 124308) were taken by spatula. The combs were devoid
of honey. The samples come from the Kaster, Stiegemier, Chisholm, or
Lunte bee yards.
Mr. Lemmons reported that he attempted to save the damaged colonies
by feeding sugar water. The surviving bees consumed their honey stores
along with the sugar water during this process. It is likely that much
of the contaminated pollen was also removed during this process. The
colonies gradually died out during summer. The 20 brood chambers brought
to the warehouse for sampling were from among the first to die out so
that the likelihood of finding pesticides in these samples is greatest.
Murdock
One brood chamber belonging to Bill Murdock was stored in the shed
behind the Zagata residence. Pollen samples (CR 124306) were taken by
spatula. The location of the colony was reported to have been 209
Bracken Street S., Twin Falls, ID, prior to its demise last June. The
brood chamber was devoid of honey.
Mundel1
Orie Mundel1 claimed that more than 1000 of his colonies were a total
loss due to Penncap-M applications in the Lewiston area in May and June
of 1976. The brood chambers were stored in an unheated section of the

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honey house behind the Mundell residence in Lewiston. Mr. Mundell
informed me that the approximately 400 hive bodies I observed there rep-
resented about 1/3 of the total destroyed in May and June of 1976. The
other 2/3 had been "rendered" and sold for wax. I examined and rejected
for sampling purposes a number of brood chambers because they contained
insufficient pollen or because the pollen was overlaid by fungus. Three
"other" brood chambers were sampled . They came from any of twenty-two
known bee yards in Nez Perce County (see Appendix). Pollen samples (CR
124310) were taken by spatula. Wax with unsealed honey (CR 124312) was
cut from combs in areas where pollen cells were not present.
Samples of raw unfiltered honey for human comsumption (CR 124313)
were taken from three glass containers in the Mundell kitchen (1978
harvest). A single honey bear filled with crystallized honey (CR 124313)
was obtained from the cellar (1976 harvest).
Attached is an affidavit regarding the intended spraying of a rape-
seed field near Lewiston just prior to the bee kill and an affidavit
alleging that "two sets of books" were maintained by applicators in the
area at the time.
Pontius
Gene Pontius claimed that 620 of his colonies were a total loss due
to Penncap-M applications in the Lewiston area in May an June of 1976.
Five brood chambers were delivered to the Mundell honey house on January
12, 1979 by Gene Pontius. Pollen samples (CR 124311) were taken by
spatula from three of the brood chambers designated "other". The brood
chambers were devoid of honey. They came from any of three known bee
yards in Nez Perce County. (See Appendix)
DISCUSSION
Twin Falls County
See "Pesticide Damage Investigation Report", Marilyn Butler, Idaho
State Department of Agriculture, October, 1978. Also see letter:
Lehner, Yolanda to Charles Brokopp, September 28, 1978.
Nez Perce County
In addition to sampling the brood chambers belonging to Mundell and
Pontius from colonies that died during May and June of 1976, I attempted
to determine the source and identity of the pesticide involved. Sample
analysis conducted by the EPA indicated methyl parathion.*
A 300 acre rapeseed field was in bloom on the plain just above the
Lewiston valley in sections 29 and 30 T36N R4W. This is the rapeseed
field referred to in the Mundell affidavit of January 12, 1979 and may be
* Exhibit § VII, Untitled Bee Kill Investigation Report, Idaho State
Department of Agriculture, 1976.

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the field mentioned on page 2 of Penncap-M Insecticide and Bees: Fact
and Fallacy. In this connection, see letters of January 31, 1970 by Hugh
W. Homan and February 8, 1979 and by Carl Johansen stating that rapeseed
pollen was not identified in the pollen samples taken from dead bees and
combs sampled following the bee kills.
Carl Johansen states in the above letter that wild mustards were
grown extensively in waste areas, wheat fields, and pea field edges in
the vicinity of the bee kills during May of 1976. In addition, he states
that the pollen samples providing positive analysis for methyl parathion
were the wild mustards.
It should be noted that the "Summary of the Lewiston Bee Kill"
attached to the letter of June 17, 1976 from Wilson Kellog, Director,
Idaho State Department of Agriculture mentioned previously unreported
applications of Penncap-M in the area of the bee kill.

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APPENDIX

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Sample Log Summary
Date of



Numer of

Suspect
CR
Number
Beekeeper*
Samples
Item
Contaminatii
CR
124304
Zagata
21
Pollen
78
CR
124305
Zagata
3
Pollen, uncontaminated
78
CR
124306
Murdock
1
Pollen
78
CR
124307
Zagata
13
Unsealed honey
78
CR
124308
Lemmons
6
Pollen
78
CR
124309
Zagata
1
Raw Honey for Human





Consumption
78
CR
124310
Mundell
3
Pollen
76
CR
124311
Pontius
3
Pollen
76
CR
124312
Mundell
1
Honey and wax
76
CR
124313
Mundell
4
Raw Honey for Human





Consumption
76, 78
CR
124314
Zagata
1
Pollen Top Super
78
Samples were delivered to the EPA Technical Investigations Branch
Laboratory at the Denver Federal Center on January 16, 1979.
Samples were duplicated when possible. Duplicates y and g have
yellow and green labels respectively.

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Sample Log
CR 124304
Subs
Owner
Date Taken
Amount
Contai ners
Item
Sampling method
Notes:
home 1-5, other 1-16
Frank Zagata
January 9 and 10, 1979
x greater than 3 g
100 ml glass jars
Pollen, suspect contaminated
3 frames/hive body 10 cells/side
Duplicate y and g
Brood chambers labeled "home" are from the home bee yard. Those
labeled "other" are from Konechny, Sonners, Johnston, Severa, Ponds, or
Peterson bee yards.

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CR 124305
Subs
Owner
Date Taken
Amount
Containers
Item
Sampling method
Notes:
other 1-3
Frank Zagata
January 10, 1979
x greater than 3 g
100 ml glass jars
Pollen, uncontaminated
3 frames/hive body, 10
Duplicate y
eel1/side
Brood chamber from queenless colony. Colony from Upper Robinson,
Lower Robinson, or Hazen bee yards

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CR 124306
Subs
Owner
Date Taken
Amount
Containers
Item
Sampling method
other 1
Bill Murdock
January 10, 1979
x greater than 3 g
100 ml glass jars
Pollen, suspect contaminated
3 frames/hive body, 10 cells/side
Duplicate y & g
Notes:
Colony located at 209 Bracken Street, S., Twin Falls, Idaho
(Sample bottles may be labeled CR 12306)

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CR 124307
Subs
Owner
Date Taken
Amount
Containers
Item
Sampling method
Duplicate y & g
home 1-5, other 1-16
Frank Zagata
January 10, 1979
x greater than 20 cc
100 ml glass jars
Honey unsealed, suspect contaminated
Honey taken from individual cells by spatula
Notes:
Brood chambers labeled "home" are from the home yard. Those labeled
"other" are from Konechny, Sonners, Johnston, Severa, Ponds, or Peterson
bee yards.
Samples missing for lack of honey in brood chambers:
other
3	y g
4	g
5	y g
8	y g
9	y g
10 y g
12 y g
14 y g

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CR 124308
Subs
Owner
Date Taken
Amount
Containers
Item
Sampling method
other 1-6
Bill Lemmons
January 10, 1979
x greater than 3 g
100 ml glass jars
Pollen, suspect contaminated
3 frames/hive body, 10 cells/side
Duplicate y and g
Notes:
From the Kaster, Stiegemier, Chisholm or Lunte bee yards.

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CR 124309
Subs	Duplicate y and g
Owner	Frank Zagata
Date Taken	January 11, 1979
Amount	1 cup
Containers	4 oz glass jars
Item	Honey, suspect contaminated
Sampling method
Notes:
Honey for human consumption taken from Zagata residence. From bee
yards in Twin Falls County.

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CR 124310
Subs
Owner
Date Taken
Amount
Containers
Item
Sampling methods
other 1-3
Orie E. Mundell
January 12, 1979
x greater than 3 g
100 ml glass jars
Pollen, suspect contaminated
3 frames/hive body, 10 cells/side
Duplicate y and g
Notes:
From Nez Perce County, 1976. Bee yards listed in Appendix.

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CR 124311
Subs
Owner
Date Taken
Amount
Container
Item
Sampling Method
other 1-3
Gene N. Pontius
January 12, 1979
x greater than 3 g
100 ml glass jars
Pollen, suspect contaminated
3 frames/hive body, 10 cells/side
Duplicate y and g
Notes:
From Nez Perce County, 1976. Bee yards listed in Appendix.

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CR 124312
Subs
Owner
Date Taken
Amount
Containers
Item
Sampling method
Duplicate y and g
other 2
Orie E. Mundell
January 13, 1979
3 cups honey and wax
1 1/2 quart jars
Honey and Wax, suspect contaminated
Cut from foundation with clean hive tool
Notes;
No pollen cells in sample. From Nez Perce County, 1976. Bee yards
listed in Appendix.

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CR 124313
Subs	1-3, plus honey bear
Owner	Orie E. Mundell
Date Taken	January 13, 1979
Amount	1 cup each plus one full honey bear
Container	4 oz glass jars and one plastic honey bear
Item	Honey, suspect contaminated
Sampling method
Notes:
Honey for human consumption taken from Mundell residence. From bee
yards in Nez Perce County, subs 1-3 from 1978 harvest. Honey bear from
1976 harvest. Honey was extracted, heated to 115 degrees, and strained
through cheese cloth. This is raw unfiltered honey.

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CR 124314
Subs	None
Owner	Frank Zagata
Date Taken	January 11, 1979
Amount	1/3 cup
Container	4 oz plastic jar
Item	Pollen, suspect contaminated
Sampling method
Notes:
Taken last summer by Frank Zagata, random samples from shallow pro-
duction super.

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Sample Method

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PHONE SUMMARY
NAM!'": Dan Bench
US K.P.A.
R o j» ion VIII
Denver, Colorado
I) ATI: 10/26/78
PliONK: FTS 327-3928
SUMMARY
In a phone conversation with Mr. Bench concerning the
recommended procedure for obtaining samples fron bee colonies
allegedly damaged by Penncap M, I received the following:
1/ An r-;PA inspector in the appropriate EPA Region should be
utilized, and he/she should follow the normal chain of
procedures for an enforcement case.
2/ In particular, the inspector should:
a/ Obtain an US Ceol. Survey 7 1/2 minute quadrant map and
plot out where the beeyards are (with the beekeepers
help) .
b/ Sample at least one quarter (1/4) of the beeyards
(for example, if there are 20 beeyards, sample at
least 5 of them). Also, attempt to sample those
yards adjacent to the area which has been sprayed.
(To determine the area sprayed the inspector should
talk with local/regional applicators and attempt to
obtain an affidavit (or see the records, if possible)
from the applicator.
c / In earli beeyard .sample at least ?. n I the Jiima|;ril hives.
d/ in each hive there are usually 2 "deep boxes" or "brood
chambers" at the bottom portion of the hive. The
inspector should sample the top one of tho "deep boxes"
(or l lie one if only one is present). Not o that the
inspector should be samp 1 in j; the "brood chamber (s)"
which is (are) usually in 111 e "deep boxes), but if it isn't
then the beekeeper should locate the "brood chamber(s)"
for the inspector.
e/ Obtain fresh pollen (it has a "mealy" look to it) from
these "brood chambers".

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I / To olii.i in (In- p o .1 I on use a pockel knife (or otlu-r
.suitable object) and remove die top 1/8" to 1/4" of
pollen from each of 10 cells on each side of 3 frames.
The frames near the center of the hive body should be
k a in pled. Thus, 60 cells/colony (or hive) will be
s a m p 1 e <1 .
)• / Tin- |>ol len from each hive should be I. rcn I cd ,i «¦ r.i:c
i (¦ n |- ii;; i I e s a in pie.
h/ At this point there is no need to sample honey or wax.
(However, in order to sample honey, the inspector
should obtain honey a £ a i n from the brood ehamber(s),
and only unsealed honey should be sampled. The
inspector should use the back of a spoon and piers- it
back into the comb letting the honey run out into a
suitable receptacle.)
h/ The inspector should maintain the integrity of his/her
samples and not allow unauthorized officials (such as
the beekeeper) from handling the samples once they have
been collected.
i / le c I niplio-
L o me I. e r .
The above information was obtained from Mr. liench, EPA
Region VIII, who is experienced with this type of
samflJrg. Furthei» he has talked with various USDA

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-:3-
lloney Bee Laboratory researchers, for their comments/
r i- c o m mo 11 d a t i c> n s . (Also, the b e e k e e p e r ' s aspistan c e
in l lie above proccdiirc is i 11 L e 11 d otl . )
Norman Cook, Biologist
EEB, IIKD

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Affidavits

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UNITED STATES
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGfcNCY
SAMPLE NUMBER
AFFIDAVIT
STATE
4-JUS
COUNTY

CITY

He lore me, an employee of 1 lie United Slates hitvironinenlal I'rotectioii Agency, pursuant to the authority under
4.' Statutes-at-Large 803 (7 U.S.C 2217). Reorganization Plan No. of 1970 (5 U.S.C. at Reorganization Plan No. J
of 1970). Section 22(a) of (he Federal Insecticide. Fungicide, and Roderitieide Act (7 U.S.C. ¦ 136t.)> as amended, and
Fnvironmental Protection Agency Order No. I 25*>. Appendix N I, as read together, personally appeared
Or
rvLC-e.
oi affirmation ami says:
3^^
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I hereby swear/affirm that the aforegoing statement is true to the best of my knowledge.
r
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SIGNATURE	'	TITLE
FIRM'S NAME AND ADDRESS (Include Zip Code)
Subscribed and sworn to before me m (City and State)
<3«41 2?c$*Jho
this /	day of	3 b\		 11) 9*.
Designated pursuant lo law to administer ouilis. affidavits, and affirmations, Authorization No. I ^
	Oi. W-
SIGNATURE OF EPA EMPLOYEE
EPA Form 3540-11 (R»v. 9-751	PREVIOUS EDITION MAY BE USED

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UNITED STATES
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGtiNCY
AFFIDAVIT
SAMPLE NUMBER
STATE
' i'l t.
COUNTY
it' it.
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CITY
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Holme iik'. .111 employee < >i I he tlnited States Fiiviioninental Protection Agency, pin snail I to (lie authority under
¦l.< StaHiies-at I .iij-i' SO.! ( > V.S.C. 2217), Kempm/ation I'lan Nu. t ol IV70 (5 (I.S.C. at Keorxanizutioii Plan N». .1
of IV'tH. Seeli».>ii J.-(a) el (lie Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Kt)dcnlicide Act (7 U.S.C. - IJfit.), as amended, and
1'iivimnmental Protection Agency Order No. 1255'..>, Appendix N I, as read together, personally appeared
Fc*A k. OmJ- £-r <¦/ £ *~0-h* >-*	- /U *0- £>-?'->
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I Irercby swear/afllrm that the aforegoing statement is true to the best of my knowledge.
^7i4q ;y):

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TITLE

Subseribed antf sworn to before me at (City am! State I / h / 7 . (>-tll C
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this /t day of ->/<;; n	|9 > V .
Designated piirsuanl to law to administer oatli.s. affidavits, and affirmations, Autlioriwititui No..
		 < •-> ' »!.¦•¦(	

SIGNATURE OF EPA EMPLOYEE
EPA Form 3540-11 (R«v. 9-75»
PREVIOUS EDITION MAY BE USEO

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UNITED STATES
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
AFFIDAVIT
SAMPLE NUMBER
STATE
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COUNTY
A-'

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| CITY
A.
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Before me, an employee of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, pursuant to the authority under
43 Statutes-at-Large 803 (7 U.S.C. 22171. Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1970 (5 U.S.C. at Reorganization Plan No. 3
of 1970). Section 22(a) oi the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. • 136t.), as amended, and
Environmental Protection Agency Order No. 1255.3, Appendix N-l, as read together, personally appeared
«	i
t /.
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		in the city, county and state aforesaid, who deposes under oath
or affirmation and says:	p«
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I hereby swear/affirm that the aforegoing statement is true to the best of my knowledge.
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		SIGNATURE	
I FIRM'S NAME AND ADDRESS (Includ* Zip Coth)
TITLE
Subscribed and sworn to before me at (City and State).
this		day of		 19	
Designated pursuant to law to administer oaths, affidavits, and affirmations, Authorization No.
EPA Form 3640-11 (R«v. 8-7SI
StONATUWS Of gPA EMPLOYEE
PREVIOUS EDITION MAY BE USED

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1JNI ft 1> S r A 11s
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGLNCV
AFFIDAVIT
SAMPLt NUMBtH
STATE	„
J c-f c< h o
COUN1Y
/jf tf ft *> f-L r
CITY
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Before me, an employee of I he United Slates !;nvironinental Protection Agency, pursuant to the authority under
¦I! Statutes-at-Lnge K().> (' II.S C. 2217), Keorgani/alion Plan No. .? of 1470 (5 U.S.C. at Reorganization Plan No. J
of IV>0). Section ^!.?i_ >u-e , Irk u. yi\ c^\ *>•"
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UNITED STATES
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGLNCY
AFFIDAVIT
GTA'I e
1 Die tJmloil Stales l:i»viioiiiooutal Protection Agency. pursuant to the authority under
43 Statutes-at-ljrgc K03 (7 IJ.S.C. 2217), Kcortuiiii/.ation I'km No. 3 of ll>70 (5 U.S.C. at Reorganization Plan No. J
oj 1970). Section 22(a) ol Hie federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodeuticide Acl (7 U.S.C. ¦ IJ6t.j, as amended, and
l-invironmental Protection Agency Order No. 1255.3, Appendix N I. as read together, personally appeared
C'1y I f f . il <\ n S <¦ 11	in the city, county and state aforesaid, who deposes under oath
or affirmation and says:	pu	J
SY k amc<
srt\£ tSY k CLmc< c'Crs- /I .>? < - /
j r/s	h c>ch s ^
i r/^
jhosz pt-e&rni a J	:
/t" (/>~t /ft .^CL'yvd-L ^f
<• let »1 J~ kcn^-ri'
A\l kc i/\\ I j J. e ^ ^ c-'C
TOavjc Sc\\usV«?f"
o*\ c-\ v\ vs c' ^
U'' I Ijjt. n k r I ( 0

( hereby swear/affirm thai the aforegoing statement is true to the best of my knowledge.
	 - 		
•iic.NA i uni	'	^	^
t •
11 IHM'S NAMI ANII ADIIHI !ifi (liu.lwlv /"//, Cotlrl
Subscribed and sworn to before nie at (City and Statei /<° <-<->, ^ /
-------
UNITED STATES
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AOLNCY
AFFIDAVIT
SAMPLE NUMBER
CITY
STATE
•	_	ICOUNTY
-lei'a h<. 			I /re s	Pr'"c~1
Before nie .111 employee ol I lie United Styles Hnviromnental Protection Agency. pursuant to (lie authority under
4.! Stalnies-at-lmge 80.? (7 I'.S.C. 2217). Reorganization Plan No. .1 of 11'70 (5 U.S.C. at Reorganization Plan No. 3
of 1970). Section 22(a) ol the l-'ederal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Kodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. - I36t.), as amended, and
Jjivironmental I'roleclion Agency Order No. I25">J, Appendix N I. as read together, personally appeared
lc	l^_	ftJrll	in the city, county and stale aforesaid, who deposes under oath
oi .1 IIIi niation ami says:
Qp) oc~ d(aot(,l~ 13l	| 9	l v>n	-1
lo tj fele^hcXU- /»	-OnM- f-k^ L,
i h wXt-J f#	(o3-n^vc-*^> —	n hu
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j)urp<'St- y	oUt I*/*-* A; U'O^n	h*
fL Srh y ^-rers ^	.
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3> (- Oct or\i'*<,- f% 4-^>	^ ^ Y	~
.-Wi /^j f «s/""	£
»i	^ y
V ,v
^jsV vV
t" ,oyv
I hereby swear/affirm lluil the aforegoing statenieiil is I rue lo the host of my knowledge.
IGNATUn
	TITLE
FIRM'S NAME AND ADDRESS (Include Zip Code!
Subscribed and sworn to before me at (City anil StateI / ^ <- ') j TJaho
this I	day r>t" "*( q r ^ 19	.
Designated pursuant to law to administer oaths, affidavits, and affirmations, Authorization No..
			K3
-------
Correspondence
-------
Filer, Idaho
Jan 22, 1979
RECEIVED
Mr. Dan Bench
Pesticide^ Branch
Environmental Protection Agency
i860 Lincoln Street
Denver, Colorado 80295
Pesticides Program
EPA - Region VilI
,!£N 2 ¦, '(S79
Dear Mr. Bench:
I am a farmer in the Magic Valley residing near Filer. My
main crops are contract beans and paas for seeil.
I tried to get in tough with you when you were in the Twin
Falls area recently but evidently by the time the news was in the
paper you had already left the area.
I am concerned with the, Honeybee kill and the chemical Pen
CapM which you are investigating. I have been trying to get the
farmers* side of the story known thru the local Times News since
last September with no results.
PenCapM in a very effective chemical for spraying peas be»
cause it will kill both Aphid and Pea Weevil and it has a longer
lasting effect, l'f days as compared to 1 or 2 days for most chemicals.
The Magic Valley is one of the largest producers of seed crops in
the world and in order for us to have good production and make a
profit we must control the insects.
The Beekeepers organization have convinced the general public
that the farmer, seed companies, Chemical companies and applicators
are responsible for their bees. These bees are domesticated and
the property of the beekeepers and they should be responsible for
them just as I am for my livestock. Bees are known to travel 3
miles or more so for one hive their range would include 25 sections
of land or up to 15»000 acres. The^Jjejgju^J^Jfact^
gjl^jyiTjgro^ertya^ndjitealin^th^	They know the times of
year when we are sprayingand should keep them contained at those
times.
I realize all chemicals have their good and bad effect. But
I feel you should weigh the facts on both sides before making a
determination to ban them for all use.
If you are back in the area I would appreciate an opportunity
to present my opinions in person.
Dean Ruhter
fit. #1
Filer, Idaho
83328
-------
February 1, 1979
REF: 8AH-P
Dean Ruhter
Route #1
Filer, Idaho 83328
Dear Mr. Ruhter:
Thank you for your letter of 20 January 1979. regarding your con-
cern about the honeybee kill and your observations of the usefulness of
Penncap-M as an Insecticide In the Maqlc Valley. Your letter will be
appended to the Investigation report.
The scope of my Investigation In the Twin Falls area was limited
to sampling broodchambers of honeybee colonies that died out to deter-
mine wheather or not pesticides were Involved.
Please be assured that 1f I have the opportunity to return to the
Twin Falls area 1n the near future I will contact you.
Sincerely yours,
Dan W. Bench
RPAR Coordinator
Air and Hazardous Materials Division
8AH-P:Bench:fhd,2/1/79,3926
file:
-------
January 19, 1979
REF: 8AH-P
Rod Awe, Supervisor
Pesticides Enforcement
Idaho Dept. of Agriculture
4696 Overland Road, Suite 570
Boise, Idaho 83705
Dear Mr. Awe:
This 1s to thank you for your cooperation and assistance during
my brood chamber sampling the week of 8 January 1979. As you no doubt
know, I obtained honey and pollen samples from Frank Zanata and pollen
samples from Bill Lemmons and Bill Murdock, all of whom maintain their
apiaries In Twin Falls County. I also obtained pollen and honey samples
from 0r1e Mundell and pollen samples from Gene Pontius of Lewlston.
These were all suspected Penncap-M bee kills', those 1n Twin Falls County
were 1n the summer of 1973 and those 1n Nez Perce County 1n 1976.
I obtained affidavits from several of the beekeepers. I also spent
some time one evening talking with Charlie Miller 1n Twin Falls.
I would like to request copies of the Idaho Department of Agriculture
Investigation reports Into the suspected Penncap-M bee kills: Zagata ('78),
Leirmons ('78), Murdock ('78), Pontius ('76), and Mundell ('76). The reports
will be helpful to me In my attempts to reconstruct the best possible
picture of what transpired at those times. I will send you copies of
our laboratory results when I receive them.
I was pleased with the cooperation I received from Mrs. Marilyn
Butler and found her suggestions regarding our sampling techniques
valuable. I will look forward to working with your personnel 1n the
future.
Sincerely yours.
Dan W. Bench
Pesticide Accident Investigation Officer
A1r and Hazardous Materials Division
cc: Norm Cook (EPA HQ)
^u^«ireUDeI-/ /tj6!!*	* a t \ 8AH-P:BENCH:mumbo: 1/19/79
bcc: War1]yn Butler (Idaho Dept. ofAgrl.) f1le. USE 2-0 (WY or c0)
Howard Rhodes (SEA-USDA Bee Lab)
-------
COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICE
Universityof Idaho
CoIUk)1! of ullun-
In Coofietation wiih tho
U.S. Department of AqrU:ulUne
Moscow, Idaho 83843
(208) 885-6595
• l.imi.iry II, IT/')
Mr• Dan Bench
US - EPA - A-H-P
1860 Lincoln
Denver, CO 80295
Dear Dan:
I was called to look at a possible bee kill in Lewis ton, Idaho, and
went to look May 20, 1976. I only visited Orie Mundell and he showed me
two apiaries, one across from the Potlatch Mill and the other a mile west
of Spaulding, plus a few colonies he had at his plant in North Lewis ton.
The bees were obviously dead or dying and the new bees that were emerging
were dying as they emerged.
I did collect dead pollen collectors and pollen from the frames in
the first two locations. I collected pollen from available blossoming
plants including rape, mustard, fiddleneck and some others. I examined
the pollen from the frames and dead bees and found no rape pollen on
about 10 different slides. The pollen was primarily mustard. Ten samples
is a very small sampling and I am sure if I examined more I would have
found some rape pollen, which was in full bloom at the time. The mustard
that was blooming was a winter annual weed; it was not growing in the pea
fields because the pea fields are worked in the spring, but growing in
waste areas.
If you need more information please let me know.
Hugh W. Homan
Extension Entomologist
HWH:dl
cc: Rod Awe
I In' l Inivct Ml y 'il III.tliu K. .in I nu.il 1 )|i|>ui 11 ii illy/Al III111. il tvi • Ai IH hi I itiplnyi'i . it n I I < li i* .ilxxi.it I nr. I ill il i< in
-------
Bee Yards In Nez Perce County
-------
Or^/6. fiflundell
^eb^^s¦^^oA/ - "Xc\aho.^36o/
Uq/2Ds &&&£ ubkeQ.€-ij C&eekL
roTkFi rcl) f'o&esb Sa^t ketoi&TcJ/O
Ori£- I^WdeM; RssiDtNirs'.
£a«.| Xjjeai
£a.IS amj^SofO Coyote. C^uldh
Sm'ibli -faRrvi S|oa\Ai'nQ
Jecodct.	SboAdina ruRK.
So.m|DS,or\J Bros , ?5. cSjpaiamo QxdK_
Qie	t^aptoai
BtVl U)VuL-e LajpwOJ
Copland |7om B^eaWe.
(Src3 <| &Sdl«e Co I I om 8«e.a\ I ^
TX\aft--r\rN) £ O.R m j To rv\
J" 6)Tom BeaUe
PO^l auc^M i'rv ^aRoe.r\ ^u\
-------
Oris on.und-e.il
I
fanstock Co Upper ^aftoen
LJcLRolell ktf-^ss	Baach
"Tocid -Pa^rn j ^ebb (Ba^Qk.
-------
Gene W. Pontius
Name
Horsepasture #3
Home #1
Rock Pit
Location
23rd & Bryden, Lewiston
Orchards
2011 Alder, Lewiston
Orchards
Old Lapawi Road, Lewiston
Orchards
-------
References
-------
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
SCIENCE AND EDUCATION ADMINISTRATION
FEDERAL RESEARCH
WESTERN REGION
HONEY BEE POLLINATION RESEARCH UNIT
Bee Research Laboratory
2000 East Allen Road
Tucson, Arizona 85 719
September 28, 1978
Dr. Charles BrokQpp, Project Director
Epidemiologic Studies Program
Department of Health and Welfare, State of Idaho
2373 Old Penitentiary Road
Boise, ID 83720
Dear Dr. Broko.pp:
I'd like to summarize our results for you. The samples you sent us gave
these data:
432a Zagata's honey bees 0.1 ppm (wet wt. thorax) or 4.86 ng/thorax
432bjZagata's honeycomb
432c - not analyzed
432d Zagata's honey - no detectable MeP
433 Zagata's pollen from hives - no detectable MeP -
contains identifiable pea pollen
442 Lemmon's honey bees - no detectable MeP
Our limits of detection were about 0.006 ppm in the thoraces and about
1 ppb in the honey.
We ran c.hol i nesterase levels on whole head homo f,e nates from the same bees
we used for the GC determinations. Zagata's bees (//432a) gave an average
value of 21.02 UM acetylthiocholine hydro]yzed/min/head. Lemmon's bees
had an average of 59.09 yM/min/head, and our controls had 60.69 'h!>i^min/
head.
From these results, I would say that Zagata's bees were killed by methyl
parathion and that Lemmon's bees died from some other cause.
Frank Zagata sent us samples from his area. These were pollen samples
taken from hives, and they provided these figures:
Brakett yard
0.58
ppm
Zagata home yard
5.34
ppm
Sonner yard
0.10
ppm
Konency yard
0.03
ppm
Johnson yard
0.64
ppm
Peterson yard
0.73
ppm
.Si'vera yard
1.73
ppm
Pond yard
0.09
ppm
-------
Julie Yoder sent us some bees from Lemmon's Apiary and from Zagata
that she collected. Both groups of bees had inhibited ChK levels
(9-18 M/mi n/head). This could have been due to decay because the dry
ice was long gone when those samples arrived here. There was no de-
tectable MeP in the bees from Lemmon's Apiary and only a possible trac.
(<0.002 ppm) in the bees from Zagata's yard. Julie said she collected
these bees as they were dying. I have no idea what was killing them.
Mr. Zagata had mentioned that he thought Imidan was being used in that
area also, so perhaps it was the cause. We didn't test for Imidan.
All the pollen samples that we looked at contained pea pollen that
matched that from the blossoms you sent us. It is impossible to tell
varieties or even species apart, so all we can say is that all the
pollen samples contained some Pisum sp. pollen. This includes the sam
pies sent us by Julie which had no measureable MeP as well as all the
contaminated samples from Mr. Zagata.
We wondered if you'd like to write all this up with us for some sort o
joint report to one of the bee journals. Please call if this letter i
not clear enough, and please tell Julie I wish her well.
Sincerely,
/Yolanda Lehner
Biological Lab Technician
cc:
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Zagata
-------
•r- ' • ¦	>'
l.~i A -J. UI1 . f
.R;m£NT OjF AC.Au .
ii
TO:
All Aerial Applicators anc ;'ev;icK
Dealers in the Counties of ..aean,
.ewis, Clearwater and Nez Perce
. 1/, 97 ¦
FROM. Wilson Ke'loqg, Director
SUB.1FCT restricted Use of Methyl Pariitmon uviicroenc< :>su'i
-------
Prepared By:
Alfred E. Miller
Supervisor, Pesticide Enforcement
Idaho Department of Agriculture
SUMMARY OF LEWISTON BEE KILL
On the evening of May 17, 1976 our area investigator in Lewiston, Don
Vannoy, was notified by Dwight Kilgore and R.W. Wade of a substantial bee
kill.
The following day Vannoy initiated his investigation to determine the
extent of the kill. He first noted that many beekeepers in the Lewiston
Orchards area were affected. Records of the aerial applicators were inspec-
ted and it was found that the insecticide Imidan had been used on many fields
in the area of the kill. Vannoy also noted that this product was used by
growers too. The records listed only one other new product used in the area
and this was encapsulated methyl parathion on one 95 acre field of peas.
Dr. Carl Johansen of Washington State University and Mr. Hugh Homan,
extension entomologist, were contacted and it was the consensus of opinion
of these individuals including Vannoy, that the bees were probably visiting
sprayed fields. Since the application records indicated that Imidan was
widely used, it was the most likely pesticide to have caused the kill. It
seemed remote that one 95 acre field of encapsulated methyl parathion could
have caused bee kills in such a large area. Hugh Homan examined pollen from
dead bees and stated that it consisted mainly of weed pollen.
Based on the above facts, we recommended to the director to place a
temporary restriction on Imidan usage in Northern Idaho counties. At this
time, samples of dead bees were sent to the Oregon Department of Agriculture
laboratory in Salem. Additional samples were also drawn by Vannoy and these
samples were split and sent to the following laboratories: Morse Laboratory,
Stauffer's Laboratory, the Environmental Protection Agency's laboratory in
Seattle and the Washington Department of Agriculture laboratory in Yakima.
All samples that were analyzed showed various residue levels of methyl para-
thion. No traces of Imidan were found while one sample showed a trace of
-1-
-------
ethyl parathion. The Imidan restriction was lifted upon receipt of the lab-
oratory analysis.
It was at this time that Super Kat Flying Service informed us that they
had overlooked 400+ acres of peas that were sprayed with encapsulated methyl
parathion that had been applied in the area of the kill. Vannoy also noted
that a grower had applied the same product to 200 acres of peas in the Mis-
sion Ridge area and Schumaker Air Service had overlooked 160 acres of al-
falfa which was not detected until the latter part of June.
Vannoy checked with a local orchardist who stated that he had used Car-
baryl some three to four weeks prior to the kill but had not used any pest-
icides during the first two weeks of May.
The Oregon lab also was instructed to analyze for Carbaryl residues be-
cause beekeepers indicated that colonies that had been damaged ten days
prior were still dying.
Surrounding states were contacted to see if there had been other in-
cidences concerning bee kills of this type. Only California had one instance
where bees traveled from an almond orchard to a field that had been sprayed
with encapsulated methyl parathion. These bees contined to die two to three
weeks after contacting the pesticide. John Hill is of the California Depart-
ment of Food and Agriculture stated that research was being conducted con-
cerning the bee hazards of encapsulated methyl parathion.
All dealers who sold both liquid methyl parathion and encapsulated
methyl parathion were audited by Vannoy and Bill Freutel of the Environmental
Protection Agency who was called in to help Vannoy with the investigations.
All distribution records checked out with the applicator records. However,
there could have been liquid methyl parathion applied that was carry over ma-
terial from previous years.
On the basis of the information that had been compiled so far, we had
evidence that implicated methyl parathion as the possible cause of the bee
kill. However, no lab could differentiate between the liquid material and
-2-
-------
and the encapsulated product :n the analysis of the dead bees. Past ¦'
ience has shown that liquid methyl parathion is highly toxic to bees
never caused a bee kill of this type. Also, many widely used agriculture
pesticides are also highly toxic to honey bees.
Vannoy took pea samples from fields sprayed with Methoxychlor to ...
mine if these applications were spiked with methyl or ethyl parathion. now-
ever, negative results were obtained from these samples.
Bee colonies that sustained damage were plotted on a map as well jc ill
ethyl parathion, liquid methyl parathion and encapsulated methyl parathio.'
applications in order to define the scop<; of the problem. Weather cc.'.iitions
were obtained from the 10th through the 16th of May which indicated that wind
currents were swirling at that time.
On June 9, 1976, One Mundell contacted Vannoy and stated that bee col-
onies in the Culdesac area were dying. Vannoy inspected damaged bee yards
and took samples that were sent to the Oregon Department of Agriculture's
laboratory. Again, Vannoy inspected the records of all aerial applicato.~s ic
obtain copies of records containing any insecticide spraying during tne firsr
two weeks of June. A map was plotted with damaged bee yards and sprayed fields.
Encapsulated methyl parathion was the primary suspect pesticide and the map
plotting verified this theory. Director Kellogg was advised of the findings
and was advised to restrict encapsulated methyl parathion which he did later
that afternoon. The restriction was to last 120 days and would restrict the
aerial application of encapsulated methyl parathion within two miles of breaks
areas of the Snake and Clearwater drainage systems in Latah, Nezperce, Clear-
water and Lewis counties.
? Pennwalt, the manufacturer of encapsulated methyl parathion had a rep-
resentative collect two racks from Orie Mundell's damaged colonies. These
-3-
-------
racks were analyzed and it was found that the pollen contained high residues
of methyl parathion. Whereas the wax had a lesser amount and the honey
contained no detectible residues of methyl parathion.
The research that was conducted in California did not yield any data
that would provide insight into the bee hazards when using encapsulated
methyl parathion.
Pennwalt did indicate that they have submitted label restrictions to
the Environmental Protection Agency that would help avoid or reduce bee kills
with their product.
In conclusion, the data that has been generated by our department may
be consided strong circumstantial evidence that encapsulated methyl para-
thion was responsible for our bee kill. The fact that methyl parathion was
found in the bee samples merely means that methyl parathion was present and
does not necessarily prove that it killed the bees. Although with our other
information, it would certainly seem to be a strong suspect.
Other instances of severe bee losses have occurred in California, Wash-
ington and Arizona where encapsulated methyl parathion was implicated. How-
ever, further study will be required in order to conclusively evaluate the
toxic effects of encapsulated methyl parathion on bees in these cases.
AEM/bb
-4-
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WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY
PULLMAN. WASHINGTON »i6t
DKI'AUTMKNT OF ENTOMOLOGY
February 8, 1979
Arthur Losey, Assistant Director
Grain and Chemical Division
Department of Agriculture
General Administration Building
Olympia, WA 98501
Dear Art:
Here is my statement concerning modification of Penncap-M regulations to
protect bees (to be presented at the hearing in Wenatchee on February 15, 1979):
There are three major factors involved in these considerations: (1) the importance
of bee-pollinated crops in Washington agriculture, (2) the lack of summer pasture
for honey bees in Washington, and (3) the conflict of interests of insecticide
manufacturers, distributors, fieldmen and applicators with reduction of bee
poisoning problems.
In midwestern states such as Iowa, with a predominance of wind-pollinated
crops and in western states such as Wyoming, where cattle ranching is the
major agricultural industry, support for protection of bees is minimal. However,
Washington with an annual farm value of bee-pol 1 i.natod crops of ^ 10(1 million
has attempted to reduce poisoning problems through Washington State Department
of Agriculture regulations for about 30 years. It also is not surprising that
California has the most stringent Penncap-M regulations currently in force in
certain counties with high value agricultural crops.
Since there arc about 100 thousand acres of bearing apple trees in Washington,
colonics of honey bees are being moved into Washington from adjacent states
during tree fruit bloom each spring. Although both out-of-state and some
Washington colonies are removed after fruit bloom is over, there simply is a
dearth of pollen and nectar plants for summer maintenance of the 66 thousand
Washington colonies used in pollination service.
We are committed to educational programs to teach growers, applicators, fieldmen
and beekeepers how to reduce bee poisoning. If these programs reached and
affected the actions of everyone involved, we wouldn't need regulations. However,
persons who derive part or all of their income from pesticide use are part ic-
ularly hard to alfeel . Knowledgeable beekeepers readily admit that our modern
agricultural system could not exist without effective pesticides. On the other
hand, too much overuse and misuse of insecticides occurs. A number of persons
have estimated that only about 50% of the insecticides applied in the United
States are actually justified. I know of cases in the state of Washington where
only about 30% was justified. Penncap-M is extremely hazardous to bees and
cannot be misused to the slightest degree without causing damage. We need the
best regulations we can devise to stop the killing.
-------
Arthur Losey
February 8, 1979
Page two
Let's dispel some of the myths that have been perpetrated concerning Penncap-M
and bee poisoning:
(1) That Penncap-M is just another bee killer and not a special hazard.
Nothing could be farther from the truth. Penncap-M is the most destructive
bee poisoning insecticide ever developed. The unique characteristic which
makes this insecticide more hazardous than even Sevin dust is its great
propensity for adherence to the body of a foraging bee. Add to this the
fact that Penncap-M contamination in pollen stored in beehive frames lasts
from one season to the next with little or no reduction in strength and
you have an extremely serious problem. For example, in one test we got
the following data (when considered as replicates, no significant
difference with length of storage between 9-day and 10.2 months):
9 days	3.5 mo.	7.3 mo.	10.2 mo.
0.53 ppm	0.11 ppm	0.34 ppm	0.27 ppm
The best comparison we can make of Sevin dust and Penncap-M is as follows:
Age in Months
Material	lb ai/acre	ppm in stored % mortality,
pollen	honey bee
		bioassay
Sevin dust
2.0
0.6
33


(8)
(8)
Penncap-M
0.5
1.17
94


(7.3)
(ID)
The data for Penncap-M are taken from an experimental plot in which only
20 acres of a 70-acre field were treated. Roy Barker, USDA entomologist,
Tucson; Michael Burgett, OSU entomologist, Corvallis and I have obtained
various kinds of data indicating the special affinity of the microcapsules
to adhere to bees and my most recent studies show that both capsule size
and electrostatic charge are involved.
(2) That the most serious bee kills near Lewiston, Idaho in May 1976 were
caused by an illegal application to rapeseed. Actually, there was no
rapeseed field in the Lewiston Valley. Hugh Homan, Extension Entomologist,
U of I, Moscow checked blooms in the area and determined that the pollen
on the dead bees was mustard and not rape. There had been a considerable
amount of moisture during the spring and pon field edges, waste areas
-------
Arthur Losey
February 8, 197(J
Page three
and many wheat fields were yellow with black mustard or wild mustard
blooms during May. The pollen samples providing a positive analysis
for methyl parathion were mustard. I am appending electron micrograph
pictures of black mustard, wild mustard and rape pollen to show the
differentiation. Note that rape pollen is almost elliptical, pointed
on the ends and 37.8m long. The mustards are oval and 51.6-52.6p long with
a roughened surface from the pore structures which arc about 2 times
the size of those on the rape pollen. Chemical analyses conducted by
2 chemists of pollen from contaminated frames showed 12.7-15 ppm methyl
parathion after 10 months storage. Penncap-M was the only formulation
of methyl parathionrecommended and used because of proven effectiveness
against the pea leaf weevil. Therefore, all evidence indicates that
pea fields surrounding Orie Mundell's apiaries were treated with Penncap-M.
Orie suffered the greatest losses in the Lewiston area in 1976.
(3)	That corn is only foraged by honey bees about every four or five years and
that sweet corn is much more attractive than field corn. Glen L. Stanley,
State Apiarist in Iowa confirmed that corn is a major pollen source year
after year, starting about the first of August. This is exactly the
situation in Washington, honey bees start collecting corn pollen about
August 1 every year. Honey bees will continue to collect pollen on
field corn if it tassels before the sweet corn in an area and vice versa,
there is no discernible difference in attractiveness between the two
types of corn.
(4)	That I had to apply Penncap-M three times on rapeseed near Troy, Idaho in
1976 in order to obtain an effect on the bees. Actually, it became
windy and rainy soon after each of the first two applications. The
Penncap-M did not control the cabbage seedpod weevil on the crop and caused
minimal kills of honey bees. Individual rape blooms remain open for 3-5
days. Therefore, the applications at 4-5 day intervals had little or
no carryover effect on the bees. Furthermore, one of the most severely
damaged colonies was the one placed next to the plot three days after
the last application.
Washington beekeepers have asked that purchasers of microencapsulated
insecticides be required to sign a register that cert il'ies they will comply
with the regulations. The vendor would be required to furnish the purchaser
a copy of the regulations. lie would also provide the purchaser with a
statement about the critical nature of the bee poisoning problem. I would
modify this proposal to only apply to microencapsulated formulations of
insecticides known to be toxic to bees and for crop pest control uses with
a potential hazard to bees. I firmly believe this proposal is essential for
the protection of pollinating insects. Too often, severe bee losses occur
when someone simply is unaware of the potential problem. This regulation would
insure that anyone who purchased a microencapsulated insecticide hazardous
to bees would know about the extreme danger involved for bees.
-------
Arthur I.oscy
February 8, 1979
Page four
Washington beekeepers have asked that Penncap-M be tagged with a red dye. Again,
this is essential to solving the bee poisoning problems caused by Penncap-M. In
the past, record of use of an insecticide coupled with a positive chemical
analysis for the material in dead bees or bee-collected pollen was considered
sufficient evidence to establish the bee poisoning agent. Now, Pennwalt Corpor-
ation insists that a positive chemical analysis for methyl parathion does not
prove Penncap-M was the culprit. Under these circumstances, we need an effective
marker that will aid us in determining the presence of the microcapsules. Pesticide
manufacturers are required by law to provide suitable analytical methods for
detection of their products before they can be registered for use. A better way
to handle this question concerning Penncap-M would be to simply revoke registration
of the product until Pennwalt Corporation supplies an effective analytical method
for the microcapsules.
Washington beekeepers have asked that exempted northcentral orchard areas and
Palouse white-blooming pea areas be removed from the current Penncap-M regulations;
This mainly is concerned with the lack of summer pasture for the bees needed for
orchard pollination. By the time you add the necessary 4-mile buffer zone around
any exempted area, you have removed sizable amounts of potential bee forage. A
single circle with a 4-mile radius encloses over 50 thousand acres.
Counter to this proposition, the orchardists claim they need Penncap-M during
second cover to control the San Jose scale. I checked this with extension
entomologist Arthur H. Retan, Cooperative Extension Service, Pullman and research
entomologist Stanley C. Hoyt, Tree Fruit Research Center, Wenatchee. They told
me: (1) there is no special area problem with San Jose scale. Heavily infested
orchards are found intermingled with lightly infested ones in both northcentral
and Yakima areas. (2) San Jose scale has been a major cause of apple cullage
in recent years. (3) The main reason for the San Jose scale problem is the
lack of application of an effective delayed dormant treatment.
The orchardist has at least three options:
(1)	He can apply an effective organophosphate compound plus superior oil
delayed dormant spray to control San Jose scale.
(2)	He can remove blooms in the cover crop by mowing, beating or treating.
(3)	He can use insecticides other than Penncap-M in the second cover for
San Jose scale control.
Washington beekeepers have asked that Penncap-M not be used within six miles of
any village or town. I would amend this to four miles, a more realistic distance
for serious bee poisoning hazards. This regulation is needed because hobbyist
and sideline beekeepers are being wiped out by Penncap-M sprays in eastern
Washington. There are thousands of hobbyist beekeepers in western Washington
and in villages and towns of eastern Washington. When we first were contacted
-------
Arthur Losey
February 8, 1979
Page five
by Palouse hobbyists in 1976 concerning the Penncap-M problem, they had
determined that l bey numbered more than IS. Palouse is a small fa rutin};
village 15 miles north of Pullman. Since that time, a number of these hobbyists
with 2-12 colonies have been put out of the bee business by Penncap-M.
Actually, a more realistic approach to this problem night be that taken in our
tri-state insect control recommendations for 1979. We will only recommend use
of Penncap-M on peas for control of the pea leaf weevil. It would not be
applied if blooming weeds arc present anil would only be used in the spring
be lore May 15.
We are only making two other specific recommendations for Penncap-M use in 1979.
(1) for San Jose scale and codling moth on apples during second cover, if
no significant amount of weed blooms are present in the cover crop and (2) for
spring grain aphids such as the oat birdcherry aphid before May 15 and for
fall grain aphids such as the greenbug after October 15, if no hazardous
amounts of weed blooms are present. (.rowers are being warned against further
non-essential uses of the product because of the extreme hazard to bees.
Some people have suggested that we should develop the thousands of acres in
power line right-of-ways and encourage new oil seed crops such as rape and
sunflower to remedy'the bee poisoning problem by providing more forage. We
conducted a sizable investigation of "bee forage preserves" in the 1960s. We
found that there was no acceptable bee forage plant which would compete well
enough with noxious weeds to be of help. More recently, we found that bee
forage plants growing above 3500' elevation were not effective enough to
maintain honey bee colonies.
I firmly believe that the best long-term approach to reduction of bee poisoning
problems for the orchardist is establishment of solid grass cover crops. USDA
agronomist John L. Schwendiman and WSU horticulturist Max F,. Patterson at Pullman
found that hard fescue was a very desirable and effective cover crop for orchards.
Hard fescue is better than bluegrasses and other grasses from the standpoint of
moisture management. Robert K. Fye, USDA, Yakima recently showed that crested
wheatgrass and smooth bromegrass on ditch banks and in orchards reduced the
prevalence of catfacing insects. A good, competitive grass sod cover in orchards
would reduce sucking bugs and virus disease-transmitting leafhoppers. Legumes
are not only attractive to the sucking bug pests, but also disrupt nitrogen man-
agement, especially in pear orchards. One of the main concerns of the horti-
culturists is protection from freeze injury. Washington orchards with bare
ground this winter are going to have some serious freezing damage to the roots
of the trees. Bertha armyworms and other cutworms are attracted into orchards
to lay their eggs on broadleaf weeds such as lambsquarters and Canada thistle.
Therefore, establishment of grass sod cover crops in orchards would not only
decrease bee poisoning problems, it would decrease damage from sucking bugs
and climbing cutworms and provide important cultural dividends as well.
Sincerely.
A. Johanlcn

C. A. Johanlcn
Professor
CAJ:dg
(continued)
-------
Arthur Losey
February 8, 1979
Page six
cc: Norman Cook
Philip H. Gray, Jr.
Dan W. Bench
William T. Wi1 son
F.I wood Sires
Allen W. Vaughan
E. C. Martin
E. Laurence Atkins
Mike Dover
Enclosures:
1.	Electron micrographs of pollen grains.
2.	Reprints of articles on Sevin dust and Penncap-M poisoning.
3.	Reprint of article on bee forage preserves.
4.	Copy of Penncap-M bee poisoning survey.
-------
rape:
Brassica napus
I	10jll	
-------
wild mustard
Brassica kaber
-------
black mustard
Brassica nigra
I	10x1 —
-------
Toxicity of Curlmryl-Contaniinutcd Pollen Collected by Honey Bees' -
( AKI. A. JOII ANSI N and I', ClARKli ItKOWN"
Severe losses of honey bees. Apis iiwllijcra i.., caused
by carbaryl poisoning first occurred in Wellington 111mi
u»e of sprays oil apples, peals, anil peaches in Ihe
spring of l()V) (Johansen l'J59). However, Ihe more
critical problem of extensive colony destruction from
carbaryl diM formulations started about Aug. I, I960,
in the Yakima Valley (Johansen and Shipman 1961).
We quickly found that carhaiyl dust applied to sweet
coin for ciintiol of tile corn earworm, llclimhis zca
Uoddie, was being carried back lo the colonies by honey
bee foragers. The contaminated pollen was fed to Ihe
brood and killed larvae and newly emerged adults.
Hadly damaged apiaries typically contained about 2V;.f,
of Ihe colonies killed outright, 50',;, queenless, and
25';?, with obviously abnormal queen activity. None
contained a sullicienl quantity of bees lo survive the
following winlei. Ueekccpcrs al o began reporting
dwindling and ultimate death of colonies utilizing con-
taminated corn pollen for brood development the I ol-
lowing spring.
Positive analy e.s for carbaryl were obtained from 3
corn pollen samples (removed from beehive frames)
and - deail bee sample* taken from honey bee colonies
In ll>60. I liese samples were collected from 3 apiaries
in the Yakima Valley which had been ^eveiely damaged
1^ eaibaijl poisoning during Align I and September.
IMiplicalc pollen samples were diluted to -II'; by
\olunie uilh siigai syrup and led lo uoiker honey bees
hi laboialory bioassay lesls. Uee mortalities in llieve
lests weie as high as 43'; al ter 72-hr conlincnicnt oil
ihe pollen-syrup diels (check mortalily was 2'r). How-
ever, contaminated pollen samples held in the beehive
frames until April I'MI did not kill bees in hioassays
conducted alter Ihe 7- lo X-month storage period.
Dining several subsequent seasons, atleuipls were made
t(, obtain additional bee collecled coin pollen samples.
Ilowevei. the bees weie so quickly decimated by Ihe
insecticide thai adequate samples lor analysis weie not
obtained.
Model el al.	lound that pollen artificially
contaminated with 5',; caibaiyl dusl ictaiued a toxic
hazard lo honey bees lot more than 10 weeks.
During lebruary and March 1971, several beehive
| Hvnu-tioptci ;i: Apul.tc,
- Si icniitic jKipoi 377Agiicultin ;ii Rcsi;nch Center. Wash-
ington State University. VVuik was i. oiulucieil under Project no.
Keceiveil l»n |nhlic;ilion Nov. II. 1471.
l iiiomolo^ist. Department ol liitomnlojiy, Washington State
IJniverMiy ami Chief. Pesticides Hiancli, Washington Slate De-
pal 111 ielit ol Agriculture. uspeelivcly.
Table I.—Analysis of pollen stored in beehive frames
for S months and its ellect in ca^cd honey bees when
fed in snj>ur syrup.



72-hr
('



(
mortality
Source of
Type of
Carbaryl
of honey
pollen
pollen
{ppm)
bees
('ontrol colony
non-corn
	
7
Poisoned colony
non-corn
0
8
Poisoned colony
corn
0.6
36
Poisoned colony
corn
—
38
Poisoned colony
coi n
-
y>
("onliol colony
corn
(1
5
•'Sample too small (o	cIk iimc alh .
frames suspected lo contain eai baryl-contaminated
pollen were obtained from colonies in the Yakima
Valley and the Columbia Hasin. Dale Antics, Chemist,
Washington State Department of Agriculture, obtained
a positive analy is for carbaryl from I sample, using
Ihe method of Butler and McDonough (1970). Micro-
scopic examination showed that all but one of Ihe
Mispecl pollens weie from coin. Subsequent hioassays
weie conducted by Iccding honey lice woikers on pollen
samples diluted lo 2(1'/ by vol lime with sugar syrup.
In asnuich as these tests were conducted in laic April,
the pollens had been stored in the beehive frames for
about 8 months. Table I presents the results of these
studies. This represents (he 1st successful bioassay for
caibaryl in pollen Mores during the spring following
applications made to coin ihe previous Augtisi.
KI I I KI N< I S ( I II I)
IliHler, I,., and I. McDonough. 1970. Specific CIC
method lor delet mining residues ol carhaiyl by
election capture alter deiivalive Jonnalion. J. Ass.
Ollic. Anal. ( hem. 53: 4**5 S.
Johansen, C\ 1959. The bee-poisoning hazard. Proc.
Wash. State Hort. Ass. 55: 12-4.
Johansen, C., and If. J. Shipman. 1961. Current bee-
poisoning problem and pollination service. Ibid.
57: 151-2.
Motfett, J. O,, R. II. Mucdonald, and \1. B. Levin.
1970. Toxicity of carbaryl-conlaminated pollen
to adult honey bees. J. Kcon. Entomol. 63: 475-6.
Reprinted from the
Environmental Kntomoi.ogv
-------
Bee Poisoning Characteristics of
Microencapsulated
Methyl Parathion1
B\ < ARI A. .IOIIANSIN AND
< IIRIS rOI'III K W. KIOllS ;
1 i, m 11 i I '.iper iluin I "'I	^ i 11<11> l< hi M.i11 I ¦ IHM'1 sil \ .
i ,,|K j¦ , < | \ 1 i, ulr hi i !•' 'Mi1 11 1 1'nii i . I 'niliit.in . ^ ¦>
, mi.In. i. .1 mi.I. > I'f'K' I "If
; I ii;, ,|iu,|. , , l Hill \<< I .11 I' lu lull	 I >1 pr nil III. mini
, \\., | I i V.,'. I MS I ' 11 11111.111 W.I
l\ I K< > 1 >I ( I l(»\
\VI riKSl SI AK I I I) testing the new
micioencapsulalcd formulation tit methyl
paialhioti (I'cnncap M) in 1971. Pievi
oiisK, a r 1111111 > c r ol I < >i nuilalion additives
had i educed tin.' Iia/atd ol certain
insect icidcs to hers (Johanscn and
klciiisshniidt. 1T2). c citain water
s<>1 iihlc plastic matciials apparently pro
\ ideil a "locking in" eflcct which lowered
llien conlacl toxiuly. We hoped that
miciocncapsulatton might also reduce bee
p i > i s i > 111 n t>. Ilowevei. oui tirsl trials
showed the inieioeneapstilaled lorniula-
non ptesented a much longer residual
ha/.nil Ihan llie slandard cnuilsifiahlc
eoneeniiale (lu|iud| formulalion.
Hee Poisoning Incidents, 197(>
DUKINCi MAY 19/6, severe poisoning
piobleins began occuiring ill the
I ewiston, Idaho and adjacent Clarkston,
\\ asliinglon aieas (Overton, 1977). Pee
poisoning in l lie lield was quickly
associated uitli pollen eontaminat ion
because ot the killing ol newly cmetged
woikeis, hi caking of biood cycles, supct
scdnic ol i|ueeiis anil ultimate dwindling
ol the colonics ( lohanseu, I97K).
Honeybee colonies elsewhere in I he
I'alouse Region began showing poisoning
svniploins, i but the most severe losses ol
the suinuict weie associaled with the use
ol I'cnncap M in oichaids in I lie Yakima
ami Okanogan aieas ol Washington
dining 1111v Wc obtained pollen samples
111 >m 1 olonies at I cw islon, 11 > and
I'alouse, Oioville, anil Yakima, WA.
Some ol these '.aniples wen .inalv/cd hv
|< | ( ail.on, Kesuhie Analysis Section,
I'cmiwalt loip , laioiua. Duplicate
samples lioin some locations were also
analyzed bv < 11ni Duncan, a chennsl at
Cenlial Washington University, I'.llens-
burg.
We conilucled hioassays with woiket
hones bees bv feeding loin cages ol 60
bees each with a MI-.50 mixnire of pollen
and siig.u syiup. The first lewiston
sample contained a minimal amount ol
melhvl parathion and caused no greater
kill than the untreated cheeks. The
second lewiston sample was not tested
because we had no personal control ovei
its collection. I he Yakima sample
i ontained (1.2 ppm methyl parathion and
caused '.'and 5 I "-'n mortality after 24 and
4N bonis, icspeclively. liarkci (I97X)
analv/cd lianic pollen lioin the second
leuislon soiiice 19 months alter the
I'enncap-M was applied and delected
meth\I parathion. Sonnet et al. (1978)
obtained fiames from the same apiary
and found contaminated pollen still
caused bee mortality when placed in
colonies 1.1.5-14.5 mouths alter the
otil"inaI spiay application.
Sample location
and age
Lewiston-1 (9 mo.) 0.07
Lewiston-2 (10 mo.) 15.0
Yakima (8 mo.)	0.2
Pesticides liranch, Washington State
Dept. of Agiiculturc chemists analyzed
eight samples of dead hees, six of which
weie associated with orchards and all of
which contained methyl parathion al
0.0K-.1.9X ppm. Three additional samples
contained both methyl parathion and
parathion and therefore, were not the
lesult of l'enncap-M applications.
Microcapsule Studies
We examined vaiious pollen samples
Willi a light micioscope. What appealed
lo be unci ocapsules woe lighl coloicd
anil sliniv. A sei u s ol scanning election
inicioscopc studies weie used to establish
the picsciicc ol the capsules. We vetified
lli.it the capsules were HI 50 n in size,
about the average diameter foi many
pollen grains. However, some pollens
proved almost impossible to separate
from the microcapsules (Iig. 1).
Next we conducted a simple cage test of
adherence of the capsule material to
honeybees, filter papers were dusted with
.15 me each of either the capsule wall
material screened loltl sou size (provided
by Pcnnwalt Corp.) oi a standard
bentonite dust diluent, l ach treatment
and a check wete teplicatcd four times.
Sixty worker bees wete placed in each
cage, held foi one hour al 7(>"f and then
placed in a licc/cr. Microscopic examina
lion showed that the bees exposed lo
bentonite wete essentially clean, as were
llie unltcalcd checks. Hees exposed lo the
capsule wall material wete quite dustx
(fig. 2),
Hut get t and l isher (1977) conducted
I ield studies w ith I'enncap-M containing a
icd d\e (supplied b\ l'ennwah Corp.).
0	0
12.7
0.2	32-51 %
Although the spray was only applied lo
0.1 of a one-acre plot in one studv and to
0 4 of one acre plot in anolliet, they
found the tagged capsules in: X6% ol
pollen pellets from foragers, 74% ol
midguts of dead bee samples and 91% of
pollen loads of dead bees. This is
additional evidence of a strong tendency
lot the microcapsules to adhere to bees.
Stoncr et al. (1978) showed that bees do
not disci inunatc between pollen and
I'cnncap M capsules and readily collect
contaminated pollen. Market el al. (1978)
found that dved capsules collected on the
legs ol bees walking on a screen .10 mm
aho\c a ilticil sptav deposit.
I*>77 Investigations
A comparison of methyl parathion PC
(einulsiliahle concentrate, the standatd
liquid formulation) and methyl parathion
Mi: (microencapulated or Penncap-M)
was conducted on 0.01-acre plots of
alfalfa at Pullman, WA during July and
August when the average maximum
temperature was 85'T-. Treatments were
ppm methyl parathion
Carlson Duncan	bee mortality
GI.HANINCiS IN BIT! O l I I K!
-------
I icld studies wi'i c conducted in I In-
I my, 11) iiicii iliirinc. I lie last hall ol May.
( old, windy rainy wcathci forced us in
re-apply May 2(1, 25, and 29. Average
maximum temperatures lot die first live
clays following each application were as
follows: 63, 58, and 69"I .
liach Ireatmenl was made by airplane
on 20 acres of rapeseed which provided
good tesi conditions: (I) minimal compe-
tition with other bee I'orage plains, (2) no
other methyl paralhion applications in the
area, (3) good honeybee foraging on the
open iape flowers lor both nectar and
pollen. One week before the first
lig. 2. Worker honeybee with capsult
wall material Iplaslit | adhering to all parts
of her body. Focus is best and powder
shows up best ill hairs near base of wing
and portions of middle and hind legs.
We believe the samples from colonies
IC, ID, 31), and 31 only reflect the
el leets of the third application because (I)
individual blooms do not last more than
the 4-5 diiy intervals involved and (2)
inclement weather obviously helped re-
move the insecticide residues ol the first
two applications, especially in plot No. 3
wheie Pcnneup-M was applied alone and
hardly caused abnormal bee kills (table 2).
applied with a hand sprayer, using 25 psi
and applying 25 gal/acre. Residual test
exposures were replicated four limes by
caging 50-MK) worker honeybees with
each ol loui loliage samples pel ticalincut
aiidliniciiileiv.il l est bees weie obtained
by removing. Iiaines liom I lie top supei ol
a hive and placing them in a caihon
dioxide anesthetizing chamber. Dispos-
able cages were prepared from 15 cm
plastic petri dishes with 2-inch screen
inserts to provide room for flight. Alfalfa
samples were cut into 2-inch lengths and
placed in the cages. Hces were fed 5()"/o
sugai syrup and held at 75-78'T. for 48-hr
mortality counts,
Kesnlls are presented in table I Note
thai methyl paiathion Ml continued to
kill bees 5-9 limes as long as methyl
paralhion IX'. Atkins (1976) found
Pen neap-M was highly toxic to bees for
more than four days; while methyl
paralhion I ( only caused a low kill the
first day in alfalfa plots.
application, we placed one colony next to
each plot and an untreated check field.
I-aeli hive was filled with a Todd dead bee
nap I \ikins el al.. 197(1) and a false
bottom pollen and inietu.il dieoll liap
(Nvc, I9su, lohausen. I«»<•<)) (lie. 3) We
planned lo add a colony ai each of the
three locations oucil.n after Heating and
every othei day alter thai to provide for
adequate pollen samples. One and 3-day
colonics were placed next to the treated
plots alter the'bird application. I;ive-day
colonics were not placed because the
growers involved were planning lo apply
paiMlluon lor control ol heavy cabhage
seedpod weevil inleslalioiis (table 2). W'e
u nloved tlie treatment colonies to I'nll
man mi ili cveiling ol tIn- lilib day.
IVumvall Corp provided a .pet iallv
piepaied ted tlye I'otiiiuaiion ol I'cniicap-
M which was used in the first applica-
tions. Fliey also provided a sticker (No.
S) which we hoped would decrease pickup
of insecticide onto foraging hees. it
increased the kill following the first two
applications, probably because ol better
adherence to the plants during inclement
weather, but apparently reduced the
long-term detrimental effects on the
colonics (table 3). However, this treat-
ment gave tittle or no control ol the
cabbage seedpod weevil Colony III,
which was exposed to all three applica
lions, giadually declined till the queen
slopped laying 2N days after the third
applicalion (table ').
Fig. 3. Honeybee hive with Todd dead pollen and internal dieoff trap underneath
bee trap on enlrunce and false bottom
fig. I. Scanning electron microscope
picture of I'cnncap-M capsule.
A II C.UST 1978
-------
Initial kills were severe following the
third application on plot No. 1 (with
sticker). However, colonies 1C and ID
recovered nicely during (he rest of the
season. In contrast, colonies 3D and 3E
sustained heavy internal reductions ol
newly-emerged bees starting the fourth or
fifth day after application. This culmi-
nated in irreversibly broken brood cycles
after 12 and 19 days (tables 2 and 3).
Colony 3C was in place during both the
second and third applications and was
severely weakened, but it recovered
during the rest of the season, loragers
from this colony, placed at the east side of
the rapeseed field, started working the
earliest blooms on the sloping west half of
the field and simply never worked as
strongly in the adjacent treated plot area.
This fact is also reflected in lower
chemical analyses and bioassays than for
colony 31'. Colony 3D did not have
enough rape pollen stored in the frames to
provide a good analysis (table 4).
We were successful in discerning red-
dyed microcapsules in pollen samples
obtained five days after the first applica-
tions from colonies 1A and 3A. A
considerable amount of searching under
the microscope was required with these
minimal samples.
I'ollen samples for chemical analysis
were taken Irom the frames by selecting
cells in different areas at random. If it is
assumed thai the samples removed at each
time period are essentially replicates, (he
average of the fouranalysis for IC is 0.31
ppm and of the three analysis for 3E is
1.17 ppm. This indicates little or no loss
of methvl parathion from the stored
pollen during the 7-10 month periods
(table 4). We also obtained 63 and 94%
modalities ol lues in bioassays of pollen
samples fiom colonies 1C and 3li altei 10
months stoiage at room temperature
(701).
Conclusions
TABU I. EKKKCT OF INSECTIU10E TKtATMENTS ON ALfr'Al.KA TO HONEY BtRS
PU1-I.MAN, WASHINGTON, IV??
irt-Hr. X »11 a 111 j i> i i \m-vi
m-.-u. M
Ill/*"'
I'-niii jp-M
/ 11./>•,•. I K
Mc t liy I p.'i i ,it III
'4	Kl
Met hy 1 p/irath iou
A ib/fcal hi;
i',Hi'il fherk
n«/.u i
u.v
vi t U 1 i .•,»( <-.l t 1
I l».tv	1 0
KfKECT <>K MlCKOKS'CAfSI/OTflJ MfcTHYt. PARATHiON AFI'UfcD !(•



RAPtSKKU
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l Alil.K »• KKHKCT DK MJCHMKNI.AI'MIUAIM' f IK J11/1. J-AMIHJOM AWU M" I')
HAJ'K'iEfiJ) ON HUNKY	fKoy, IJMHO. 1H//
The uniquely hazardous bee poisoning
characteristics of Penncap-M are as
follows:
(1)	JViim.ip M causes a delayed
break in linncvlice brood cycles about two
weeks altct the applications are made.
Only carbaryl (Sevin) dust formulations
have previously been observed lo cause
this effect .and carbaryl dust formulations
are no longer used in commercial agricul-
ture in the United States.
(2)	Penncap-M toxicity to bees is
retained in stored pollen in beehive frames
from one season to the next. Only
carbaryl dust formulations and certain
outmoded arsenical insecticides have
previously been proven to have this
characteristic (.lohansen and Brown,
1972).
(3)	Penncap-M microcapsules have a
special affinity to adhere to the hairs of
Colony Killen collection, days after application' Colony condition up t'> 3U days
Tro.ttment
Afipl-
No.
1
2
.1
A
5
af*er application

fi-nm/ip-M
In
IA
	
	
	
s
H
St ! OII|t,
'*~" >"» I t It V iM'lti
•a
|.|iu« ntiiii'l tH

(H
	
—
	

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:U ,
t*<-o}tl»v «'«»'•
..i
> »»• M/).,/'1










- tW . U
1 •'.».» II.
•1 1M..I..II


11'

	


1
I'M'.'.I .-y.-lc If.

Hilt MMt <>.i
hit
/a
......
	
	

M
SI loiirt,
'"'.111 liv bi
, !
vtK'.k

.•»

	
	

1.
SI r.>»»n.
'»«• U liv hi «'•


Ai.«
/A
N
•;
fi
1.
	
St i ihik.
l"V» J t (iv hi--
-.1


n
N
S
M
'¦
	
St roiiK,
1 rhy


Jrd
2A
1.
1.
I
S
	
Strong,
f ttriw'«t *1 '
1 .lavs



(.
i
L
M
	
$lrong,
«"«irtH'-l .if '
' dflj-N
Ptnncap-N
2 lb
0.5 Ib/acrr
3B
1C
I. M ¦ nil, £ ¦ mnall, N • nod^rate, L h larg*.
Strong, h* 4liny bra"'
Queen apparent ly
Wfnk, l»r -'-I . f»-
Wi'ttk , l/r »•»•! . y. | ••
Ui-nk, fir >-I . y ]•• i
GLEANINGS IN BEE CUl.TURt
-------
foraging bees. We have long known that
dust formulations of insecticides are more
hazardous to bees than liquid formula-
tions because of greater pickup. Several
kinds of data indicate that the plastic
nuciocapsulcs possess a stronger tendency
fur pickup than standard powder formu-
lations. Capsule size, which approxi-
mates that of most pollens bees arc-
adapted to carry and electrostatic charge
may be involved. The importance of
these attributes in the bee poisoning
effects of Penncap-M remains to be
dctei mined.
Rt'lrrvni-VN Cili'il
AI k ills, I I I) K c I Ihiii .iikI K 1 Niiiit t.i 11 I 776 1 111/> l < >1
I'c.ik nlc< n\ Apii till in e Ann Rep l'i>>| No	 1 odd dead bee hive entrance
l rap ( .ilt I Agi 24 ( Ml) | 2 1
IVukei, K 1 . WW Personal umimunieaiion
Hnr^en. M and (i hshei 1477 I iu- uinianirnal ion of
11>>.i).1 hij.' hones luvs .mil pollen with I'enmap M Am. Hoc ).
117 *,:<• -1
loh.uts^n i A IVN) llee lepellenl lombmed with dieldnn
ui Si'iin in hee poisoning lesis on .ill,ill,t I lion I in
M 101(1 :
luli.niseii, ( A I^7k WIiji is bee poisoning'.' (dean, lice
< nil me 106:211 5
luhansen, ( A and I ( Brown 1972 Toxicity of
«. it hatsI i onuiminaied pollen solleded by honeybees. I-nv
I r.t I 1HS 6
Inli.ittsen. ( A .iiid \1 (i kleinschnndt l4>72. Insecticide
humiliation > and ilieit tomuts (o honeybees. I A pit. Kcs.
I I V; h2
Nve, W I' I^Vi A modified pollen trap lot honeybee hives.
I Kim I in ^2 1024 <
Overion, W ( ll»n Are microencapsulated pesticides here
to siav'' Am hee t I 17:624 2s
Table 4. Analyses of Pollen Stored in Beehive Frames, Microencapsulated
Methyl Parathion Plots, Troy, Idaho, 1977
Cojony	l.xj)qsure
1A	1— appl.
1C	1 day after 3~ appl.
ID	3 days after 3— appl.
2A	no direct treatment
2B	no direct treatment
30	1st appl.
3C	2^ and 3- appl.
3D	1 day after 3- appl.
3E	3 days after 3— appl.
9 days
0.05
0.53
0.03
1
ppm methyl pdrathlon
}. 'j mo. /. i mo. 10.'t mo.
hoc mortality
10 mo.
0.11
0.34
0.27
0.02
0.011
0.0?
0.70
0.01
1 .03
0.65
1 .30
63'f
1 ,17J
Contaminated by foraging in treated plot one-half mile away.
2	'4	'
Pollen trap samples from colonies 1A,V1C and 10 ranged from OrFI-2.33 ppm, with 1C
being the highest.
3
Pollen trap samples from colonies 3A, 3C, 3D and 3E ranged from 0.01-6.63 ppm, with
3D being the highest.
Sonnet, J' I . II A Rhodes. I I Wilkinson and W. 1
Wilson IV7K Hones hee exposure to f'enncap M and residues
ol ineiliyl paraihioii in stored pollen Pto^ Rep. Honeybee
Pesticides Diseases I ah , USDA I aiaiinc, Wyoming
Sioiiei. A , I' !• Sonnet, W.I. Wilson and H A Rhodes.
iy7X Penile.ip M lolleilion bv honeybees Am Bee J.
I IK. 1 <4
AUGUST 1978
-------
Bee Forage Preserves
by CARL JOHANSEN
Department of Entomology
Washington State University
Introduction
WASHINGTON beekeepers have
long recognized lack of suitable
boo pasture as one of ilic major factors
causing (heir boo poisoning problems.
Modern agricultural practices of large-
scale land use and cultivation, removal
of fence rows and strips of wild land,
and widespread and indiscriminate use
of weed-killing sprays have drastically
reduced the available bee forage plants.
In Washington, commercial beekeepers
have become largely dependent upon
cultivated fields for honey-bee colony
maintenance. Now they arc in the
seemingly never-ending vicious circle of
pasturing bees on commercial crops and
sustaining increasing bee poisoning losses
from the use of insecticides in agricul-
tural pest-contnil program!!.
Willi the advent of Seviu insert iride
use on <<>(> and the catastrophic bee pois-
oning losses suffered every subsequent
season, we decided to investigate the
development of bee forage preserves.
Under the prevailing situation, we were
interested in experimenting on any and
nil possible methods of reducing the
pri ibleni.
Discussions with groups of interested
persons corn producers, corn proces-
sors, orchardists, legume seed growers,
beekeepers, chemical company repre-
sentatives, chemical applicators, and
government officials—produced the idea
I ¦-**. .	' ••••"«•
of seeding bee plants in the wasteway
areas of the Columbia Basin Irrigation
Project in eastern Washington. These
wastcways contain thousands of acres
of land which are subirrigated from the
drainage water. Bureau of Reclamation
plans are for these lands to remain un-
cultivated in the foreseeable future.
Therefore, such wasteways offered the
greatest potential for development of
safe and effective bee pastures.
Experimental Plantings
On March 21, 1962, representatives
of seven state and federal agencies met
in the Winchester Wasteway and estab-
lished 32 kinds of plants, shrubs, and
trees in a 3-acre plot (Figs. 1 and 2).
Twenty-one items were planted in indi-
vidual rows, while 11 of the most po-
tentially desirable legumes were drilled
in larger plots. Bureau of Keclaiiiiition
personnel made sizable seeding* of eight
selected legumes in adjacent areas of
the Wasteway the following December.
In 1963, 1964 and 1965 additional
plantings were made in the same gen-
eral area, as well as in the Puyallup
area of western Washington.
Eight legumes (varieties of vetch, tre-
foil, alfalfa, swcetclover, milkvetch, and
clover) made excellent stands by fall
in the original Wasteway planting. Dur-
ing 1963, honey-bee colonies placed
near the plot foraged mainly on the
sweet clovers, while bumble bees and
leafcutting bees (Osmia) visited the
Figure 3. Old mat of growth of Madison
vetch which was torn up by rodents and
birds during first winter after seeding.
oihcr plants. By the winter of 1964-
65, the heavy "mats" of growth formed
by vetch, alfalfas, and clovers were be-
ing severely torn up by rodents and
birds (Fig. 3). White sweet clover
dominated the areas originally seeded
to both white and yellow varieties and
Figure 4. White sweet clover formed this
excellent 6-foot growth by mid-June of the
year after seeding; It competed very suc-
cessfully with Canada thistles and other
noxious weeds.
Figure 1 ¦ Winchester Wasteway bee forage plot area 1 month
after planting; note sandy soil; dark area to the right indicates sub-
irrigation from standing water.
Figure 2. Winchester Wasfeway plot area 2 months after plant-
ing; irrigation equipment was used to help maintain seedlings
through the May drouth of 1962.
-------
formed a lull luxuriant growlli (Fig. 4).
While sweetclover reseeded ilsclf .every
other year and continued lo provide an
abundance of Nonius in the alternate
years.
Canada thistle was the most serious
weed to move into the plot area. It
encroached progressively into the al-
falfa, clover, and trefoil plots. White
sweetclover and Cicer milkvclch (Astra-
galut riccr) successfully competed with
the thistles (Fig. ,r>). However, milk-
vetch proved to be of no value as a
bee foiage plant honey bees visit it
very rarely.
Black locust quickly emerged as the
best tree in the plot. Kven though this
species was considerably smaller than
I he pink locusts when originally planted,
it became the dominant tree within a
few years. Illack locust also seeded it-
self and formed a thick grove of various-
sized trees.
Several wild plants not seeded by us
did develop in the experimental area.
P.wralca, a legume which is cited by
F. (I. Pellctt as a nectar plant in some
regions, had few small blooms which
were never ohxeived lo be foraged by
honey lieex. An evening piimrose, Ofu
nlhcni, wliii I) became i|oile widespread
ill the plot, also was nol Imaged by
honey I lees. Firewced, IC/irlobintn tin-
/•usliloliurn, spread into the area, but
did not become abundant enough lo
compete with thistles or form an im-
portant bee forage source.
Current Activity
During early IfHiff, we became inter-
ested in seeding a sizable area of wet
lands of the Winchester Wasleway lo
demonstrate the potential of I his pro-
gram. While sued clover was obviously
our first choice bee forage legume.
However, the Bureau of Reclamation
and legume seed production inlcrests
quickly vetoed our suggestion of seed-
ing this plant. Water from the Win-
chester wasleway is impounded by
O'Suilivau Dam for re-use in the lower
reaches of the irrigation project. Al-
falfa sei'd growers arc justified in fear-
ing contamination of their fields with
sweet clover, since it can only be elim-
inaled by costly roguing of the plants
during the growing season. The Bureau
also raised a number of valid technical
objections to the spread of sweet clover
in the irrigation system which they
maintain.
Therefore, we were forced to utilize
second-choice plants — birdsfoot trefoil
and black locust. Seeds were purchased
by ihe Northwest Canners and Freezers
Association or donated by the Soil Con-
sensu ion Service. Seeding of a sizable
		mill of shorelines was done by the
Washington Stale Department of Came.
A brief survey iu lale summer showed
ilia! these legumes had made little or
no establishment in competition with
the grasses and other plants already
present. Furthermore, the birdsfoot tre-
foil plot in the 1962 experimental plant-
ing became completely overrun by Can-
ada thirties during the l%H season
('») Since die Miii can of Kecla-
11 lit 11< >i i is coiuiuilled lo a control pro-
i',i.on lor noxious weeds in the Waste-
ways, il would only lit* a mailer of lime
before trefoil plantings would be eradi-
cated liy herbicide treatments.
Conclusions
Washington beekeepers have always
pointed oul a number of practical prob-
lems of the bee forage projects as fol-
lows :
(1)	If land is good enough for bee
forage production, it is probably al-
ready cultivated.
(2)	It is not economically feasible
for beekeepers to raise their own forage.
(3)	Effective bee forage areas would
probably require at least 1 acre per
honey bee colony just for maintenance
status.
(4) A succession of kinds of plains
providing both pollen and nectar
throughout a major portion of the sea-
son would be required for colony main-
tenance.
We thought we had the answers to
(1) and (2) above, iu the wasteway
areas of die Columbia Basin Project.
However, by the same token, if we can-
not make the idea work in these waste-
ways, where can we possibly hope to be
successful on a meaningful scale iu the
State of Washington?
To add to this discouraging assess-
ment, the "legume seed preserves,"
which were established by Washington
State Department of Agriculture zonal
regulations of insecticide use on com,
arc currently being reduced as effective
sanctuaries for honey bees. Willi in
creasing pressure for acreage ol proc-
essing sweet corn, growers are beginning
to raise this crop in the zones restricted
from the use of Scvin. Malathion dust,
although a mediocre substitute for corn
earworin control, can he disastrous to
honey bees.
We have literally investigated all sug
Kcslious foi |lie iclief of the Kevin bee
poisoning problem since Mtlill. Ii ap
pears thai our original prediction, dial
new control chemicals would eventually
provide the answer lo this problem, is
about to come true. Gardona, Galecron,
and Thiodan have emerged as insecti-
cides showing considerable promise for
corn carworm control combined with
relatively low hazards lo honey bees.
Lannalc spray also fils this category,
even though il is quits toxic lo bees.
Il has a short enough residual action
lo be definitely preferred to Scvin.
Obviously, we should stop wasting time
and money on investigating Bee Forage
Preserves as an answer to bee poisoning
problems in Washington.	«
.v
Figure 5. Cicer milkvetch formed this dark drill-width of growth
along the edges of waterways 2 years after being seeded by Bureau
of Reclamation personnel.
Figure 6. Birdsfoot trefoil formed this luxuriant growth by early
summer of the season after seeding, but became completely overrun
by Canada thistles 5 years later.
Reprinted from March, 1969, American Bee Journal
Vol. 109 (3): 96-97
-------
WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY
PULLMAN, WASHINGTON
DEPAUTMIIN'T 01' ENTOMOLOGY
Ml-MOK'WiUiM
TO:
bxtension bntomol og i sts , State Apiarists and others concerned with
bee poisoning problems
TkOM:
January 26, 1979
Carl .Johansen
^11' -
DAT!
SUB.JHCT: Bet- poisoning survey
As many of you know, I sent out 53 questionnaires to extension entomologists
of all states and territories concerning bee poisoning problems with micro-
encapsulated (Mb) methyl pa rat iu on (Tenncap-M). I received about 30 replies
and have prepared a tabulation of the results. The material is supplemented
with records from state apiarists, bcc researchers and beekeepers.
In many cases, the first listing for a state is that obtained from the extension
entomologi st. All cases arc associated with reported methyl parathion Mb applica-
tions at the appropri at c time and place. Note that mar.)- records have- been
further va1idated by chemical analyses and/or capsule analyses. Methyl pirathion
Mb is essentially the only material currently used in commercial agriculture
which has been proven to remain toxic to bees in stored pollen in beehive frames
from one season to the next. Therefore, we consider the "stored contaminated
po.1 ] en-fo 1 ! ow i ng spring honey bee colony collapse syndrome" to be another
excellent moans of identifying the chemical.
CJ:rl>
-------
m;i; losshs causld by tub application of mickolncai'Siiiati-d
Min]IVL 1'AKATIIION ON BLOOMING CROPS OR V.'Ll.lhS
S*. ale
Ar i zon.'i
Arkansas
Ca 1 i f o rn i a.
Colorado
Connecti cut
Del aware
District of
Co J i Miib i a
llawa i i
] da ho
111inois
Iowa
Year
107:.
1978
1976
1 977
1978
1978
1978
1978
1978
] 973
15)78
197()
1977
1973
1978
1978
1976
1977
1978
1978
1978
Roma iks
1500 --^—-'''colonies severely damaged from use on alfalfa with small
number weed blooms in fields for Line a ] f:> I fa aphid.
No problems on cotton or alfalfa to date.
If0!/
8 - 10,000 ¦ K'<" colonies damaged or lost from use on alfalfa with
blooming weeds for alfalfa weevil.
1 f?) /
I - .1,000 ----- (.-(Joiiies damaged or lost, use of Penman-M rest i j el ed,
5(7')/
< 1,000 —:— colonies damaged or lost.
No losses reported yet, but concern over potentially hazardous use
on corn near tasseling for western bean cutworm.
Unconfirmed report of loss in Boulder County.
No problems to date.
No problems to elate.
No use of Penncap-M.
No reports to date.
](j ?)/
2,300 		colonies severely damaged from use on peas with blooding
wild mustard for pea leaf weevil.
260 colonics severely damaged from use on blooming Austrian winter
peas. 1(7)/
jy - 500	colonies damaged or destroyed from use on peas tor pea
leaf weevil, unusual foraging of bees on white-blooming peas caused
by lack of other pollen sources in area.
280 colonies severely damaged from use on blooming Austrian winter
peas.
No documented kill from use on alfalfa and corn, Penncap-M was
applied before tasseling on corn.
One colony lost from treatment for alfalfa weevil.
No kills reported.
40 ----^colonics heavily damaged or destroyed from use on corn for
liuropean corn bo tor.
(50 colonies severely damaged from use on corn which was shedding
pollen and while blooming smartweed and wild sunflowers in field,
reported by beekeeper).
50 colonies lightly damaged from use on corn 1.5 miles away, reporte,
by same beekeeper.
A number of colonies lost by State Apiarist.
-------
- 2 -
Kansa s
1978
Louisiana	1978
Maryland	1978
Massneluise1i s 1 977
Minnesota
Mi ssi ssi ppi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Dakota
Ok I a Ix • 111a
Oregon
1977
1978
197S
1978
] 978
1978
1 97<>
] 978
1978
J 978
1 97(>
1978
!!>/';¦;
1978
1977
] 9 7 8
I'cnnsy] vania 1977
1978
Puerto Rico 197S
South Carolina 1978
State Apiarist e! a i ii'ed Kansas beekeeperv lust beer, in Nebraska
and Arir.ona, but couldn't est imate losses for slat .'.
No confirmed cases to date from use on apples.
No reported cases to date.
One case reportedly involved use on sweet corn du:1 .!ng pollen shed.
500 colonics lost or damaged from use on sunflowers.
No reported losses with reduction in use.
No problem as yet, but minimal use in state.
No confirmed kills to date, but concerned about use.
Alfalfa leafcut ting bees killed after moving into seed field one
week after spray applied.
No confirmed kills from use on alfalfa weevil, grasshoppers, and
aphids to date.
One unconfirmed ease involved use on jili'.iifa for aphids.
No further reports with discontinued use.
No reported kills from use on sweet corn for corn earworm and
L'uropean corn borer or on apples.
No known cases in state.
lli/i colonies severely damaged from use on sweet com while it was
t asseIi ng.
12 -¦	colonies severely damaged or destroyed in apple orchard',
while white clover blooms in cover crop.
Not enough use yet , to know if prob I em:. might develop.
No report s to dale.
'I'llret; kills reported, detail:, unknown.
.SO colonies damaged from use on peas with wild cucumbers blooming
in field.
Less than 100 colonies destroyed from use on alfalfa with blooming
weeds for alfalfa weevil.
Most alfalfa harvested before alfalfa weevil became a problem,
concern with potential problems on alfalfa, apples and sweet corn,
Product, not yet. used in Puerto Rico.
Only recommended on peaches for non-1.at I'acing insects, no documentv,^|
losses to dale.
-------
South Dakota 1978
Texas
Vermont:
Wash i up,I on
1978
] 978
.1978
197!".
1976
1976
1976
J 977
1977
1978
1978
IVcsl Virginia 1977
IVyom i ng
1973
] 978
No probl iiiis to dale with uses against g rasshoppers oj i coi'ii,
a 1 ("a I I a and past, tiros , g rei nbug on srna 1 I grains, or first
brood European corn borer.
Unconfirmed report of kill from use on roadsides for grasshoppers
] 31 colonics damaged or destroyed fron use on seed corn.
Only use on apples and no reported cases to date.
S00 colonies damaged or destroyed from wi Id mustard bloom
in alfalfa for alfalfa weevil.
1399 —-•—1^JL*LLV colonics damaged or destroyed from weed bloom in
orchard cover crops (white clover, vetch).
700 colonies contamj nated from Canada ; histle bloom in wheat;
dwindled early spring 1977.
:>9 -------	colonies dam-'god or destroyed I rum use on rapeseeJ
in bloom and peas wiih blooming weeds, in lield.
37 eoloiiies. damaged or destroyed froii' weed bloom .< n orchard cover
crops (sweetclover, a 1 fa 1 fa, whi t e clover).
1-1 colonies damaged or dest royed from use on peas with bloom in
weeds in field.
202 colonies damaged or destroyed f7-0:11 weed bloom in orchard cove
crops (yellow sweet clover, alfalfa).
f> colonies damaged or dostroyovl from use on peas with 1>looming
weeds in field.
50 colonies severely damaged, 2!>0-300 moderal '• 1 v tl::¦;aged 1 mm use
on alfall'a with dry land cress in bloom for a I fa i fa weevil ei-nt. ro
No further losses reported.
If?)/
!>3 —colonies destroyed, 111 severely damaged, 80 mode rat el y
damaged, and 21 with minimal damage from use 011 alfalfa in pari ia
bloom a I 0.6 to 2.7 miles, distance.
}J positive chemical analysis for methyl parathion, number in parentheses indicates
number of apiaries sampled.
!/ Positive capsule analysis, number in parentheses indicates number of apiaries sainpl
y Typical stored contaminated pollen - following spring honey bee colony collapse
syndrome.
-------
STATE OF IDAHO
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
PLANT INDUSTRY DIVISION
P. 0. BOX 790
BOISE, IDAHO 83701
Pesticide Damage Investigation Report
Zagata:	6
Leiranon3:	5^2-6941
OWNER Frank Zagata, B. W. Lemmona, Charles Miller	PHONEMiller:	733-1^70
MAILING ADDRESS
Zagata: Route 1, Box P-26, Buhl, 3D 83316
Lommonoi Routo-1 , Boat 10t Buhlt 3D -8g31 6
Miller: 8k2 Sparks St., P.O. Box 7^0, Twin Falla, 3D 83301
ALLEGED DAMAGE
Type ®ee kill	Amount See Report
anjmaiS) etc.)
Date damage occurred (or first noticed) See Report	
Pesticide involved See Report	E.P.A. Reg.No.
Manufacturer's Name		_____
Sample taken:	Yes y No. If yes, state sampling procedure in your narrative.
Location of damaged property	pop„v^	
Operator	Company See Report	
Mailing Address	
Phone		Lie.No.
Violation suspected:	Yes	No. If yes, explain in your narrative.
Additional Information
1.	If humans are involved, obtain written statement from attending physician.
2.	If animals are involved, obtain written statement from attending veterinarian.
3.	Attach photographs of damaged property.
4.	Attach copy of applicator's records.
5.	Attach claimant pesticide damage report.
6.	Attach narrative of your investigation which Includes 11st of persons who in-
spected damaged property before and after damage occurred.
7.	Indicate direction and distance when drift is involved.
Inspector /	/h.		Date
Original - Department
Duplicate - Inspector
-------
REPORT OR ALLEOFJ) BFCE T..OS3E5;
IN BUHL - TWIN FALLS AJtRA IN 1970
The terra "bee" in this report refers to the honey bee only.
I. ALLEGED BEE LOSSES
6-19-78 Initial reports to Boise office of bee losses in the Buhl area.
Telephone calls to Prank Zagata and B & B Apiary (Lemmons):
Lemraons said two of his yards were affected, colonies totaling
about 100; Zagata's son indicated they had suffered bee losses
but were still in the process of assessing the amount.
Frank Zagata
Summary: Frank Zagata reported damage to bee colonies in 11 yards located in
a large area ranging from southwest of Buhl to east of Filer.
Colonies allegedly damaged totaled 6^1-6^6 and are itemized in the
7-3-78 conversation with Zagata. (See map of Zagata yards for
locations)
Damage to 2 additional yards with an unknown number of colonies was
not mentioned by Zagata but was reported by Marvin Taylor, T & F
Aerial (described later in this report).
6-20-78 and 6-22-78 Conversation with Frank Zagata and inspection of colonies
Zagata said
he had suffered substantial bee losses at several yards in the Buhl-
Filer area;
he felt the loss was caused by insecticide use on peas;
he had been told that Penncap M was used on some pea fields in the
area;
he was hearing from various sources that Penncap M had a long terra
damaging effect on bee colonies and he was concerned about the future
of hi3 bee business.
We discuosed foraging habits of bees. Zagata said that, contrary to
popular belief, bee3 do forage on pea blossoms at a stage when the bloom opens
to reveal pollen. He said he had suffered minor bee losses in the past two
-------
or throe years. cau3ed in his opinion by insecticide use on peas. The losses
he was noticing "this year were much more severe than in previous years.
On 6-22 Zagata showed me bee colonies in hia home yard and in other yards
in the area south of Buhl. Following are yards, colonies/yard, location and
symptoms I observed as Zapata opened colonies and inspected frames.
Home yard (approx. 70 colonies) 4 mi. S, 1-j~ mi. V/ of SW corner, Buhl
1 colony was still fairly active, all others appeared to have less
than normal activity
most of capped brood appeared dead
dead bees were visible in front of most colonies
several queen breeder colonies did not appear to be affected.
Fairview Grange yard (approx. 60 colonies) 4 mi. S, 1^ mi. W of SW corner
of Buhl
no inspection; Zagata said he had not looked at this yard yet.
Severa yard (approx. 60 colonies) 5 "ri. S, mi. ¥ of SW corner, Buhl
colonies appeared to be less affected than at Home yard
much of the capped brood larva appeared dead
queen was actively laying in some colonies
all colonies appeared to be affected in varying degrees
dead bees were visible in front of most colonies.
Konechny yard (approx. $8 colonies) 5 S, 1 mi. W, mi. S of SW
corner of Buhl
some dead brood, some brood hatching
general condition about the same as at Severa yard
dead bees vioible in front of most colonies.
Sonners yard ^ mi. S, 1-/ mi. E of SE corner of Buhl
no inspection; Zagata said damage was not as severe here as at
other yards.
Lone Tree yard (approx. 40 colonies) 6mi. S, jJumi. E of SE corner, Buhl
no damage at this yard except for 1 or 2 colonies
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boe activity around colonies markedly improver! and in sharp
contrast to colony activity around other yards
capped brood appeared alive.
New queen cells were being formed in a few colonies we looked at in the affected
yards.
Additional yards reportedly suffering bee losses but not inspected:
Johnston yard, tax. S, 1-3/^ mi. E of SE corner of Buhl
Devlsser (Ponds) yard, 2 mi. S, 1 mi. E of Filer
Peterson yard, 2 mi. E, mi. N of Filer
Yards not suffering any known damage but located in vicinity of pea fields:
Chrismor, McClain and Mathews yards, all E or NE of Buhl.
Zagata said two ASCS bee inspectors had examined some of his yards on
6-16.	On the same day a Reeders Spraying fieldmnn and an Aogrow field]nan also
looked at some of his colonies. An ASCS inspector was scheduled to re-examine
the alleged losses on 6-23.
According to Zagata, samples of dead bees had been collected by Department
of Health and Welfare, and more sampling was scheduled by that agency.
7-3-78	Conversation with Zagata
Zagata reported that the Harmon yard (l£ mi. S of SE corner of Buhl) had
suffered a severe bee kill; some colonies were completely wiped out, according
to him.
Zagata had tabulated damaged colonies as follows:
Home yard	38 + 60 + 9 colonies
Severn	55
Konochny	55 - 60
Sonnor3	38
Johnston	6k
Devisaer (Ponds)	57
Peterson	65
Harmon	^ *
Hicks	^7 **
Cedar Draw	5^ (3 mi* N, 1^ rai. V/ of Filer)
Blick	55 (3A mi. N of Caotleford; symptoms here
not the same as at other yards)
* Part of the Harmon yard had been moved to Roseworth
** Some colonies from the Hicks yard, originally located 2 mi. N, 4^- mi. E
of SE corner, Buhl, were moved to the Zagata home yard. It is not clear
whether damage occurred before or after they were moved.
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According to Zagata, undamaged yards included:
Rector yard (U of Zagata home) , Watts and Mathews yards (E and Tnr.
of Buhl)
According to Zagata, except for the Blick yard, symptoms in the other
damaged colonies were all similar and were unlike any bee damage symptoms he
had seen before. Zagata was convinced that the insecticide Penncap M via.3 res-
ponsible for his bee losses. He had been told it was used on peas in the
Magic Valley area for the first time this spring.
8-1-78 Conversation with Zagata
Zagata called to say
pollen from 8 yards had been submitted to Dr. Roy Barker's lab for
plant source analysis;
results indicated the pollen was from peas;
the yards from which the pollen was taken were Home (2 yards),
Sonners, Konecliny, Johnston, Peterson, Severn and Devisser (Ponds);
pollen from the Hiclcs, Cedar Draw and Harmon yards had been sent to
Boise; no results had come back on these yards.
Lemmons (B & B Apiary)
Summary: B & B Apiary reported bee lo33ea in 6 yards (no report on number of
colonies) located south of Buhl and north of Filer. Bee losses were
also reported in colonies located on Bell Rapids, however, it is not
clear whether this alleged damage was sustained in the colonies before
or after they were moved to Bell Rapids. (See map for yard locations)
6-29-78 Conversation with Bill and Benny Lemmons
Bee loss had been noticed at K yards:
Kaotcr yard (approx. 66 colonies) 6 mi. S of SE corner, Buhl
Stiegemier yard (approx. 50-60 colonies) ;; mi. E of Kaster yard
Blasa yard (approx. 126 colonies) 5 mi. N, J mi. E of Filer
Ihler yard 4 mi. N, mi. E of Filer
According to Lemmons
Bee loss at the Kaster yard was first noticed the evening of 6-16-78.
Part of this yard was subsequently moved to Bell Rapids for onion
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pollination on the Griggs and Thain fnrrn3. Kaster reported to
Lemmona that he had seen a plane spraying peas near the Kaster farm on
the morning of 6-16;
on Saturday, 6-17, Lemmons went to the Stiegemier yard and discovered
a bee kill there;
on 6-20 ASCS inspected the affected colonies;
on 6-22 when Lemmons checked the Kaster colonies that had been moved
to Bell Rapids he discovered that bee3 v/ere still dying;
bee loa at the Blass yard was discovered on 6-15; many bees were dead
and some were still dying;
part of the Blass yard was moved to Bell Rapids on 6-16 (some colonies
at Thains farm had not previously suffered damage: some colonies were
moved in from the Blass yard and had suffered prior damage);
potato spraying near Thains was done on 6-20 and onion spraying at
Thains was done about 6-11 (Note: applicator's records for onion
spraying for John Thain are included with this report):
both previously damaged and previously undamaged colonies at Thains
were now showing bee loss;
a sample of bees had been taken from one Bell Rapids colony that was
originally at the Dlasa yard and was submitted for pesticide analysis;
many of the Bell Rapids colonies showed symptoms of weak queens;
Lemmona doubted these colonies were strong enough to start new queen
cells;
on 6-15-78 bee loss at the Ihler yard was noticed; dead larva were
found on top of the hives and piles of dead been in front of the
hives had a slick appearance.
Lemmons said that bee3 forage on pea blossoms during the eprly stage of
bloom, particularly if no other pollen source is available to thera.
6-29-78 Inspection of Blass yard (remaining colonies) with Lemmons
Colonies were opened by Lemmons and frames were inspected. There did not
appear to be a large field force but there was good activity inside the hives -
newly hatched bees were visible (still house bees) as was capped brood. Dead
bees in front of hives had been there some time; there did not appear to be
recently dead bees in the piles.
Leranons said 70 colonies from this yard were taken to Bell Rapids. All
the colonies at the Blass yard on 6-15 had been there since April.
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7-10-78 Conversation -with Lemmons
Lemmons said the colonies on Bell Rapids were not reccnerating; Health
and Welfare had recently taken a sample from these colonies.
Lotnmona aaid the Knster and Stiefremier yards appeared to be rebuilding
colony populations.
The following Buhl area yards showed no bee losses:
Davis yard 1 ni. S, i mi. W of SE comer of Buhl
Chisholra yard 2 mi. S, ¦}; ml. E of "
Lunte yard (Latta) 2 mi. S, ^ mi. E of SE corner of Buhl
Thomas yard 4 mi. W, 2 mi. N, ~}/k mi. W of Buhl
Unnamed yard located 3 nii. W, 1 mi. N, v mi. E of Buhl
7-20-78 Conversation with Leramons
Letnmono had discovered bee losses at 2 additional yards, the Lunte yard
and the ChishoM yard. These losses were reported to ASCS approximately 7 -1 ^ •
Leramons said
some of the colonies remaining at the Blass yard were not reGenerating
and were showing symptoms unlike previous years insecticide effects
the colonies appeared improved at times, at other times appeared
worse;
the same situation was evident in the colonies remaining in the
Kaster yard;
no reports were back concerning the sample taken by Health & Welfare;
samples of pollen were being sent to Roy Barker.
Charles Miller
A conversation with Miller on 7-5-78 revealed he had not suffered sub-
stantial bee losses. Minor loss had occured in 2 yards but Miller did not feel
this posed any problem for him. Miller indicated locations of his bee yards
(See map) . The yards with minor damage were:
2 miles SE of Twin Palls airport
NW of Twin Palls near Snake River Canyon; this yard was reportedly
moved on 7-3•
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7-18-78 Telephone conversation with Miller
Miller called to report that his yard south of the Twin Pal la airport had
a minor boo lu.ll; he thoufjit-. the (.lamnne wan related to Pcnneap uno.
lie on id he moved the entire yard to McMantcrs Pint to minimize lonru>rj. He did
not rcnort the alleced damapc to ASC3.
Additionally, he said that jj yards south of Kimberly suffered bee losses
first noticed on 7-15-78. According to Miller these 3 yards showed no damage
on 7-1-78. The J yards were located:
approx. 3/4 mi. E of Strickers Tavem
approx. 1 mi. N of Strickers Tavern
west of the old Strieker store.
Miller said he did not think bee loss in these 3 yards was caused by
Penncap use. He apparently had reported these 3 yard losses to ASCS.
Marvin Taylor, T &_ F Aerial Report on Zagata Bee. Kill
6-30-78 Marvin Taylor of T & P Aerial informed me of an apparent bee kill in
2 of Prank Zagata's yards located on Jon Wells' property north of Castleford.
Investigation of this incident revealed
T & P Aerial applied Metasystox-R and Dylox to Wells' seed alfalfa
and clover which was in light bloom
application was made on 6-29-78, starting at approximately 6 a.m.
and was completed by 8 a.m.
application was made according to label directions
the bee I033 apparently occurred because of unusually warm early
morning temperatures that resulted in bees actively foraging earlier
than usual
Wells and Taylor were jointly assuming responsibility for the loss
to Zagata.
This incident was reported and investigated to distinguish this particular
bee loss from the other losses being reported.
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II. INSECTICIDE APPJliICATION
During nnd immediately prior to the period of June, 1978 when bee lo3ne3
were first reported, primarily only two crops, alfalfa and pnao. vrere be.lnn
sprayed with insecticide in the area west of Twin Falls. The bulk of spraying
on alfalfa hay was apparently over, with moat fields either cut or nearly ready
to cut. Some insecticide applications vrere made on alfalfa otubble after the
first cutting was taken off. A few fields of alfalfa oeed, not a major crop,
were sprayed with insecticide during the time period that bee losses were re-
ported .
The insecticides used most commonly in early - mid June included Imidan,
dimethoate, Metasyatox-R, Dylox, Permcap M, and in lesser quantities Systox,
malathion, metliyl parathion, and possibly some Furadan. All these insecticides
except Penncap M vrere U3ed in previous seasons.
Since unusually large bee losses vrere reported in 19/0 vrith concurrent
damage symptoms unfamiliar to the bee keepers, attention was focused on use of
Penncap Vi by commercial applicators. Of primary consideration was commercial
aerial application because ground application is not normally a means of apply-
ing insecticides to blooming crop3 in this area. A few farmers do prefer this
method, however, and although no private or commercial ground application of
insecticides to peas or alfalfa was substantiated, this cannot be excluded as
a possible cause of reported bee losses.
Two aerial firms, Reeders Spraying and Ken-Spray applied Permcap II to pea
fields in the large area west from Twin Pall3 to Castleford. Marvin Taylor
of T f: P Aerial apparently applied Penncap M to alfalfa stubble on hi3 omi
property but said he did not use the product on peas. These three companies
plus Clements Crop Protection (one plane leased from and used jointly vrith
Ken-Spray) applied some or all of the other insecticides mentioned above to
pea3 and alfalfa. Applications to pea fields vrere made at various times during
daylight hours. The Clements Crop Protection plane may have applied Penncap I'l
to pea fields, but according to applicators records, not in the general area
where bee losses vrere reported. Applicators records show that Thomas Helicopters
and Gem State Helicopters did not apply insecticides to crops in the area west
of Twin Falls during the time period being considered. No other aerial firms
are known to work in the Twin Falls - Castleford area during thiB time of year.
During the first part of June, 1978» weather in southern Idaho was
un3eaoonably vrindy and unaettled. Apparently because of this factor almost all
of the pea fields that needed insecticide application were sprayed on 3 days:
June 16. and 17i vrith small numbers of fields being sprayed on other days
from Jtine 13 to approximately June 22.
Applicators records show that some methyl parathion in a non-encapsulated
form was applied to fields in the Castleford area. These fields are within
reported bee foraging range of some of the yards where bee losses were reported.
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Applicators records 3how that the onion fields on Dell Ilapido were sprayed
with Dithane and Diazinon.
The few pea fields which I saw shortly after Penncap IT application were
almost totally devoid of blooming weed3 both .in the field and along field
edges.
At the time of year that peas were being sprayed, with a good portion of
alfalfa cut and no other major crops in bloom, very little bloom was available
on which bees could forage except for some weeds which were blooming along fence
rows and ditchbanks.
Recommendations for use of specific insecticides on pea fields were made
either by fieldmen from contracting seed companies or by fieldmen from the
aerial application firms. All those who reportedly made recommendations for
insecticide use were licensed as Pest Control Consultants by the State of Idaho.
The pea fields sprayed were apparently all the white variety. Insecticide
was applied for weevil and/or aphid control at various stages of bloom and non-
bloom, however, fieldmen familiar with pea crops stated that an effective
application should be timed to precede the visible onset of pod development.
At least two people associated with the agricultural and chemical applic-
ation industries suggested that since a disease had been reported among bee
colonies in southern Idaho in 1977> part of the alleged 1978 damage might also
be related to disease, rather than pesticide exposure.
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III. GEiTF.RAL CONSIDERATIONS
Because of the lar;;e number of colonies reportedly dojnaned, thorough
inspection of bee losses was not accomplished, except possibly by ASCC* and
the individual beekeepers. The total numbers of allegedly affected colonies
mentioned in this report is based primarily on judgement of the beekeepers.
No impartial person "who is recognized as being knowlcdgablc about honey
bees v;a3 available in this part of the state. Therefore, the suggestion that
bee disease may have contributed to some of the alleged loss was not inves-
tigated.
It appears likely that insecticide application to pea fields may have
contributed to a large percentage of the alleged bee loa3e3. Possibly a very
significant factor was the necessity for applicators to spray almost all of
the fields within a few days and during a time period when preferred and
easily found pollen sources were not available to the bees.
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Untitled Bee Kill Investigation Report
Idaho State Department of Agriculture 1976
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INTRODUCTION
I first became aware of the bee kill the evening of May j ,
1976, when I was contacted by Dwight Kilgore, and R. W. Wade
concerning their bee kill. I notified Elmer Russell, Administrator
of the Division of Plant Industries of the Idaho Department of
Agriculture. I was authorized to conduct an investigation of the
bee kill starting May 18.
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1
DAY BY DAY ACCOUNT
The following is a daily breakdown of what I did each
day concerning the bee kill investigation. Any work which was
unrelated to the bee investigation is excluded from this report.
MAY 17
I first became aware of the bee kill the evening of May 17,
1976, when I was contacted by Dwight Kilgore who resides at
3225 8th Street East, Lewiston, phone 743-8873, and R. W. Wade
of 120 N. Garden Court, Lewiston, phone 743-8065, concerning
their bee damage.
MAY 18
Loren Kambitsch: I first visited with Loren Kambitsch, the
Nez Perce County Extension agent to discuss the bee kill situation
with him.
ASCS Meeting: I then attended an ASCS meeting in order to
talk with some of the beekeepers. Since there were fee beekeepers
in attendance at this meeting, another meeting was set for 1:00 p.m.
that afternoon for the beekeepers to attend. Ross Mothershead of
the Lewiston ASCS office contacted many of the local beekeepers
and notified them of the planned meeting.
Dwight Kilgore: In the meantime, I observed the two locations
of bee colonies owned by Dwight H. Kilgore. Two colonies of bees
were located at his homo at: 3225 8th Street: Rnr.t, Lewiston, phono
743-8873, and the other loca tion that I observed was at the Fish
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2
and Game grounds at 16th Avenue and Warner Avenue, Lewiston.
In front of each of the four colonies were piles of worker
bees. It looked as though they had returned to the hive to die
and were then removed by the surviving worker bees.
A one pint sample of dead bees was gathered from in front of
the colonies at each of the two locations, however, only the
sample from the 16th and Warner Avenue yard was submitted to the
Oregon State lab for pesticide analysis.
I wrote up a pesticide damage investigation report and
Dwight Kilgore filled out the claimant pesticide damage report.
Pictures of the colonies were taken at each of the two yards.
R. W. Wade: I then observed the bee colonies of Mr. R. W.
Wade located at his home at 120 N. Garden Court, Lewiston, phone
743-8065. Of the 47 hives at his yard, 13 of the hives had a mound
of worker bees bodies in front. Apparently, the worker force of
the unaffected colonies had not been foraging at the same location
as the colonies of the affected bees. The drones and queen hee of
the one hive that we opened were still alive.
A sample was obtained arid pictures were taken of the affected
colonies. I filed a pesticide damage investigation report and
Mr. Wade was given a claimant report to fill out and submit to the
Boise office.
Schumachers Ag Air: Next I went to Schumachers Ag Air of
Lewiston to look at their applicator records in order to obtain a
rough estimation of the amount and type of pesticides which had
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3
been applied in the last week or so prior to the bee kill in the
adjacent areas of the kill.
Meeting with beekeepers: At one o'clock that afternoon I
attended the meeting held at the ASCS office. Six or more bee-
keepers who ha-d experienced bee damage were in attendance. I
made arrangements with several of them to investigate their
yards in order that a damage claim could be filed.
Malcolm Anderson: After the meeting was adjourned I went
with Malcolm Anderson to his home at 1324 Cedar Avenue, Lewiston,
phone 743-9365, to observe the two hives at this location.
Worker bees were piled in front of the two> colonies. Upon
opening one of the hives it could be seen that some of the young
brood and a few drones were dying. A one pint sample of bees was
taken. I also took pictures of the damaged colonies.
In addition to the two colonies which I observed, Mr. Anderson
also has an additional 146 colonies which he said were severely
damaged on the lower end of Potlatch Creek near Arrow Junction.
(See exhibit I)
Robert Diehl: Next that afternoon I met with Robert C. Diehl
of 1322 Cedar, Lewiston, phone 743-8733. Mr. Diehl has only the
one colony. Upon observation I noted that there was almost no
activity at this hive, yet there were very few bee bodies in front
of the hive, in contrast to the colonies that I had observed
previously (and the ones that I later observed).
No samples were taken from this colony. The damage claim forms
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4
wero filled out.
MAY 19
Don Kunze: On the second day of the bee kill investigation
I met with Dwight Kilgore again. He took me to one damaged colony
belonging to Mr. Don Kunze at his home at 715 Airway, Lewiston,
phone 743-7004 and also to the other damaged colony at 1827 Burrell
Avenue, Lewiston.
At both colonies bees were lying in a pile in front of the
hives. One sample was taken from the colony at 715 Airway Avenue
and pictures were taken.
Don Kunze was out of town, however, Mrs. Kunze was home. I
wrote up a pesticide damage investigation report and left a
claimant pesticide damage report with Mrs. Kunze to be filled out
and submitted to the Boise office.
Wes Cannon: I then met with Wes Cannon of 3809 11th Street,
Lewiston, phone 743-7969. I went with him to observe his two
hives which were located at 1035 Ripon Avenue, Lewiston.
Again bees were piled up in front of the colonies as if the
remaining bees had removed them from the hives. We could only find
a couple of dead drones. A quart sample was obtained from the
mound of dead bees in front of the two hives and I took pictures
of the colonies and damage claim forms were filed.
SuperKat: On the afternoon of the 19th, I went to SuperKat,
Inc. of Lewiston to obtain applicator records of the period of the
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10th through 16th. Arid to map the fields which had been sprayed
with insecticides.
On this visit X was only shown records of one 95-acre job of
pencap in the bee-kill area which was applied on the 13th of May.
(On a later inspection on the 27th, however, records of a 450-acre
job of pencap also applied on the 13th of May were made available
to me.)
Between the 10th and 16th no methyl parathion was applied
in the area of concern* Two applications of marlate were made and
one application of Imidan also was applied.
(See exhibit II)
Schumachers Ag Air: I then went to Schumachers Ag Air to
obtain a more complete record of their insecticide applications
during the period of the 10th through the 16th. Four applications
were made of ethyl parathion. Three of these applications were
on rape and were 12 to 16 air miles from the bee kills in the
Lewiston Orchards. The remainder of Schumachers work in the period
of the 10th through the 16th in the area in question were seven
Imidan jobs on peas and two Marlate applications. No Pencap
or methyl parathion was applied by Schumachers Ag Air in this time
period in the bee kill area. (See exhibit III)
HAY 20
Orie Mundell: On Thursday, the 20th of May, Hugh Homan, the
University of Idaho Extension Entomologist, and I. met with Orie
E. Mundell of 639 28th Street North, Lewiston, phone 743-1914,
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6
to inspect his damaged colonies at two locations - the Deligan
location near the Stables Club on Highway 12, and the Jewett
location near the Spaulding Mill on Highway 95. I obtained a
one-quart sample of dead bees from these two locations.
Hugh Homan obtained samples of bees and pollen from various
flowering weeds and rape in order to match the pollen taken from
the bees' bodies with the pollen sampled from the flowering plants.
(See exhibit IV)
The colonies at these two locations exhibited little bee
activity and workers were lying in mounds in front of the hives.
Hugh Homan and I then drove around the Tammany area so that he
could collect weed and rape pollen for matching purposes with the
pollen found on the bees that he had sampled. Hugh also obtained
small samples of bees from the samples that I had taken on the
two previous days.
Hugh and I observed that there were quite a number of flowering
weeds surrounding the pea fields. At this time we only knew of the
one 95-acre field of Pencap which had been applied (see page 5 of
this report). Bearing in mind that bees normally fly only a couple
of miles to forage, it seemed logical to us that Imidan, which was
flown on a number of fields of peas in the area during the time
period in question and which was the chemical used extensively
by farmers with ground rigs was probably the insecticide which
had caused the bee kill. We reasoned that the weeds which were
flowering in and around the fields of peas applied with Imidan were
-------
7
likely causing the kill.
The two jobs of ethyl parathion had been applied in the
immediate bee kill area and two east of the area on Magpie grade.
However, parathion symptoms on bees are normally different than
those being shown by the bees in this kill. Parathion normally
kills bees in the field rather than upon return at the hives.
Three Marlate jobs had been flown on in the area, however,
Marlate toxicity to bees is less than that of Imidan. Farmers
do not apply Marlate by ground rigs due to the agitation problems
encountered.
On the afternoon of the 20th, I purchased dry ice from
University of Idaho Chemistry Store. (Dry ice can only be obtained
on a special order basis in Lewiston and then it only comes on
one day of each week.)
The 6 samples that I had obtained between the 18th and the
20th were then sent to the Oregon State Lab in Salem for pesticide
residue analysis.
MAY 21
Howells Flying Service: On Friday, I obtained the applicator
records of Howell's Flying Service of Genesee.
(See exhibit V)
Friday afternoon a temporary ban was placed on the commercial
use of Imidan pending the results of the laboratory analysis.
(See exhibit VI)
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8
MAY 22
Orie Mundcll: Saturday Harry Crogor, a representative of
the Stauffer Chemical Company, Orie Mundell and I observed
the same two yards that Mr. Mundell and I had on May 20. The
Sam Deligan (Stables location) and the Jewett location (near the
Spaulding Mill). In addition, we also visited the Jack Rugg (Tiki
Club location on Highway 12), the Smith location (Highway 12),
the McLoughlin location (on U.S. 95 between Lapwai and Sweetwater),
and the Whitman location (on the old Webb Creek Road) .
(See exhibit I)
Mr. Groger and I split the bee samples that we obtained from
each location. He numbered his samples to correspond with mine
for any future reference. Our sampel #1 was obtained from the
Stables location (land owner - Sam Deligan) and the Tiki Club
location (land owner - Jack Rugg.) . Sample #2 was taken from the
Spaulding location (land owner - Smith). Sample #3 was obtained
from the Spaulding Mill location (land owner - Jewett). Sample
#4 was collected from the Garden Gulch location (land owner -
McLoughlin). Sample #5 was taken at the Webb Cut-Off Ivoad (land
owner - Whitman).
Orie Mundell had checked the Whitman yard on the 20th of
May. At that time he could see no damage at this location. On
the 22nd however, we observed that several of the hives were
beginning to show damage.
-------
9
I noticed that there was even less bee activity Saturday
than there had been two days previously on the two yards which I
had observed on both days. There was also more evidence of dying
brood.
MAY 24
Monday, I again obtained dry ice from the University of
Idaho. I divided the five samples of bees which I had obtained on
Saturday and air-freighted five samples to the EPA lab in Seattle
and five to the Washington State lab in Yakima,
(See exhibit VII)
(Harry Groger flew down with his five samples to. Stauffer
Chemical Lab in Richmond, California. The Stauffer Lab then div-
ided their samples and sent one-half to the Morse Lab in Sacramento,
California.)
MAY 25
Tuesday I went to the Harlon Flying Service in Craigmont.
Jerry Harlong said that absolutely no work other than fertilizer
applications were done in the Sweetwater-Lapwai, Cottonwood Creek
or Lewis ton-Tammany area this spring.
Craigmont Flying Service: I also stopped at the Craigmont
Flying Service. Between the period of May 10 through the 17th,
nine jobs of Imidan were applied in the area but no applications
of Pencap or parathion were made.
(See exhibit VIII)
Colley Flying Service: At Nez Perce I visited with Jack
-------
10
Colley of the Cfclley Flying Service. No work had been done
by them any further west than the Reubens area.
Observation: By this time it was beginning to appear
that Imidan was i\ot responsible for the bee kill, since the bees
in the affected hives were still dying. The toxic effects of
Imidan normally would be expected to last only 3 to 4 days, and
yet Imidan had been banned since Friday the 21st. The results of
the lab analysis had, however, not yet been obtained from the
Oregon State Lab, the EPA Lab or the Morse Lab.
MAY 26
Wednesday a report was received from the Morse Laboratory
that the samples of frozen bees delivered to them by the Stauffer
Chemical Company were analyzed and from 0.193 ppm to 1.13 ppm of
methyl parathion were detected. No Imidan residues in any of the
five bee samples were detected.
(See exhibit IX)
The temporary ban on Imidan was therefore released by A1
Miller, Pesticide Registrar on the basis of the laboratory analysis.
(See exhibit X)
Mark Means, Inc.: Bill Freutel, EPA Consumer Safety Officer
and I met with Roger Allison of the Mark Means, Inc. at Lewiston.
Bill made copies of all methyl parathion and Pencap records of
sales to commercial applicators.
Schumacher's Ag Air: Bill Freutel and I then went to Schuma-
-------
11
cher's Ag Air. The Pencap on hand was inventoried and records of all
Pencap and parathion applications were obtained.
(See exhibit XI)
Meeting with Wilson Kellogg: Bill Freutel and I then met
with Wilson Kellogg, Director of the Idaho Department of Agriculture.
Also Bob Quigley, 1804 14th Avenue, Lewiston, phone 743-6348,
Mike Richardson of 423 Park Avenue, Lewiston, phone 743-7536,
Gene Pontius, 2011 Alder Avenue, Lewiston, phone 743-2394, and
Orie Mundell were in attendance.
Orie Mundell: Bill Freutel, Gene Pontius, Orie Mundell and
I then observed the bee yards at the Sam Deligan location and at the
Jack Rugg location, which belong to Mr. Mundell. I noted that
there were even fewer bees alive on the 26th than on my last inspection
of the 22nd of May. More than 50% of the bees which were alive
were drones and the brood were dying either prior or shortly
after emergence. Pictures were taken.
The reason that many of the drones lived could be attributed
to their habits of staying at the hive and not traveling for their
food. The young brood, however, may have died from indirect factors.
As Gene Pontius pointed out, the- temperature in the hive must stay
at a certain constant level. With the worker force being so
greatly diminished in number it is possible that there was no
longer enough population in the hive to keep it warm enough for
the young brood at night.
-------
12
After Observing the two yards of Mr. Mundell's, Bill Freuiel,
Wilson Kellogg and I then met to discuss the bee kill situation.
MAY ' 27
Star Motor Freight: Thursday, Bill Freutel and I inventoried
all Pencap on hand and copied records of all incoming and outgoing
shipments of the Star Motor Freight Co. of Lewiston.
(See exhibit XII)
Weather Bureau: Next, Bill and I went to the Weather Bureau
at the Lewiston Airport Weather Station. Copies of the weather
data from the period of May 10 through the 16th were obtained.
(See exhibit XIII)
Superkat, Inc.: We then inspected the applicator records of
Superkat, Inc. An additional application record of a Pencap job
on 450 acres on McCormick Ridge was shown to us (which had been
shown to me on my previous inspection on May 19.) Bill and I,
therefore, went through all of their records and copied down all
Imidan, Marlate, Pencap and Methyl Parathion jobs that had been
done all season on all applications flown from the Lewiston
a irport.
(See exhibit XIV)
We also inventoried all Pencap and Methyl Parathion that was
on hand and obtained copies of their records of both of the two
insecticides. By subtracting the amount applied from the amount
¦received, the inventory on hand of both the Pencap and Methyl
I'.'t ra thion cnm» out as it should.
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13
Harry Groger: That evening Bill Freutel and I met with
Harry Groger of the Stauffer Chemical Company upon his request.
MAY .28
Homer McNeill: Friday I met with Homer McNeill, represent-
ative of the Agchem Division of the Pennwalt Corporation, P. 0.
Box 21, Wenatchee, Washington, phone 663-4707, upon his request.
Superkat, Inc.: Bill Freutel returned to Superkat at
Lewiston to finish his investigation. (I did not accompany Bill on
his investigations Friday since I had to go out of town on a matter
unrelated to the bee kill investigation.)
Berger & plate, Inc.: Bill then inventoried the methyl
parathion and Pencap in stock at Berger & Plate, Inc. of Nez Perce.
Records of the amount of the two insecticides received and sold
also were obtained.
Superkat, Inc. - Nez Perce: Bill also inventoried the Pencap
and Methyl Parathion of Superkat, Inc. of Nez Perce and obtained
copies of their records of the purchase and application of the
two chemicals.
MAY 29:
Lapwai: On Saturday I sampled the pea foliage of a 900-acre
field of spring peas directly east of Lapwai. (See exhibit I)
According to the applicator records of Superkat, Inc. this field
was sprayed with Mnrlate on the 9, 10, and 12th of May. This
sample was taken as an enforcement sample to ascertain whether or
not Pencap or Methyl Parathion had been also applied to this
fir>ld.
-------
u
I also talked with Larry Boyer, Lapwai, phono 863-2551,
to check out a lead that he had applied Pencap by ground. Mr.
Boyer said that he had applied 200 acres of Pencap by ground on
the upper end of Mission Creek.
(See exhibit XVI)
JUNE 1
ASCS Office: On Tuesday, I went to the Agricultural Stab-
ilization & Conservation Service at Lewiston to plot on a map
the locations of some damaged yards which I had not inspected and
therefore had no record of.
(See exhibit I)
Webb Ridge: I then attempted to obtain another pea foliage
enforcement sample from an additional field of peas on the Webb
Ridge Road which was sprayed with Marlpte on the 16th of May
according to the records of Superkat, Inc. I found that this field
however, could only be reached by traveling quite a distance on a
muddy road. I, therefore, was unable to obtain this sample.
Twin City Food.*;, Inc.: At Twin City Foods, Inc., a pea
processing plat at Lewiston, I obtained records of all insect-
icides that were applied to the fields-which they had contracted
with growers. Superkat, Inc. did the insecticide applications for
Twin City Foods. I compared the application records of Twin City
Foods with those of Superkat, Inc.
(See exhibit XVII)
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I also copied their inventory records of Pencap and Methyl
Pcirathion which had been received and applied.
Gene Pontius and Donald Jones: I met with Gene Pontius and
Donald Jones of 1120 4th, Lewiston, phone 758-6807, in order
to plot the locations of their damaged yards.
(See exhibit I)
JUNE 2
Howell Flying Service: At the Howell Flying Service of
Genesee I plotted all Pencap applications on a map which were done
south of coordinate 48N which intersects the town of Genesee.
(See exhibit I)
I also inventoried all the Pencap which was on hand and
obtained usage records of the Pencap purchased and applied.
(See exhibit XVIII)
University of Idaho: I purchased dry ice from the chemistry
store in the,Physical Science Building.
I then air-freighted the samples of pea foliage obtained
Saturday to the Oregon State Lab at Salem in order to have them
analyzed for Methyl Parathion.
(See exhibit XIX)
JUNE 3
Bill Freutel: Thursday, I met with Bill Freutell at Lewiston.
Bill and I charted weather data obtained from the Lewiston Weather
Station on the 27th.
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16
We also worked on the map to finish plotting Methyl Pa rathion
and Pencap applications and bee yard locations.
(Sec exhibit I)
JUNE 4
Bill Freutel organized and studied data that had been compiled
in the bee kill investigation.
We also met with Bob Scott, a representative of the Velsicol
Chemical Corporation of E. 8622 Maringo, Spokane, Washington,
phone 926-2295.
Friday afternoon, I was notified by A1 Cornwell of the
Oregon State Laboratory that the frozen pea foliage samples
which I had air-freighted to them contained no methyl parathion
residue.
(See exhibit XIX)
JUNE 8
Tuesday I visited with Richard Schaffer of 1351 Ripon Avenue
concerning the insecticide that he used on his 10 acre orchard
[upon a lead that he had used parathion in the past.) Mr. Schaffer
;aid that the only chemical applied this spring was Sevin to thin
apples on May 29. Mr. Schaffer also mentioned that five colonies
belonging to Gene Arnone, 1019 29th Street, phone 743-2293, were
kept in the orchard throughout the month of May and were apparently
unharmed. The 10-acre Schaffer orchard is the largest orchard in
the Lewiston Orchards, the next largest belonging to
W. II. "Chick" White of 1629 Ripon and io about five acres.
-------
17
JUNE 9
Bob Dickeson: Wednesday I met with Bob Dickeson, P. 0. Box
671, Lewiston, phone 743-3342. Mr. Dickeson nad notified me several
days prior that he desired to file a damage claim on his two colonies
which were damaged on the 15th of May at 1014 Bryden in Lewiston.
Upon inspection, little activity was notied from one of the hives,
the other hive however, did not seem to have been damaged as severely.
Orie Mundell (2nd bee kill): Orie Mundell notified me that
he had noticed six more yards which were beginning to show damage
the day before. I met with Mr. Mundell that morning and we
observed six yards, all of which were from two to six miles west
of Culdesac. None of these yards had been damaged in the initial
bee kill period of the 15th and 16th of May according to Mr.
Mundell. The worker bees were coming back to the hives and dying.
We could observe the surviving workers carry the dead or dying bees
out of the hive. Individual samples were taken at the Kauffman,
Louis Paris (Rock Creek), and Wolfe Chicken Farm locations.
On that afternoon, I went to Schumachers Ag Air and Superkat,
Inc. applicators. Applicator records of all insecticides applied
within 7 to 8 miles of the second bee kill area were obtained and
the job locations were plotted on a map.
(See exhibit XX) (See Exhibit XXI)
JUNE 10
Thursday morning dry ice was purchased from the University
of Idaho. The three samples obtained on the previous day were
-------
Ib
air-freighted to the Oregon State Laboratory for pesticide residue
analysis.
JUNK 14
Monday, A1 Miller and I met with Orie Mundell, Gene Pontius,
Mike Miltenberger and Woodrow Blakely. We learned from them that
in addition to the additional newly damaged bee yards of Mr.
Mundells, Mr. Pontius, Mr. Miltenberger and Mr. Blakely also were
experiencing more yards being damaged. These yards are located
mainly at higher elevations around the Gifford area. This additional
damage occurred in the period of the 8th of June through the 10th
of June. It was the opinion of the above beekeepers that a
restriction should be placed on the future usage of Pencap.
JUNE 15
Tuesday, A1 Miller and I interviewed the following people
concerning their reports of planes dumping pesticides in the
Lewiston area: Carol Van Brunt, 731 Bryden, Lewiston, 743-0492
R. M. Quiglcy, 1804 14th Ave., Lewiston
Pat Richardson, 2026 Alder, Lewiston, 746-3938
We did not find Mike Richardson of 423 Park Avenue, Lewiston,
743~7!i>36 and Mrs. Spencer Overhaul of 114 N. Garden Court, Lewiston,
743-8176, at home.
We stopped at the W. C. White orchard at 1629 Ripon to ask
him what insecticides were used this spring on his orchard. We
visited with Mrs. W. C. White, however Mr. White was not at home.
We did not see any used parathionor Pencap containers among the
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19
other pesticide containers.
Tuesday evening, Orie Mundell reported that three additional
yards were damaged during the day. Near the bottom of the
Culdesac-Reubens grade. Orie reported that Jerry Matteson also had
two hives damaged near Culdesac.
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DAMAGED BEE YARDS
OF
FIRST KILL OF MAY 15-16, 1976
• Ml'NO I'LL
r>.
1.
3 ?N,
AE
2.
37N,
AE
3.
38N,
AE
A.
39N,
2E
5.
AON,
AE
6.
AON,
5E
7.
AON,
7E
8.
A1N,
10L
9.
A1N,
12E
10.
A3N,
16E
11.
AON,
12E
12.
39N,
12E
13.
39N,
12E
14.
39N,
12E
15.
A1N,
15E
16.
38N,
1AE
17.
AON,
15E
18.
38N,
13E
19.
38N,
1AE
20.
38N,
16E
21.
36N,
13E
22.
3AN,
12E
23.
32N,
HE
24.
35N,
8E
PONTIUS
/
1
1.
A2N,
23E
2.
44N,
16E
3.
AAN,
17E
4.
39N,
19E
5.
39N,
19E
6.
A5N,
19E
7.
30N,
17E
8.
AAN,
22E
9.
35N,
6E
10.
35N,
7E
11.
37N,
UE
A
ARNONE & WOODLAND
1.	35N,	AE
2.	3AN,	5E
3.	35N,	6E
4.	AON,	6E
5.	37N,	7E
6.	34N,	8E
O
C? WOOD ROW	H1.AK1LY
1.	36N,	A E
2.	36N,	AE
3.	35N,	5E
A.	32N,	6E
5.	30N,	17. E
6.	27N,	16K
DONALD JONES
1. 3AN, 12E
Q VERNON PRATER
1. 35N, 5E
R. M. WADE
1.	31N, 15E
2.	37N, 3E
MALCOLM ANDERSON
1.	A6N, 15E
2.	A5N, 15E
3.	A7N, 16E
A. 35N, 5E
•; BOB DICKESON
1. 36N, 3E
£/ WES CANNON
1. 35N, 5E
0 DWIGHT KILGORE
1.	36N, AE
2.	36N, AE
0 DON KUNZE
1. 36N, 3E
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EXHIBITS
it
I
map (first bee kill)
II
Superkat, Inc. (applications)
III
Schumacher's (applications)
IV
Hugh Homan's report
V
Howell Flying Service (app)
VI
Letter restricting Imidan
VII
EPA Bee Analysis
VIII
Harlon, Colley, Craigmont (app)
IX
Stauffer Chemical analysis
X
Letter lifting Imidan rest.
XI
Schumacher's Inventory
XII
Star Motor Inventory
XIII
Weather Bureau reports
XIV
Superkat, Inc. (all applications)
XV
Superkat, Inc. Inventory
XVI
Larry Boyer application
XVII
Twin City application
XVIII
Howell Flying Inventory
XIX
Oregon State Lab Analysis
XX
map (second bee kill)
XXI
Schumacher & Superkat (app.
during second bee kill
period)
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EXHIBIT #11
SUPERKAT, INC. (Lewiston)
^Before or during bee kill of May 15-16, 1976
- _
i.OC AT ION
INSECTICIDE

DATE
ACRES
CROP
GROWER IKVOTf

JON,14E
PENCAP

5-13
450
peas
LARRY BOYER
223]
•
43N,16E
PENCAP

5-13
95
peas
LARRY BOYER
224^

50N, HE
PENCAP

5-16
87
peas
ANDY ZENNER
22V

3SN,14E
MARLATE
5-9,10,12
900
peas
LARRY BOYER
22V,
) I
31N,11E
MARLATE

5-16
100
peas
TOIN CITY
22V;
6.
32N.8E
ii
MARLATE
M. PARATHION

4-14
5-22
55
110
peas
ii
GALEN BUCHANAN
ii
2107
11
7.
36N,8E
M. PARATHION
+ PENCAP

5-19
5-20
300
300
peas
ii
DICK WAGNER & TWIN
ii
310A
II
8.
34N,8E
M. PARATHION
(Respray of #6)
5-22
110
peas
BUCHANAN-MOUNCE
3789
9.
39N,10E
M. PARATHION

5-22
165
peas
TOM WAGNER & TWIN
3787
-0.
35N,8E
PENCAP

5-22
70
peas
TWIN CITY
3788
-1.
34N.8E
PENCAP

5-22
50&110
peas
McINTOSH
3784
.2.
36N,7E
M. PARATHION
ii
5-22,
5-18
5-25
300
STRIPS
peas
peas
McINTOSH-TWIN

.3.
36N,7E
M. PARATHION
+PENCAP (Near
Road)
5-20
300
peas
DICK WAGNER & TWIN
(Poor Farm)

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EXHIBIT //III
SCHUMACHERS AG AIR
^Before or during bee kill of May 15-16, 1976
\TJON
INSECTICIDE
DATE
ACRES
CROP
GROWER
v\N,3E
Ethyl Parathion
5-17
70
peas
Jones Norrael
,-iN,9E
Ethyl Parathion
5-15
300
rape
Tom Wagner
43N.18E
Ethyl Parathion
5-12
85
rape
Wayne Martin
A2N.19E
Ehtyl Parathion
5-15
95
rape
Lloyd Butler
The remainder of Schumachers work in the time period of May 10-17
was:
7-Imidan applications on peas
2-Marla te	11	11 "
O-Pencap	"
0-Methyl Parathion
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EXHIBIT #V
HOWELL FLYING SERVICE
'AT TON
INSECTICIDE
DATE
ACRES
CROP
GROWER
INVOICE
, 10 E
PENCAP
5-6
53
peas
Don Ahren
1813
N,14E
PENCAP
5-6
43
peas
Phil Herman
1814
2N.7E
PENCAP
5-4
130
peas
Thor Gilje
1806
>:,8E
PENCAP
5-4
120
peas
Clarence Gilje
1807
,9E
PENCAP
5-9
191
peas
Stanton Becker
1844
- above are all insecticide applications made by Howell Flying Service
of the 48N map coordinate.) From fist of season through May 21.
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EXHIBIT //VI
Estate oif idaho
O . 1 - ' ¦.¦.¦Mill i. —I I	.1	¦	¦	I	I	-.. ¦¦¦¦¦	I	I I . ¦¦ I .	I.. I
. \ J	- ¦¦¦¦¦¦	¦			¦	I"	¦¦¦¦¦¦ I	II	¦ .11 —¦	II	i.i	-- .	¦¦¦
D£rA'&TM'£NT OF AGRICULTURE	a ovi-.ki.am, ;
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EXHIBIT //VII
EPA BEE ANALYSIS
1.
.39
Methyl
Parathion

2.
.17
Methyl
Pa rathion

3.
.48
Methyl
Para thion ....

4.
.50
Methyl
Para thion
0 Imidal
5.
.11
Methyl
Parathion

6.
.27
Methyl
Parathion

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EXHIBIT //VIII
HAULON FLYING SERVICE
Work Done Before I'.ee Kill, of Hiy lr)-]6, 1976
In Area in Quest:ion:
None
COLLEY FLYING SERVICE
Work Done Before Bee Kill of May 15-16, 1976
In Area in Question:
1 Itnidan application in the Gifford-Reubens area on Beuford Webb prior
to bee kill of May 15.
CRAIGMONT AIR SERVICE
Work Done Before Bee Kill of May 15-16, 1976
•In Area in Question:
1 Imidan application 2 miles east of Coyote grade on edge of rim. On
Oaberg's prior to May 15 bee kill.
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STATE OP IDAHO
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE	4(>'h> c>vii
-------
EXHIBIT XI
SCHUMACHEliS AG AIR
*bbforc or during bee kill of May 15-16,?6
:A':'ION INSECTICIDE
Ethyl Pa rath ion
Ethyl Parathlon
I °	Ethyl Parathlon
i-r- Ethyl Parathlon
DATE ACRES	CROP
5-17 70	peas
5-15 300	rape
5-1? 85	rape
5-15 95	rape
GROWER
Jones Normel
Tom Wagner
Wayne Martin
Lloyd Butler
rr -n-n 1 rider of Schumachers work in the time period of May 10-17 was
-3-ld^.n apDlications on peas
^-r^rla te	"	" "
n-Pencap	"
•"—Methyl Parathlon
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EXHIBIT XII
PENCAP
MANUFACTURER * DISTRIBUTOR * DEALER
MANUFACTURER: Pennwalt Corporation
DISTRIBUTORS: Van Waters and Rogers Inc.
Wilbur Ellis, Inc.
DEALERS: Berger and Plate - Nezperce
Brocke and Sons - Kendrick
Empire Farm Chemical - Moscow
Genesee
Lewiston Grain Growers - Lewiston
Lapwai
Cra igmont
Ferdinand
Reubens
Lenore
Mark Means - Lewiston
Craigmont
McGregor - Genesee
Grangeville
Nezperce Rochdale - Nezperce
Greer
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RECORD AND INVENTORY CHECK FROM VAN WATERS & ROGERS (DISTRIBUTOR)
THROUGH THE DEALERS AND APPLICATORS:
1.	Van Waters and Rogers to Star Motor Freight in Lewiston:
April 8, 1976 - 60 - 5 galcans = 300 gals. Invoice #10636
2.	Star Motor Freight (Lewiston) :
On Hand - 15 - 5 gal. = 80 gals.
Shipments:
4-14
to Berger and Plate -
Nezperce
5-5
gals
= 25
gals
60323
Inv.
4-19
to Berger and Plate -
Nezperce
18-5
gals
- 90
gals
60525
Inv.
4-22
to Berger and Plate -
Nezperce
5-5
gals
= 25
gals
60527
Inv.
4-29
to V.W.R.
Portland
2-5
gals
= 10
gals
60530
Inv.
5-10
to Berger and Plate -
Nezperce
14-5
gals
= 70
gals
60534
Inv.


TOTAL


220
gals



Total to
Berger and Plate =
210
gals


3. Berger and Plate - Nezperce
(V.W.R. to Berger and Plate in Nezperce)

BERGER & PLATE
AMOUNT
GALLONS
On Hane (carry-over)
4-5 gal cans
20
From Wilbur Ellis
4-5 gal cans
20
From V.W.R.
42-5 gal cans
210

TOTAL
250
To Colley Flying
48-5 gal cans
-240
Inventory which should be on hand
10
Inventory which was
on hand
20
-------
27 May 1976
Don Vannoy
aLe Department of Agriculture
•1 3rd Avenue
. .. .-.'is ton , ID 83501
Dear Don:
The following is a list of our sales of Pencap M in
Northern Idaho:
DATE
INVOICE NO.
CUSTOMER
DESTINATION
QUANTITY
TOTAL (cal
4/12/76
032891
Union Whse & Sply
Grangeville
20
X
5
100
4/12/76
032903
Nez Perce Rochdale
Nez Perce
12
X
5
60
4/19/76
032972
Geo. F. Brocke 6c Son
Kendrick
10
X
5
50
4/30/76
033132
Pure Gro
Moscow
100
X
5
500
5/3/76
033164
Empire Farm Chem
Moscow
20
X
5
100
5/7/76
040129
Pure Gro
Moscow
70
X
5
350
5/10/76
040174
Empire Farm Chem
Moscow
20
X
5
100
5/14/76
040268
Pure Gro
Moscow
60
X
5
300
5/14/76
040270
McGregor Co.
Genesee
25
X
5
125
5/17/76
040298
Empire Farm Chem
Mo s c ow
40
X
5
200
5/17/76
040300
McGregor Co.
Genesee
60
X
5
300
5/18/76
040331
Pure Gro
Moscow
80
X
5
400
5/22/76
040384
Pure Gro
Moscow
85
X
5
425
5/22/76
040390
Geo.G. Brock & Son
Kendrick
80
X
5
400
5/21/76
040391
Lewiston Grain Grow.
Craigmont
40
X
5
200
4/19/76
032972
Geo.G. Brock & Son
Kendrick
15
X
30
450
5/7/76
040129
Pure Gro
Moscow
5
X
30
150
4/17/76
033026
Nez Perce Rochdale
Nez Perce
10
X
5
50
4/22/76
033059
Mark Means Co.
Craigmont
4
X
5
20
4/24/76
033060
Nez Perce Rochdale
Nez Perce
7
X
5
35
4/26/76
033061
Mark Means Co.
Craigmont
8
X
5
40
5/5/76
040159
Nez Perce Rochdale
Nez Perce
24
X
5
120
5/8/76
040191
Lewiston Grain Grow.
Craigmont
4
X
"5
20
5/10/76
040193
Berger & Plate
Nez Perce
4
X
5
20
5/12/76
040286
Lewiston Grain Grow.
Craigmont
20
X
5
100
5/13/76
040287
Mark Means Co.
Craigmont
12
X
5
60
Sincerely yours,
John R. Gaiser
-------
5/10/76
EXHIBIT #XIII
TIME
01 C2 03 04 05 06 07 03 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
. c-r.p. ?u
! ] 56 55 57 | 62 j 66 ' 70 ; 73
'• i ' I'-t:
76
76 72 73 73 59 52 51 50
'•rind ! !
K,ots | ;
¦'ill
• i , i
03 i 07 06 ; 03
i 1 1
09
11
i
t
12 j 10
08
04
09
05
08
09
07
05
08
09
i
; i :
S~eed I j 1
y.?H ' | ! 4
i 1 i
t
i 1
i 1
S| 7 ; 9
' i
11
13
14 112
i
I
9

.'I
6
9
11
8
6
9
11
1
i
i
i
vrir.d Dir. j
I:rrees from j
• - - ^ v, 1
1


i 1
LOO j 130;110
= j S E !: "
' I "
80
g
80
-------
5/11/76
TIME
01 02 03 04 05 OS 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14. 15 16 17 18 19 . 20 21 22 23 24
Tomo. F
'*•3
17
i7
49
54
56
56
60
60
63
62
65
65
65
Wind
Knots
07
06
04
06
14
09
1-3
11
12
11
12
14
16
33
10
Speed
17
10
15
13
14
13
14
16
13
12
V7ind Dir.
Degrees from
North
230
W
220
5-W
190
5
130
S-f
330
/v-W
250
S-W
259
w
290
w
300
Al-t
300
fir w
300
300
a/-«J
300
M-Vj
30C
300
A!-
-------
5/12/70
TINE
01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14. 15 16 17 18 19 .20 21 22 23 .71
t			1——	—	——	—	—	—	—		—r_
Toxp. ru '

i
,3 L
"4
46
43
53
57
61
65
t
67
72
75
76
76
7S
75
69


—	
1
Wind
Kr.ots

1
j06 | C6
i
07
07
10
ii:
09
11
03
06
08
07
08
05
00
04
06





Speed
HPH

i 1
r b
i
3
3
12
13
10
13
9
7
9
8
9
6
0
5
7





Wind Dir.
Degrees from
North

o j
Vi '
_ r-i ___]
130
S 2
L20
£ C-
120
S £
90
sr
60
fj c
100
e
70
M £
30
£
30
IT "
110
V
120
50
40
/yfi
0
N
120
Stz
120
£ «¦"





Humidity
%

i
i
|34
i
1
CO
'2
56
64
50
38
44
44
\2
18
48
30
26
34
46






Precipitation
0.00 inch

!
|





















-------
01
5/15/76
TIME
02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13. 14 15 16 17 IB IP ?f> ¦>¦> <>¦» •».
Temp. F


I43
3
45
sa
52
53
61
64
63
71
72
73
74
74
73
69



	

"ir.d
Knots


05
04
04
06
07
05
03
04
06
05
06
C9
10
08
10
10
08





Speed
:-2H


6
5
5
7
8
6
4
5
7
6
7
9
11
9
11
11
9





'¦rind Dir.
Degrees from
t:orth


130
S£
130
S£
L2(D
SS
60
70
/ve
300
Ai W
140
5C-
40
aj £•
10
N
30
tj
90
c
100
e
40
A/£
40
A/6
50
/V £
40
Al t"
90
e





Humidity
%


76
76
70
68
64
52
40
46
36
30
22
24
22
22
24
32






Precipitation
0.00 inch
























-------
5/1'i/7G
01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
; j
5 1
1
I
43 j'sS
I
52
57
63
66
71
75
>0
34 f S 7 ! 0 7
! i
87
05
31
00


i
p" 11 1

'¦•"ir.d j
--l-s I
i

07
1
1
Co j~ o
i
06
06
09
OS
03
06
36
03
1
1
1
12 !
13
12
08
09
03





1
Speed
h !
i

5
7
'
7
7
10
9
9
7
7
3

15
14
9
LO
a





>"ir.d Dir. J
^ ;crees f roni j
irorth j
i
!

150
¦Se
170
3
.50
c t
L40
r —
•a c
90
c
LOO
£
30
£
100
c-
40
/¦JZ
>0
30
c
ISO
<*
V
160
r
170
160
S
L10
£
90
e





Munidity
%


66
i
72 :53
i
32
46
40
34
34
18
.8
L0
L2
12
16
24
12






1
<. . . »
.recxpitation j
0.C0 inch !
1
1


1
I
- I _
i
. I .








i
I
i !


,






-------
SUPERKAT , INC. (Lowi s ton)


(All Insec
l:ic ulo Appli
cd vi p to
5-2 7-76)

. IKK order
DATE
TOWN
OWNER
ACRES
INSECTICIDE
CROP
; . 2231
5-8
Genesee

90
Pencap
peas
\ 2244
5-13
La pwa i
Boyer
95
Pencap
peas
. 2245
5-13
Mission
Boyer
450
Pencap
peas


Creek



2235
5-9
Lapwai
Boyer
900
Mariate 2#/acre
peas
5. 2110
4-18
SP-21
Blewett
33
Imidan 2#/acre
peas
6. 2104
4-10
4P-42
Boyer
650
Imidan
peas
7. 2105
4-13
5P-115
Blewett
65
Imidan
peas
8. 2140
5-3
6P-115
Breeden
120
Imidan
peas
9. 2148
5-6
-
Boyer
420
Mar late 2///a ere
peas
10. 2147
5-6
9P-42
Boyer
650
Marlate 3#/acre
peas
11. 2212




Pencap 1 quart
5-17
Genesee
-
70
Imidan
peas
12. 2167
5-1
Genesee
Dennler
185
Imidan 2#/acre
peas
13. 2206
5-12
Genesee
Dennler
38
Imidan 2#/acre
peas
14. 2215
5-19
Genesee
Dennler
45
Imidan 2#/acre
peas
15. 2168
5-1
Genesee
Evans
55
Imidan 2/A/acre
peas
16. 2204
5-9
Genesee
Evans
72
Marlate 3#/acre
peas
17. 3779
5-20
Genesee
Evans
38
Pencap 1 Quart
peas
18. 2198
5-17
Southwick
Lohroan
55
Imidan 2///aere
peas
19. 2182
5-13
6R-143
Miller
18
Marlate 2#/acre
Alfa if*
20. 2192
5-17
Southwick
Newman
80
Imidan 2#/acre
peas
21. 2246
5-14
Southwick
Newman
10
Imidan 2^/acre
peas
22. 2211
5-15
Genesee
Reisenauer
100
Imidan 2///acre
peas
23. 2176
5-12
CC1-10T-
Schulthesis
80
Marlate 3#/acre
peas


111



24. 2243
5-13
CC1-14T-
Hood/Swan
40
Marlate 3#/acre
peas
-------
V
!< ORDER
PATH
TOWN
OWNER
ACRES
INSECTICIDE
CROP
:>5
2239
5-12
Dot20-44
Brown
130
Mariat:e 3#/aere
peas
?6
2240
5-12
Dotl0T/107
Sodorte
20
Marlate 3///acre
peas
27
2249
5-15
-
Hood/Swan
100
Marlate 3///acre
peas
23
2250
5-15
CCl/lOT
Brown/Home
130




143




29
2143
5-6
CC1/10 7
McKay
150
Marlate 3#/acre
peas


115




30
2248
5-15
CC1/8T
Hood/Hawley
85
Marlate -3#/acre
peas


97




31
2142
5-6
CC1/14T
Hood/Scout
30
Marlate 3#/acre
peas


142




32
2141
5-6
CC1/14T
Hood/Swan
120
Marlate 3#/acre
peas


142




33
2149
5-8
CC1/24T
Hood/Scout
100
Marlate 3#/acre
peas


105




34
2201
5-5
CCl/lOT
Schuithesis
105
Marlate 3#/acre
peas


11




35
2124
5-5
CC1/24T
Hood
40
Marlate 3#/acre
peas


105




36
2125
5-5
CC1/24T
Hood
40
Marlate
peas


105




37
2123
5-5
CCl/lOT
1 1
Schulthesis
220
Marlate 3#/acre
peas
38
2122
5-5
11
Dot/6P
Blackman
75
Marlate 3#/acre
peas



133




39
2178
5-3
Dot/3V80
Becker
90
Marlate 3#/acre
peas
40
2195
5-18
Dot/6P
Howard
300
Pa ra thion-Me thy1
peas



159


Marlate 3#/acre

41
2194
5-18
CCl/lOT
Sadorff
50
peas


107


Marlate 3#/acre

42
2190
5-16
Dot/6P-96
-
100
peas
A3
3794
5-24
Dot/6P
Scout
100
Poncap



159




\ 5
3789
5-22
Dot/6P
Buchanan
110
Para tli ion-Methyl
peas


137




46
3787
5-22
Dot/3V
7A
Wagner
165
Para thion-Methyl

47
3788
5-22
/ H
Dot/6P
Mcintosh
70
Pencap 2 Pints



159



48.
3785
5-21
Dot/6P
Scout
60
Marlate 3#/acre




96




-------
CO NT.
WORK ORDER
DATE
TOWN
OWNER
ACRES
INSECTICIDE
CROP
49. 3783
5-22
Dot/6P
Hov?ard
10
Pencap 1 Pint



159




50. 378A
5-22
Dot/6P
Mcintosh
160
Pencap 2 Pints
peas


159




51. 3104
5-20
Dot/6P
Wagner
300
Pencap 1 Quart/300
acres


159


Marlate #2/25 acres





Parathion-Methyl 1
pt/300
52. 3795
5-24
Dot/6P
Wagner
7
Parathion-Methy1
peas


159


1 pt.

53. 3793
5-24
Dot/5V
Wagner
250
Para thion-Me thy 1
peas


74


1 pt.

54. 3792
5-24
Dot/6P
Blackman
75
Parathion-Methyl
peas


133


1 pt.
55. 3791
5-24
Dot/6P
Elliot
115
Parathion-Methyl
peas


133


1 pt.
56. 3797
5-24
Dot/6P
Howard
3
Parathion-Methyl
pea-s


159



57. 3790
5-24
Dot/3D
Taylor
135
Para thion-Methyl
peas


75



59. 2107
4-14
-
McCann-
55
Marlate 3#/acre




Buchanan



60. -
5-18
-
Mcintosh
300
Methyl Parathion

-------
EXHIBIT //XV
SUPERKAT, INC. (Lewis ton;
PENCAP
PENCAP RECEIVED
From McGregor (Uniontown) May 8, 1976	25 g.
" Pure Gro (Moscow) May 6, 1976	200 g.
" McGregor (Genesee) May 16, 1976	25 g.
" Pure Gro (Moscow) May 17, 1976	250 g.
TOTAL GALLONS RECEIVED	500 g.
PENCAP APPLIED: (Up to May 27)
Kenny Anderson, May 8, Genesee	23.5 g.
Larry Boyer, May 6, Culdesac	54.0 g.
Larry Boyer, May 13, Culdesac	144.0 g.
Andy Zenner, May 16, Genesee	25.0 g.
Twin City, May 22, Tammany	42.5 g.
May 22, "	2.5 g.
May 20, "	71.0 g.
May 24, "	25.0 g.
Don Linehan, May 19, Genesee	33.0 g.
Sanford Evans, May 20, Genesee	10.0 g.
TOTAL	430.5 g. applied
PENCAP INVENTORY AS OF MAY 27, 1976
16-5 gallon cans or 80 gallons*
(No Pencap was carried from the previous year)
The amount of pencap on hand was within 10.5 gallons of what
should be on hand. (500 g. - 430 g. = 69.5 g.)
EPA REGISTRATION AND BATCH NUMBERS OF PENCAP IN STORAGE 5-27-76
EPA 4581-2.92
EST 4581-TX-l
ECC 2GCG - 33 (9 - 5 gallons)
EGC 0GDG - 34 (2 - 5 gallons)
(16 - 5 gallons or 80 gallons)
-------
SUPERKAT, INC. (Lewiston)
METHYL PARAT 11 ION
Methyl Parathion on hand:
147 - 5 gallons = 735 gallons
Pure Gro - Methyl 4E EPA 1202 - 124 AA
EST 148-CA-l
180226 A
180226 B
-------
EXHIBIT //XVI
LARRY BOYER PENCAP GROUND APPLICATION
'.^LOCATION	INSECTICIDE DATE ACRES CROP	GROWER
. 31N,16E	PENCAP	-	200 B.peas Larry Boyer
-------
EXHIBIT //XVII
TWIN CITY INC.
PKNCAP
2'iO gallons of Poncap was purchased from Pure Gro Inc. of Moscow.
710 gallons of Metiiyl Parathion 4it was purchased from Pure Cro Inc.
of Moscow.
*A11 of the above Pencap and Methyl Parathion was delivered to
Superkat Inc. of Lewiston to be applied on processing pea fields
which growers have contracted with Twin City.
-------
EXHIBIT #XVIII
HOWELL FLYING SERVICE (Genesee)
Pcncap
TOTAL PENCAP APPLIED UP TO JUNE 2, 1976:
Empire Farm Chemical, Genesee - Supplier
Thor Gilje	37.5g x 4 = acres
John Baldus	19.0g
P. Herman	10.Og
"	25.Og
John Baldus	17.25g
Howard Blume	10.Og
Don Herman	37.0g
Haxton Farms	7.25g
"	30.Og
Pure Grolnc., Genesee - Supplier
Clarence Gilje	30 g.
Dan Ahern	15 g.
Zenner	35 g.
Stanton Becker	25 g.
Beckers	47.75 g.
Walt Erickson	12.5 g.
Fred Comntick 5 g.
Jay Nelson	20 g.
M. Stout 7.25 g.
Dan Ahern	14.25 g.
Zenners	66.0 g.
Ray Qualey	18.75 g.
Art Borgen	17.5 g.
M. Holben	10 g.
Morken Ranch	33 g.
Zenner Ranch	42.5 g.
Jay Nelson	15 g.
Mel Moser	10 g.
Kent Bromeling	20 g.
Zenner Ranch	37.25 g.
Stanton Becker	22.5 g.
Morken Ranch	3 g.
Richard Neyens	6 g.
M. Moser	20 g.
M. Holben	13 g.
Morken Ranch	16 g.
D. Greenwell	34 g.
Ed Buelenberg	10 g.
-------
HOWELL, Coat.
McGregor, Inc., Genesee -	Supplier
Morken	23.5 g.
Albert Nye	20 g.
Fred Morcheck	35 g.
Ray Eser	13.5 g.
Anderson and Rossebo	5 g.
Andy Anderson	5.g.
PENCAP INVENTOY JUNE 2, 1976
Pencap:
EPA 4581-292
EST 4581-TX-l
EGC - 26c6
- 33
4-5
g.
cans
EGC - 07EG
- 50
1-5
g.
cans
EGC - Q3EG
- 47
4-5
g.
cans
EGC - 0906
- 37
4-5
g-
cans
EGC - 17CG
- 29
1-5
g.
cans
No Batch #

1-5
s •
cans

Total
15-5
g-
cans
75 gallons
PENCAP INVENTORY OF JUNE 2, 1976 RECEIVED FROM:
McGregor - 28 gallons
PureGro - 40.25 gallons
Empire Farm Chemicals - 7.5 gallons
TOTAL = 75.75 gallons
(No Methyl Parathion was applied)
-------
Oi»i tl *-'1 Wi \
P;| .ittiiKiit of Agriculture
W'Jw
>/.»u y t* V^UiOtn
Salcin, Oregon 97.110
LABORATORY ANALYSIS REPORT
.Idaho Department, of Agric.til hirr.
Date
lunc 1 ,—147^-
Division of Phiiit Industries
4696 Overland Road . P.O. Box 790
Boise. Idaho 83701
Laboratory No.

Date Analysis Completec

June 1
. 1976
Your Sample Of
Bees
Received On

Mav 25
_ 1976
Manufactured By
Sampled At
Sampled By
Don Vannoy




Results:
Sample No.
Analyzed for Pesticide
Source
Residues
Analytical
Methyl Parathion
Results
Imidan*
Sevin
8382
8883
Mai com Anderson
Wes Cannon
0.66 ppm
0.80 "
0.00
0.00
ppm
11
None
detected
in
888k
Dwight Kilgar
0.39 "
0.00
II
Composi te
Sample
8885
Don Kunze
0.18 "
0.00
II

8886
Orie Mundell
0.17 "
0.00
II

8887
R. W. Wadr
0.23 "
0.00
II

A less than 0.01 ppm.
DISTRIBUTION

DATE
RUSSELL


AWE


r/:v! f'R
/
¦
S'l 0:;.TCR
ri ¦ NT SERVICES
	
/68

Alfred Cornwell, Official Chemist
-------
SCHUMACHER AC ATR
RECORDS FROM HAY 31 - JUNE 16, 1976
OF ALL WORK DONE WITHIN 7-8 MILES
(2nd bee kill May 8 arid 9)
iV.N	INSECTICIDE DATE ACRES CROP	GROWER	TNT.

-.ON
1SE
Penca p
6-2
100
pea s
Richard Grant
1851

17 N
17E
E. Para thion
6-7
190
peas
Herndon-Jones Normel
1895

3 7 N
L7E
E. Parathion
6-7
100
peas
II
1893

J7N
17E
E. Para thion
6-7
240
peas
II
1897
- ;
39N
15E
Pencap
6-8
56
peas
Marvin Kinzer
1887
" - r
2SN
9E
E.Parathion
6-9
96
pea s
Buchanan
1898

41N
16E
Imidan
6-9
20
peas
John Meacham
1850

41N
16E
Imidan
6-9
120
peas
Bill and John Hechtner
1893

4 IN
16E
Imidan
6-9
10 7
peas
ii
1848
-5
41N
16E
M. Para thion
6-6
360
peas
Meacham (John Ridge)
1884
- 6
39N
10E
E. Parathion
5-31
120
peas
Dick Wagner (Jones Normel)1829

34 N
HE
E,Parathion
5-31
64
peas
T, L. Todd-Jones Normel
1828

34 N
11E
E. Para thion
5-31
73
peas
II
18'30

39N
11E
Imidan
6-2
100
peas
Tom Wagner
1833

30 N
7E
Pencap
6-7
120
peas
Mcintosh and Sons
1890
- v:
39N
16E
Parathion M
6-6
350
peas
Bud Meacham
1885

40 N
20E
Imidan
6-6
65
peas
Pierce Blewett
1886
.. 0
37N
17E
Parathion E
6-2
120
peas
Don Herndon(Jones Normel)
1852
~ /'
34N
11E
Parathion E
6-4
30
peas
T. L. Todd
1870

34N
11E
E. Pa ra thion
6-4
30
peas
it
1869
(All Parathion applied on Jones-Normel peas is 8# Ethyl)
r.nany
E.Para thion
6-11
6
#8


v \:iny
E.Para thion
6-11
14
#8


•»
it
6-11
20
M
ii
6-11
20
-10 39N,26E
Pencap
6-10
115
I: ford
E. Parathion
6-11
100
#4
peas	Jones Normel-Herndon	1920
peas	11	1922
peas	Janes-Normel-Buchanan	1919
peas	Jones-Normel-Herndon	1921
peas	Carl Riggers	1903
peas	Richard Grant	1911
-------
SUPERKAT, INC. (Lewiston)
WORK RECORD FROM MAY 31 - JUNE 16, 1976
of all work done
(2nd bee kill May 8 & 9)
rOCATION
S-l 3SN.14E
U-2 39N',12E
S_3 40N,14E
43N,16E
S-4 34N.10E
S-5 29N,15E
S-6 36N,8E
INSECTICIDE
DATE
ACRES
CROP
GROWER
INV.
M. Pa ra thion
6-8,9
240
peas
Larry Boyer
3855
M.Para thion.
6-2
12
peas
Mcintosh (Taylor) Twin C.
3333
M.Pa ra thion
6-5
100
peas
Larry Boyer
3841
M.Para thion
6-5
120
peas
Harold Breedon
3839
M.Para thion
6-6
60
pea s
Hood/TwinC./Pulman
3849
it
6-8
100
pea s
Uood/Swann/Twin C./Pulman
3852
m
6-8
130
peas
Hood/Twin-Pulman
3854
ii
6-8
190
peas
Hood/Twin-Pulman
3853
it
6-9
65
peas
Schulthesis Bros
3858
ii
6-12
100
peas
Hood/Twin
3866
ii
6-12
160
peas
Hood/Twin
3862
ii
6-15
450
peas
Larry Boyer
3871
ii
6-3
200
pea s
Hood/Twin
3838
it
6-2
110
peas
Hood/Twin
3835
n
6-2
60
peas
11
3836
ii
6-1
6
peas
Mc Intosh/Twin
3829
it
6-2
175
peas
Schulthesis/Twin
3837
It
6-2
270
peas
Becker(Coyote)
3834
-------
SUl'KRKAT, INC. (Ncz Perce)
Poacap June 1-16
^SE Nez Perce
4m. E Craigmont
4m. SE Craigmont
4m. E Craigmont
Larry Riggers
Pencap 1 quart
Pete Zenner
Pencap 1 quart
Jerry Riggers
Pencap 1 quart
Joe Zenner
Pencap 1 quart
130 acres
W.O. 3251
175 acres
W.O. 3413
20 acres
W.O. 3438
415 acres
W.O. 3271
peas
peas
pea s
peas
June 6
June 6
June
June 9
-------
HARLON FLYING
f
Pencap applied June 1 thru June 16
t' C ra i-;r,ioa t	Wayne Zona or	20 acres peas	Juno 5
Pea cap 1 quart
H-l
3!3N,27E	Stanley Hill	119 acres peas June 5
Pencap 1 quart
H-2
32N,26E	Eldridge Gill	22 acres peas June 6
(Reubens)	Pencap 2 quarts
-------
CRAIGKONT AIR SERVICE
Pencap applied between June 1-16
C-l
35N,15E	Buck Bozarch	June A	100 acres	Culdesac
C-2
33N,20E	Vern Dickinson June 15	55 acres	Culdesac
-------
Collcy Flying Service
S/29 Emi.l Braun	78 acres	1 quart Pencap	(Russei Ridge)
-------
Is -ill- ol Oregon
iincut of Agriculture
Laboratory No.
Your Sample Of
Manufactured By
Sampled At
Sampled By
Results:
Dairy jI>.iii, Otv^uii '/'/.IIU
LABORATORY ANALYSIS REPORT
State of Idaho
Date
¦ lung 7, 19X6-
Plant Industry Division
A18 3rd Ave.
Lewiston, ID 83501

Pea plants
Sample {f
9396	if I North End
9397	n
(Don Vannoy)
Date Analysis Completed 	June k, 1976
Received On
June k, 1976
Analysis
Methyl Parathion
None*
None*
*less than o.Ol ppm.

Alfred Cornwell, Official Chemist
AC:er
Form 2035 11/68
-------
\j i JI I i; u o . /
.a kK'VIUUIViViUN!! L I'KU I LC I IUl\l AOlilMCY
Pc.;uiciou iduo 1.	iIdaho lice Sarnpies	DATK: Juno c, l
TO:	Don Donaldson, Chit	a p.
linforceinor.(. Section. ['est ieides 'Branch	u
! c-'.ictf r.
Five bee r,:.:r,pies fr r.ho Lowiston, Idaho area v/er^e'analyzed for pesticide
residues. It was sug^e.ited thay they be analyzed for Imidan, methyl
parathion, met .;oxychlcr \ud carbaryl (sevin). The results are listed below:
Lab no.
Station no.
I mi d'.n
Methyl Parathion Wethoxychlor
Sevin
22600
* ' 1
O.lOppm
0.39PPm
0.02ppm
^•-1 .PP".
22601
~ i
... .. 2
«r- 0.10
0.17
0.02
^ 1.
22602 .
W;' $
0.10
0.48
^ 0.02
1.
22603 '

,'..0.10
0.50
< 0.02
1.
22604
,f~ - 5
0.10
0.27
^ 0.02
-c 1.
22604
5
-- 0.1J
0.11
^ 0.02
1.
EPA Form J310-4 (fV». 6-72)
-------
PENNCAP-M INSECTICIDE AND BEES: FACT AND FALLACY
Dr. James R. Lowell, Jr.
Manager, Technical Department
Agchem Division, Pennwalt Corporation
February 6, 1978
-------
PENNCAP-M is a flowable microencapsulated formulation of
methyl parathion, which has found wide commercial accep-
tance on agricultural crops since its first commercial
registration in 1974. The product is manufactured by
Pennwalt Corporation, using a patented process which en-
cases tiny droplets of the active ingredient in a thin
shell of cross-linked nylon type polymer. The encapsulation
process reduces the oral toxicity of the active ingredient
to mammalian species by a factor of at least six, compared
to an EC formulation on an active ingredient basis. Dermal
toxicity to mammals is reduced by a factor of at least
twelve. PENNCAP-M is not required to bear the skull and
crossbones insignia on the EPA-registered label.
Since the very first commercial registration the label use
directions have carried a statement that PENNCAP-M is highly
toxic to bees, because the active ingredient of PENNCAP-M
is methyl parathion. In addition, for those crops where
application to the blooming crop represented a particular
hazard to honeybees, a statement was also included recommend-
ing against application to the crop in bloom.
Although PENNCAP-M received widespread testing under experi-
mental use permits during 1973, 1974 and 1975, and commercial
usage during 1974 and 1975, no reports of bee losses were
received until early 1976. During 1976 and 1977, Pennwalt
Corporation and various state regulatory agencies analyzed
bees from bee kills in which PENNCAP-M was suspected as a
possible cause. In a number of these, methyl parathion was
found in the dead bee samples. However, there is no certain
method available to determine whether the causative agent
was PENNCAP-M or other formulations of methyl parathion used
in the area. During early 1976, a number of bee kills in-
volving a formulation of methyl parathion (according to bee
analyses) were reported in California alfalfa growing areas.
One factor common to most of the bee kills was a heavy
concentration of blooming weeds in the alfalfa fields and
around the field edges. The bee kills occurred during a
period of drought in California, when the honeybees were
foraging on any available pollen source. In order to prevent
further occurrence of bee losses due to application of PENNCAP-M,
the PENNCAP-M label was amended in September, 1976 to include
a statement cautioning against application of the product to
blooming weeds on which an economically significant number
of bees is actively foraging.
In late spring, 1976, a rather sizeable bee kill occurred in
Lewiston, Idaho. Over 2,000 bee hives in the Lewiston Orchards
area were killed or severely damaged, apparently by a nearby
-------
- 2 -
pesticide application. After early reports that no pea
fields sprayed with PENNCAP-M were located in the area of
the major bee kill, we requested the Idaho Department of
Agriculture to sample rapeseed fields located nearby. We
were informed by an Idaho official that they had no authority
to sample the rape field (an inaccurate statement, we be-
lieve) . Our own investigation of the bee kills in the
Lewiston area confirmed what the Idaho Department of
Agriculture bee kill maps indicated; no PENNCAP-M appli-
cations were found in applicator records for pea fields
within eight miles of the largest bee kills. However, the
blooming rape fields mentioned above were located only
one-half to one mile away from the largest bee kills. Although
these fields were apparently treated for seedpod weevil with
some insecticide, the fields were not analyzed for insecticide
residues. Rape is a known favored pollen source for honeybees.
One aerial applicator sprayed peas downwind from and adjacent
to bee hives in another area. After his application, he
observed no losses to the nearby bee hives.
Most of the bee kills investigated during 1976 occurred in
four areas. In the state of Washington, the bee losses were
due to spraying blooming weeds in apple orchards. In Lewis-
ton, Idaho, if PENNCAP-M was involved in the bee losses, it
must have been sprayed on a crop not on the label. In
California, the bee losses were due to spraying blooming weeds
in alfalfa, and in New York, blooming weeds in fruit orchards.
As noted above, EPA registered in September, 1976, an amended
PENNCAP-M label with more detailed restrictions against appli-
cation of PENNCAP-M where a hazard to bees may exist. Any
use of PENNCAP-M which may result in the bee losses is incon-
sistent with the labeling. The product may not be applied to
either blooming crops or weeds on which significant numbers
of bees are actively foraging.
During latter 1976, Pennwalt Corporation undertook a major
effort to educate Pennwalt salesmen, and in turn Pennwalt
customers, to the potential hazards of misuse of PENNCAP-M.
Perhaps because of these efforts, there were few reports of
bee kills in 1977. Some kills were reported in the Central
Valley of California (Kern County). A representative of the
Agriculture Commissioner stated that "whatever was used in
the area killed bees." In that case, the alfalfa fields
which were sprayed were close to almonds being pollinated by
honeybees.
-------
- 3 -
Since the reports of bee losses in early 1976, Pennwalt
researchers have endeavored to establish clearly the con-
ditions under which bee kills may occur. In tests on many
crops at our Warminster (Pennsylvania) Research Station
under the direction of Mr. Gary Curl, Station Manager, we
were able to produce only minor bee losses, and these only
by spraying directly blooming sunflowers, even though the
bee hives were immediately adjacent to the treated fields.
Pennwalt Corporation has both funded and cooperated in
academic research on the nature, mechanism, and means of
prevention of bee losses due to pesticides. Mr. Larry Atkins,
Apiculture Specialist at the University of California at
Riverside found that PENNCAP-M remained toxic to honeybees
for approximately four to six days, compared to methyl
parathion EC, which remained toxic for one day or less.l
Dr. Carl Johansen, Professor of Entomology, Washington State
University at Pullman, found that PENNCAP-M had a two to
three-fold increase in residual action compared to methyl
parathion EC. ^ Dr. Michael Burgett, Assistant Professor of
Entomology, Oregon State University, found that bees pick up
pollen contaminated with PENNCAP-M, and confirmed results of
other bee researchers that bees do not seek out PENNCAP-M
capsules.-^ In a published article, Dr. Burgett acknowledged
that bee losses have occurred due to misapplication of
PENNCAP-M. Using a special formulation of PENNCAP-M with
a visual dye, furnished by Pennwalt Corporation, Dr. Burgett
found that no PENNCAP-M capsules reached the honey stomach
in bees deliberately subjected to blooms contaminated with
PENNCAP-M. He postulated that a bee's proventricular valve
rejects the capsules from the honey stomach. Consistent with
Dr. Burgett's results, to date no methyl parathion has been
found in honey from bee kills allegedly caused by PENNCAP-M.
On the subject of determining the cause for bee kills, it
has been noted that bees analyzed in a number of bee kill in-
vestigations generally show pesticide levels of from 0.1 to
a few ppm. The level detected depends largely on how long
the bees have been dead, and how the sample was handled. At
the present time, there is no certain method to distinguish
between formulations of methyl parathion as a causative
agent in bee losses.
On June 23, 1977, Dr. E. C. Martin of the USDA wrote a letter
to all state apiculturists and extension entomologists regarding
the supposed hazards of PENNCAP-M to bees. Dr. Martin's letter
was prompted by rumors, not the facts, about bee kills mentioned
-------
- 4 -
previously. After Dr. Martin's first letter was distributed,
we had the opportunity to discuss the history of the PENNCAP-M
bee problem with him, and pointed out a number of inaccuracies
in the stories he had heard. Dr. Martin wrote a second letter,
dated August 25, 1977, and noted that other materials, such
as carbaryl and lead arsenate are also toxic to bees in stored
pollen. In this second letter, Dr. Martin strongly recommend-
ed following the label use directions, and avoiding spraying
blooms visited by bees. He stated that like other bee-toxic
pesticides, PENNCAP-M is the "most recent pesticide causing
unique problems with bees." He advised extension agents to
make pesticide recommendations that will hopefully control
insects "without excessive bee kill." Dr. Martin's latter
remarks are parallel to our own conclusions; the key to avoid-
ing bee kills is to read and follow the label. The PENNCAP-M
label explicitly recommends against spraying blooms on which
bees are foraging.
One area of recent concern about PENNCAP-M is sweet corn, a
crop on which honeybees forage occasionally when other pollen
sources are not available. Studies show, and corn growers
confirm, that PENNCAP-M is one of the most effective controls
of corn earworm and European corn borer on sweet corn. We
believe that PENNCAP-M is the most effective and most econom-
ical means for controlling these insects in sweet corn.
Recognizing the value of PENNCAP-M for this use, and at the
same time considering the need to protect bees when they do
forage in corn fields, we believe that the following program
can provide effective, economical control of corn insects
with a minimal adverse effect on bees. Under standard sweet
corn spray schedules, an effective, moderately persistent
insecticide is needed to protect corn from damaging insect
populations. In general, bees forage in sweet corn only
during periods when other, more favored pollen sources are
scarce. When bees are not foraging in sweet corn, the grower
should be able to obtain effective control by using a moder-
ately persistent insecticide, such as PENNCAP-M, for control
of corn earworm and European corn borer. On those occasions
when bees are visiting the corn fields, the best alternative
is a nonpersistent insecticide, such as methomyl, preferably
applied at night or during periods of no foraging activity.
Of course, if it is possible to move the bees to another
location, the best solution, recourse to a nonpersistent in-
secticide is not necessary.
At a recent meeting under EPA auspices in Washington, D.C.,
representatives of the pesticide industry, the federal govern-
ment agencies, and the bee keeping industry discussed the
-------
- 5 -
problems of pesticide losses to bee keepers. An EPA
representative commented that labeling similar to the
PENNCAP-M label precautions is now under consideration
by EPA for all pesticides in Bee Toxicity Category I
(highly toxic to bees).
During the past several years, Pennwalt Corporation has
emerged as a leader in the search for new knowledge of ways
to avoid bee losses due to pesticide application. We
have funded research by academic personnel and tested in
our own facilities. We recognize the importance of bees
as highly beneficial pollinators of a large portion of
the crops grown in the United States. While we support
more governmental support of research in this area, we
strongly believe that the immediate and effective answer
to the problem of bee kills is education of applicators
and users of pesticides toxic to beos and use of effective
pesticides in strict accordance with the product Inboling
and in a manner which does not oxpouo honoyhoes to un-
reasonable hazards.
preferences
^ E.L. Atkins, D. Kellum, and K.J. Neuman, Project No. 1499,
1976 Annual Report.
n C. Johansen, personal communication, 1977.
- M. Burgett and G. Fisher, Amer. Bee J. 626 (1977).
-------
Newspaper Articles
Twin Falls County
1978 - 1979
-------
BUHL BEEKEEPER FRANK Z AG ATA AND DEAD BEES IN FRONT OF HIVES
.. . encapsulated pesticide suspected of killing helpful insects
Thursday. July 13,1978 Tim e»-News, Twin F alls, Idaho B-1
Beekeepers puzzled
by dead, dying bees
By KEN HODGE
Tlme»-New» writer
BUHL — Honeybees are dying mysteri-
ously In Magic Valley and local beekeep-
ers suspect an encapsulated pesticide of
poisoning their hives
Several beekeepers In the Buhl and Twin
Falls area report thousands of their bees
have died In recent weeks and more are
dying Hives which should be raising
young bees are barren of larvae
One Twin Falls beekeeper blames his
dead bees on microencapsulated methyl
parathlon, the same chemical blamed for
killing thousands of hives of bees In north
Idaho in 1976.
Methyl parathlon was blamed for wiping
out 3,000 hives of bees and partially
affecting 3,000 others near Lewiston that
year.
After some of his bees died suddenly this
spring, Twin Falls beekeeper Charles
Miller sent a mallgram to Idaho Director
of Agriculture Wilson Kellogg asking why
methyl parathlon, sold under the brand
name Penncap-M, is being used near
Idaho bee yards
Kellogg. In a letter to Miller, said the
Idaho Department of Agriculture success-
fully got a court order banning the
chemical after the Lewiston disaster In
But that order has since heen overturned
(by Fennwalt Corporation, manufacturer
/of PenncapM, and Keilogg said his
\ department is now enjoined from I
/discussing the particular pesticide with
farmers.
"We have done about everything possi-
ble to assist the beekeepers In the long
battle with new chemicals." but Kellogg
added, "...our hands were tied by the
( courtgrder regarding Penncap-M " — -
Although Mfflersays only oneyard of his
bees were hit by the mysterious killer, two
Buhl beekeepers. Frank Zagata and Bill
Lemmons. say 15 of their yards may have
been affected by pesticides
Since each bee yard contains 50 to 60
hives, they estimate about 1,000 hives will
be affected They are not sure what caused
the kill, but suspect Penncap-M.
A few of Zagata's hives were destroyed
when the pesticide was reportedly first
sprayed on pea fields In the Filer and Buhl
area In mid-June.
During ensuing weeks, many bee col-
onies have continued to lose bees, Zagata
said.
A healthy hive, worth about $50, usually
contains a minimum of six pounds of bees,
according to Zagata About 3,500 dry bees
are needed to make a pound.
Zagata and Lemmons say their big
economic losses are In the young bees
which would have been generated by the
devastated hives.
A total of nearly 20 million bees may be
affected by the outbreak of pesticide
poisonings.
A hive which loses many of its workers
will fail to make enough honey for the
winter and the bees will starve to death
when cold weather sets In.
"It will be a long time before we know
what our losses are." Zagata says. "We
got a pretty damn good dose of it It's not
ordinary stuff."
He says he has lost four hives outright
and others are sadly shorthanded for
feeding and raising new young. Combs
which should be full of white larvae
remain empty and dwindling numbers of
bees crawl across the bee boards.
Penncap-M. the brand name of
microencapsulated methyl parathion, is
highly hazardous to bees, according to
three University of California researchers
who recently publisned their research
findings in the American Bee Journal
E L Atkins. D. Kellum, and K.W.
Atkins, entomologists at the university,
studied the effects of both liquid methyl
parathion and PenncapM on bee colonies
arid determined the capsules, though safer
for the user, are about 13 times more lethal
to nearby beehives.
A second writer. P.F Thurber of
Klrkland, Wash., explained PenncapM
contains microscopic bits of porous plastic
which are filled with pesticide and put in a
carrier medium which keeps the deadly
chemical Inside the capsule When the
medium dries out, the Insecticide slowly
comes out of the plastic and becomes
active.
The capsules are both good and bad.
They are good for farmers beset by bugs
because of a "timed release" of the
chemical which slops large hatclies of
Insects in a single, long-lasting applica-
tion.
For honeybees, however, the tiny
capsules are exactly the same size as a
grain of pollen. A foraging bee. covered
with coarse fuzz, picks up encapsulated
poison along with pollen when he crawls
into a flower and unwittingly carries It
back to the hive.
Worker bees store pollen in honeycomb
cells as food for young bees and the deadly
capsules can remain insidiously pigeonh-
oled In the hive for months
If the capsules end up In a cell with a
larvae which feeds on pollen, the result Is
Immediate death. Stored pollen, is also
lethal to young bees when laced with the
capsules
That is why many of the larvae in area
beehives are being found dead, according
to local apiarists. And many bee boards
have no larvae at all because the bees
which ordinarily would nurture the young
have died off.
PenncapM is registered with the
Envirnomental Protection Agency for use
on alfalfa, peas, beans and other crops. On
peas, It is used to control the pea weevil,
the pea aphid and the pea leaf weevil
The label on the chemical, however,
warns the applicator not to apply the spray
near wildlife or adjacent to a body of water
because "birds and other wildlife feeding
in treated areas may be killed "
-------
Jerome area beekeeper
losing out this year
By LONNIE ROSENWALD
Times-News writer
JEROME — It's been a bad year for
bees
First, many of the hardworking
honey-makers were poisoned this
summer by pesticides which got into
the pollen they collect.
Then their image was tarnished by
"The Swarm," a disaster film about a
murderous herd of killer bees.
Jerome beekeeper Ernie Hancock
complains bees don't deserve the
treatment they're getting. Hancock
houses about thre^quarters of a
million honeybess in backyard bee
colonies in Jerome County. He loves
bees, and tries to prove it by allow ing
his Idaho mongrel bees to buzz around
him without covering himself with
nets or other special clothing.
"It's wasps and yellow Jackets, not
honeybees, that sting," he explained
in defense of the fearsome insects.
Stoically holding out a finger into
which an v angry bee is forging its
stinger, the man who handles bees
daily admitted, "Stinging always
hurts."
AJthough beekeeping is only a
sideline for Hancock, he was Incensed
three weeks ago when he began
finding handfulls of dead bees lying in
front of the three-story wooden hives
where his bees live and store honey
He said he figured out how they died
by tracing a path from his hives to his
neighbors" fields where encapsulated
methyl parathion, a pesticide used on
alfalfa, peas and beans, had been
sprayed
The encapsulated pesticide has
been blamed for beekills throughout
the Magic Valley this summer
Methyl parathion capsules are the
same size as pollen grains — 20 to 40
microns. Bees can't distinguish
between the capsules and pollen. so
they carry the deadly nuggets back to
their hives If the bees don't die on the
way home, the capsules contaminate
their larvae, threatening the next
generation of bees.
Methyl parathion was the villain In
severe beekills in Lewlston In 1976,
causing the Idaho Department of
Agriculture to ban its use in the state
However, a successful protest by the
Pennwalt company, manufacturer of
the pesticide, got the ban reversed on
a technicality in an Idaho court last
winter. With renewed use of the
pesticide this summer there has been
a reoccurrence of beekills
Although the worst of the kills Is
over for this season. Hancock said
some bees continue to die You find
little traces of kill every time you go
out."
After finding many of h» bees had
been killed this summer. Hancock
tried to measure what effect the kill
had on honey products To do that
he weighed one of his hives every day
for a four-day period beginning right
after a spray
"They were making four pounds a
day," Hancock said After they got
sprayed, they actually lest a half a
pound. Then after four days they
gained two pounds."
Luckily the honey * asn t con-
taminated by the pesticides because
organisms can't live in hocey But
there will be hidden losses for
Hancock from the beek!Jl He has
fewer bees to collect and ?.ore honey
for the winter, so his bees may starve
to death during their hibernation
It's not just the damage U> his S3.000
a year honey business that bothers
Hancock — his beekeeping is part of a
family tradition carried on In Jerome
by Ernie, his father, uncie and cousin.
He maintains his own hives, collects
and filters the honey and even seals
and labels the Jars himself ail on
spare evenings and weekends
His hives are In seven different
locations in Jerome County None
escaped this summer s kill but some
suffered greater losses than others
According to Hancock pesticide use
has upset the whole ecological
balance of his back yard Not only-
bees but also some of the birds that
used to fly through are gone He can't
prove It, but he blames pesticides for
killing the birds.
He says hobby be^^epers like
himself suffer more from the
pesticide problem than large com-
mercial beekeepers who have moved
their hives to safer locations like
Fairfield. Mackay and Carey where
there are fewer farirvn spraying
pesticides
Bees have to be moved a long
distance from crop-sprayed fields
because they fly as far as three miles
to pollinate. In studies bees have
traveled as far as nine miles to find a
blade of grass
"Just moving them around Magic
Valley won't do any good," Hancock
explained. "If I move my hives I'll
move Into a valley 60 or 100 miles
away."
One hobby beekeeper In Twin Falls
claimed the hives don't have to be
transplanted that far away. He
successfully avoided pesticides by
moving his bees to Rock Creek.
Hancock says recent publicity
about bee deaths from pesticides has
had some effect on neighboring
farmers who spray. They now spray
later In the day hoping bees will have
already returned home from the
fields.
Not until 7 p.m does the Hancock
family hear the ominous drone of
airplanes as they swoop down over
nearby fields leaving a trail of white
spray. Unfortunately the delay does
little good because encapsulated
pesticides (which are only one of
many pesticides sprayed on crops)
remain deadly for 17 months, accord-
ing to a recent article by pesticide
expert P.F. Thurber In the American
Bee Journal
Hancock doesn't blame farmers for
the bee kills He believes If growers
use pesticides carefully they can save
their crops from Insects without
relying on encapsulated methyl
parathion.
Its chemical manufacturers and
their fieldmen urge farmers to use
more pesticides. Hancock said.
"Once they get these growers
spraying, they just spray more and
stronger chemicals." he complained.
He added that beekeepers are such
a small economic group they can't
force farmers to stop using en-
capsulated chemicals
"I'm bucking some pretty tough
people." the beekill victim acknowl-
edged
"I don't think beekeepers themsel-
ves can do any thing and I don't expect
anything from the Agriculture
I>epartment If lanybody does anyth-
ing It'll be the EPA (Environmental
Protection Agency)."
m
9
fir*. IVI jthmull TlmevNew*
Frnip Hancock. .Ipromo	and lion<*V"niak#?fS killed by ppsticldps
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M«S»C Va
B
Twin Falls. Idaho
Monday, August 21,1978	30IIU
iiti ivitwtiivvv
EPA studying bee-killing pesticide
By LONNIE ROSENWALD	review process				
By LONNIE ROSENWALD
Times-News writer
DENVER. COLO. - The Environmental Protection
Agency has begun an official Investigation of Penn-Cap-M
that could result In further restrictions on use of the
pesticide
Penn-Cap-M, or encapsulated methyl parathion, Is a
widely used pesticide which Is highly toxic to honeybees
and has been Identified as the culprit In recent beekllls In
many areas across the country. Including the Magic
Valley
Dan Bench, an administrator at the Denver regional
EpA oINce, told the Times-News "The agency is looking
Into putting Penn-Cap-M under R-Par (Rebuttable
Presumption Against Registration) review." but Bench
said the product was not under consideration to lose Us
registration.
"What might be considered Is the cancelation of certain
uses of this pesticide," Bench said.
R-Par classification means the EPA will restrict use of a
substance unless It receives evidence of the substance's
safety. Once classified, Industry or users have a chance to
offer a rebuttal to the restrictions. After hearing
arguments from both sides, the EPA measures the
evidence of hazards against benefits and makes a
regulatory decision
Bench said there are currently 50 substances under the
p.pf»r riassfflcatIon but only one has fullv completed the
review process
Bench began an investigation of Penn-Cap-M after
receiving complaints this week from several beekeepers in
Rlverton, Wyo following extensive beekills there
"I want some more Information on the pesticide." he
said.
Bench, the R-Par coordinator for Region VIII of the
EPA. contacted Dr. Carl Johansen. a Washington State
entemologist and bee poisoning expert, Friday to ask what
he thought of placing Penn-Cap-M, a product manufac-
tured by the Perwalt Company, on the EPA s R-Par list.
Johansen told Bench use of Penn-cap-M should be highly
restricted because of its extreme toxlty to bees. He
recommended allowing Its use only to combat aphlds on
wheat in early spring, on apples 30 to 60 days past full
bloom and against weavlls on peas in early spring
An R-Par classification "would force the Issue."
Johansen said
Bench remarked aboyt Johansen's advice. "He knows
what he's talking about.''
James Lowell, a spokesman for the Penwalt Company,
which manufactures Penn-Cap-M, argued that the product
Is already 'one of the most strictly labeled insecticides in
the country " Restrictions listed on the label of the product
which is used by farmers chiefly to combat aphids and
weavlls prohibit its use on blooming crops if bees are
located nearby
Bench said 'he EPA can't even consider an R-Par ratine
unless It receives a request for restriction from the public
or scientific community
"We haven't had enough complaints to do anything
about It yet," Bench said
/ He said a recommendation from an organization of
'Wekeepers, along with evidence of beekllls caused by the
use of Penn-Cap-M. would prompt him to ask federal EPA
officials to give the substance an R-Par classification.
Jerome beekeeper Charles Hancock, one of the largest
commercial beemen in Idaho, said the Association of
Idaho Beekeepers will discuss what to do about the
problem at its regular meeting this fall.
Beekllls have been reported In the past three years In
Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Oregon,
Washington and Wyoming Johansen said during the last
week alone he received reports of kills In Texas. Wyoming.
Iowa and Washington.
Studies Including one done by U.S. Department of
Agriculture scientists In Wyoming have found Penn-Cap-M
responsible for many of the kills. The substance can be
mistaken for pollen and transported by bees to their hives,
where It Is fatal to many bees
The EPA Is a newcomer to mounting concern about the
effects of Penn-Cap-M on honeybee populations Beekllls,
which resulted In a ban on use of Penn-Cap-M In Idaho
between 1976 and 1977. have prompted studies of the
pesticide's effect on bees by Penwalt and university
researchers In California and Washington.
Johansen, who Is studying the Penn-Cap-M problem at
Washington State University, said the state of Washington
Is considering tightening up regulations on Its application
Iowa Agriculture Secretary Robert Loulsberry Thursday
expressed concern about use of Penn Cap M In his state
Penwalt spokesman Dr James Lowell said a company
representative Is currently In Rlverton Investigating the
beeklll reported there last week
Meanwhile Lowell denied a claim by Dr Bill Wilson of
the Wyoming Department of Agriculture that the company
Is advising applicators In certain areas of the country not
to use Penn-Cap-M because of poison danger
Bill Freutel of the Idaho EPA office also said applicators
In the Lewlston area did not use the pesticide this year
because they feared lawsuits.
Lowell. Technical Manager of Penwalt, confirmed
reports that the company is studying possible modifica-
tions of the product to make It safe for use In beekeeping
areas Penwalt has one fulltlme researcher assigned to the
task, and Is experimenting with modifications of the
product at Its Washington and Pennsylvania locations
Among Ideas Penwalt researchers are studying Is the
addition of bee repellent and addition of a "sticker " to the
product to make It adhere to plants
But Lowell said the company Is working on other
alternatives and would not sav what they are
-------
EPA investigates Magic Valley bee kills
By KEN HODGE
Times-News writer
BUHL — The Office of P»s'icide
Programs of the Environmental
Protection Agency is investigati"" -
rash of bee kills which hit Ma^.
Valley last summer.
Dan Bench, a pesticide registrant,
coordinator from the EPA's Denver
office came to Buhl this week under
instructions from Washington, D.C.,
to take pollen samples from bee
colonies which may have been
poisoned mysteriously last year.
He said samples he takes will be
tested for chemical residues in an
effort to determine whether or not
pesticides were responsible for bee
kills in Idaho.
Bench's examination of Magic
' "*v beehives was ordered after a
Buhl ekeeper sent a letter of
mpiaini to the EPA in Washington,
D.
Aner ufking samples in Magic
Valley, Bench said he will go to north
Idaho to examine hives where severe
bee losses were presumed to have
been caused by pesticides in 1976.
Two Buhl beekeepers, one Twin
Falls beekeeper and others on the
North Side suffered bee losses which
might have been caused by aerial
applications of encapsulated methyl
parathion, a deadly chemical used to
control pea weevils.
The encapsulated pesticide, sold
under the brand name of Penncap-M,
may have caused bee deaths both in
the field and Ln the hive since research
has shown bees can carry tiny
pesticide-laden capsules back to their
home colonies along with grains of
pollen.
Once in the hive, the capsules may
be sealed into pollen cells or fed to
larvae, causing delayed casualties as
much as 17 months later in the hive.
Richard Heuwinkel, director of
operations at the EPA pesticide office
in Washington, D.C., said if the EPA
determines that pesticides have
caused the Idaho kills, officials may
take action against applicators and
against further use of the pesticide
involved.
, j Ct H I'7 / 2 I 2 ? 9
/
__	-i
-L 0
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///•"^^ I*
//> 1	j")—{ • *
EPA investigates dead Idaho bees
By KEN IIODGE
Timc^-News writer
Bl'III. A Washington, P C., office
of the Environmental Protection
Ati*nc\ is investigating lire deaths in
Idaho .vhich may ha*e boon caused by
p-sttcides
Tlie investigation Is focused on
large numbers of bees found dead in
Magic Valley last summer and near
Lnriston two years ago
Tit.1 KPA took a special interest in
Idaho - bw kills when a Buhl
twicer sent a letter to its Washing
?t Pesticide Programs Office
(Ttnpl-lining about substantial bee
Imsr- bo and other apiarists suffered
last summer
'pesticides have been blamed for
N-e kills a good deal and we're, of
course interested," Richard
Heu v nkel. director of the operations
diviMon of th* EPA pesticide office,
said Wednesday "We want to check
into a feu of these things a little
further
Hewvinkel said when beekeepers
blame a particular pesticide for bee
deaths they usually have no substan-
tial evidence linking the chemical to
the kills
Hcijv mkel said an EPA official has
assigned to inspect and sample
l.iiho beehives involved in massive
toe d®*'.hc in an effort to gather back-
er w»,nd information and possible
evidence.
If the investigation links a particu-
lar pesticide to bee deaths in Idaho,
Ep\ officials could take action
against an applicator or change the
label on the pesticide to prevent
.~Tridental bee deaths in the future,
H««w.inkelsafd
It would depend on the circums-
iiiirrs If pesticide is the cause and it
t jho result of somebody misusing it,
tb*r ue have an enforcement pro-
Men Hetiwinkcl said. "If it is
t-eii.use tlte label is hard to follow,
L'«#" maybe we need to change the
I it-1
pan Bench of Denver, an RPAR
'¦'rrdinator for the EPA. is looking for
the rau eof Buhl area bee deaths first
«-y4ired more than six months ago
' I m doing some residue studies."
Pcr~h said Tuesday as he picked
«mall yellow pollen caps from honey
< omb« near Buhl We haven't proved
anything I'm just investigating "
$. v« r il t»eekeepers in the Buhl area
ro!i- d unusual nuroberr. of dead ho<~;
o jSi'ie their hives early last spring
*nd "ispwtwi a form of encapsulated
we'hyl pai athion to be the culprit
"I.,- higldy toxic pesticide reporte
dly b-*»d l>een sprayed on pea fields to
r*op hatches of pea weevils
Whatever the cause, bees continued
»o ti e «i\er 'h'- entire season and many
hi'.' - *ere substantially weakened as
Uteir populations du indted
Without a large populat ion. a colony
EPA official Dan Bench extracts pollen
of bees cannot produce honey or new
young And during cold weather, a
weakened hive cannot generate
enough heat to prevent the demise of
the entire colony by freezing
Deadly effects of last spring's
mysterious poisoning are still being
felt In bee colonies throughout the
valley, according to 'one Buhl
beekeeper
"I don't know what the loss will be
overall on this stuff." Bill l-cmmons
of Buhl said Tuesday We fed syrup
to a lot of them and tried to keep them
alive A lot died out later on this fall
With this cold spell, some of the
colonies are so small. I don't know
how they will come out "
He said he had to bring in about UK)
hives whose colonies were wiped out
l-emmons and other beekeepers in
the area suspect the cause of their
dead l»ees to he microencapsulated
In the pollen samples was a stable
form of the deadly chemical similar to
that used in manufacturing
Penncap-M But Barkerhad no con-
clusive proof that the material came
from that particular product
Penncap-M Is a pesticide product
which contains methyl parathion in
tiny capsules made of a dacron like
material Inside the capsules, the
product is not as dangerous to
applicators as ordinar;, methyl
parathion would be Kept in a liquid
carrier medium, the material is not
harmful until the medium dries and
allows the chemical to escape from
the tiny capsules
Since the capsules are small —
about the size of a pollen grain - bees
can pick them up in the hairs on their
bodies and bring them back to the
hive
If the poison is released inside the
hive, many bees can die 11 capsules
are stored in cells with other grains of
pollen, they can act like a time N»mb,
killing bees as long as 17 months later,
researchers have found
Barker said finding liny Penncap-M
capsules in honey combs is a difficult
task
Although some samples of pea
pollen Barker tested contained
methyl parathion, he said be could not
find any tiny plastic capsules among
the millions of pollen grains in his
samples He said concentrations of
the capsules would be about one part
per million
He said concentrations of only 2
parts per million can affect
honeybees He has found concentra-
tions as high as 50 ppm in research he
has done by dying the pesticide before
application
K«t H'wle"- Ttmr* News
methyl parathion. sold in the area
under the brand name of Penncap-M.
though they have no conclusive proof
One Buhl beekeeper. who wished to
remain anonymous, sent pollen
samples to a U S Department of
Agriculture bee research laboratory
in Tucson after tlte w idespread kills
Roy Barker, an entomologist at the
Carl Hayden Bee Research I,al»orat
ory In Tucson, said he found methyl
parathion in some of sampler of
pollen sent to him from Buhl
"I'm not ready to write anything
conclusive on what I've found."
Barker explained Tuesday "Some
samples had it ;«nd some did no! The
samples that had it were pea pollen "
Barker said finding pea pollen in
beehives was unusual in itself Re said
many !>ee experts believed heretofore
that bees did not forage in pea fields
He said the niethvl parathion found
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& ; .•? W f

B
Twin Falls, Idaho
Monday, January 22,1979

tr- i


Filer farmer protests EPA parathion ban
TWIN FALLS - Bees may die when
he uses it, but Filer farmer Dean
Ruhter said he needs encapsulated
methyl parathion to farm success-
fully
Ruhter, who grows peas near Rock
Creek, Is starting his own private
protest against an Environmental
Protection Agency Investigation of
the pesticide which may result In a
ban of the poison
"I am sure that we killed the bees
(when using methyl parathion), but I
don't know whose fault it was,"
Ruhter explained. "I think the
beekeeper has some responsibility "
Ruhter's protest follows a recent
visit by EPA official Dan Bench to the
Buhl and Castleford area Bench
sampled pollen from hives in which
large numbers of bees died mysteri-
ously last spring and summer
Bench said he will test the samples
to try to find out what killed the bees
Local beekeepers said they suspect
an encapsulated form of methyl
parathion of killing the bees Sold in
Magic Valley under the brand name
of Penncap-M, the chemical Is a
derivative of certain war-time nerve
gases and acts on an Insect's nervous
system to cause death The chemical
is also dangerous to human beings
But danger or not. Ruhter said he
would have a difficult time growing a
good pea crop without it and plans to
protest the investigation and possible
ban of the chemical
"It is one of the best chemicals for
the price," Ruhter explained. "It will
take care of both the pea weevil and
aphids Because of its residual i long-
lasting action) it is valuable for long
hatches "
Because of Its encapsulated form,
the methyl parathion In Penncap-M Is
released over a long period of time as
Its wet carrier medium gradually
dries out and allows the poison to
escape and become active
"It gives you a chance to go In
before you maybe could with some
other chemical and it will last
longer," Ruhter said
Ruhter said the chemical kills all
Insects In the field and If bees happen
to be there, they will surely die, too
But he claimed a beekeeper has a
responsibility to protect his own bees
if they are In the area
"I am not loo sure the bees are not
trespassing on the property when they
come onto a private individual's
crop," Ruhter said "And I think they
might be stealing the pollen from the
property In the process "
Ruhter said part of the problem
stems from the fact that bees can
roam up to three miles from their
hives on foraglngjaunts
"If you look at a map. you could put
beehives outside all the towns in Twin
Falls County, like Filer, Buhl,
Castleford. and Twin Falls and cover
the whole county." he said. "That's
the reason It scares me what the
beekeepers are doing."
He said a beekeeper who puts his
bee yard In a corner of a field has no
control over what fields the bees will
frequent in search of food
"There are some alternatives (to
banning methyl parathion)," Ruhter
said "The keeper knows that a
farmer is going to spray at certain
tlm,es of the vear
"They can move their bees at that
time They could find out where the
majority of the peas or a certain crop
is growing and they can maybe keep
their bees out of that area "
Ruhter said he plans to write to his
congressmen and appear on radio and
television shows to publicize his
protest campaign
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Newspaper Articles
Nez Perce County
1976
-------
Lewiston Morning Tribune
Sat., May 22, 1976
Insecticide ban
follows bee-kill
By HAL HOLL1STER
Lewiston Morning Tribune
The Idaho Department of Agriculture
Friday ordered all commercial crop
dusters in the state to halt immediately
the use of the insecticide imidan, under
threat of penalties imposed under the
state's pesticide law
The Lewiston Morning Tribune was
unable to reach department officials
for an explanation of the action, but the
move clearly indicated that imidan is
suspected of being the prime cause of
the massive bee-kill that virtually
wiped out the honeybee population in
the Lewiston area this week
News of the ban came from Donald J.
Vannoy, plant industry investigator for
the department at Lewiston.
Asked if the bun means that imidan
killed the bees, Vannoy said, "It looks
like it. It looks as though imidan
sprayed to control the pea leaf weevil
was at lault
I'he ban came on the heels of a report
by Dr Hugh H. Homan, extension en-
tomologist at the University of Idaho at
Moscow, who had previously collected
pollen Irom dead bees and from various
Dowering weeds in the Lewiston area
Homan told the Tribune his in-
vestigation indicated that the insec-
ticide drifted from an agricultural crop
onto fields of weeds in flower, and that
the bees picked up the insecticide there
while seeking nectar.
"And that means the crop was
probably peas,'' he said. "The only
other crop then being sprayed is rape,
and there is only one field of rape in the
area, and it is five miles from town and
could hardly have been a factor."
But Homan said the insecticide didn't
originate at a single source "It
definitely wasn't caused by one
spraying," he said "The pollen the
bees collected came from different
sources, so it's impossible to put the
blame oil any one person, any one
applicator It the insecticide hadn t
drifted, there would have been no
problem The bees were susceptible
because ol the timing. The weeds were
in bloom this year at the very time the
crop was sprayed.
The ban on the use of imidan coincid-
ed with the entrance ol the Lewiston
City Council into the field
Acting on instructions the council
issued at its agenda luncheon Friday
City Manager Armand E. Werle wrote
letters urging the Department ot
Agriculture and the regional office ot
the federal Environmental Protection
Agency at Seattle to take action.
In his letters. Werle pointed out an
"unknown pesticide" has virtually
wiped out the bee population of the area
and threatens to contaminate the city's
water supply and vegetables and fruit
raised in backyard gardens He ended
with these words:
"The Lewiston City Council urges
i both bodies) to take immediate action
to determine the cause of this
agricultural catastrophe We hope that
through your joint efforts corrective
action can be taken immediately and
this will be prevented in the future."
Dale L. Geaudreau. director ot en-
vironmental health at the North
Central District Health Department
here, said he has collected samples of
raw honey which will be sent to the
Department of Health Hi Weltare at
Boise for analysis to see whether the
honey contains any of the pesticide. He
said he expects to receive a report the
latter part ot next week or the lollow-
mg week
Meanwhile the bees continued to die
"There s practically nothing left m
the 900 hives I've inspected. One
Mundell of North Lewiston told the
Tribune. I could put all the adult bees
I ve tound in one super And the baby
bees are still dropping off the comb
Another heavy loser. Malcolm
Anderson of Lewiston Orchards, con-
curred "The bees are still dying." he
said. The field force I the working
bees i are all gone, and so are the brood
bees in many of the hives All told. H7
of my hives were hit. many ot them
very hard. "
In ail. more than 2.iHX) colonies ot
bees were either destroyed or
decimated by the effects ot the insec-
ticide
-------
Parathion blamed for bee
ay HAL HOLLISTER
Lewiston Morning Tribune
The investigation of a mammoth bee-
lull in the Lewiston area took a new
turn Wednesday when an analysis of
some of the dead bees showed that the
wrong insecticide has been blamed for
the slaughter.
\s a result, the statewide ban on the
application of imidan has been lifted,
according to AI Milter, chief of the
pesticide division of the Idaho
Department of Agriculture at Boise
The new suspect. Miller said, is
methyl parathion, a volatile chemical
that is extremely toxic to both insects
and mammals. Residues of methyl
parathion were found in dead bees
which were sent to a Sacramento.
Calif., laboratory for analysis, he told
the Lewiston Morning Tribune in a/
telephone interview. "We know it killedi
the bees." he said, 'but we don't know
I j U 1 v , - .J-'-1
See pages 17A, 12A
\
how vet Only one 90-acre field was
sprayed with the chemical, and we \
have to find out how so many bees got j
killed over such a wide area, and why i
He said tbe obvious explanation —/
that all the bees contacted the insec-
ticide in the same field — is not
kill; imidan ban revoked
plausible "Some of the bees died 20
miles from that field, and bees don't fly
that tar." he explained. "We must find
some other answer. We must search
out all the clues and prevent this from
happening again."
Miller said the ban on the use of im-
idan was lifted because alt of the bees
analyzed so far "showed negative
results on imidan. " He also said the use
ul methyl parathion has not been
prohibited, however.
It depends on whether the chemical
was misused or the chemical itself is at
limit, ho said "We're investigating
both possibilities.''
Miller was unable to fix the location
ut the field that was sprayed with
methyl parathion. but Wilson Kellogg,
director of the Idaho Department of
Agriculture, told the Tribune that it is
located on the south side of the
Clearwater River two to three miles
east of the U.S. Highway 95 bridge at
Arrow. He said the field was sprayed
sometime between May 10 and May 16.
Kellogg, who was at Lewiston on
another matter, spent much of the day
conferring with Donald J Vannoy, the
department's plant industry in-
vestigator here, and William Freutel of
Boise, pesticide coordinator for the
federal Environmental Protective
Agency in Idaho.
"We re trying to put things
together." Kellogg said. "It's like try-
ing to figure out a murder after it's
committed. We'll check out everything
in our power to do so and then figure
out where we go and what caused this
thing. It's too early to draw any con-
clusions. but we think we're on the
right Irack."
Miller said five samplings of dead
bees have been analyzed and another
seven samplings remain to be analyzed
to determine what killed them. "The
EPA is anlyzing still further samplings
and five different laboratories are in-
volved in the work. When alt the results
are in. we'll know whether all were kill-
ed by parathion and we'll have a good
basis to work from."
Miller said investigators have been
working as rapidly as possible under
adverse conditions.
"There was a lot of conflicting
evidence that made it extremely dif-
ficult to analyze and make decisions
on, he said. "We've made progress,
but there's still a lot to do."
The bee-kill, which first came to light
May 17, has destroyed or heavily
damaged more than 2.000 colonies of
the insects in an area stretching from
Lewiston to points as distant as Jac-
ques Spur. Lenore and Juliaetta.
A Lewiston housewife suggested
Wednesday that the substance that kill-
ed the bees might also have had an ill
ettect on hummingbirds in the
Lewiston area.
"We have a hummingbird feeder and
lots of flowering plants to attract the
birds, and 1 used to see them around the
place many times a day." she told the
Tribune. "But I haven't seen a hum-
mingbird for almost two weeks now.
and Hi bet whatever got the bees got
them, too."
The Tribune was unable to confirm
Wednesday night that parathion or
other pesticides might pose a danger to
hummingbirds.
-------
Enforcement of pesticide
regulations said needed
An official of a chemical firm that
manufactures pesticides told the
Lewiston Morning Tribune Wednesday
that the massive bee-kill that occurred
here last month doesn't indicate a need
for more or stronger regulations — but
he implied it might suggest a need for
stricter enforcement of regulations
now on the books.
"We're probably the most-regulated
industry in the world already," said
Clay Shelton of Portland, manager of
the product development division of the
Stauffer Chemical Co. "The laws are
there — enforcement of them is the
question."
Shelton defended the manufacturers
of pesticides, including his firm, which
produces and markets Imidan, which
for a time was suspected of killing the
bees that died here.
"Imidan isn't new," Shelton said.
It's been around for many years and is
used primarily to treat tree fruits —
and tree fruits need pollination by
bees."
Shelton noted that no pesticide is
approved by the federal government
until it has passed exhaustive tests and
proved safe when applied as directed.
"If the instructions on the labels are
followed, there's no problem, " he said.
"We (the chemical industry) spend
millions testing out products, and we're
responsible for any claims made on the
labels of our products."
Shelton said his firm has sent dead
bees taken from the hives of Orie
Mundell of North Lewiston to
laboratories in Oregon and Richmond.
Calif.. for analysis. "All the tests came
up with the same results — no Imidan."
he said.
"It's important to us that bee-
keepers be protected, but people must
understand that the original pests are
still there — the pea weevil and pea-
leaf weevils. They're still there, and
they must be contended with if the
crops are to be saved. "
Shelton, who has been at Lewiston to
study the bee-kill for his firm, was ac-
companied by Hugh A. Scott, a
Portland freelance writer. Scott
pointed out that Imidan was used last
year on about 75,000 acres of peas on
the Palouse and Camas Prairie. No
significant effects on bees were
reported at that time, he noted.
Both he and Shelton pointed out that
Imidan was developed as an alternative
to DDT. which has been banned by the
Environmental Protection Agency
-------
Bee kill probe continues
By HAL HOLLISTER
Lewiston Morning Tribune
Two officials investigating a
massive bee-kill in the
Lewiston area earlier this
month worked all day Thurs-
day without arriving at any
definite conclusions.
'We re tracking down
manufacturers' records of all
methyl parathion shipped into
the state and used,'' William
Kreutel. pesticide coordinator
ior the federal Environmental
Protection Agency at Boise,
told the Lewiston Morning
Tribune.
"We're also reviewing the
records of applicators to
determine when and where
pesticides were applied in this
area. We also went to the
National Weather Service
station (at Lewiston Airport\
to obtain information about
the weather over the eight-
day period when the insec-
ticide was applied.
• But we don't have any con-
clusions yet.'' Preutel said.
' We re still waiting for lab
reports from the EPA and
from Oregon State University,
where some of the dead bees
were sent for analysis. We're
getting down to good old
detective work; that's what
we're involved in."
Kreutel said he and Donald
J. Vannoy, plant industry in-
vestigator for the Idaho
Department of Agriculture,
have also talked with insec-
ticide dealers here in an effort
to obtain a clue to the cause of
the bee-kilt. "And the dealers
have been very cooperative,
as have the applicators," he
said.
The investigation is slow
and laborious, but it has been
made easier because of
studies already made by the
state department of
agriculture, he commented.
"The state has done much of
the work, so there U be that
much less for me." he said.
"They've made a real good in-
vestigation. "
The huge bee-kill, which
was first noted on May 15, has
now destroyed or heavily
damaged at least 2,500 bee
colonies in an area stretching
Ironl Lewiston to I.enore to
lo ,J,R(|uos Spur And
the toll may ^row even
greater.
(iene Pontius of Lewiston
Orchards told the Tribune
Thursday that the number o(
his hives that were hit by in-
secticide has now grown to
750. Orie Mundell of North
Lewiston reported even
heavier losses. He estimated
that more than 1.200 of his bee
colonies have been destroyed
or heavily damaged.
Officials now believe that
the primary cause of the
massive bee-kill is methyl
pariathon. a highly volatile,
extremely toxic insecticide
used to control the pea leaf
weevil in green pea crops.
Meanwhile, reports that
hummingbirds and barnyard
fowl may have suffered from
the insecticide continued to
emerge.
f Kleanor Kunze of 715
Airway Ave. told the Lewiston
Morning Tribune Thursday
that live newlv-hatched ban-
tam chicks died at her home a
short time after the bee-kill
came to light.
'The first one was on Satur-
day," (May 15> she said.
"The others died during the
next two or three days. I don't
know that an insecticide lulled
them, but they didn t seem to
be diseased, and none of them
had any punctures or other
marks on them. I also had
some chicks two weeks older
than that, and none of them
suffered any ill effects."
Fears that the parathion
might have killed more than
bees first were made public
Wednesday when a Lewiston

housewife reported that hum-
mingbirds which formerly
frequented her garden hadn I
appeared for two weeks
An extension entomologist
at the University of Idaho at
Moscow told the Tribune
Thursday fhat hummingbirds
don i usually visit .shallow
I i t'lil tin worn, howovcr
"Usually. Iht'v stick ilose lo
gardens, where the deep-
throated flowers lht>v iavor
grow, ' said Dr Hugh H
Hum.in
Gary "Sam ' McNeill, a
biologist at the Idaho Fish &
Game Department otfice at
Lewiston. said he didn t doubt
that methyl parathion has the
capability lo kill small birds.
1 recall a study that
reported that a field
application of parathion killed
5-day-old pheasant chicks. ' he
told the Tribune.
-------
Lewiston Morning Trlbun* Thura., June 3,1976
Bee probe intensifies
By HAL HOLLISTER
Lewiston Morning Tribune
Investigation of a bee-kill that vir-
tually wiped out the honey producing
industry in the Lewiston area last
month is expected to shift into high
gear again today with the return of a
pesticide specialist for the federal En-
vironmental Protection Agency.
William H. Freutel of Boise, EPA
pesticide coordinator in Idaho, told the
Lewiston Morning Tribune in a
telephone interview W ednesday that he
will arrive at Lewiston this morning to /
continue the investigation he began f
here last week.	I
The massive bee-kill, which resulted ^
in the destruction or decimation of
more than 2,500 colonies of bees in a
250-square mile area, has been blamed
on an application of methyl parathion.
an insecticide highly toxic to bees.
Freutel said the EPA is still tracking
down the distribution of a particular
product that uses methyl parathion.
"We know the chemical at fault, but
we need to know the product," he told
the Tribune. "We have the manufac-
turers' records of what they shipped to
distributors. Now we'll go to the dis-
tributors and find who they sold to,
which probably will be the applicators.
We need to know that to determine the
amount used in the area and see if this
might be the only source (of the bee-
kill. )"
Freutel said he will meet again with
beekeepers in the Lewiston area to fix
on a map the location of hives that were
affected by the insecticide. "We'll
determine elevations of the hives to see
if an air inversion could have been a
factor. We're also looking at weather
records for the period involved (in mid-
May), checking wind direction and
velocity, temperatures and other
relevant data. In addition to that, we'll
be plotting all fields treated with the
chemical during that time."
Freutel indicated that such laborious
delving into the records is necessary
because of the enigmatic nature of the
huge bee-kill. Even though methyl
parathion has been identified as the
substance that killed most of the bees
that have been analyzed thus far.
records show that the only time the
chemical was used during the period in <
question was on a 90-acre field about
three miles east of Arrow — a point as
far as 20 miles from some of the,)
colonies that were destroyed or heavily
damaged. Since bees seldom fly more
than five miles, that application
couldn t be the only explanation for the
massive kill.
Meanwhile. Elmer Russell of Boise,
administrator of plant industries for
the Idaho Department of Agriculture,
confirmed that the evidence against the
suspected chemical continues to
mount.
"Laboratories at the Oregon
Department of Agriculture at Salem,
the Washington State Laboratory at
Yakima and the EPA laboratory all
found essentially the same thing,"
Russell told the Tribune in a telephone
interview. "That is. no imidan (the
chemical first suspected) was found on
the dead bees analyzed, but a substan-
tial amount of methyl parathion was. "
Despite the evidence that the
chemical is responsible for the bee-kill,
the use of methyl parathion in Idaho
has not been prohibited, according to
Wilson Kellogg, director of the
department.
When asked by the Tribune why the
use of methyl parathion hasn't been
prohibited as that of imidan was when
it was the suspect. Kellogg replied:
"The fact is. the initial damage has
been done and investigation is in
process on the whole works (of insec-
ticides I. The question is whether they
(the applicators) haven't used one
chemical to spike another The in-
vestigation of sales and applicators'
records will make that clear, then we'll
put the picture together. But it will
take the whole week. You can't get all
parts of a jigsaw puzzle in place at
once."
Lewiston beekeepers, meanwhile,
reported that their bees are still dying
from the effects of the insecticide.
"At last count. 999 of my colonies
were totally destroyed." said One
Mundell of North Lewiston. "And of the
remaining hives. 100 were severely
damaged and I don't believe they II sur-
vive the winter. I went through hive
after hive and found them empty — not
a bee in them.. I've got about 550 hives
that weren't hit. I started out this spr-
ing with 1,750 hives."
V/oodrow W. Blakeley of Lewiston
Orchards said his bees, too. are still
dying. "If they continue to dwindle
there won't be enough left to keep the
brood warm, and the eggs won t
hatch," he said. "I tried to escape by
moving some hives to McCormtck
Ridge, and they got sprayed, too. "
A small beekeeper. Roy Tumelson of
426 Lapwai Rd.. said the destruction is
continuing in his area. "I'm still pack-
ing out dead bees." he said. "I cleaned
out all the dead ones a couple days ago.
but 1 went out today and counted
around a hundred more dead bees in
each hive. It's too early to say whether
those remaining can bring in enough
honey to make it through the winter
-------
Bee-kill probe findings
await laboratory check
By HAL H0LL1STER
Lewiston Morning Tribune
Investigation of a bee-kill
that destroyed or heavily
damaged upward of 2,000
colonies of honeybees in the
Lewiston area earlier this
month hit a lull Friday as in-
vestigators awaited reports
from laboratories that are
analyzing some of the dead
bees.
William Freutel, pesticide
coordinator for the U.S. En-
vironmental Protection
Agency in Idaho, ended a
three-day investigation of the
bee-kill here and returned to
Boise. He is expected to
return to Lewiston next
Wednesday to continue the
probe.
Donald J. Vannoy, plant in-
dustry investigator for the
Idaho Department of
Agriculture at Lewiston.
could not be reached for com-
ment Friday.
Before returning to Boise.
Freutel told the Lewiston
Morning Tribune that any ma-
jor development in the in-
vestigation will have to await
reports from laboratories at
Oregon State University at
Corvallis and the EPA
laboratory at Seattle.
The most conclusive
evidence produced to date is
that at least some of the bees
were killed by methyl
pariathon. a volatile chemical
that is highly toxic to bees.
Use of the insecticide has not
been banned, however,
pending a Department of
Agriculture determination of
whether the chemical itsell or
the method of applying it was
at fault.
Meanwhile, the toll of dead
and dying bees continued to
rise.
The heaviest loser — One
Mundell ot North Lewiston —
told the Tribune that his
casualties have climbed to 1.-
948 colonies. Of these, 990
colonies were destroyed, 100
were severely damaged and 58
received moderate damage,
he reported.
"The trouble is, they're still
dying," Mundell said. "The
hives have already been in-
spected (to determine the
amount of compensation that
will be paid by the
Agricultural Stabilization &
Conservation Service), but
bees in hives with both severe
and moderate damage are
still dying."
Another heavy loser,
Malcolm Anderson of
Lewiston Orchards, confirm-
ed this. "Bees are still sicken-
ing . and dying around town
here," he said. "Not a lot of
them, but it's still happening.
"I had about 148 hives of bees
damaged. Only one was wiped
out. and that was right in my
backyard.
Anderson said he has no in-
surance that will cover his
losses, and he doesn't believe
any of the other beekeepers
do. "1 never heard ot a com-
pany that would insure a bee-
man against losses caused by
pesticides." he said. "1 don t
think there s a company that
would touch it."
The only compensation
apiarists can expect to
receive short of going to a
court of law are payments
provided by the ASCS. Those
payments range downward
from $22 for each colony ol
bees that is destroyed.
That payment is made only
alter the loss is certified after
an examination by a federal
inspector. The beekeeper
must pay the cost of the in-
spection.
Beekeepers here told the
Tribune that the market price
of a healthy swarm of bees in
a two-tiered hive is $70 per
hive.
Picnic planned
The Tumelson clan of the
Peck and Lewiston areas will
gather for a covered-dish pic-
nic at Spalding Park Sunday
at noon.
-------
SUNDAY
January 2, 1977
Remember these
1976 stories?
Another year has passed and the
Lewiston Morning Tribune takes a
second look at some of (he 1976
events that made news in the Lewis-
Clark Empire. The topics were
selected by editors of the news-
paper, but no attempt was made to
rank them in importance.
Vacant hives
tell a story
Beekeeper Gene Pontius of Lewiston
has a mountain of empty hives stacked
in a warehouse that remind him of the
worst bee kill in the history of the
Lewiston area last spring.
More than 2,500 colonies of honey
bees in about a*250 square mile area
were wiped out or decimated by the
pesticide encapsulated methyl
parathion aerially sprayed on
croplands. The massive kill of bees was
first reported in mid-May in Lewiston
Orchards, but two months later
beekeepers from Lewiston up the
Clearwater River Valley to Culdesac,
Kendrick. Peck and Glfford were still
reporting dying bees.
The beekeepers only recourse was
financial compensation from the
Agricultural Stabilization & Conser-
vation Service, which the apiarists said
amounted to only a fraction of their
losses Orie Mundell of North Lewiston
lost more than 1,000 colonies of bees
and Pontius lost more than 500. Pontius
said his honey production this year was
cut to 40 per cent of normal. He also
said he is atraid he will not be able to
regenerate some of his colonies next
spring in hives still contaminated with
pesticide.
Investigators of the kill found that
the bees in the Lewiston area were
casualties oi a newly-developed form of
methyl parathion packaged in
microscopic capsules to keep its
potency longer The bees apparent'v
picked up the poison capsules on their
legs along with pollen while foraging
among flowering weeds growing
around sprayed fields.
The bees then returned to their hives
with the poison, which killed not only
the worker bees, but brood stock in the
hives.
Althoughs pesticides were suspect as
the cause of the bee kill from the onset,
the exact culprit and the way in which
the bees were exposed to the poison
eluded investigators for many weeks
The Idaho Department of Agriculture,
which headed the investigation, at first
mistakenly attributed the deaths to the
insecticide imidait used 1#control the
pea leaf weevil. The department halted
the use of imidan in Idaho.
But laboratory analysis of some of
the dead bees revealed about a week
later that methyl parathion. another in-
secticide used to control the pea leaf
weevil, was the bee killer In mid-June.
Wilson Kellogg of Boise, director of the
state agriculture department, issued an
order banning the use of the micro-
encapsulated form of the pesticide in
the Clearwater and Snake River
drainages in Idaho.
Last fall. Kellogg began public
hearings around the state to gather in-
formation that will be used to for-
mulate new regulations governing
applications of pesticides in Idaho. The
hearings were mandated by passage of
new pesticide laws during the last
session of the Idaho Legislature.
The hearing at Lewiston Dec. I drew
more than 100. including beekeepers,
gardeners and grape growers effected
by pesticides as well as crop dusters,
farmers and pesticide distributors. At
the hearing. Kellogg heralded greater
cooperation between these groups un-
der the new state pesticide laws.
The chances of another bee kill such
as the one that crippled Lewiston area
beekeepers last spring may be lessened
this year. But the full impact of the
area s worst bee kill in history may not
be known until this year, either. —
Diane Pettit.
-------
Lawlston Morning Tribune	Sun., Jan. 2,1977
Lawiston Morning Tribuna
T"Dune('Barry Kough
Bees took it on the chin during 1976, the victims of an insecticide applied to
crops. Tougher regulations on pesticide applications were likely as the
year drew to a close.
-------
if If 77

Bee kill
Kellogg acted illegally
in banning pesticide
By GARY S. SHARPE
Lewlston Morning Tribune
Idaho Department of Agriculture Director Wilson
Kellogg of Boise acted illegally in temporarily
banning the application of a pesticide that has killed
untold thousands of bees in north central Idaho.
Kellogg failed to establish rules and regulations
governing the issuance April 29 of an emergency
order that banned the use of encapsulated methyl
parathion for 120 days. That was the successful con-
tention of the pesticide's manufacturer, Pewiwalt
Corp. of Philadelphia, in obtaining a restraining
order last weekend.
Fourth District Judge Alfred C. Hagan approved
the corporation's argument May 31 when he signed
the firm's restraining order. The order struck down
the temporary prohibition.
Kellogg could not be reached Friday for com-
ment.
Encapsulted methyl parathion is used to kill pea
leaf weevils and aphids that infest green pea and
other north central Idaho crops. Thousands of bees
were killed by the pesticide last summer when they
(Related picture on 9AI
carried pollen with tiny time-release capsules of
methyl parathion from blooming crops and weeds
to their hives.
The drgiculture department sought to ban
application of the pesticide, known as Penncap-M.
on blossoming weeds and crops within a four-mile
radius of bee yards.
"By far the bulk of the use and application .
and sales of Penncap-M occur during the month of
June,'' Pennwalt attorneys argued. "Unless fthe
agriculture department is) restrained . .. from en-
forcing said invalid emergency order (the firm's!
sales of Penncap-M within the state of Idaho will be
almost totally destroyed."
The agriculutre department will be asked at a
hearing at 3:30 p.m. June 30 in district court at
Boise to show cause why it should not be prohibited
from ever banning the use of Penncap-M.
-------
18a Lewiston Morning Tribune Thuri., Jan. 13,1077
Parathion
Bill would outlaw
aerial application
By JAY SHELLEDY
Lewiston Morning Tribune
BOISE — Aerial application of methyl
parathion in the micro-capsule form — the
culprit in the mass killing of north central Idaho
bees last year — would be outlawed in the
Lewiston area under legislation being prepared
by the Idaho Department of Agriculture.
Department Director Wilson Kellogg is shar-
ing these sweeping pesticide and herbicide
regulation proposals with members of the House
and Senate Agricultural Affairs committees for
last-minute comment prior to drafting the bill.
The microscopic capsules of the deadly
parathion were picked up by honey bees in the
pollen of sprayed fields and taken back to hives.
Millions of Lewiston area bees died and apiarists
lost much of their honey crop.
The proposed controls would equal or exceed
federal Environmental Protection Agency stan-
dards governing pesticide use on federal lands.
But the proposal state regulations do not as yet
specify penalties for those who violate the con-
trols.
"These regulations are long overdue." said
Rep. Lester Clemm, a Troy area farmer who
regularly uses pesticides and who is a
Democratic member of the House Agriculture
Committee. "We have to get this pesticide thing
under control."
Ttie new restrictions would prohibit aerial
spraying of the micro-capsules within a half
mile of any canyon breaks of the Clearwater-
Snake River drainage wtthin the boundaries of
Nez Perce, Latah, Clearwater and Lewis coun-
ties.
Further, no pesticide that is toxic to bees
could be applied to any agricultural crop in
bloom in the 10 northernmost counties from
three hours after sunrise to three hours before
sunset. The crop exception would be green peas
which could be sprayed at any time. Austrian
peas, however, would fall under restricted
spraying.
Austrian peas generally are the first to bloom
and because the acreage of this variety is con-
siderably less than green peas there is a higher
concentration of bees in Austrian peas fields.
Bees are normally in their hives during the
hours spraying is permitted.
Clemm and others feel, however, that the law
should contain a clause requiring beekeepers to
notify a farmer when hives are located within
three miles of a crop. They would also like to re-
quire apiarists to place large warning flags next
to the hives.
"Beekeepers normally move hives at night
and catch spray planes off guard the next mor-
ning," said Clemm "There should be some
responsibility on the beekeeper."
North central Idaho grape growers and gar-
deners would also find additional protection in
the omnibus legislation.
The aerial application of 2.4-D, MCPA and
MCPB herbicides with a low volatile eater
(producing droplets Instead of spray) would be
prohibited between May 15 and Oct. 15 at
elevations above 2,000 feet in Latah. Nez Perce
and Clearwater counties or within one mile of a
susceptible crop or hazard area in any county.
And no spray pilot could apply high volatile es-
ter formulations of 2.4-D — which has a
tendency to vaporize and float under certain
weather conditions — in those three counties, or
within five miles of a susceptible crop or hazard
area anywhere in the state.
This regulation is designed to protect grapes,
tomatoes, garden products and other susceptible
crops.
No pilot could spray any pesticide within one-
half mile of any community or densely populated
area unless the wind is away from the hazard
area.
And no application could be sprayed if the
(Continued on page 17A
-------
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A bee in clover could be a bee in danger, thanks to new
agricultural sprays.
Culprit	may n
until June, Kellogg says
Tribune Staff Report
BOlShI — Idaho Department of
Agriculture Director Wilson Kellogg
said Thursday he still isn't sure a
suspected pesticide is the culprit in
new Imiiev bin? kills in the Lewislon
urea and thut it will be June before
any(iiie is certain.
Ami ih.it may be too lute to avoid
another disaster this var. Kellogg in-
dicated to the Tribune.
Apiarists blamed a microencap-
sulated form ol methyl parathion for
the sudden and near total destruction
last year ol $1 million worth ol bees
And large numbers ol bees have been
dying once again.
Farm chemical dealers say no
pesticide lata I to bees has been sprayed
this season, and apiarists are surmis-
ing hive frames contaminated last
summer may be causing the most
recent losses
The beekeepers didn't steam clean
!heir frames as they were advised to do
by the pesticide manutucturer." said
Kellogg But 'he cost of cleaning is
almost prohibitive I am deeplv con-
cerned what in the devil has i caused
the deaths i. I'm not too sure we have
the real culprit pinned with microen-
capsulated methyl parathion
Hu said the dead bees have been
shipped to Washington State University
lor tests that won't be completed until
June. You re almost looking at an
after-the-fact situation again this
year
Current pesticide regulations, drawn
up by the Department of Agriculture
partly as a result of last year's bee
kills, prohibit the aerial application ot
methyl parathion within a halt mile ot
major river canyons and breaks in Nez
Perce. Lewis and l*ilah counties
I'enwalt Manufacturing Co ot
Fresno. Calil placed a bee warning on
the label ot its meth\l parathion con-
tainers in an attempt to eliminate i
liability factor, said Kellogg * It puis
the money on the backs of the
applicators — unless the bees are
trespassing
Kellogg said the attitude ol ranchers
and larmers toward beekeepers :s
deteriorating Thev don't want to
sacrifice reasonable spraying of crops.
>o I guess they are discouraging
beekeepers from being around
-------
8C L*wi«ton Morning Trlbun*	8at., April 9, 1977
Bees
Beekeepers still reeling
from last year's disaster
B\ ROBERT C. GIBSON
Lcwision Morning Tribune
Hall ol Woodrow Blakely s collection
of 20U colonies ol beev was destroyed
laM summer in a massive kill, blamed
on pesticides, that swept through
Lewi.it on and the Clearwater Hiver
valley
Gene Pontius, a Lewiston Orchards
apiarist, also was hit hard by the bee
kill About 80 per cenl ol his bee
colonies were con lamina led and 50 per
cenl ol his business was destroyed
The beekeeping businesses ol
Blakelev and 1'ontius have taken
dillerent paths however, as a result of
the bee kill
Blakelev considers himself lucky
thut the income from his bees only
supplements his pav as a Lew is ton
lireman He had 2O0 colonies of bees
last spring Now he has about 100
Blakelev said it will cost him al least
13.500 to replace the bee colonies he
lost in the kill But he will not spend
that money this spring because lie is
alraid that those bees. loo. will be
wiped out in another mussive bee kill
he expects this summer
Already this spring bees that
Lewis ton area apiarists put in hives
contaminated last summer have
started to die in unusually large
numbers.
Blakelev said he does not think he
can allord to replenish his hives III he
has to gamble on their welfare again
this summer As a result, he will tend
only Uie 100 hives he lias lefi
But his income from honey also will
be cut in hall Bach colony can be ex-
pected to produce from 10 to 60 pounds
ol honey per year At several dollars
per pound lor honey, the money
Blakelev will not get this year adds up
quickly
LAST YEAR'S bee kill and the uncer-
tainly ol this year's crop has taken the
enthusiasm oul ol Blakelev s operation
Pontius. on the other hand lias no
choice but to continue building a bigger
and better bunch of bees And he has
been busy this spring trying to get his
operation back up to its normal size He
figures he is still 300 colonies down
Irom his high last year of 1.845
colonies.
Dead bees, above and below, litter the
ground and hives after the massive bee kill
of 1976.
Pontius has to build his business back
quickly because he has contracts to
pollinate Wenatchee orchards
About 60 per cent of Pontius bee
business is pollination contracts Only a
small part of his income is Irom honey
In an attempt to build his business
back to the sire he needs to pollinate
orchards. Pontius has bought out two
smaller apiaries One business he
•¦*#4 bough I oul was irreparably damaged
W'tbe bee kill last spring The oilier
.sold oul lor other reasons
The bees already have been put lo
work this spring Pontius took Ihcin to
C alilornia lo pollinate almond orchards
lor a couple ol weeks
Pontius said that, because ol his con-
tractual agreements, he has lo rebuild
his colonies this year, even il he has to
gamble on another bee kill this
summer
Pontius said he considers himsell
lucky that pari ol his bees were in
Wenatchee when the spraying season
was on in Lewiston. None of those bees
were killed
ll will cost Pontius more than 130 000
to rebuild his operation to the size II
was a year ago
Blakelev and Pontius, like most
beekeepers in Lewiaton and the
Clearwater Hiver Valley, are bitter
about the bee kill.
THEY THINK that an insecticide,
encapsulated methyl parathion. was
responsible for the massive kills that
left a double list full of dead bees at the
fool ol each hive almost hourly
But they have not been able to put the
blame on any particular aerial
applicators or any particular farmer
And the aerial applicators and the
pesticide manufacturing firms deny
anv wrongdoing
laboratory tests done at Washington
Slate University and Idaho stale
lahoiulortes show traces of methyl
parailnon in the bees that recently
died Bui until a linger cun be pointed
at a particular source of Ihe chemical
no action can be taken by apiarists to
recover damages
The apiarists think that wind drill
and improper application of the
pesticide are lo blame for the deaths
Bees ranged only a mile or two Irom
the hives in the weeks before thev died
they say. And no parathion was sprayed
thai close to iheir hives, they contend
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Bee-killing
pesticide
legal again
By DIANE PETTIT
Lewiston Morning Tribune
Some restrictions on the use	The court action does no*'
of the pesticide that caused a	affect the new state pesticide-
massive bee kill in the	regulations approved by the.
Lewiston area last year have	Idaho Legislature in March;,'.'
been lifted by order of the	Kellogg noted. The;
Fourth District Court at	regulations include a ban on
Boise.	aerial application of encap-
"We got shot down in the	sulated methyl parathion
courts," Wilson Kellogg, of	within a half-mile of the Snake
Boise, director of the Idaho	and Clearwater River breaks.
Department of Agriculture.	This restriction remains in
confirmed for the Tribune by	effect, Kellogg said,
telephone. Kellogg had	He said his department
telephoned Lewiston	would have to go through the
beekeeper Gene Pontius	public hearing process in
earlier in the day to inform	order to reinstate the
him and fellow area apiarists	statewide restrictions on en-
that encapsulated methyl	capsulated methyl parathion
parathion, the insecticide that	during the blooming period
decimated their hives last	The hearings would probably
spring, could be used again	be scheduled for early next,
this year.	fall.
"We're not saying	The timing of the current
everybody's going to use it,''	court action effectively
Kellogg told the Tribune,	prevents the restrictions fronrt
"But they can.''	being imposed during the
Fourth District Judge	critical period this year.
Alfred C. Hagan granted an	Kellogg noted. The
alternative writ prohibition	emergency order was onlv
Tuesday which nullifies an	good for 120 days. You've uot
emergency order issued April	to give 20 days notice for .1
29 by the state agriculture	public hearing, then you h;iw
department. The order bann-	a minimum of 10 days to come
ed the use of encapsulated	up with a solution, then 20
methyl parathion on blossom-	days thereafter before it goo*
ing crops and weeds and	into effect. That puts us long
prohibited applications of the	past the 120 days of the
bee-killing pesticide within a	regulation's effectiveness,
four-mile radius of marked	Pontius told the Tribune
bee yards.	Saturday that he had spent the
The court action was in-	past three days moving his
itiated by Pennwalt Corp.. the	hives to escape the expected
makers of the encapsulated	spraying. He already has lost
form of the chemical methyl	bees by the hundreds at
parathion under the brand	Lenore and in the Potlatch
name Penncap-M. Pennwalt	area from "whatever it is
Corp. claimed that the	they're spraying now ' He
emergency order was impos-	plans to move many of his t.
ed without following proper	800 hives further north intr
procedures, such as holding	timbered areas "I'll let Hit-,
public hearings, sources told	bears eat them." he said,
the Tnbune Saturday The	Beekeeper Dwight Kilgon*
pesticide company also claim-	of Lewiston also reported
ed violation of its con-
stitutional rights.	(Continued on page 13A)
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Photographs
Twin Falls County
1978
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Photographs
Nez Perce County
1976
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Additional Information
-------

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COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICE
iSr University of Idaho
College ol Agriculture
In (,ooprration with thp
U f» OpparlT-en' ol Agriculture
M	¦ , . , i ' . 1 < ; -
June 4, 1976
TO:
FROM:
SUBJECT:
County Agricultural Agents, Reekeepers
Hugh W. Homan
Bee Poisoning Problem
A number of severe bee poisoning incidents have occurred during the past
three weeks in various areas of the Pacific Northwest. These have been associated
with pea leaf weevil control on peas in the Lewiston area of Idaho; with cabbage
seedpod weevil control on rape seed in northern Idaho and adjacent Washington; on
collards grown for seed near Marysville in western Washington; and with alflafa
weevil control on alfalfa-grass hay in the Kittitas Valley of Washington. Blooming
weeds and mustards in fields or field edges are the source of the problem ori peas
and alfalfa hay.
Parathion, methyl parathion, and microencapsulated methyl parathion (Penncap-M)
are the materials which have been implicated to date. The microencapsulated formu-
lation may pose a special problem in contaminating the pollen collected by honey
bees. At this time of year there is a dearth of good pollen plants and bees will
often forage for several miles to find pollen to feed their brood. Kill of newly
emerged adult bees, as well as brood, is definitely associated with pollen contam-
ination .
* We strongly advise that parathion, methyl parathion, and microencapsulated
methyl parathion NOT be applied to blooming crops, including blooming weeds in the
fields. The preferred low-bcc-haznrd material for pea leal weevil is methoxyrhlor
ill though imidan is quite acceptable, for alfalla weevil cent ro| , methoxychlor, and
for cabbage seedpod weevil control, endosulfan (Thiodan).
Use all these materials strictly in accordance with label directions and/or
official recommendations by the University of Idaho for the specific crop.
Information on recommendations may be obtained from the University of Idaho
Cooperative Extension Service.
Hugh w. Homan, Extension Entomologist
dl
Prepared by:
A. R. Gittins
The; University of Idaho is an equal opportuneattiriYi'ativo action employer
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Lewlston Morning Tribune — Wednesday, Feb. 21.,1979
Insecticide:
Farmers vs.
beekeepers
Aitoclatcd Pr*M
WENATCHEE — Washington beekeepers and farmers are
feuding over whether the Insecticide Penncap-M helps crops
at the expense of bees.
The Washington Department of Agriculture will have to
sort out the evidence before deciding if new restrictions,
which is what the beekeepers want, wiil be imposed on the
chemical.
Penncap-M is widely used to control bugs in apples, wneat
and other crops. Beekeepers claim it harms bees.
However, many farmers say stiffer regulations would
remove a needed insecticide from farm use.
More than 100 farmers and beekeepers swarmed to a hear-
ing in Wenatchee last week to voice views on the beekeepers'
proposals.
The proposals would require that Penncap-M be pro-
hibited from use within six miles of any town and that cer-
tain orchard areas no longer be exempted from the
.-"eulations.
The proposals also would require all buyers of Penncap-M
to »ign a register certifying they will comply with conditions
<>n applying the chemical; that those who sell the insecticide
furnish buyers with a copy of the regulations governing its
-se; and that the Insecticide be tagged with a red dye so It
> un be readily Identified in case of bee losses.
Elwood Sires of Union Gap. president of the Washington
Stale Beekeepers Association, said tamers need bees for
pollination more than they need Penncap-M. Bee losses, he
said, have been so high that farming is In danger of losing its
state bee industry.
A state report says damage has declined since regulations
on Penncap-M were revised in 1978 and beekeepers acknowl-
edge they have no specific data to contradict that report.
Charles Boone of Yakima, a beekeeper and orchardist,
urged that the chemical be banned from further use in the
state, saying orchardlsts have adequate alternative
chemicals.
The Washington State Horticultural Association urged no
changes be made. The group said two bee losses were
reported from use of PenncapM in 1378
The group also argued that no reports of bee kills came
frcm any orchard areas exempted from the Penncap-M
regulations. Therefore, the group said, there is no reason to
eliminate those exemptions. The group indicated applicators
already are required to be licensed, making registration as
proposed needless paperwork.
Pencap-M "is greatly needed throughout north central
Washington," testified Wenatchee horticulturist Norm
Gutzwiler, himself a beekeeper. "It is particularly needed in
areas where other materials are not working properly, par-
ticularly for scale."
Wenatchee grower Stanton Chase said use of the material
has not harmed the 300 hives he has in his orchard.
-------
UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
oate: February 26, IJJ9
subject: Report of Analysis of Honey and Pollen from Killed Honey Bee Colonies
from: k. T. Zee
TO:
K. T. Zee	1/ r~ jt
Petition Method Validation Section, CBIB/BFSD
J. M. Conlon (TS-7&9)
J. G. Touhey (TS-768)
C.	Bushong (TS-769)
W. Wnldrop (TS-770)
N. Cook (TS-769)
R. Sehmitt (TS-769)
D.	Bench, Pesticide Accident Investigation Officer
Air and Hazardous	Materials Division, Denver, Colorado
D. Carript (TS-769) rj
iHRU: Warren R. Bontoyag, Acting Chief, CBIB/BFSD
Three honey and four pollen samples were received by CBIB with a trans-
mittal memo dated January 19, 1979 from D. W. Bench, Pesticide Accident
Investigation Officer, Denver, Colorado. All samples were from Twin
Falls County, Idaho, where Penncap-M was used. Analysis for methyl para-
thion and capsule material was requested. Due to the lack of a suitable
method, analysis for capsules was not performed by this laboratory.
All honey samples contained some solid materials (dead bees, I suspect).
Sample identified as "CR 12^-317> other 1Y", has substantial amounts of the
solids. Pollen samples appeared to be gummy.
Methodology - Methyl parathion:
Sampler are extracted three times by 1:1 petroleum ether and methyl
nlcohol on a Waring blender. The extract is poured into a separatory
funnel through a glass wool plug. Add 600 ml water to the solvent and
mix cautiously. Drain and discard water, Rewash solvent layer with two
100 ml portions water, discarding water each time. Pass ether solution
through a 2-inch anhydrous sodium sulfate column, and collect eluate in a
Kuderna-Danish concentrator. Evaporate th 200° C for FPD
EPA FORM 1320-6 (REV. 3-761
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CR 12li30*1 homo IY pollen campLe was confirmed qualitatively and semi-
quantitative Ly by Hif.h Pressxire Liquid Chroinatography (JIPIjC).
Results
CR 12 ft 307
Honey home 1Y
Honey other 1Y
Honey other 2Y
CR 12)4 30U
Pollen home	1Y
Pollen other	1Y
Pollen other	2Y
CR 12H305
Control pollen
Pl'M Pound
,C. Detector
0.01
^ 0.01
C 0.01
10.0
0.15
0.27
Fl'D Detector
0.015
9.5
0.12
0.21
c °-°3
-.01
Comments
1.	Honey samples are relatively free of methyl parathion, but the pollen
samples showed various amounts of methyl parathion.
2.	h published method by Jilackmor and Heyno.Lds entitled "A Scinlquantitn-
tlve Method for the Detection of Microcapsule Residues Resulting from
Micro encapsulated Pesticide Application." J. Afiric. Pood Chem., :
5t>9-6l which measures the liberated amines from the reacted Penncap-M
polymer was considered impractical for these samples.
Copies: C. Hall. ('I"'>-Y''>V)
c. Mitch.>ii (t:;-7';v)
R. Lee (TS-768)
R. Storherr (TS-768)
Attachment: Gas Chromatograms
-------