Subject: Insecticide in bee venom?

From: [email-masked] (MTHunzeker)
Date: 4 Aug 1994 23:49:05 -0400

One of the members of our local beekeepers association was checking his
colonies after finding some spray kill and got stung.  (They sure don't
like to get sprayed!)  His reaction was quite a bit more severe than
usual with a very large red area and swelling.  He was worried he had
developed a serious allergic reaction, but has been stung numerous 
times since then and only had a standard (mild) response.

So we are wondering if it is possible for a bee to pass on an
insecticide in her venom?  Has any research been performed in this
area?

Mike Hunzeker
[email-masked]
Boulder County Colorado Beekeeper

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From: [email-masked] (Aaron Morris)
Date: Fri, 05 Aug 94 08:43:43 EDT

>insecticide in her venom?  Has any research been performed in this
 
Stating up front that this is mere speculation on my part, I would
imagine that insecticide would do in/off/kill a bee before there would
be time for any insecticidal residues to be absorbed/transferred to
bee venom.  Furthermore, I'd speculate that a poisoned bee would not be
up to the task of defending a hive or stinging a beekeeper: she'd be
too busy kicking the bucket!

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From: [email-masked] (Aaron Morris)
Date: Fri, 05 Aug 94 08:43:43 EDT