>My question is this: is there a reason you could
>not, or should not use vaporized OA when exposed
>brood (eggs and larvae) is present? Is it merely a
>resistance to the labor of repeat treatments? From
>the archives, the adult bees don't seem bothered by
>OA fumes. Why limit this treatment to broodless
>periods?
Hi Grant,
I was expecting more responses from more experienced
people than me, allthemore as this subject is debated
times to times.
If you look the Swiss center web site (but also some
Swedish, Finnish (in English) or German -if you speak
a bit of German - sites), OA was used as a polishing
treatment in a full year cycle management strategy
including biotechnic/chemical measures to maintain
varroa population at an acceptable level untill late
autumn (drone brood removal, thymol, formic acid,
etc.). IMHO, it is wise to use a tool when its
efficiency is optimum. I considere using OA in
repeatitive treatments when brood is present (low
efficiency around 12% perhaps) is not IPM, but it is
just my own philosphy. Such low efficiency is a waste
of time and effort, which is unacceptable for lazy
people like me.
OA seems - from what I understood but I may be
mistaken - to damage varroa by chemical burning so
that it can not feed or so that is lifesan is
seriously reduced when it is not immediately killed
(the reason why one has to monitor mites falls for 1
to 3 weeks if one want to verify/measure OA
efficiency). As far as I understood, European gave
doses after extensive field tests that demonstrated no
observable adverse effects. No observable does not
mean no effects, as usual. I would think repeatitive
chemical burns, if it is the true mechanism, may
eventually damage bees also (and this is my most
diplomatic English!). That is an important difference
with FGMO.
OA, IMHO, is a valuable tool to prepare...the next
season (not to repare the current season), namely to
reduce mites population as low as possible for the
next spring with treatment accepted in organic
certified practices, at least in most countries. The
mite population in early spring, is a very important
factor to go until next late autumn in not to bad
shape.
The question in September (or late August at
worst)becomes then :
Can this colony wait for an OA treatment in October or
November or should I act right now. The answere
depends - for me - on the varroa natural fall, the
consequently extrapolated population and the varroa
population threshold for winter bees raising. When I
thought the varroa population would have been to high
for winter bees, I treated by flash formic acid
treatment to chop the mite growth. Only 3 hives over
10 needed such treatment this past year. If I can take
reasonnably take the risk to keep doing nothing (and
doing nothing is already doing something!), I save
time, effort and potential adverse effects on
bees...and maybe chemical lifespan.
Now, if I could get rid of any treatment I would (sing
it : oooh...if I could, I would... Simon & Garfunkel
?). I'll give a try to small cells to check.
Hope this helps.
Hervé
www.emelys.com
Découvrez le nouveau Yahoo! Mail : 250 Mo d'espace de stockage pour vos mails !
Créez votre Yahoo! Mail sur http://fr.mail.yahoo.com/
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
-- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and other info ---
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
|
