> > > Here in Europe, it is claimed that the pH of oxalic acid must be equal > to one to > > be effective. A higher pH would not be effective, a lower would even be > > harmful to the bees. > I concur with Allen that normal within-hive dilution and buffering will likely make the amount of acid insignificant in a relatively short time. The concept of pH and acidity are often confused. The acidity is the total chemical ability of a certain amount of the acid to react with other chemicals. The pH is the immediate degree of acidity in a solution. Simply adding more acid does not decrease the pH, once the acid has reached equilibrium in a solution, so any discussion of pH as far as oxalic seems rather pointless to me, once you've gotten into the appropriate range. -- Randy Oliver Grass Valley, CA www.ScientificBeekeeping.com *********************************************** The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at: http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm