In message <[log in to unmask]>, David Eyre
<[log in to unmask]> writes re Dave Black's comment;-
"...you have choice about whether to treat the brood and put it back
(using Formic acid say) or discard it..."
 
>perhaps it might be a good idea if
>the author wrote out this new method (using Formic Acid) it's a new one on
>me.
>        Even better, if you can spare the time David, could you write up both
>methods so that we (over here) can compare both. Please!!!
 
I can't claim to be the author, this is all quite well documented stuff
so I'll be as brief as I can and avoid some of nuances that always
arise. I suspect a lot of you know all this so forgive me.
 
The two methods I wanted to distinguish between were Drone Trapping and
Trap Comb. In the former early in the bee's cycle we exploit the need to
raise drones and the mites preference to reproduce in drone comb. At the
edge of the brood nest we place drone foundation or better drone comb to
encourge the queen to lay drone eggs there and nowhere else. The mites
should move off the adult bee into the cells to breed some 48hours
before the bees cap it. Once the cells are capped and the mite is
trapped inside we then take out the drone comb and destroy it mites and
all. Often this is done by freezing so that we can re-use the comb and
avoid the delay due to waiting for the foundation to be drawn. This is
quite easy and pretty benign and you only have to be around to remove
the sealed pupae on the right day, what you can do is to use a pair of
frames one either side and remove one on one week and the other the
next.
 
In trap comb methods you confine the queen with a specially made
excluder so she lays on one frame or frames so that all the larvae will
be the same optimal age. With all other larvae removed the mites have no
choice but to reproduce in these cells, fast. As James pointed out
worker comb is used and its usually timed so that the loss of the larvae
doesn't matter. The capped cells are removed and often destroyed. This
is a little more involved especially as you are risking your labour
force and more supervision is needed. If you have a lot of time you can
avoid destroying the brood and treat it instead.
 
A variant of the trap comb method combines it with artificial swarm
making, splits or nucleus formation where the bees and brood become
separate for a while and can thus be treated differently and separately.
Nuclei are treated with formic acid which can penetrate the porous brood
cappings and kill the mite in the developing larvae. Dosage can be lower
than for a whole colony treatment (10ml of 60% solution) on plates or
freely evaporated depending on your preference, with the smaller
quantity of flying bees and the presence of brood discouraging the bees
from absconding during treatment. (And we've had enough Formic acid
debates thankyou). In this way the young larvae can be preserved but
treatment must occur before the queen emerges. Alternatively the nucleus
can be left to raise its new queen which will commence laying in two to
three weeks when all the workers should have emerged. With the queen
effectively confined and laying on a few frames and with some natural
mortality of the phoretic mites you can consider removing and destroying
(or treating) the first sealed frame(s) of brood. The whole nucleus is
being used as a trap comb for female mites anxious to breed in the first
sealed cells. The nucleus must be treated somehow within five or six
days of the queen laying or the mites will be protected on the sealed
cells once more and begin to breed. It would be wise to plan to replace
with the (laying) queen of your choice after treatment especially if you
plan to use one of the organic acids which might cause queen failure for
one reason or another.(Maybe you unite onto the parent colony..). Sealed
trap combs are treated in much the same way, they are collected from the
parent colonies and placed into an insulated (polystyrene) box (keeps
'em warm, there's no bees). When the box is full the acid plate is put
on top, the lid sealed on and they're left for a few hours. Then take
them out and give them back to the colonies.
 
There are no doubts about the efficacy of these proceedures. There are a
lot of things I don't like, like the effort involved, (but don't
exagerate) the skill (trap combs are not for beginners) and so on. If
anyone really wants a step by step description, rather than a
discussion, I can refer them to the literature. I perceive the success
of these types of controls to be not as good as current chemical
controls but better than essential oils have so far proved. *All* the
controls have problems, what's that guy say "test everything, hold onto
the good." How true. Anyway, someone's bound to come up with a better
idea :-)
Sorry if the post's a bit long or repeats what you experts already know,
I'm still feeling my way.
 
 
--
Dave Black
Blacks Bee Gardens,
Guildford, GU1 4RN.  UK.