[log in to unmask] wrote:

> I totally agree with Aaron.  Coumaphos should never be used in place of
> Apistan.

> Don't ASSUME your bees are resistant to Apistan (they probably are not).  Use
> Apistan and than TEST YOUR BEES FOR VARROA immediately after treating.
>
>
> The only bees that have been found resistant to Apistan are from colonies
> where the Apistan use was abused (too many strips in the hive or strips left
> in the hive for several months - Remember Miticur - same thing - ABUSE.

OK, George.

1) I totally agree also, that coumaphos should never be used in place of
Apistan.  BUT it is another weapon in the arsenal against the varroa mite.  And
say what we will, other treatments have not yet been validated or, if so, have
not yet been legalized in the USA.

2) I also agree that one cannot assume mites in one's bee colonies are resistant
to Apistan.  But if six weeks after the Apistan strips are pulled in the spring
one sees hundreds of bees crawling around with severely deformed wings, and then
makes a check of drone pupae and finds that three fourths have varroa upon
them....I wonder what else could account for this except resistance to Apistan.

3)  This kind of global statement is going to be hard to prove or justify.  In
the hives referred to in the paragraph above, Apistan was applied for 45 days
last fall, then again for 45 days this spring.  Two strips per fully occupied
hive body were placed at least two frames apart within the cluster.  I don't
believe that I abused Apistan, yet mites built up rapidly in this treated
colony.  I made a check of drone pupae in other colonies randomly in the same
yard and found no varroa.  All the colonies received the same Apistan treatment
detailed above.  It just seems logical to me that resistance to Apistan developed
independently in this one colony - so why not take off all the honey supers and
treat with the only other legal alternative?

Ted Fischer
Dexter, Michigan USA