> My question was - if u spray bees on combs,  u only spray their backs.
>> Some Varroa also stick to bees' undersides - yes?  Do those varroa
>> also get sufficiently wet?

> From: "Mike"  There is splash effect.  How effective it is getting to
> varroa on bellies is  up for debate."

No debate.  The work has been done, observations made, and it is just a
matter of going to the horse's mouth: consulting those who have used the
product or looking it up somewhere.

It occured to me to ask Google, ""Sucrose Octanoate"  bees", and Google came
up with a number of hits, including this: http://apis.wsu.edu/apinotes.html
. The page contains, among other things, this statement:

"Thorough spray coverage of adult honey bees on frames is essential for good
control of the pest. Remove frames with adhering bees and spray both sides."

At http://www.bmi.net/roseguy/pnw/newpest.html, I came up with this:
"AVA Chemical Ventures has applied for registration of sucrose octanoate
esters, a synthetic based on Nicotiana. Natural sucrose esters are difficult
and expensive to extract from plants, but AVA developed an easier and less
expensive process for synthesizing the esters. The esthers are manufactured
from sucrose and a caprilic fatty acid ester derived from edible oils such
as coconut or palm. Sucrose octanoate de-waxes the outer coating of
soft-bodied insects, such as whiteflies, aphids, and thrips, causing them to
lose water and shrivel. (Sounds like the same action as fatty acids of
potassium salts, commonly known as insecticidal soap.) Hard-bodied
beneficial insects are not harmed, although I assume that soft-bodied
beneficials and larvae would damaged. Since sucrose fatty acid esters are
commonly consumed as food or food components (food emulsifiers and fruit
coatings), the EPA is reviewing a petition from AVA for exemption from
residue tolerance requirements (in short: speeding up the approval
process)."

I tired before I ran through all the references -- I have heard enough to
think SOE has limited usefulness compared to other cheap alternatives -- but
there is lots of info out there, if we look.

Bob may add some details from his experience, and I am sure he can answer
this question (I thought he had, but I can't find the ref -- maybe it is on
my laptop machine since I've been on the road?), but I think he is gone for
a few days.  In the meantime, and subject to more input, I'll add, for now,
that my understanding is that the bees are quite drenched and that the
solution completely wets them almost like a soap solution.

Remember, though, that I am just repeating what I think I heard.  I also
think I heard that, after spraying, the bees look pretty bad, but clean
themselves up in a short while and return to normal.  I also, understand
that the ideal time for treatment is when there is little or no brood.  That
takes care of the concerns about brood, but -- if we think about it --what
is the weather likely to be when the brood rearing is cut back to nil?
There are likely to be concerns about chilling bees, if care is not taken.

allen
http://www.honeybeeworld.com/diary/

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