John Day wrote:
 
> i remember some time ago when spearmint, wintergreen and other
> oils were being embraced by the beekeeping community, with little
> or no argument about them showing up in honey.  why now is there
> such a concern over food grade mineral oil?  i must admit this is
> a bit perplexing to me when i read all the criticisms.
 
As far as I know, the essential oils were NOT being used in the hive when supers and a flow
were on. The mineral oil IS being applied while supers and a flow is on. Not having used this
method, I could be wrong.
 
> also, when we use apistan, don't we not harvest that crop of honey
> due to the presense of apistan?  we let the bees use it up over
> the winter.  so why can't the same "rule" apply to mineral oil?
 
I suppose it could as long as the mites will agree not to grow in numbers untill after you
get your honey crop off the hives.
 
> the current law states only apistan.  so if everyone is so concerned,
> then stick to the law.  but allow persons like Dr. Rodriguez to
> continue to experiment with reports on progress.  I do think that
 
No one in this group is, or could, do anything to hold Dr. Rodriguez back from doing his
work. Discussions with disagreements and differing points of view is very healthy in my
book.
 
-Barry
 
--
Barry Birkey
West Chicago, Illinois  USA
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http://www.birkey.com