>Amitraz hydrolyzes to two different molecules.  One is called a formamide and it is pretty clear that one is biologically inactive as a pesticide.  The other is a formamidine and papers Randy kindly sent me and that he asked Peter to send me clearly show that molecule has about the same pesticidal activity as amitraz.  In fact two molecules of that formamidine are combined to make one amitraz molecule.  That formamidine is persistent in wax.

like any question regarding pesticides, there is a lot of confusion among beekeepers about the consequences of apivar use.  in a recent local discussion there seems to be a belief that once a frame has been exposed to amitraz it is forever tainted as far as its use for honey for human consumption. i went back to the label itself and i don't see anything that indicates that frames exposed to apivar in 2020 can't be reused (for human consumption) in 2022 for instance.

from the pesticide label:
1-"remove honey supers before application"
2- "remove all apivar strips 2 weeks before the honey flow starts"
3- "DO NOT USE APIVAR STRIPS WHEN HONEY SUPERS ARE PRESENT." (their caps)

from the instructional brochure:
"none of the active ingredient, amitraz, was detected in honey, even in colonies treated with 10 times the recommended dosage."

from the apivar website faq:
"Many studies have shown that there is no more residue after 24h in wax and honey.
Amitraz is destroyed as the treatment goes along."

those last two points are clearly misleading in light of Richard's quote above about formamidine persistence in wax. my question is, is there any real reason to forever quarantine apivar "tainted" frames that you intend to use for human consumption? is it just a case of trying to maintain the positive public perception of honey as a natural/pure product? i'm only talking about drawn comb, not capped honey that would have been potentially exposed to apivar.

Scott Langlais
Johnston RI

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