dan hendricks wrote:
>  the bees do not get enough TM
> fast enough to preclude undermedicating.

The problem is that it may be a cause of AFB TM resistance. It is not
listed as the way to apply TM to hives.
It is easy to do and I did it and even suggested it a couple of years
back as a way to combine it with tracheal mite treatment. I also used
honey to spur its consumption, since the bees did not take it down very
fast. But even then, in many cases the patties were still there after
many weeks, so I would remove them since the bees were ready for
supering.
Another problem is the amount of TM in the patty. If you use the dosage
suggested when using powdered sugar and TM on top bars, that is the
amount used each time over several feedings. So is this the the level of
TM in the patties or is it two, three or more times that? And do the
patties remain whole over the brood cycle period or are they consumed
too quickly and so the bees are overmedicated?
I gave up the crisco/TM/sugar and terrapatties routine because it is not
a very exact method of applying TM. I would like to add that it was
because it was not in accordance with label instructions, but I cannot
put on that mantle of righteousness.
For me it was that I could be adding to AFB resistance. And since my
first act as a beekeeper ten years ago was to burn the hive I had bought
two weeks earlier because of AFB, I am a little sensitive to having that
happen to others.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, ME