Hi Peter,

We only received your e-mail message today, forwarded on to us by our
distributor in France. In answer to your question, yes, the results from
many, many trials in different countries [with beekeepers, universities and
beekeeping institutes] show the efficacy of Apiguard to be an average of
93%; sometimes lower, especially in cooler climates or periods and often
higher at temperatures above 25?C. Unlike using raw thymol or dry essential
oil preparations Apiguard works better at higher temperatures. With dry
preparations in Europe it is not advised to use them above around 22?C
because of serious damage to young brood. We don't see that with Apiguard.

I've been working on Apiguard for over 8 years and it is now registered as a
veterinary medicine across Europe and in several other countries also. We do
not want anyone to think that this is another Apistan, as it isn't. With
Apistan you just put in the strips and forgot about it. (97-99% control most
of the time). We cannot guarantee 97-99% all of the time with Apiguard but
it will usually give reasonable control - well above that of coumaphos or
tau-fluvalinate or amitraz where resistant mite populations are present.
There is no recorded resistance to thymol so far, probably due to its modes
of action, disrupting cellular processes; synthetic acaricides used today
act on specific sites and as we've seen mites have been able to overcome
these toxins to become effectively resistant. Not so with thymol (so far).

In warm conditions, we commonly get 95-98% control of varroa with Apiguard.
It also seems to work well on tracheal mites and although we cannot quantify
it there is a definate effect on chalkbrood and foulbroods also. This will
never be on the label but if you ever talk to beekeepers who have used
Apiguard many will tell you that their colonies are very healthy afterwards
with little sign of brood diseases.

Best regards,


Max

Dr Max Watkins
Vita (Europe) Limited
21/23 Wote Street
Basingstoke
Hampshire RG21 7NE
UK

Tel.: +44 (0) 1256 473177
Fax: +44 (0) 1256 473179

e-mail: [log in to unmask]

web: http://www.vita-europe.com

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