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Date: | Thu, 10 May 2007 15:10:43 -0400 |
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The only issue with OA that I have ever seen is multiple use or either
too much or too little OA in solution.
Multiple use before winter in cold climates can be harmful and lead to
overwintering problems mainly because of bee loss. If the bees are out
and about in warmer climates they can replenish their numbers, but they
will suffer a setback.
Too high a concentration will kill bees. Too low will not kill mites.
The optimum time to apply it is when the colony is broodless or nearly so.
There was a concern that you should not use both a fall and spring
treatment, but that appears to have been dismissed.
I do not know of anyone who has lost bees to Varroa or suffered major
bee loss here in Maine who uses OA. I do know those who did lose bees
and used OA, but they lost them to Tracheal mites. It seems that OA does
not give the one-two punch that Formic does and handle both mites.
This issue seems to fit nicely with CCD in that it goes from a published
problem into a major scare in milliseconds with little or no reliance on
what has already been published and is available in the literature. CCD
has been seen before but has been elevated into hysteria. Even comic
strips are lamenting the disappearance of all the honey bees. There
needs to be clarification by the team, but I doubt we will hear it since
this issue has moved from science to politics and left reason behind
long ago. Too much possible money is a stake, so why tell the truth?
Mites are our problem. CCD is only a subset of that problem. When CCD
has been identified, the mites will still be there, still killing bees
in greater numbers than CCD ever has. We still do not know the real
extent of CCD and how many colonies it has killed. We do know the extent
of mites and the damage they inflict.
Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine
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