Rick asked:
> Maybe I missed this, has anyone heard about spraying fumidil on the bees 
> to get more bag for the buck. I was told the Canadians are using this 
> method.

There are various anecdotal recommendations going around.  Medhat Nasr 
suggests that some are at far too high a concentration.  He recommends using 
the product about double strength.  The label suggests 1:1 syrup, but 
beekeepers prefer 2:1.  The recommended rate is 1 lb (454g) Fumagilin to 
45gal heavy syrup.  Dribble 4 oz per colony, or up to 8 oz for strong 
colonies.  Repeat after a week.

My note: the general strategy for fumigillin is to have bees store it as 
"honey" above the contracting brood nest in fall, so that they will later 
eat their way up into it (fumigillin is very stable in solution), and thus 
dose themselves through the winter.  When using the dribble method, you may 
get a quick kill of the vegetative form, but there will be little left to 
deal with that which germinates later in the winter/spring.  As the bees 
clean out the broodnest during spring buildup, they ingest spores, and for N 
apis, the disease peaks in early spring.  A fall dribble is unlikely to 
affect the spring explosion of the disease.

Medivet and I are in communication, and they are sending me answers to a 
list of my questions.  I will share.

Other beekeepers are reporting nosema control with Honey B Healthy or 
equivalent (but I don't know if they are actually counting spores).

I'm researching the use of thymol or bleach in syrup for nosema control, and 
will report to the list soon.  I'd appreciate any info on either.

Randy Oliver 

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