> Here is a formula used by a commercial beek in Colorado.

I have no opinion one way or the other -- OK, I am a bit skeptical, but I am 
skeptical about everything.  Just because the sun came up today and 
yesterday and the day before... -- but I have to wonder how these amounts 
and proportions are decided and how anyone knows if they work or not.

I realize they smell nice, but our various scientists have examined them 
repeatedly, but few have been able to recommend them in the definite way 
that 'commercial beekeepers' are.

I recall Adony gave presentations back around the turn of the century about 
his work under Mark Winston testing a wide range of oils showing that there 
is some efficacy for various purposes, but not offering any recommendations 
that I can recall.

We have commercial spice formulations offered for mite control, but they 
have been found to be variable in their effectiveness.

I can recall that tea tree oil was all the rage a while back.  It was a 
panacea, too.  Where did that one go?

We know that the Carl Hayden Bee Research Centre people have been playing 
with oils.  I seem to have missed any definite conclusions or formulas or 
products coming out of that.

My impression from the ABF conference was that everyone has, in a sense, 
given up and we have now resorted to 'magic', since science has not 
delivered a respite form CCD whatever it is.  We had a main-session 
presentation on coconut oil (of all things) by a fellow who has just tried 
it for one year.

That said, Dave Wick, a virus-whiz lab guy from Montana said that he had 
used a proprietary essential oil formula on his twelve hives and that his 
bee viruses had seemingly disappeared.  That got my attention, BUT, again, 
it is a one-year, uncontrolled anecdotal report.

If this stuff is good and it works...

Where is the science?



 

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