>
> Formic is funny stuff, and bees are funny creatures.

Colony to colony response may be unpredictable.

We routinely use formic to clean up colonies in late summer in which we've
intentionally allowed mite populations to explode for various reasons --
typically 40-60 mites per half cup of bees, and signs of PMS just starting
to show.

We break the hives down, placing all brood and bees into a single
Langstroth deep with a 3/4" high entrance, solid bottom.
We place a 1.5" rim above, with a dark wooden lid on top.
We place a single MiteAway II pad (the first NOD product, no longer
available) containing 300 ml of 65% formic acid in the rim.
Ambient temp typically 90-95F (~33C).
We see about 50-100 dead bees in front of the hives after the first day.
 We expected that such treatment would kill most queens, but it doesn't.  I
even caged 3 queens below the pads this year -- only 1 died.
Sealed brood is still alive also.
Mite alcohol washes after treatment are typically 0-1.
We then add the mite-cleared box to a single with a new queen for
wintering.  She immediately starts laying in the added box.

I have no idea why such extreme formic treatment doesn't cause more bee and
queen damage.  Our humidities are low, which I'd think would increase
formic evaporation rate.  I'm just reporting observations after doing this
hundreds of times.  No explanations.


-- 
Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com

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