Joel wrote:
 
>AFAIK it is commonly claimed that terramycin loses its effectiveness in
a
> brief time when subjected to water/syrup... can anyone offer info on
> this?
>
Yes its effectiveness is 'quickly' lost in water.  Depending on the
temperature from hours to a few days. Thus if your bees are tardy in
taking the syrup they do not get full value from the terra.  Another
post warned of not heating the water solution and I would add never feed
more that the bees will take in a few days.  But refill with new mix as
needed - perhaps not as practical for LARGE operations.
 
>Here's another question, while this topic is up for grabs:  In the
patties,
> does anyone know if the shortening extends the useful life of the
> antibiotic partially by keeping the ambient moisture out of it, or is
> the
> value of the grease solely that it is an "extender" -- a substance
> quite
> foreign to the bees, so they pick at it and spread it amongst
> themselves,
> without consuming all the antibiotic at once --?
>
This has been discussed at the OBA (Ontario Beekeepers Association).
Crisco, a vegetable grease, is recommended in Ontario since it keeps the
hive moisture from the Terra and DOES have usefulness on its own in
fighting both mites!  Thus it remains effective until the bees or
beekeeper finally dispose of it.  I also learned from somewhere that
Terra has an inert extender that, when used dry, the bees carry out of
the hive and in so doing carry the very fine medicine around the hive
since it sticks to the bees.
 
I like the post that mentioned oil instead of grease.  I wonder if
vegetable oil is as good as mineral oil.  The later, I gather does not
deteriorate as fast.
 
 
.. george