>> The Foulbrood (in Ct) was found to be a Terramycin resistant strain
> ...
> Grease and sugar is fine but continuous low level exposure to terra
> is looking for trouble.
 
One of the sessions at EAS was titled "Proper Use of Terramycin".  I'm
racking my brain for the presenter, but I'm coming up with a blank.
However, the presenter worked closely with the manufacturer of TM
(Pfizer?) to examine closely, possible causes for emerging foulbrood
resistance to TM.  There were many variables, but the gist of the
presentation was indeed, low level exposure to TM can lead to increased
resistance in Bacillus larvae.
 
Grease patties were identified as a source of the low level exposure,
but I was surprised to hear the reasoning.  It wasn't that it takes so
long for the patties to be consumed, it was more a matter that the
recipes published in almost all catalogs and magazines end up delivering
too small a dose in the first place, exacerbated by the fact that the
insufficient dose is in a patty that is too large for the bees to
consume!  The commonly published recipes deliver too small a dose of
TM in too large of a patty to effectively check B. larvae.
 
Another problem with TM delivery is that the label instructions for its
use (as it pertains to honey bees) is a "one size fits all" dose, when
in reality the amount of TM required per hive varies from hive to hive
due to the differences in populations from hive to hive.
 
Further confusing the issue is the ambiguity of the instructions in
preparing the proper treatment.  With three preparations of TM (TM-10,
TM-25 and TM-50) and mixtures given in grams to add to grams of sugar,
when sugar comes in 1 pound boxes or 5, 10, 25 and 50 pound bags it
becomes hard for the "average" beekeeper to concoct the correct formula
to deliver the proper dosage.  And how many beekeepers have scales,
let alone use them?
 
Even when or if one has correctly mixed the TM and sugar, the label says
one heaping teaspoon (tablespoon?) of TM/Sugar mixture per hive, three
times at three day intervals.  Well, do I heap my teaspoons as high as
Mr. Pfizer?  Are my hives as populous or more or less populous as Mr.
Pfizer's?  Are my bees really getting the "recommended" dosage?
ALL these ambiguities contribute to the problem, the end results being
that resistant strains of foulbrood ARE becoming more commonplace.
 
What to do?  Well, for George Imirie this is a nonproblem.  If he sees
foulbrood he burns it.  PERIOD.  For those on the TM merry go around
(credits to Andy), it is imperative to understand the manner in which
TM inhibits foulbrood and to deliver the proper dosage at the proper
time for the proper length of time.  If your delivery mechanism is
grease patties, make sure your ratio of crisco:sugar:TM contains
sufficient TM in a patty of the proper size so your bees get enough TM
to control foulbrood.  Grease patties as a delivery vector for TM was
an idea to address the uneconomical alternative of dusting which is not
convenient for commercial operations.  I agree with BeeCrofter, I have
never really cared for grease patties, but I based this on a concern for
low dosages over long periods.  After the presentation I was more
comfortable with the vector if the ratios were sufficient to deliver
enough TM in the proper time period.  However I'll continue to dust
rather than grease.
 
My question to the presenter (was it John Root? Help anyone?) was, "As
a mid sized duster, what is the proper mixture of the TM packets to the
one pound boxes of Domino Confectioners Sugar to mix the proper
medication to dust my bees?".  The answer was one packet of TM to 2 one
pound boxes of sugar to give the proper mixture to dust my bees
according to label instructions.  But still, do my teaspoons heap as
high?  Are my hives as populous?  Are my hives more populous?  Are my
bees getting the proper dose?
 
These ambiguities leading to insufficient doses are the cause of the
problems, not the grease patties.  I left the session with a better
appreciation for the issues and a feeling that it is better to err on
the side of too much than too little, something I have always tried in
the past.  In the past my arithmetic gave the answers of 2 and a half
boxes of sugar to a packet of TM, so I used 3 boxes of sugar because I
didn't want left over sugar and compensated by using REALLY heaping
teaspoons and judged the population issue based on how much sugar was
consumed between treatments.  However, I'm sure more than ever that
my previous practices have been at best a SWAG at delivering the proper
dosage.
 
I hope this confusion helps clear this up.
 
Aaron Morris - I think, therefore I bee!