On Thu, 14 May 1998, Bob, W7VZX wrote:
 
 
> "VARROA AND TRACHAEL MITES are parasitic pests that threaten both
> cultured and feral honeybee populations across the U.S.  New USDA
> research using formic acid in a gel formulation as a control for mites
> in hived bees offers hope for managing the two pests with a single
> treatment.  Currently only fluvalinate, for varroa mites and menthol for
> trachael mites are approved control measures by EPA.  With the new
> methode, the formic acid gel in a plastic bag is opened inside the hive
> where it evaporate over time to eradicate parasitic mites, leaving
> behind only a harmless residue."
>
> Any Information?
>
 Hi Bob and All,
 
  At the present time we have apistan strips. Formic acid gel will be out
soon. My opinion is , it is better than nothing. Thats where it stops.Any
chemicals that disrupt tha natural chemistry of the bee hive will cause
some problem with the normal function of the hive.The 200+ Pheromones are
organic acids and Formic acid is the strongest of all organic acids.I have
not been able to find any studies that have addressed this issue over the
past two years.Good solid research needs to address this real problem.If
anyone has any data to put this issue to rest, I would be very happy to
read what tests have been done in this area.
 We need to control Varroa with as little negative affect on the bees as
possible.Apistan is going out and we all knew that it would happen. You
can't fight the mite with one chemical. The mite will mutate to a level of
resistance over time.We need a very aggressive effort by the USDA to
explore many different ways to control the mite Varroa.Genetics is the
long
term fix. It will take a lot of time to get to a level of the bees
controling Varroa on there own.The importance of controlling Varroa is way
beyound saving beekeepers.Man has brought in the problem and man has to
fix it with the same tools that they used to go to the moon. There brains.
 This last winter I lost 100+ hives out of 180. We had a very wet winter
and the conditions were in favor of Varroa. The stress that the bees had,
added to the problem.Mite loads were 1% or less going in to Oct. Treatment
started in august. One lesson learned was, treatment needs to be done
inside the cluster. Thats a problem in cold rainy weather. The choice is ,
you loose some then or all of them later.No Varroa is the only answer for
wintering bees.Weather conditions have a very large impact on the survival
of a colony with Varroa.
 The bottem line is, don't rely on one chemical to solve our Varroa
problem , no matter what it is.Don't be afraid to ask questions to the
USDA , on what there plan is and how they are making progress.Many
beekeepers are taking things into there own hands and the is an accident
waiting to happen. Real research has to be done and that takes time and
money.
 Keep a good eye on your bees and the only good mite is a dead one.
 Best Regards
 Roy