Hi John,
> I have done "kitchen chemistry" trials using the Oliver formulations.
>
I assume that you have an experimental use permit, sinc this treatment is
not yet registered in the U.S.
>
> > Have the secondary addition of substances that might stimulate bee
> grooming, and hence surface distribution, been attempted. Would those
> substances be available as essential oils or other irritants ?
>
I initially planned on adding such to encourage chewing/removal, but then
found that efficacy was independent of the degree of towel chewing. So
haven't followed up.
More important appears to be the proportion and saturation with glycerin.
>
> >2) Given the extended release pattern, has higher dosage trials been
> assayed. Is there a concentration limit (as in the "hot" version of 4% OA
> Dribble) ??
Dont' know about a limit, but I observe adverse effects when the proportion
of glycerin is high. In my preliminary trials, it required 8 of the
Argentine strips per double deep for good efficacy--containing in total 80
g of OA. With the towels, we got good efficacy with 18g--the max amount
that can be held by three half towels at half saturation with glycerin.
I'm currently testing 9 different formulations, all with 18 g of OA per
hive, but with different ratios of OA to glycerin or propylene glycol, and
different degrees of towel saturation. So far, a 1:1:1 g OA: mL gly : mL
water, similar to last season's formulation, appears to be working well.
But it takes at least 45 days to reach full efficacy, so not a short-term
treatment.
We hope to be able to submit a data package to EPA later this season.
It appears to me that there is still much to learn about this application
method. I'll be writing it all up soon and publishing it.
--
Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com
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