Hello Dave & All,

Dave said:
They  found zero nosema, all tests
> At least thats what they said then

Testing for nosema is not hard. Looks like small rice. Testing to tell 
nosema ceranae from nosema apis is the hard part. Telling nosema levels is a 
bit harder. Zero nosema of any kind is a bit hard to understand as some 
spores are usually found in most hives which have been established for 
awhile.

Have you ever used fumidil before?

Even so many of the Ontario beeks which had their hives crash treated with 
fumidil at the recommended dose.( personal conversation)

  Fumidil does not in my opinion eliminate nosema but only knock it back.

Again it is hard for me to believe zero spores were seen. It seems more 
logical that what they said was levels low enough that treatment was not 
necessary was found in your samples Dave.

Randy has done an excellent job of explaining counting spore levels but 
determine nosema ceranae takes a bit more work.

Spain has said in their opinion that if you have got nosema ceranae in your 
operation at any level you need to try and control. if not the nosema will 
spread through your hives. Not noticeable until the last (and hardest to 
control) stages.

I have got two yards of nosema ceranae I am trying to turn around on advice 
of Randy. I was going to depopulate and treat with acetic acid but decided 
after emails with Randy O. to attempt to save.  The yards are 4-5 miles from 
other yards and I am not making splits from the few strong hives nor reusing 
deadout equipment. I should see results in a few weeks. I equalized brood 
throughout the yards to give all hives high levels of nosema ceranae.

My USDA-ARS friends ( names withheld) say all migratory operations should 
consider nosema ceranae in their operations if hives have been in contact 
with other migratory beekeepers. Especially outfits which have been in 
California.

Tip:
If you know you have got nosema ceranae and you see a slide full of rice 
looking nosema then you have got a problem similar to a 24 hour sticky board 
full of varroa.

bob

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