Hello Bob,

I often read with interest your posts. I learn a lot from your experience. However, I  was disappointed after reading your message of March 20 in reply to Brian Ames.

Regarding both the legal use of Checkmite and Apistan in the US, I think you jump to several unjustified conclusions without any solid background. Your assertion that: “commercial beekeepers were NEVER told prior to use that apistan & checkmite were such a wax contaminate. Especially with apistan”

Each of the early Apistan strips used to contain 10% active ingredient of its total volume. In other words, 800 miligrams of pure fluvalinate. Research conducted in both Austria and Germany during the early 1990´s showed that after a 45 day application period, only 0.6% to 1% of fluvalinate had been released from each strip. I was to told this by the late Dr. Friedrich Ruttner when I visited him at Lunz am See in Austria during 1990. He was profiting from research conducted by Dr. Niko Koeniger at Oberursel.

Some beekeepers (including myself) got access to this data. If kept in a freezer, we could use and reuse the original Apistan strips for at least three years, after just scraping wax and propolis crusts from the used strips.  The plastic of the strips would become rigid and  worn out much before the content of fluvalinate was exhausted.

Then I think in 1993, Zoecon changed the plastic matrix of Apistan. Instead of flexible PVC, they now manufactured Apistan into rigid plastic strips. I have no idea whether this modification was coupled with a new formulation of fluvalinate.

I do not see how the legal use of Apistan can be blamed as the culprit for the huge levels of fluvalinate comb contamination now prevalent in the US.  On the other hand, the widespread use of  homemade fluvalinate concoctions in the US (based on Mavrik) and in Europe (based on Klartan) can indeed be traced as the major reason for comb contamination.

Not only that, the massive use of illegal fluvalinate was absolutely connected with major outbreaks of chalkbrood at each country where either Klartan or Mavrik strips were used. This list includes Spain, Italy, Israel, Argentina and the USA. When varroa became tolerant to fluvalinate, beekeepers quit using it and chalkbrood was soon forgotten.

I worked as queen breeder for three years in the US and I attended several AHPA meetings (2000, 2004 and 2007) as well as the joint convention held in 2008 at Sacramento along with the ABF. 

Of course I won´t disclose the name of beekeepers I talked to, but at that time all the big boys with thousands of hives were proudly using homemade miticides based on fluvalinate until year 1994, then amitraz until year1999, finally coumaphos since year 2000. I could use a few fingers of my hands to point out those beekeepers I talked to, who admitted using only legal miticides.

As far as I know, the vast majority of hobbyists and some sideliner were the customers of legal miticides in the US. This is not accusation. It is a fact.

When I attended the 2004 AHPA meeting in Phoenix, several beekeepers told me they were starting to use again Klartan soaked shop towels. However, unlike the previous 5% dilution used in the early 1990´s, beekeepers were then using 25% Klartan along with 75% oil by volume. No doubt, this way an excellent miticide became a very efficient insecticide decimating many bee outfits.

I commend you and Horace Bee for being rare exceptions among the beekeeping industry. You certainly belong to a minority within US commercial beekeepers that always used legal miticides. But given your thorough knowledge and decades of vast experience,  I urge to not become part of the hypocrite  group that looks for scapegoats to find a reason for large levels of miticides in comb.

When you mention «All that was EVER published about both products during the early years were drone sterilization with apistan ( disputed by Zoe con) and queen issues with checkmite ( disputed at the time by Bayer).» I do not recall any incidents for queen breeders using Apistan 10% strips, however, other southern queen breeders spraying 5% Mavrik had plenty of complaints from their customers.

Back in 1993, there was a hidden and private meeting in the southeast congregating all major queen breeders at that time, who were facing unexplainable supersedure losses out of their queens. The common link was not Apistan, it was Mavrik.

During 1992 and 1993 I recall the use of Apistan 1% queen tabs for queen cages was compulsory to ship queens from the southern states to other non-infested northern states. Indeed, the full contact of this weak strip with both attendant and queens was considered detrimental for the future performance of queens. At their own risk, many customers refused to get the Apistan 1% tabs to avoid this potential problem.

Finally the coumaphos issue. I agree it is a very disgusting chemical albeit one of the most effective miticides I ever came across. From the very beginning, many queen breeders took advantage of David Miksa insightful observation that using Checkmite strips soon before queen cell production, could jeopardize the hatching of queen cells. The major effect was a substantial delay in the hatching of the virgin queens. Instead of 11 day after grafting it would take 15 days or even never. The hard learned lesson was to use Checkmite at Fall never at Spring.

Respectfully submitted,


Martin Braunstein
MALKA QUEENS
www.malkaqueens.com

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