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Subject:
From:
Aaron Morris <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Discussion of Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Tue, 16 Apr 1996 08:46:09 EDT
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Recent questions about the proper use and improper reuse of Apistan(R)
prompted me to peruse the BEE-L archives, where I found the following
posts from Malcolm Sanford and Jerry Worrell.  Deja vu, all over again!
 
             Florida Extension Beekeeping Newsletter
    Apis--Apicultural Information and Issues (ISSN 0889-3764)
                Volume 13, Number 2, February 1995
      Copyright (c) 1995 M.T. Sanford "All Rights Reserved"
                               ...
 
              FLUVALINATE--USE IT RIGHT OR LOSE IT!
 
   It  is  now official!  Resistance to fluvalinate, the active
   ingredient in Apistan(R), has been found  in  Varroa  mites.
   This was published in the February 1995 issue of Bee Culture
   (Vol.  123, No. 2, pp. 80-81) in "9th International Congress
   of  Acarology,"  by E. Sugden, K. Williams and D. Sammataro.
   According to these authors: "The most  ominous  report  came
   from  Dr.  Roberto  Nannelli  of Italy.   He has found areas
   where  Varroa  mites  are  over  90   percent   fluvalinate-
   resistant, and his claims have been confirmed by German sci-
   entists."
 
   Oscar  Coindreau, representative of Sandoz Agro, the company
   that makes Apistan(R), also verified this report at the  re-
   cent  meeting  of  the  American  Beekeeping  Federation  in
   Austin, TX.   He indicated that  resistance  was  patchy  in
   Italy, but in certain areas, Apistan(R) provided no control.
   And  it doesn't take much resistance before Apistan(R) loses
   its effectiveness, according to Mr. Coindreau, because  any-
   thing  less  than 99 percent control, is in reality, no con-
   trol.  That's because mite populations tend to  bounce  back
   so readily in populous bee colonies.
 
   All investigators indicate that the cause of this resistance
   is  not  Apistan(R),  but beekeepers' misuse of other formu-
   lations of fluvalinate.   In Europe the  product  is  called
   Klartan(R)  and  in the United States, Mavrik(R).  All agree
   the use  of  these  chemical  products  soaked  into  wooden
   strips,  cardboard,  paper  towels, or in some cases, simply
   sprayed into colonies, is a certain  recipe  for  developing
   resistant Varroa mites.
 
   Although  considered  "ominous"  in  Europe,  in  the United
   States resistant mites mean disaster.   That's because  most
   other  countries  of  the  world have alternative treatments
   that are legal.  According to the authors  of  the  article:
   "In  general,  European scientists felt that the best way to
   slow development of resistance in the mites is  to  have  at
   least  two  types of treatment which could be applied alter-
   nately."  This advice is mirrored in many  other  situations
   where possible resistance in organisms to pesticides and an-
   tibiotics exists (see "When Bugs Fight Back," APIS, Vol. 12,
   No.  11,  November  1994,  which follows this article).   It
   turns out that  some  European  countries  even  have  three
   Varroa  mite treatments to turn to, rotating Apistan(R) with
   formic acid and amitraz.
 
   In contrast to those in  Europe,  United  States  beekeepers
   have  only  one legal treatment, Apistan(R).  The only other
   candidate treatment at the moment in the  United  States  is
   formic  acid.    Although  generally effective, there can be
   many  complications  in using this product, including, queen
   and worker loss even when applied correctly.    It  is  also
   caustic, one reason it is not looked on favorably by regula-
   tory officials.  According to one German researcher, efforts
   need  to be increased to develop a formic acid-based product
   that is safe and foolproof, and can be registered quickly.
 
   The authors of the article, therefore, conclude:    "It  may
   not  be  a  question  of  'if' but only 'when and where' the
   first super-Varroa mites will  show  up  in  North  America.
   This should serve a warning to all beekeepers to use control
   methods only as directed on their labels."
 
   The  best  way  to  ensure killing as many mites as possible
   without developing super Varroa resistant to fluvalinate  is
   to  use  Apistan(R)  right and only once.   This philosophy,
   along with proper application recommendations, was published
   in the fall 1994, Apiculture Newsletter,  published  by  the
   Ontario  Ministry  of  Agriculture,  Food and Rural Affairs,
   Guelph, Ontario, Canada.   Here  is  what  the  authors  (G.
   Grant, and M. Nasr, in consultation with L. Goczan of Sandoz
   Agro  Canada)  say in their article "Apistan Strips - Use'em
   Right, Use'em once!":
 
   "Apistan(R) is a plastic strip  that  contains  a  miticide,
   fluvalinate.    Fluvalinate  is  a contact poison that kills
   Varroa mite.  But Varroa mites must contact the  right  dose
   before they die.
 
   "Fluvalinate  does  not mix with water, but it does mix well
   with oils and waxes.   As bees  walk  over  the  strip,  the
   fluvalinate  moves  into  the  oils  found on the surface of
   their bodies.  When bees contact each other in the hive, the
   miticide is passed on.  In a matter of hours all the bees in
   the hive are covered with fluvalinate.    Adult  mites  that
   contact these bees will be killed by the miticide.
 
   "As  fluvalinate  is picked up from the surface of the strip
   the concentration drops.   More fluvalinate then  moves  out
   from  the  center  of the strip to the outside surface.  The
   strip is designed to deliver the correct amount of  miticide
   to the surface over the 42-day treatment period.
 
       "Eventually  most of the fluvalinate is removed from the
   strip -- the strip is spent.   There  is  no  longer  enough
   miticide left in the strip to kill Varroa mites....
 
   "Why a 42-day treatment period?  Worker bees take 21 days to
   develop from egg to adult.  Drones need up to 24 days to de-
   velop.  By leaving the strips in the hive for 42 days or two
   worker  bee  generations,  all adult mites and their matured
   offspring will be exposed to the miticide.    Remember,  the
   mite  must  contact  the  fluvalinate in order to be killed.
   Mites  in  capped  brood  cells  escape  exposure until they
   emerge from the cell with the adult bee.
 
   "Why not leave strips in over winter?  Because two potential
   problems might occur:
 
   1.  Residues- fluvalinate mixes with oils and waxes.   Leav-
       ing  strips in over winter might result in a build up of
       residues in the wax.
   2.  Resistance-  mites  are  not  equally   susceptible   to
       fluvalinate.  Leaving mites in contact with spent strips
       may  kill  the  most susceptible mites, leaving the more
       resistant mites to reproduce in their place."
 
   "Use one (1) strip for every five (5) frames covered by bees
   in brood boxes.  Some strong hives may  need  three  strips,
   some  weak  hives will only need one.  Place strips down be-
   tween the frames so that they contact each side of the clus-
   ter.  The average hive will likely need two.
 
   "Can Apistan strips be reused?    No,  with  one  exception.
   There  is  no  sure way of knowing if enough fluvalinate re-
   mains in a strip to guarantee that it  will  work  a  second
   time.
 
   "The  exception:  If the strip was used once, only for three
   days to detect mites, and if the strip was then stored prop-
   erly between use, you might reuse the strip.  You might  re-
   use  it for either detecting mites for a 3-day period or for
   one 42-day treatment.
 
   "Store strips in a cool, dry and dark  location  wrapped  in
   aluminum  foil  in an air-tight bag.  Avoid direct sunlight.
   Don't store strips near  chemicals  or  pesticides.    Don't
   store  strips where they could contaminate food, feed or wa-
   ter.
 
   "In Ontario, Apistan(R) is registered as a Schedule 3 pesti-
   cide.  As with other 'homeowner' products,  strips  are  ap-
   proved   for   disposal   in  municipal  landfills.     Some
   municipalities have their own special requirements for  dis-
   posal of Schedule 3 pesticides."
 
   In  the United States, the instructions on the label are the
   law.  They must be followed, even if varying from  what  the
   authors  say  in  the above article or other writings on the
   subject.  In addition, when applying Apistan(R), or any reg-
   istered chemical, the person must have in his  possession  a
   copy of the label.
 
   Thus, when it comes to Apistan(R), the old adage, "use it or
   lose it," must be modified.  If U.S. beekeepers are to maxi-
   mize  the  utility  of the one legal and effective treatment
   they have for Varroa, what many consider the most  dangerous
   organism affecting beekeeping today, they must "use it right
   or lose it."
 
                     >-------------------<
 
 
   Jerry  Worrell  <[log in to unmask]> of Dunkirk, MD posted
   the following from  the  newsletter  of  the  Pierce  County
   Beekeepers  Association,  concerning  the  reuse  of Apistan
   strips.  Those who have reused Apistan strips  in  the  past
   may want to rethink that strategy.
 
                         Reuse of Apistan
 
   Several  persons  have  reported  the reuse of Apistan after
   some modification of the surface of the strip.   Testing  of
   this method produced the following results:
 
   * New Strips = 809 ug of fluvalinate on surface
 
   * Visibly clean strips after 45 days of use = 201 ug (24.8%)
 
   * Slightly  contaminated  strips  after  45  days  =  142 ug
     (17.6%)
 
   * After 45 days: brushed with electric wire wheel =  110  ug
     (13.6%)
 
   * After 45 days: planed on each side of strip = 70 ug (8.7%)
 
   * After 6 months use (over winter) = 38 ug (4.7%)
 
   Obviously  using  the  strips beyond the 45 days required on
   the product label significantly reduces the amount of chemi-
   cal available to kill mites.   Altering the surface  of  the
   strips  actually  reduced  the amount of chemical available.
   Having low, sub-lethal levels of chemical in the presence of
   an organism raises the opportunity for  the  development  of
   resistance  to the product.  Any reuse of Apistan is prohib-
   ited by the label and now we know it is  counter  productive
   and may produce Varroa resistance to fluvalinate.

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