The only issue with OA that I have ever seen is multiple use or either 
too much or too little OA in solution.

Multiple use before winter in cold climates can be harmful and lead to 
overwintering problems mainly because of bee loss. If the bees are out 
and about in warmer climates they can replenish their numbers, but they 
will suffer a setback.

Too high a concentration will kill bees. Too low will not kill mites. 
The optimum time to apply it is when the colony is broodless or nearly so.

There was a concern that you should not use both a fall and spring 
treatment, but that appears to have been dismissed.

I do not know of anyone who has lost bees to Varroa or suffered major 
bee loss here in Maine who uses OA. I do know those who did lose bees 
and used OA, but they lost them to Tracheal mites. It seems that OA does 
not give the one-two punch that Formic does and handle both mites.

This issue seems to fit nicely with CCD in that it goes from a published 
problem into a major scare in milliseconds with little or no reliance on 
what has already been published and is available in the literature. CCD 
has been seen before but  has been elevated into hysteria. Even comic 
strips are lamenting the disappearance of all the honey bees. There 
needs to be clarification by the team, but I doubt we will hear it since 
this issue has moved from science to politics and left reason behind 
long ago. Too much possible money is a stake, so why tell the truth?

Mites are our problem. CCD is only a subset of that problem. When CCD 
has been identified, the mites will still be there, still killing bees 
in greater numbers than CCD ever has. We still do not know the real 
extent of CCD and how many colonies it has killed. We do know the extent 
of mites and the damage they inflict.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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