Ivan McGill wrote:
>
> Has anyone done any studies or know of why queen failures are so high when
> formic acid is used?
>

Hi Ivan,
I do not know of any real studies that have been completed in regards to
the use of formic acid and corresponding Queen failure.
 However, it is VERY predictable that formic acid would interfere with
the queens pheromones.All 200 pheromones known in a beehive are organic
acids. Formic acid is the strongest known organic acid , therefore you
could expect some ion exchange to take place.What level of change would
be due to environmental variables. ( temp - humidity )
 One would have to look at the queens ability to produce a high level of
pheromones. A weak queen would be  more likely to have a problem with
hive control. Studies would have to take into account older queens ( one
year ) verses new queens. Quality of queen breeding is also a factor.
 Using formic acid is up to the beekeeper. There are many levels in the
profession. Some people would not be able to see a change in behavior.
Others would detect some change in overall hive behavior.
Best Regards
Roy Nettlebeck