Hello All
So far upwards of 220 beekeepers in Ireland have heard the lecture, and
great interest has been shown in the alternative treatments. Indeed I found
that many beekeepers were using some of these treatments. The lecture
consists of detailed information on all varroa treatments.
I give fair wind to the synthetic chemicals, pointing out as I do with all
treatments, both the advantages and disadvantages. Indeed I was
complimented recently by Brendan Coughlan who said that I gave an
absolutely fair account of all treatments. I got similar approval recently
also from other associations.
Possibly the greatest interest has been shown in FGMO, due to its use
during the honey season, and this is even more evident since the article in
the February issue of An Beachaire - which is a copy of an article in the
January edition of The American Bee Journal. And when a journal as
prestigious as the ABJ runs an article on FGMO it has certainly gained much
support.
Many foggers have now been ordered and received by Irish beekeepers so we
can expect a forward surge in the experience of using this treatment this
year. Brendan Coughlan who is the Education Officer of FIBKA has recently
taken delivery of his fogger - I am just back from a lecture to the Galway
Beekeepers Association.
I have got many phone calls regarding how to obtain a Burgess Fogger and I
show below contact information from the lecture handout. I also show
information on the cotton cords which are used with the fogger to kill the
mites. Full details are in the February issue of 'An Beachaire'. Also some
data on mite counts etc is shown below which may be of interest.
If you would like your association to hear this lecture, which is now
considered to be one of the most informative lectures on varroa available
in this country, please e mail me at [log in to unmask] or call me at (01) 289
9940 (+353 1 289 9940)
Sincerely
Tom Barrett
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Appendix 2 - Burgess Propane Insect Fogger - Model 1443
Fogger Source
Inquiry on the Internet shows that the following companies supply the
Burgess Propane Insect Fogger.
http://robertstool.com:81/2002website/itm10339.htm
IMA Tool Distributors Division
280 Midland Avenue,
Saddle Brook,
New Jersey,
07663
United States of America
Tel: 201-791-8787
Fax: 201-791-1709
E mail: [log in to unmask]
Burgess Products,
23 Garden Street,
New York Mills,
NY 13517
GAS SUPPLY
Sold under the trade name in the UK as
Bernzomatic(http://www.bernzomatic.com/propane.htm). Available from B&Q
superstore, Boucher Road, Belfast. Cost £3.50 / 400gram bottle disposable
(sterling) They do have a web site (www.diy.com). This information is from
a Northern Ireland beekeeper - and is given as received.
Propane Cylinders can be obtained at
DUBLIN PROVIDERS LTD, KILL LANE, DUBLIN for EURO 8.00
Appendix 3 - Cotton Cords
Preparation of the emulsion and the 'cords'
The ingredients for the emulsion are as follows:
500 mls food grade mineral oil
225 grams bees wax
300 grams honey
Sixty 500 mm long by 8mm diameter cotton cords. (Some beekeepers have used
the strands of cotton used in making mops, though I feel that they are not
thick enough if used singly.)
The procedure for making the emulsion is: heat the food grade mineral oil
in a metal container, melt bees wax and add to the heated mineral oil.
Remove the container from the heat source and add the honey and cords. Stir
with a wooden spoon to allow the cords to soak well. Allow the emulsion to
cool.
Exercise extreme care in heating these inflammable materials. Molten bees
wax and heated FGMO are liable to cause a fire. Ensure that you stand over
them while heating them and ignore your telephone
Treatment with the emulsion.
For each brood chamber, insert two pieces of the emulsion soaked cords,
each a half a meter long (20 inches approx.), on top of the brood frames
under the Queen Excluder (if one is used). Also place two cords on each
honey super if the colony is strong. The reason for placing cords on the
honey supers is that the mites do fall off and climb back on the foraging
bees and they are then liable to be carried up into the supers..The cords
are replaced when they are removed by the bees. Thus the cords are a means
of continuously dispersing the FGMO throughout the hive.
Appendix 4 - Converting mite count to estimated number of mites in a colony
(Courtesy MAFF UK).
Convert fallen varroa on insert in an OMF. Multiply the mites counted by
the multiplier to calculate the total mites in the colony.
MONTHMULTIPLIER
JAN 400
FEB 400
MAR 100
APR 100
MAY 30
JUN 30
JUL 30
AUG 30
SEP 100
OCT 100
NOV 400
DEC 400
March, April, September, October: Daily mite fall X 100 = Estimated number
of mites. This number is considered much more of an approximation than the
others because of rather large bee population shifts during both spring and
autumn.
Converting sealed drone brood:
Number of sealed drone cells infested/Number of drone cells sampled X
Number of sealed drones cells in a colony X 10 = Estimated number of mites
in summer.
Converting sealed worker brood:
Number of sealed worker cells infested/Number of worker cells sampled X
Number of sealed worker cells in a colony X 1.8 = Estimated number of mites
in summer.
Converting mites on bees in summer:
Number of adult bees infested/number of bees sampled X Total bees in colony
X 2.9 = Estimated number of mites in summer.
Converting mites on bees in winter:
Number of adult bees infested/number of bees sampled X Total bees in colony
= Estimated number of mites in winter.
Thresholds - the level of mites in a colony which requires action by the
beekeeper. ABJ May 2002.
Low tolerance for colony loss (and willing to use a miticide) - 20 mites
per day.
High tolerance for colony loss (and are reluctant to use a miticide) - 100
mites per day.
At this time there is no universal threshold number. In the southeastern
USA Delaplane and Hood (1999) have estimated a treatment threshold from 59
to 187 mites. This represents 3100 to 4200 mites in a colony.
NB: Use all of the information in this handout at your own risk.
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