On Aug 4th James Satterfield wrote about use of Apistan strips in an
observation hive. His conclusion was that he didn't need to keep the
strips on as long as listed on the label.
 
The purpose of the label is to provide directions for use but not to have
to go into details of why it is required! The reason for the length of
time is to get all of the mites. Apistan is effective only on the adult
mites and there are usually all stages of development within a hive as
long as there is brood rearing going on. In order to kill the mites that
are merely eggs on the day the strips are introduced, you have to wait
until the eggs become adults! It must be assumed that some of the adults
that were killed had just laid eggs. We need to cover at least one and
preferably 2 brood cycles to assur maximum kill.
 
Unfortunately, our wandering drones can reinfect the colony almost
immediately. So the whole apiary should be treated at once. A while back
someone had suggested that every beekeeper in a region do it at once.
Almost an impossible task but then feral colonies don't get treated
either. So do the best you can. Leave the strips on for the recommended time.
 
Jerry Worrell  [log in to unmask]
Dunkirk MD