Hi everyone on bee-l,
 
        After getting some attetion to my post last night I thought I would
send out this challenge for the summer of 98. I think the time is right
to prove or disaprove that FGMO works as a miticide for bees.
 
In the sring I am going to setup 6 nucs in my back yard for testing
FGMO and apistan, I will try to make them as equall as possible all 6
starting in single brood box and new queen. In 2 0f the colonies I will
only use apistan and 2 for FGMO, the other 2 will be left untreated.
When fall comes they will all be wrapped the same for wintering in
Minnesota. The winters can be very cold here and it should be a good
comparison test.
 
I would like to see other beekeepers on this list try the same
experiment with as many colonies as they can spare, we could exchange
data on the list weekly or bimonthly. Good record keeping should be kept
on all test colonies using a standard form for all that want to
participate. There were several different methods of using FGMO posted
so any form used should be generic enough to allow for different
methods.
 
As I stated on a earlier post neither government or any chemical company
will ever come to our aid for testing mineral oil, simply because it can
be bought at any grocery or drug store. So there has to just be an
unselfish motive at work just to advance beekeeping in general for this
to work. The good DR. Rodriguez has given his all on this method, I
think its time the beekeepers themselves pickup the ball on this one. If
we don't get started soon some big chemical company may ask  the
government to outlaw all other applications for mites. Don't forget what
happened in Texas, the same could happen to us for using FGMO if we
can't  prove it works.
 
Yep, I agree with the critic of FGMO time to put up or shut up, and as
Rush Limbaugh I not one to shut up when I am right.
 
Good luck in the new season
 
Elroy