In message <001f01c324c6$42708220$21ac58d8@BusyBeeAcres>, Bob Harrison
<[log in to unmask]> writes
>I predict when resistance to Apistan happens you will soon find fault with
>thymol. The still effective Apistan treatment (U.K.) is making the thymol
>treatment seem more effective in my opinion.
I am in the area of the UK where mites are resistant to Apistan. A
neighbour reported 4% efficiency tested by a Bee Inspector! I have been
using Apiguard since autumn 2002. I treated the colonies with the most
obviously high mite count and left the others. 7 had low counts and some
had huge counts. I treated all but one colony, mostly 3 or 4 times. Mite
falls have settled down now and all colonies have recovered or are
recovering. In 3 cases, mite counts were "huge" (estimated at over 1000)
after the 3rd treatment and not all dead brood had been removed, there
were still bees with deformed wings and in one case shiny bodies (though
not paralysed). It will be interesting to see the natural count once the
treatment is over.

I am hopeful! For what it is worth, I place my card with the paste on
top, away from the brood nest. Last year, I found colonies hung out of
the entrance to a degree and in one case (in a small box) chewed out all
the brood and clustered outside like a swarm. On being given a larger
box, they returned to normal. So I am adjusting the amount I give to the
colony size as well. They do seem mostly to remove it within a week and
in the majority of cases destroy and remove the card (let it drop
through the mesh!).

The purpose of the exercise was to discover those colonies that managed
varroa best of all and breed from them. This is ongoing.
--
James Kilty

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