Subject: | |
From: | |
Reply To: | |
Date: | Fri, 27 Apr 2007 05:26:56 -0400 |
Content-Type: | text/plain |
Parts/Attachments: |
|
|
I was handed a "Catch the Buzz" CCD update at last night Bee School
dated April 26th.
It says that some have put the brood boxes of CCD hives on good colonies
and "in some cases" they soon began to show CCD symptoms. This has been
reported by "several larger beekeepers" and witnessed by the Florida
State Apiarist staff.
One group of CCD brood combs was irradiated, one fumigated with acetic
acid, one left alone, and one was honey supers with no brood comb left
alone. They were placed on healthy colonies.
All are "doing well" except the untreated brood comb colony which
"appears to be declining".
The group suggests that the "prudent choice may be to set this
woodenware aside" and a "very bad idea" to reuse CCD comb until their
tests are complete.
The last paragraph says that it may look like a pathogen but there may
be other factors like "pesticides in the external environment" and the
investigations are ongoing.
My first reaction to the report was just that, that it it was pathogens.
But I remembered that other reports have some CCD colonies recovering
quickly after the initial hit so there seems to be a difference here,
but maybe not since most of what we hear is preliminary or second/third
hand..
The thing of most interest to me is that CCD supers seemed to be fine
and only brood comb was involved. Bob's observations of problems with
old comb that has gone through many miticide applications came to mind.
I hope the group also looks for both labeled and unlabeled miticide residue.
Many pesticides are broken down quickly when exposed to sunlight and
air, so you could easily lower the pesticide levels on exposed frames
with the boxes that were removed and moved for treatment.. Supers are
not on when miticides are applied, but they seemed to be on when CCD hit
yet they seemed not to transfer CCD symptoms. If it was an external
pesticide or pathogen, you would think they would.
The CCD group is proceeding slowly here and that is prudent. If the
re-use of woodenware and brood comb is not a common problem but isolated
to a specific area, factors other than CCD could be at work.
Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine
******************************************************
* Full guidelines for BEE-L posting are at: *
* http://www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm *
******************************************************
|
|
|