Hello Dave & All,
Dave said:
They found zero nosema, all tests
> At least thats what they said then
Testing for nosema is not hard. Looks like small rice. Testing to tell
nosema ceranae from nosema apis is the hard part. Telling nosema levels is a
bit harder. Zero nosema of any kind is a bit hard to understand as some
spores are usually found in most hives which have been established for
awhile.
Have you ever used fumidil before?
Even so many of the Ontario beeks which had their hives crash treated with
fumidil at the recommended dose.( personal conversation)
Fumidil does not in my opinion eliminate nosema but only knock it back.
Again it is hard for me to believe zero spores were seen. It seems more
logical that what they said was levels low enough that treatment was not
necessary was found in your samples Dave.
Randy has done an excellent job of explaining counting spore levels but
determine nosema ceranae takes a bit more work.
Spain has said in their opinion that if you have got nosema ceranae in your
operation at any level you need to try and control. if not the nosema will
spread through your hives. Not noticeable until the last (and hardest to
control) stages.
I have got two yards of nosema ceranae I am trying to turn around on advice
of Randy. I was going to depopulate and treat with acetic acid but decided
after emails with Randy O. to attempt to save. The yards are 4-5 miles from
other yards and I am not making splits from the few strong hives nor reusing
deadout equipment. I should see results in a few weeks. I equalized brood
throughout the yards to give all hives high levels of nosema ceranae.
My USDA-ARS friends ( names withheld) say all migratory operations should
consider nosema ceranae in their operations if hives have been in contact
with other migratory beekeepers. Especially outfits which have been in
California.
Tip:
If you know you have got nosema ceranae and you see a slide full of rice
looking nosema then you have got a problem similar to a 24 hour sticky board
full of varroa.
bob
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