Roy Canaday <[log in to unmask]>  asked some NEWbee questions...
 
[snip}
 
2) re wax moths - granted, we shouldn't have had to deal with them, but
   would cedar top/bottom boards (frames?) reduce this nuisance?"
 
He reminded me about an article I came across an article in our local
Sunday THursday paper's Gardening section, entitled "Some bacteria can
fight pests in the garden:
 
"The velvety green cabbageworms that chew leaves of broccolli and cabbage
to shreds can be stopped by making insect pests sick.  And the way you do
this is by spraying the plants with Bt - short for Bacillus thuringiensis,
a bacterium  that causes disease in certain insects.  Since Bt is toxic
only to certain insects, it does not pose a danger to other creatures, such
as birds, cats, dogs, humans, even beneficial insects.
 
.. More recently, additional strains have been discovered that are toxic to
insects besides caterpillars...Another strain, Bt var.aizawai, is deadly to
the wax moth of beehives."
 
How effective is Bt var.aizawai for control of wax moths?
 
 
 
 
 
 
Paul Cronshaw, D.C.
Cyberchiro and Hobbyist Beekeeper
Santa Barbara, CA  USA