VARROA CERTIFICATION CHANGES IN FLORIDA:
 
The Apiary Section of the Division of Plant Industry wrote to all registered
beekeepers in Florida on January 6, 1998, the following:
 
As a result of recent discoveries of Varroa mites that are resistant to
Apistan® treatments, we will no longer require proof of treatment for
certification.  Current requirements are:
 
1.  An average of two mites or less on a post-treatment survey of five
percent of the colonies in a yard (with a minimum of 10 hives per yard where
applicable) using the standard ether roll of approximately 200 bees.
 
Past research has indicated a doubling of Varroa mites every six weeks under
Florida conditions, therefore listed below are levels that will provide
equitable certification in cases where we are unable to survey immediately
after treatment.
 
1.  A tolerance of four mites in a six weeks post-treatment.
2.  A tolerance of eight mites in a 12 weeks post-treatment.
 
Apistan® is still effective in most Florida operations and is still the
recommended treatment.  However, a post-treatment survey should be done to
confirm its efficacy.
 
 
 
Efforts are underway to obtain an alternative treatment.  The Florida
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services - Division of Plant Industry
is requesting $100,000 in our budget for mite research.  This would be given
as grants to qualified researchers.  Your support of this effort with your
local legislative representative would be appreciated.
 
If you have any questions, call the Gainesville office at (352) 372-3505
ext. 114, Tom Dowda, Northern Regional Supervisor, at (904) 454-3786 or
Richard Dunaway, Southern Regional Supervisor, at (941) 291-5218.
 
 
 
Again, it must be emphasized that the one registered legal product,
Apistan®, is still effective in the vast majority of Florida apiaries.
However, its use must be more carefully monitored to confirm its ability to
kill mites as discussed in the August 1997 APIS
<http://www.ifas.ufl.edu/~mts/apishtm/apis97/apaug97.htm#1>.  This mirrors
experience in France where resistance of Varroa to Apistan® was been
confirmed in the south, but has yet to be seen in most of the rest of the
country, March 1997 APIS
<http://www.ifas.ufl.edu/~mts/apishtm/apmar97.htm#3>.  Based on the Italian
experience, the Beltsville Bee Laboratory is developing a test to help
beekeepers determine fluvalinate's effectiveness level.  Details will be
made available as soon as possible on this technology.  In the meantime,
beekeepers should act to conserve Apistan's® effectiveness as long as
possible as outlined in the February 1995 APIS
<http://www.ifas.ufl.edu/~mts/apishtm/apis95/apfeb95.htm#FL>.
 
 
 
A comment from Dr. Roger Hoopingarner, now retired from Michigan State
University, got some attention.  Many of the symptoms of the problems being
described, he said, were reminiscent of those found by investigators looking
at the effects of sublethal doses of fluvalinate on colonies.  Long-term
exposure to fluvalinate treatment has been associated with a reduction in
honey yield as discussed in the April 1992 APIS
<http://www.ifas.ufl.edu/~mts/apishtm/apis92/apapr92.htm#4>.
  The fact that this pesticide was also bioaccumulating in the wax, Dr.
Hoopingarner said, means that there continues to be more and more of the
material in the bee's environment.  Other effects of this phenomenon were
described in the August 1996 APIS)
<http://www.ifas.ufl.edu/~mts/apishtm/apis96/apaug96.htm#1>.