>roll of paper towels.  Rip the towels apart at the perferations and
>place
>in plastic container that can be covered.
>
>Dump the wintergreen into the quart bottle of canola oil and shake
>vigorously.  Being of different viscosities they do not want to mix
>but
>will after shaking.  Canola oil is an oil that will evaporate
>(sic) carrying menthol through out the colony.
>
>Pour over immediately entire contents over the towels and let sit over
>
>night. When ever I manipulate or go in, I apply a towel on the top
>bars
>right in the way of traffic of each full super of brood or honey.  The
>
>bees take approximately 2 days in chewing up the towels to remove them
>by
>carrying them out and depositing them in your yard.  It is amazing how
>big
>a piece one bee can carry.  This gets oil on the bee and its fellow
>workers and sufficates the mites.
>
>I believe the oil is also responsible for inhibiting the communication
>and
>navigational abilities of the mite.  The reason wintergreen or
>peppermint
>or spearment or pachuli(sorry if this is misspelled) is that these
>plants
>contain menthol which force the trachael mite from the thorax.
>
 
>
>George
>George & Lorraine Willy
>East Burke, Vermont
>05832
>
Enjoyed Georges'  discussion re: oil towles and patties.
        Last season used paper napkins and any vegetable oil that was a
good buy. Carried a plastic container with me all the time with a stack
of napkins soaking. The oil need not cover the napkins, they soak it up
like a sponge. I just take a whole 4 fold table napkin and lift it off
stack and give it one more fold and place it on top bars between top two
(use 3 med.) brood supers. Had considered using wintergreen as an
additive but didn't get to it. Believe it worked well as it was but
intend to try it this year. Interesting thing here, The towel would sit
there for a few seconds with the bees avoiding it then they would
cautiously approach and then start licking. I have not read anywhere bees
have a particular liking for oil. Let us not thik that oils are strange
to bees though, plant products have a vast variety of them. Perhaps they
like a suppliment?
        Have used the oil patties for a number of years now, a little
different than customary, 50/50 pollen supliment (brewers yeast or soy
flour) and granulated sugar. Keep these on all year, Oil keeps powder
from turning to rock and/or molding. In most cases they get ignored
during foraging periods. Believe them to be good insurance during brief
dearths (which we have a nuber of here) and I dont have to make panic
rounds when the honey flows end.
                Regards,
Alden Marshall
B-Line Apiaries
Hudson, NH 03051
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