Hello all, bee-lovers !
 
 
On Wednesday 17, May 1995 France Desjardins wrote :
 
> I know that in New Zealand the beekeepers use paraffin wax to sterilize
> hive parts from colonies infected with AFB.
 
 [some cut] ...
 
On Thu, 18 May 1995 19:10:57 GMT Andrew Matheson answered :
 
> It's simple thermal death (155-160 C for 10-15 minutes), coupled with
> the fact that the liquid paraffin penetrates into the wood, reaching
> any spores that have been locked away in wax or propolis deposits.
 
> Beekeepers in New Zealand build paraffin dippers primarily for
> preserving hive parts: the same temperature for only a few minutes
> greatly extends their life, even for soft untreated radiata (Monterey)
> pine.
 
Microwax dipping : some remarks since we are using this process ...
 
1/ PROPOLIS and AFB spores
 
beeswax is soluble in microwax and it is no problem to dip it in
paraffin but propolis is not at all and the result is not very
beautiful : a lot of propolis drops on the whole surface.  Actually we
have decided first to wash all the material while dipping for 10 min
in a boiling alcaline water bath (different recipes).  With a
detergent, the beeswax *and* old microwax *and* propolis are
dissolved. Without a detergent, both the wax become liquid and are
floating on top of the bath (you must remove them) and the propolis is
quite dissolved.  After such a treatment the number of remaining
foulbrood spores is reduced and the new wax dipping excellent :
beautiful results and microwax remains clear.
 
2/ TEMPERATURE
 
temperature of the wax bath : keep in mind that the different glues
don't support too high temperatures.  We are using polyurethane glues
which support 130-140 deg C (from RectaVit).  Don't forget that the
thickness of the wood diminishes (about 1 mm).
 
3/ I'M WONDERING
 
WHY no new paper (articles) about chemicals as fatty acids is
published since the 2 articles in Apidologie 1993 vol 24(2) pp 89-99
(since 2 year today).  Maybe no research is made in this line? Maybe
the authors are waiting to publish their results at the Lausanne
Apimondia Congress ?  WHAT WASTE TIME AND MONEY FOR BEEKEEPERS WITH
AFB in theirs own hives !
 
Can I suggest this ...
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
In my mind, the case of "lauric acid" is a good choice because this
product is stable even at high temp. and very toxic to AFB.  It is not
soluble in water, sugar syrup and honey, but it is quite soluble in
the waxes (beeswax *and* microwax) and it is not expensive (about
US$25/kg).  It could be added in microwax before dipping.  It could be
added to the beeswax foundations.  It could be serve to protect the
other AFB contamined materials while dipping it in an alcoholic
(methanol or ethanol 0.2-0.5 %) solutions after the alcaline cleaning.
The "nec plus ultra" solution is to find a line of honeybees which
secrete one of this fatty acids in her own beeswax ! Research work !
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
I'm not able to experiment these possibilities for different reasons !
Seems there will be solutions for the beekeepers which live daily the
AFB problem !
 
Hope this help to go ahead (forward?) !
 
Regards
Jean-Marie <[log in to unmask]>