Mark Coldiron said:

> What ever happened to Formic Acid gel packs for mite control.
> I thought it had promise and the Department of Agriculture liked it too.

What I hear is that they are "still working on it".
They have not given up.

I do not have any answers or suggestions for the team working
on the problem or problems, but I have given some thought to the
packaging, which was said to be a problem a while back.

Just for fun, let's assume that I want to sell you some formic acid
for varroa control, just to poke around the edges of some of "the problems".

It is pretty simple stuff chemically - two hydrogens and a
single carbon dioxide.  Sounds pretty harmless, huh?

But it is an acid. Formic acid has a low specific heat of vaporization
(483 kJ/kg).  This means it vaporizes easily, even at "room temperature".
In fact, one can get decent rates of vaporization even down at
10 degrees C (50 degrees F).

In other words, the stuff is volatile as heck!

Now, assume I want to ship you some Formic Acid.
If I look it up in my Haz-Mat book, I find that it is
not something I can ship very easily.  Here's what
it says:

  Corrosive, causes severe burns.
  Harmful by inhalation, ingestion and through skin absorption.
  Readily absorbed through skin.
  Very destructive of mucous membranes and upper respiratory
  tract, eyes and skin.
  Inhalation may be fatal.

  CAS No:                              64-18-6
  EC No:                                200-597-1
  UN No:                                1779
  UN Major hazard class:         8.0 (Corrosive substances)
  Packing group:                     II (A "moderate" hazard)
  Transport category:               2 (Flammable Liquids and Gases)
  Risk Class:                          R35 (Causes severe burns)
  Warning Phrase                   S23 (Do not breathe vapor)
  Warning Phrase                   S26 (In case of contact with eyes,
                                                    rinse immediately with plenty
                                                    of water and seek medical advice)
  Warning Phrase                   S45 (In case of accident or if you feel unwell,
                                                    seek medical advice immediately
                                                    [show the label whenever possible.])

    (As an aside, trucks that carried things that might catch fire
     had signs that said "Inflammable" when I was a boy.
     Now, all the trucks merely say "Flammable".
     Is everything somehow less combustible now?)

But forget inflamability.... "Inhalation may be fatal"?  Wow, the EPA is
going to have fun roasting me slowly over glowing coals just for suggesting
that I might sell this stuff in liquid form to the general public.
(And yeah - beekeepers are considered "the general public".)

But, let's assume that a miracle occurs, and the EPA lets me sell it.

So, let's look in my UPS book, and see if they will ship it....

Oh, goodie!  UPS will let me ship a total of 1 liter per package, and it must
be shipped in one of those fancy "can within a can" packages.
Yes, that's right... the shipping container will cost more than the product!!!
The UPS Haz-Mat fees will also cost more than the product.

But I cannot in good conscience simply ship you the liquid, can I?
You might spill it on your right arm, prompting people to call you
"Lefty" for the rest of your life.  Since you live in the USA, where
ambulance-chasing is the primary reason why attorneys drive
cars equipped with turbochargers, I can be assured that I will be
sued early and often.

So, I need a "package", but wow, what a set of design requirements...

It must somehow "open" to allow vaporization, but stay completely
sealed from manufacturing, through a distributor, through a dealer,
bouncing around in a beekeeper's truck, and so on.

It has to have a "shelf life", so when "closed" the package must be
perfectly air tight.  (I'm thinking "plastic-coated sterno can" here.)

It has to be something that will fit in a beehive, a place with not
much in the way of clearances.  (Now I'm thinking of a very short
sterno can, the height of an old-style metal pocket-sized aspirin tin).

But wait.... assuming that the package arrives intact in the beekeeper's
hands, and he/she has placed it in the hive, how the heck do I assure
a consistent "dose" over a wide range of temperatures?  If it is really
hot, and the bees are having problems keeping the hive cool, the darned
stuff will vaporize too quickly, make "too much" vapor, and kill bees.

So, I need some sort of semi-permeable membrane thingy, that acts
like a "queen excluder" for gasses.  Kinda slow down the vaporization,
maybe limit the reaction by limiting the escape of the gasses...
...maybe I'll give you a call next month.


But how can they get away with using this stuff in Canada?
Those Canadians are tough.  Really tough.  I've heard that many
of them can even listen to an entire Celine Dion album without
being driven stark raving mad, so a little acid would be nothing to them!   :)


        jim