> Are you using OA exclusively?  It seems here on Bee-L that OA is the
> wonder treatment.  From the very start when we followed the lead from
> Europe we were warned that the hives must be broodless because OA cannot
> penetrate the wax cappings as formic acid can to kill the mites in the
> brood cells.
>

Foirmic acid does not penetrate wax cappings unless it s highly
concentrated as are MAQS, but not FA pads. FA pads require multiple
treatments.I never see dead bees or larva in front of my hives after FA
pads (or OA vapor) but I do with MAQS.

I treated with MAQS in early August and saw major problems with Varroa in
one hive in late September.One hive died in early winter so have not looked
into it yet to see what happened.

I then treated in late September with OA vapor four times over 15 days
(after looking at others who treated multiple times and had no issues - to
insure its safety). The hive that showed Varroa issues plus the other two
are doing just fine after a fairly bad winter (warm/cold/warm/cold) for bee
survival here in Maine.

My guess is that the MAQS treatment killed the queen in the hive that died
in early winter, but we shall see. There was no indication of Varroa
issues.

So I am going with the 'wonder treatment" this year with maybe some formic
pads, but no MAQS from here on. They may say they can penetrate wax
cappings but they are so potent that  OA vapor and Formic pads seem benign
compared to them. Plus, two other beekeepers in the area who treated with
MAQS lost their bees.

As an aside, I have always had success with the FA pads (as have others on
this list). It may be time consuming, but they work and the bees do fine.
Same with OA vapor if done with multiple treatments like FA pads.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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