Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Beekeepers also put an absorbent pad containing a fixed amount of formic acid in
their hives. The commercial name is Mite-Away II. As the acid evaporates the fumes
kill mites, but not bees. This is an effective but harsh treatment and it doesn't leave a
poisonous residue in your wax, it knocks down the mite population rapidly, and is not
terribly harmful to the bees.
For both essential oils and formic acid there are some temperature issues you must
deal with, so they are not perfect. Both are a universe better than other pesticides.
For me, there are only a few chemicals I consider using in my hives: the two essential oil
products (Apilife Var and ApiGuard) and the formic acid pads. Mite-Away II and the
formic strips are used when the varroa bomb goes off in your colony. The essential oil
products are both thymol-based. Api Life Var is a thymol-based liquid product that is
soaked into florist foam. The foam is separated into three or four pieces and placed on
the top bars on the periphery of the brood nest. It needs to be applied three times at
two-week intervals to be effective—read the label closely. However, with a bomb, you
can probably use it only once since nearly all the mites are still outside cells where they
are susceptible to the fumes. The formic acid pad releases the acid fumes fairly rapidly.
Over time it will knock down most of the exposed mites. Fumigilin-B is an antibiotic
that can be fed to bees to stop nosema spores from maturing and spreading the disease.
It is expensive, but effective. Honey B Healthy is a feeding stimulant. When it is fed to
your bees, mixed with sugar syrup, your bees will eat more, which helps fend off sever-
al nutritional problems.
Wax Moth
Wax moths, Galleria mellonella (also known as greater wax moth), can be a real nuis-
ance, but they can be taken care of pretty easily.
Sometime during your bees' first summer, a mated female wax moth will in all like-
lihood find your colony. She'll get inside by sneaking past the guard bees, usually at
night. Once inside, she will lay eggs somewhere in one of the boxes with brood. The
eggs hatch, and the moth caterpillars begin to feed on beeswax, pollen, honey, and even
larvae and pupae, that is, unless house bees catch and remove them. If the colony is
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