Oxalic Treatment and Timing

[Stiffy]

How much brood in nuc? Just curious

The Nuc is a Paxxyes Poly, centre two frames had approx. 2/3 covered in BIAS. Given the number of bees I don't think they have stopped brooding at all this autumn/winter. I doubt they ever do stop in my part of Cornwall as it is always relatively mild and we rarely get a more than a few days of cold/frost. I treated some of mine with OA last year when I thought it was cold enough and they were slow to get started in comparison to hives at other sites that remained untreated. Obviously there could have been any number of factors affecting their build-up but it was noticeable that the treated ones showed a reduced number of bees early spring and took longer to catch up.
S

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

I righted a Nuc this morning that had blown over and it was 'bouncing' with bees and brood.

Blimey. Do you have 365-day pollen down there in the REAL sub-tropics?

 

[Stiffy]

Blimey. Do you have 365-day pollen down there in the REAL sub-tropics?

Quite possibly, as gorse which we have an abundance off is rarely out of flower in Cornwall and Camelias are just opening. Not that the bees use them but daffs are also in flower in my garden.
S

 

[Hivemaker.]

Blimey. Do you have 365-day pollen down there in the REAL sub-tropics?

Yes we do.

 

[Hivemaker.]

..Sublethal effects and retarded growth, permanent damage to internal organs.
http://www.nand.be/ambrosius/nieuws/oxaalzuurtest.pdf




Effects on brood.
http://www.ibra.org.uk/articles/20080612_119

 

[BILL.HEARD]

Yes we do.

Winter Heliotrope now out and being worked on locally.

Smells like vanilla, lovely…..

 

[Erichalfbee]

Winter Heliotrope now out and being worked on locally.

Smells like vanilla, lovely…..

Had to look that one up.....I know it as Butterbur.
I remember HM saying that the bees that had access to this worked it well and were definitely in front in the Spring.

None here....I wonder if it would grow by the pond in my field?

 

[beeno]

Winter Heliotrope now out and being worked on locally.

Smells like vanilla, lovely…..

What's the colour of the pollen Bill! Thanks.

 

[beeno]

..Sublethal effects and retarded growth, permanent damage to internal organs.
http://www.nand.be/ambrosius/nieuws/oxaalzuurtest.pdf




Effects on brood.
http://www.ibra.org.uk/articles/20080612_119

Hi Hivemaker,
Do correct me if I am wrong, but I seem to recall that I read somewhere that newly emerged brood need to eat a substantial amount of pollen to develop their hypopharyngeal glands and other internal organs fully. If these guys had any substance on them I would imagine that they would spend a lot of time trying to get it off. Also, they were introduced into foreign hive smelling differently without the stuff on them, so that would load the dice against them doubly at a very critical moment in their development.
Am I just being silly? I hasten to add that I would rather not treat at all, but see it as a necessity.

 

[BILL.HEARD]

What's the colour of the pollen Bill! Thanks.

Hi Beeno,
It's white, funny plant though, you get patches of it covered in flower and then a large expanse of it with nothing. It can be hit by the frost but the flower will still be there. Can be invasive in the garden.

Regards,

Bill

 

[mbc]

..Sublethal effects and retarded growth, permanent damage to internal organs.
http://www.nand.be/ambrosius/nieuws/oxaalzuurtest.pdf




Effects on brood.
http://www.ibra.org.uk/articles/20080612_119

Must spread.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Must spread.

Like Flora

 

[mbc]

Like Flora

Not sure I like the analogy, dispersing valuable information = processed sewer grease

 

[charlievictorbravo]

..Sublethal effects and retarded growth, permanent damage to internal organs.
http://www.nand.be/ambrosius/nieuws/oxaalzuurtest.pdf

Effects on brood.
http://www.ibra.org.uk/articles/20080612_119

I have checked my monitoring board regularly and found I had a drop of 8 over a 14 day period. The Beebase Varroa Calculator suggests I have 140 mites in my one hive and that any necessary treatment should be undertaken in 5 month's time.

Hivemaker's quoted research report:

Regardless to the findings of this study, the advantages of OA as a treatment against the mite V. Destructor still outweigh the possible negative consequences to the honeybee colony and it should remain as one of the main varroacides. - first link above

and

Combining the detrimental effect on brood development with the low relative effectiveness on varroa removal, oxalic acid application by the trickling method when open brood is present is not as safe as has been regarded in the past. Consideration needs to be given to the use of different sugar and oxalic acid concentrations in the treatment solution in order to minimize its adverse effects on open honey bee brood. - second link above

Neither of these is a ringing endorsement of OA but as the first suggests, it's one of the better treatments, despite the not insignificant damage it does.

I have purchased an OA formulation ready to treat the bees but am now in three minds as to whether I will use it.

CVB

 

[beeno]

I have checked my monitoring board regularly and found I had a drop of 8 over a 14 day period. The Beebase Varroa Calculator suggests I have 140 mites in my one hive and that any necessary treatment should be undertaken in 5 month's time.

Hivemaker's quoted research report:

Regardless to the findings of this study, the advantages of OA as a treatment against the mite V. Destructor still outweigh the possible negative consequences to the honeybee colony and it should remain as one of the main varroacides. - first link above

and

Combining the detrimental effect on brood development with the low relative effectiveness on varroa removal, oxalic acid application by the trickling method when open brood is present is not as safe as has been regarded in the past. Consideration needs to be given to the use of different sugar and oxalic acid concentrations in the treatment solution in order to minimize its adverse effects on open honey bee brood. - second link above

Neither of these is a ringing endorsement of OA but as the first suggests, it's one of the better treatments, despite the not insignificant damage it does.

I have purchased an OA formulation ready to treat the bees but am now in three minds as to whether I will use it.

CVB

Hi CVB, Like everything else in beekeeping it is a catch 22. Many of us on the forum do not believe in natural varroa drop as being representative of true extent of varroa infestation, but some do. Also, in 5 months time you will have a lot of brood in the hive which renders the treatment far less effective. The whole point of OA treatment is that the hive is supposed to be free of brood! I am not saying treat or don't treat that is each individual beekeeper's call. I know, it is a wrench.

 

[Arfermo]

I have purchased an OA formulation ready to treat the bees but am now in three minds as to whether I will use it.
CVB

Considering the large drop rate that you have found, you would be very unwise to not treat. In fact I'm pretty certain you will regret it if you don't. Going into spring they need to be as clear as possible of mites before the queen gets into lay and the phoretic mites on the bees can get cracking again. I assume you do want to keep your bees?

 

[Erichalfbee]

I've been in so many minds, let alone 3.

Considering the large drop rate that you have found, you would be very unwise to not treat
Afermo, would you consider that 8 mites over 14 days is high?

I'm getting about that on two colonies....maybe a little less.
I was going to shook swarm then oxalic later this year. Now I don't know.
It's been so mild they must have brood by now.

 

[masterBK]

For the last two months I was only getting one mite drop every 14 days from the colony in my back garden. Treated with Oxalic acid trickle a fortnight ago and over the following 5 days this yielded a total of 103 dead mites on the varroa tray. In early september I treated this colony using MAQS and got a drop approaching 300 mites.

 

[Pete D]

Mites on the inspection board must only bee a snapshot in time (the moment you look) unless they are greased. With all this wind and rain about mine just need putting away after use as they are washed and blow dried clean.

Many a tale of 'not seen any mites at all' then treat and 'bloody hell where did they all come from'

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

The Beebase Varroa Calculator suggests I have 140 mites in my one hive and that any necessary treatment should be undertaken in 5 month's time.
CVB

Hmm sound advice!: "you have a developing mite problem our advice is to sit on your backside and do nothing for half a year then tackle it when it's a BL**dy serious mite crisis"

Many a tale of 'not seen any mites at all' then treat and 'bloody hell where did they all come from'