Teenage science (don’t come at me with pitch forks)

[Ian123]

This experiment!! wasn’t even carried out on a honey bee or varroa mites. Tabbaco smoke has for instance been known to stun braula for many decades. Results would be far less effective than a vape of the colony for example as mites are stunned not killed. This is not pouring scorn on any findings it’s a good many years of people claiming wonder cures based on garden shed research that’s never been made to work, stick around you’ll see examples yourself. There’s many Uni and beekeeping research groups, I’d rather be relying on them than a bloke in his back garden smoking something he shouldn’t

 

[Erichalfbee]

My suggestion was not designed to encourage illegal use.

I would be most interested if experiments were performed where the use of Salvia was legal, at least for non-human application. That is the reason why I would hope that there may be beekeepers in France, Holland, or New Zealand who might be interested to investigate the effects of Salvia smoke as a possible treatment against varroa.

There are many plants which have some form of "medicinal" properties. It is known, for example, that tobacco smoke can be used to treat bees which have braula infestations. Is there any definitive knowledge on the possible usefulness of Salvia smoke as a "treatment" for honey bees?

I'm not disputing that.
I'm replying to @pargyle . My post that he was referring to was ambiguous and seemed to suggest that I was saying the plant/growing/smoking.....whatever was illegal. I meant that using wacky sage is not an approved varroacide.

 

[Newbeeneil]

I'm not disputing that.
I'm replying to @pargyle . My post that he was referring to was ambiguous and seemed to suggest that I was saying the plant/growing/smoking.....whatever was illegal. I meant that using wacky sage is not an approved varroacide.

Just like generic AO then

 

[user 20297]

Just like generic AO then

Is it though? People here regularly advocate the addition of other aromatic plants, such as lavender, to their smoker-fuel.
If I was to use a more common Salvia as a smoker booster; mint, for instance, would it be illegal? If so, would it be more or less illegal if, at the time, I also deceived myself that it was effective in controlling varroa mite?

 

[pargyle]

illegal to use it as a varroacide

Of course .... perhaps you would just be using it in your smoked to create calm and chilled out bees ... ?

 

[Mabee]

I have a funny image of beekeepers using it in their smokers then forgetting half way through the apiary inspections what they were doing or studying a frame for hours on end, suddenly struck by its awesomeness! Poor bees!

 

[pargyle]

This experiment!! wasn’t even carried out on a honey bee or varroa mites. Tabbaco smoke has for instance been known to stun braula for many decades. Results would be far less effective than a vape of the colony for example as mites are stunned not killed. This is not pouring scorn on any findings it’s a good many years of people claiming wonder cures based on garden shed research that’s never been made to work, stick around you’ll see examples yourself. There’s many Uni and beekeeping research groups, I’d rather be relying on them than a bloke in his back garden smoking something he shouldn’t

It was hardly 'an experiment' and the OP admitted as such ... and not even on a honey bee. But ... it's nice that a non-beekeeper (clearly with little or no knowledge of honey bees) should bring something he has noticed to the attention of our community.

The legalities of varroa treatments are a source of frustration for many (if not most) beekeepers when the most effective and cheapest treatment is illegal.

I don't know whether Salvia smoke would dislodge varroa, if it did how would you separate the mites from the bees ? I use an icing sugar roll for varroa testing on a cupful of bees and that effectively dislodges the attached mites but ... it doesn't work to any great extent if you try icing sugar on a full colony.

So, I'm grateful that the OP has taken an interest in our wonderful craft and the problems we face but ..."there's nothing to see here" I think.

 

[rossbyjove]

Are you sure you weren't tripping dude ?

 

[Erichalfbee]

Of course .... perhaps you would just be using it in your smoked to create calm and chilled out bees ... ?

Yes just as you use OA to clean hives

 

[user 20297]

I have a funny image of beekeepers using it in their smokers then forgetting half way through the apiary inspections what they were doing or studying a frame for hours on end, suddenly struck by its awesomeness! Poor bees!

That describes me without the use of intoxicating smoke....poor bees!

 

[Murox]

this thread is definitely opening my eyes to a whole new concept of the beekeeping experience.......
........cant help but wonder about these

 

[Pembroke]

The Wikipedia page on this plant seems to suggest that it was only made illegal very recently in 2016 Salvia divinorum - Wikipedia as 'metoday' says he was a teenager when he tried it and is now twice that age it's quite possible that it was legal to consume it when he did so.

Some of the posts here read as though the poster is confusing this plant with it's more famous cousin ( C. sativa), the wiki about it suggests the effects are transitory and more akin to more chemical drugs such as Lysergic acid diethylamide.

 

[Frizzaldo]

I suppose this is how a lot of discoveries start(maybe moreso in the past than nowadays) just needs to convince someone to test it scientifically and if it works, identify the specific compound that is working, extract or recreate it,then license and sell for big bucks

 

[Cole lynch]

Wasn’t it some Hoffman geezer riding his bike to his apiary that started it all
Beekeeping. Wott a buzz!

 

[madasafish]

I can just see the new directive: not only should you record your varroa treatments but also the contents of your smoker when smoking a hive..

 

[rossbyjove]

The Wikipedia page on this plant seems to suggest that it was only made illegal very recently in 2016 Salvia divinorum - Wikipedia as 'metoday' says he was a teenager when he tried it and is now twice that age it's quite possible that it was legal to consume it when he did so.

Some of the posts here read as though the poster is confusing this plant with it's more famous cousin ( C. sativa), the wiki about it suggests the effects are transitory and more akin to more chemical drugs such as Lysergic acid diethylamide.

Yes it's more of a trip than a pot high.
Used to be a shop in Bristol that sold all kinds of wonderous plant derivatives , Salvia was just one of them.
He stopped trading when they made magic mushrooms illegal, early 2000s I think?
He sold a lot of them!

 

[rossbyjove]

I can just see the new directive: not only should you record your varroa treatments but also the contents of your smoker when smoking a hive..

Wasn’t it some Hoffman geezer riding his bike to his apiary that started it all
Beekeeping. Wott a buzz!

Albert, trying to come up with a headache cure.......ouch!