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Queen Bee
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Location
Hampshire uk
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Just testing a calculator for Oxalic Acid:


http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/oa3.html
 
seems to work. But the bottom total will NOT change if the reset button is not used.


PH
 
Last edited:
Thats what I am getting too but I was checking the calcs not thinking of the total, and yes it is low by 200ml.

Huston we have......

PH
 
I like it. Mark is assuming 6 seams per colony on average and 5 ml per seam, and that is a reasonable assumption.

Three suggestions:

i) be explicit that the target concentration is 4.5% (w/v) of oxalic acid dihydrate which some call 3.2% (w/v) oxalic acid anhydrous

ii) rather than say no. of 10 frame colonies, just say 'full-sized colonies' and maybe indicate somewhere that you are assuming a mean number of 6 seams of bees and 5ml per seam of bees.

iii) maybe you should acknowledge that although this concentration has been widely adopted, some beekeepers use a lower concentration of 3.5% (w/v) oxalic acid dihydrate. The reasons for this are discussed in:

http://www.culturaapicola.com.ar/apuntes/sanidad/varroa/acido_oxalico_tratamientos..pdf


hope that helps

Gavin
 
The calculator doesn't calculate to the formula in its own site.

Comes out at 1.5 L instead of 1.66 from the calculation written above for 50 hives.

So thats not a good start.
 
100g sugar 100mls water 7.5g Oxalic acid...simples!

The costs: 8p + nuffin + 12p = 20p (which is easily enough for 3 hives, likely 4 hives and possibly 5 hives).

Those costings are generous, I would think, maybe average (I can do better than those quite easily)

If only for a couple of colonies that is 10p per hive and 50% or more to waste. 4 colonies and it is 5p per hive. Wow!, not worth worrying about is it?

Your local school would weigh out your oxalic acid (oops, elf an safty), or guess with a few and check at the post office. What is the problem?

Even with a 75p applicator (reusable, if not lost or damaged), the costs are rediculously low compared with losing the colony.

I still don't treat them automatically, but that is all it needs to cost, if you must.

RAB
 
Very true RAB, same can be said for fondant £12 V loss of conlony.

A 2 decimal place balance which can weigh upto 500g can be bought for about £10, and 500g of Oxalic acid can be bought for about £7.

so £17 + some sugar will cover most hobby beekeepers for oxalic acid varroa treatment for nearly the rest of their beekeping life!
 
Cost doesn't even come into it. (I'm not even close to breaking even)

I just want to get the dose right.

Simples. :)
 
Ok I've found another thread that gives me all the info thanks.

Still cost doesn't come into it.

Happy New Year.:party:
 
Yep sorted thank's.
 
The calculator doesn't calculate to the formula in its own site.

Comes out at 1.5 L instead of 1.66 from the calculation written above for 50 hives.
So thats not a good start.

Splendid Mark,

Technically no problem at all, Thanks.

The red on blue takes my eyes out though. Perhaps if the blue was lighter I wouldn't have to move closer to read the red text. 5ft away from a 19" screen with most text at a comfortable viewing size.

Dodgy eyes? I should have listened to those people that advised to leave well alone in my youth. . . ha ha.

I suspect that the generalisation that the 75g + 1ltr water +1kg sugar should do 50 hives has been taken a little too literally perhaps. With approx 5.33 in hand it seems.

I suspect that the calculation is based on 11 seams per hive and not 10.
 
I was just going by the formula above the calculator. You would have thought it would be the same. Oh well never mind. :)
 
Point taken Onge, conservative estimate. LoL

Veritable minefield each year eh?
 
The figure of 50ml per colony is the absolute maximum that could be used in a 10 frame hive.

In my case I made up 550ml using the well published 100gm,100ml.7.5gm recipe and applied 5ml per seam of bees to my 11 colonies, I had more than 100ml left over.

My method is to trickle the first (apparently) empty seam next to the cluster, then all the seams with bees , and finally the next (apparently) empty seam. Ergo, in my case average seams trickled 8 per colony, average seams of bee per colony 6.

Checking the varroa drop 3 days later showed a debris area under where the cluster is plus two lines of OA droplets either side so I reckon they all got the best treatment possible and none were missed.
 
Unless poly, or seriously insulated wood, there will be no bees anywhere near the outsides of end frames (unless getting short of stores) yet. There will only be nine spaces for ten frames, as well. This is bucket chemistry, not analytical!

If I could only weigh 30g with any accuracy, I would simply split the resultant pile into half, or even quarters. It needs to be no more accurate than best you can do by eye.

Or dissolve in water and use half that aqueous solution made (for 15g oxalic), and discard, or store, the remainder.

Look, they say 5ml per seam. A 'seam' in a Langstroth is going to be different than a 'seam' in a National. Clusters are different sizes. So many variables that an average is just that - close enough. There is obviously some lattitude on safe dose. In simple terms that will be more easily exceeded if the oxalic is already very much towards the higher end of the safe range. As Hivemaker has said, probably more risk to the colony if they are nosemic, as long as the guidelines are followed.

RAB
 

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