Varroa in 'Complacent Numbers'

[Chunky Plumpy]

Hello,

I'm nearing the end of my first season, started with one hive in June but because opportunity presented itself I acquired a second in August. I did regular checks and the first hive in particular did really well with lovely calm bees who kindly 'gave' me 9 litres of honey. the second hive is okay but late in the season I just let nature do its thing whilst checking on them each week.

I was checking the board underneath routinely but have neglected to do so in the last 3-4 weeks. All looks lovely and healthy in the hives and with it so hot in late summer I'd left the boards out and forgotten about them. As I started to tuck my bees up for winter I put the boards back in and a week later one board in particular had loads of varroa mites, big ones that dropped through the mesh floor which suggests they might be fully grown and dying of 'old age'?

Anyway, I added a couple of Apivar strips to each brood box today now the weather has cooled down here in South Glos. but wondered will it be enough? Have I have left it too late, should I perhaps consider some other 'one time treatment' like those I see in videos involving vaporising or will the Apivar strips do the job without help?

The other newer colony seemed okay, I think, so just concerned about my first hive with the lovely calm bees. Any advise would be welcomed, thanks, CP.

 

[Chunky Plumpy]

I got the answer on another thread from @Erichalfbee :

- Still significant mite drop after OA

The suggestion is that the Apivar strips should be okay and not need anything further despite me allowing the mites to get a good hold over the last few weeks. A subsequent post from @Swarm was also helpful and provided guidance on how to remove the strips when the time comes to avoid harming the bees. There is more in the thread, certainly worth a read I think. Ta, CP.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I got the answer on another thread from @Erichalfbee :

- Still significant mite drop after OA

The suggestion is that the Apivar strips should be okay and not need anything further despite me allowing the mites to get a good hold over the last few weeks. A subsequent post from @Swarm was also helpful and provided guidance on how to remove the strips when the time comes to avoid harming the bees. There is more in the thread, certainly worth a read I think. Ta, CP.

It gets easier…. Or not

 

[ericbeaumont]

to avoid harming the bees

Bees won't come to harm if you leave the strips in longer, but extra time in the hive will enable varroa to develop (eventually) resistance to Amitraz, the chemical in Apivar.

Rotate choice of annual treatment products to avoid resistance developing.

 

[JamezF]

Bees won't come to harm if you leave the strips in longer, but extra time in the hive will enable varroa to develop (eventually) resistance to Amitraz, the chemical in Apivar.

Yes. For this reason it's very strongly recommended that you don't leave the strips in any longer than the pack says (ten weeks?). We can do without lots of Amitraz-resistant varroa. Unless I've misunderstood I believe the suggestion is that resistant varroa are present in parts of the USA exactly because Amitraz-based products have been used inappropriately.

James

 

[B_north]

The brochure states the Apivar strips must be removed after 56 days, and in a minimum of 42 days. I reposition the strips after about 20 days especially if the bees have moved away from it, or most of the brood on the frame has hatched and it has been backfilled.

We are also starting to see Amitraz resistance and many Canadian beekeepers suffered huge losses last winter. The general view is that our fall was abnormally warm and long and the usual fall treatments ended too soon allowing the mites to rebound before the hives became broodless and were wrapped up. Therefor, I usually do an OAD just before I close them up for the winter, hoping to eliminate any or most of the mites that could have made it thru the Apivar treatment. Double whammy.

 

[JamezF]

The brochure states the Apivar strips must be removed after 56 days, and in a minimum of 42 days.

I wonder if that's something specific to Canada? It's not what I remembered from reading the instructions with mine, so I checked. It says:

"If brood is not present or at its lowest level, the strips can be removed after 6 weeks of treatment. If brood is present, leave the strips in place for 10 weeks and remove the strips at the end of treatment"

So the 42-day minimum is consistent, but we can leave them in for up to 70 days. I plan to do the latter, as I put them in within a week of harvesting when there was still plenty of brood. In fact this week I intend to check the hives and scrape/move the strips if necessary.

James

 

[B_north]

Well, JamezF that is interesting, I have the brochure downloaded from their site and it does state 56 days max. So I went to their site because 70 days would be better for me. Here is the result.

Most asked questions concerning Apivar - Veto Pharma Blog

1. I use Apivar in the fall. Can I keep it in the hive over the winter and remove it in the following spring?

As the packaging label indicates, Apivar’s treatment period is a minimum of 42 days, with a maximum of 56 days. If Apivar is used for longer than 56 days, this is a violation of the label.

ETA not sure where the mixed messaging comes from, maybe it is country specific but they don't seem to note that in the information they give.

 

[JamezF]

It's very confusing. I've emailed them to ask why there's an apparent mismatch.

James

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

It's very confusing. I've emailed them to ask why there's an apparent mismatch.

James

different countries, different Licence stipulations

 

[JamezF]

different countries, different Licence stipulations

That's my assumption, but careless in that case to have the details for only one country (or group of countries) listed on a website without making the situation clear.

James

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

That's my assumption, but careless in that case to have the details for only one country (or group of countries) listed on a website without making the situation clear.

James

they usually have different IP addresses for different countries' websites

 

[B_north]

they usually have different IP addresses for different countries' websites

But then if you go on it from England does it give the 70 day requirement in the directions?

 

[JamezF]

they usually have different IP addresses for different countries' websites

Sometimes, but not always, and probably less so now given that you don't need separate IP addresses to do HTTPS for multiple sites any more. Often a server will just serve a different set of language-specific pages depending on what your browser lists as preferred languages when it connects, but there are many different ways to handle it. In this case however, the same server has a drop-down menu for US/France/GB etc. that just redirects to a slightly different path on the server. If I attempt to go to the GB version of the page linked above however I get bounced to the US version anyhow.

James

 

[JamezF]

But then if you go on it from England does it give the 70 day requirement in the directions?

Not that I can find anywhere.

James

 

[mdotb]

But then if you go on it from England does it give the 70 day requirement in the directions?

Unlike the North American site, the European site doesn't include the instruction sheet for that product. However the UK VMD Authorised Products page does hold copies of all of the administration instructions as part of the MA. It says "10 weeks" (rather than expressing the timescale in days) Product Information Database but is clearly different from the North American licence.

 

[B_north]

Well that clears it up, mdotb, Thanks.

Ten weeks would be nice, especially since this warmer fall trend leaves us with a few weeks at the end for the left over varroa to continue to mate. Although we are told that those last few weeks have a decrease in product circulating in the hive and can contribute to varroa resistance. If that is right or just fear mongering I don't know.

I am no expert for sure and would do what ever was advised. 56 days for me and 70 for you.

 

[B_north]

Just a quick update for future new beekeeper readers.

Veto Pharmacy sent me an email and said that the information on their site is 'general' and not country specific.
In Canada/USA the regulation is 8 weeks maximum and leave the strips in for the longest time possible if there is lots of brood.

So in a nutshell, don't go to the website for your information on treatment protocols find information that is from your own country, and the label is law.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Talking of Amitraz I see Elmtree bees have vaped a few colonies dropping g few mites with Apivar strips in for a few weeks to find OAV drops more. Food for thought.

 

[Ian123]

It’s not a surprise Apivar has been used here for 20 years! We saw exactly the same with Apistan back in early mid 2000s, some are even still using Apistan.