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  • From: Walter Starks <walterstarks AT icloud.com>
  • To: Erika Wittchen <erika48 AT gmail.com>
  • Cc: "ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org" <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] varroa count and treatment question (Api Life Var)
  • Date: Tue, 25 Aug 2015 12:55:50 -0400

The Vita-Europe (manufacturer) website has complete info. 

I think they recommend leaving the entrances open, but check their instructions. My memory is kinda hit and miss.😀

______

Walter




Sent from my iPhone

On Aug 25, 2015, at 12:34 PM, Erika Wittchen <erika48 AT gmail.com> wrote:

Thanks Walter, Randall,
We are going to get some Apiguard and put it on both hives ASAP.  I only wish we had known that Apiguard could be used at higher temps, as we would have treated when we first saw the high mite load (early July) instead of waiting until temps cooled enough for the Apilife Var that we had planned on using.  Oh well, live and learn... 

Besides putting the cardboard in to cover the screened bottom board, should we also reduce the entrance to the middle size option?

We will post again with updates once we complete the treatment. I'm also attaching a very sad picture of one of the bees to show others what to look for.
Wish us luck!

Erika and Rob 

On Tue, Aug 25, 2015 at 11:51 AM, Walter Starks <walterstarks AT icloud.com> wrote:
Just an FYI. The manufacturer of Apiguard now recommends leaving the 2nd treatment for as long as necessary for it to get completely used up. May take longer than 2 weeks. If I remember right, their wording was to check the second treatment after it had been on for 2 weeks and then again a week later. If any of the gel still remained at that time, it should be removed from the container and scraped onto the top bars.

______

Walter




Sent from my iPhone

On Aug 25, 2015, at 11:37 AM, Randall Austin <ra41717 AT gmail.com> wrote:

Erika,

I started treatment with ApiGuard last weekend; another respected person I know started the week before that. ApiGuard can handle higher temps than MiteAway Quick Strips (MAQS). But if the forecast is for highs in the low 80's for a week, you should be fairly safe with MAQS too. When it pushes the 90s, I personally would stick to ApiGuard. If there is a stretch above the low/mid 90s, I would wait altogether.

Your observation about a very strong hive suddenly collapsing due to mites is a classic scenario, even an expected one for hives that aren't effectively treated. It is the strongest hives with the most brood and, thus, the most varroa that you often see this happen to. When the colony growth tapers off after the spring nectar flow, the varroa growth overwhelms it. The beekeeper goes into the hive in late July or August and says, "Where'd everybody go?" This is one of those key learning experiences that all long-term, thinking beekeepers have encountered early in their learning journey and have taken to heart. We must know our enemy and take appropriate action to fight it.

The hive with the deformed wings may be a lost cause but never say never. Your story is a cautionary tale that took a little while for me to learn too: always keep mite levels low -- don't let them pop in and out of the danger zone. The once-popular advice to only treat when mites get out of control is outdated and not supported by the latest science. The viruses that mites vector and activate continue to wreak havoc even if you get rid of the mite infestation.

If these were my hives, I would put on ApiGuard asap. If you have screened bottoms, close them with something -- I prefer cut-down plastic campaign signs but cardboard from an old pizza box works fine too. Place the opened ApiGuard tin directly on the top bars over the brood nest. Put an empty super around it as a spacer and replace the cover. Leave it on for 2 weeks then repeat with a fresh tin. After 2 more weeks you can remove the old tin and empty super.

Let me know if you have further questions. Good luck!

Randall

On 8/25/2015 10:56 AM, Erika Wittchen wrote:

Hi Randall,

I wanted to follow up on this thread. We’ve been waiting for cooler temps to treat our hives but unfortunately after inspecting this weekend (8/23)  it appears our formerly strong hive (the one with the high mite count back in July) has suddenly lost a large chunk of it’s population and we are seeing significant level of mites. We’re also seeing a lot of bees with deformed wings on the ground near the hive (deformed wing virus). Our second hive still appears to be doing well. I’m worried that if we wait much longer (for cooler weather) it will be too late to save the hive with any treatment. With a few days in the 10 day forecast still entering the low 90’s is it close enough to treat the hives?  The fact that we already see a lot of bees with deformed wings, and such a catastrophic population drop, we are resigned that it may already be a lost cause.

Another quick note, it’s amazing how dramatically fast the impact on the [formerly] strong hive has been since a previous quick inspection the week before last (8/15). We’re wondering if something else happened for us to see that large of a population decrease so quickly.  At that inspection, we started feeding 1:1 syrup on both hives because they had little to no food stores, so we don't think they would have absconded due to starvation. We also confirmed the presence of eggs and some capped brood in that hive (during our inspection Sun 8/23), just not a lot of it.

Any thoughts on proceeding with treatment and any other suggestions from anyone would be welcomed.

Thanks,

Erika and Rob


On Tue, Jul 21, 2015 at 4:49 PM, Randall Austin <ra41717 AT gmail.com> wrote:
Erika,

Great questions. The short answers:

1) Yes, treat both hives with an effective miticide such as ApiLife Var, ApiGuard or MiteAway Quick Strips. Treating all of them isn't to prevent robbing; it because mites drift from hive to hive on drifting bees. That behavior is a key part of the mites' propagation strategy. So you should treat your bee yard as a unit, not just a few hives within it.

2) Definitely yes, wait until the temperature allows you to treat per the label instructions. The temperature usually begins to cooperate around late August. The 3 fumigation-type treatments mentioned above are all temperature sensitive and can cause harm to the colony if applied when the temperature is too hot. Follow the directions carefully.

More information is <here>, <here> and <here>. Take a look and let me know if you have further questions.

Randall


On 7/21/2015 1:51 PM, Erika Wittchen wrote:
Hi all, was wondering if anyone has any advice for us re: varroa load and treatment options. 

Having just harvested our honey a few weeks ago, we did a powdered sugar test this weekend and found a mite count of 17 in one hive, and 1 in another.  From what I understand, 17 is on the threshold for treatment, correct?

We bought some Api Life Var tablets, but upon reading the instructions it advises that treatment above temperatures of 90F can be very stressful and might lead to absconding.  I also read that other hives should be treated simultaneously to prevent robbing. We have only one other hive, and it only had a mite count of 1.

Anyone have experience with this product?  Would it be better to treat now and risk the hive, or wait until when--it will likely be September before the daily highs are below 90. And if we do treat, do we treat both hives?

Other than the somewhat high mite count, the hive is doing really well in my opinion.
I'm interested in hearing what others think.

Thanks as always!
Erika


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<deformed wings and mite.jpg>



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