Varroa Gate?

Nugget Shooter · July 15, 2016, 01:38:26 PM

Interesting article... Not sure if it has already been posted?

https://beecare.bayer.com/media-center/news/detail/a-new-way-of-protecting-bees-against-varroa-mites

KeyLargoBees · July 15, 2016, 03:00:18 PM

Its Bayers way of staying ahead of the VOA approval and the rush away from chemicals that will follow...they will lose money when we stop using miticides so they come up with a gimmick that we woudl still have to buy from them.

and before you VOA naysayers chime in ...whether you like it or not ....and whether you follow the letter of US law or 20 years of european experience....it absolutely does work ;-)

Dallasbeek · July 15, 2016, 04:07:05 PM

VOA? ? ?

KeyLargoBees · July 15, 2016, 04:49:49 PM

Vaporized Oxalic Acid

Dallasbeek · July 15, 2016, 06:12:44 PM

Ohhhh. DUH. All I could think of was Voice of America. Thanks.

bwallace23350 · July 15, 2016, 06:30:42 PM

What kind of approval

ApisFlorea · July 16, 2016, 10:58:05 PM

More importantly, careful consideration is needed for the long-term analysis of the chemical residue in honey, pollen and wax.

Honeybees are different than cats and dogs in that they produce something humans consume.

GSF · July 18, 2016, 08:19:43 AM

bwallace, I use OA to bleach my wooden frames.., the side effect is that it kills ninety something percent of the varroa mites after 3-4 weekly bleaching's.

Acebird · July 18, 2016, 09:42:57 AM

Are you kidding? Coating the bee with poison while it is working in the hive!

This is so wrong.

mtnb · July 18, 2016, 10:26:38 AM

Quote from: GSF on July 18, 2016, 08:19:43 AM
bwallace, I use OA to bleach my wooden frames.., the side effect is that it kills ninety something percent of the varroa mites after 3-4 weekly bleaching's.

HUH? 3-4 weekly bleachings? I'm with acebird, that doesn't sound kosher. eek

Michael Bush · July 18, 2016, 01:49:42 PM

Classic misdirection. Bayer makes the pesticides that are killing the bees, so they dazzle us with amazing photography and promise new poisons to fix the bee problem they contributed to.

GSF · July 18, 2016, 02:46:20 PM

Once a week for 3-4 weeks. The "bleaching the frames" is jokingly used as a cover up to using OA.

ApisFlorea · July 19, 2016, 06:26:37 AM

Another study along the same lines but apparently without chemicals:

http://modernfarmer.com/2016/06/fungi-help-save-honeybee/

little john · July 19, 2016, 07:30:27 AM

Quote from: ApisFlorea on July 19, 2016, 06:26:37 AM
Another study along the same lines but apparently without chemicals:

http://modernfarmer.com/2016/06/fungi-help-save-honeybee/

I wouldn't call that 'a study' - I'd call that 'somebody selling a product', and apparently without peer-reviewed experimental evidence to support it's efficacy.

Small print from their website: *These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. For educational purposes only."

LJ

mtnb · July 19, 2016, 09:06:42 AM

Quote from: GSF on July 18, 2016, 02:46:20 PM
Once a week for 3-4 weeks. The "bleaching the frames" is jokingly used as a cover up to using OA.

Oh lol.

Blacksheep · July 19, 2016, 12:14:01 PM

Not sure if that would work however we sure do need something to help the bees rid them selves of the mites.They did say this application was done after the Honey season was finished as the bees are preparing for winter. Everything has side effects I guess but we must keep trying to help!Yes errors will be made in the efforts to do
something but that is the only way we can learn and progress>We must think outside the box so to speak!

little john · July 19, 2016, 03:17:59 PM

Apart from the chemical issue, Bayer have got something of a problem with the physics of the gate itself. http://www.research.bayer.com/en/24-varroa-mite.pdfx

In order to make intimate contact with worker bees, the holes of their gate need to be small ... but ... that would mean that drones can't pass through. And if you make the holes big enough for drones to pass through, then the chemical won't make intimate contact with worker bees.

It'll be interesting to see how they get around that one. Some form of flexible wiper which the bees have to push their way through would seem the obvious choice - but that's been tried before (and failed).

What I can't figure out is why Bayer have gone public with something which is very clearly still in the experimental phase ... maybe there's a share-holder's meeting coming up ?

LJ

Acebird · July 19, 2016, 05:33:19 PM

The bee is making intimate contact with the chemical just by walking through it. They then spread it all through the hive. Keep in mind there are tens of thousands of bees going in and out of the hive. They are not only spreading the chemical all through the hive they are spreading it all over our food. This said chemical has to be extremely toxic to work. I can't wait to have commercial beekeepers using this method and polluting the environment.