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Nosema ceranae?

3K views 8 replies 5 participants last post by  Flyer Jim 
#1 ·
#3 ·
This is the 1st I've heard of any potential problems with using Bt in beehives. Has anyone heard any cautions about using Bt to control wax moths in supers? I'm about to treat all my empty supers with Bt and I'd sure like to know if anyone has heard anything. I'll be using the Bt aizawai powder that is advertised in the For Sale section here on Beesource.

Thanks,

Tim
 
#4 ·
beemeister sezs:
This is the 1st I've heard of any potential problems with using Bt in beehives.

tecumseh replies:
well beemeister rather than the product itself (which I understand is sprayed on combs and I think was at one time sold under the trade name certaan-sp?), the unlikely suspect in this case is a gene attached to any number of crops and questions have arisen about possible contamination to the bees from these crops pollen and nectar. so the hypothesized route would be somewhat different-direct contact by adults vs feeding to the larvae.

I had heard, via a customer-genetic professor, that there was some concern in germany since rapeseed was one of the first crops where Bt was spliced into the plants genome. it is my understanding that any number of other crops have now had the Bt gene spliced onto their genome...cotton, corn...

in regards to using Bt as a wax worm preventative (studies suggest it is not totally effective) I would really not loose much sleep over contamination when using it directly on the comb.
 
#5 ·
Thanks Tecumseh for the information. Now that you mention it, I had heard about the gene splicing. It's been discussed here on Beesource! My memory just needed a little prompting.

Thanks again.

Tim
 
#7 ·
dave w ask:
May I ask, WHAT STUDIES?

tecumseh replies:
in one of the old bee magazines (that I obtained from odfrank) they compared certan (I think that is Bt, but most definitely correct me if I am wrong here dave) with gas (ethylene something-which I think is now banned) and moth crystal (can't recall the chemical name). anyway the time frame was at about the time when certan was first introduced for the purpose of wax moth treatment. when they compared the three treatments the certan treated frames developed a minor amount of wax damage. not severe, but clearly not 100 percent effective. they had some (in that era all black and white and on many occasion not so crisp) photos comparing the treatments. The damage was not so extensive that if I did use Bt I don't think I would have been persuaded to not use the product.

for myself the best and cheapest wax moth control is keeping supers on robust hives until after the moth season.
 
#8 ·
>correct me if I am wrong . . .

Thats not what I was trying to do, but thanx for the info :)


Oh, Ethylene dibromide (EDB) was reported by H. M. Krebs (1957) to be highly effective. Kills the eggs as well as adults and larvae. Was once an approved fumigant; now a hazardous chemical.

:)
 
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