Metarhizium

[WVbeekeeper]

why doesn't anybody use this stuff for mite control. sounds pretty nice to me since it gives the mites a deadly pathogen which reproduces on mites and can spread between them. read this;
http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/pub..._NO_115=140685
was additional studies preformed that had indications not to use it?

it appears i should have done a search, cause there has been some discussion on it.

[aszalan]

here are the results of another study showing a lack of control in field studies.

NHB-Sponsored Mite Control Research Project Completed; More Projects Underway for 2006
Longmont, Colo. - A research project titled "Microbial Control of Varroa with the Fungus Metarhizium Anisopliae" was recently completed, but did not produce any measurable results.
The National Honey Board (NHB) provided funding for the project through its research program. Rosalind James, PhD., at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service in Utah led the project with assistance from Jerry Hayes, •
Chief-Apiary Inspection section at the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer
Services and Jerrod Leland, PhD., Southern Insect Management Research Unit, MS.
The project's objective was to test the viability of the fungus Metarhizium Anisopliae as a control for the Varroa mite. Two field trials were conducted, each one varying the application methods and the season.
None of the experiments gave any measurable level of mite control. Although the fungus Metarhizium Anisopliae is capable of infecting mites in the laboratory at hive temperatures, poor infection rates occurred in the field. The spores survived very poorly in the hive, and may have been a major cause for lack of efficacy.
Another possible reason for the poor field control may be that the treatments failed to get the spores into direct contact with the mites, a condition required for infection to occur. The mites are protected from exposure to spores when they are in
the brood cells. Also, when varroa are on the bodies of adult bees, it may be difficult to get the spores directly in contact with the mite cuticle.
To obtain a copy of the research project report, call NHB at 1-800-553-7162.

http://michiganbees.org/august06.htm

[WVbeekeeper]

thanks, i've read all the threads about it. it seemed at first a lot of people were excited by it. some were speaking of starting a company to market it. some put links up for where to obtain it. that was a few years ago. this year some were speculating it could be a contributing cause to ccd when found in conjunction with imidacloprid and other factors. some kinda led me to believe that the original results may have been doctored to further someone's career. i was wondering why no one was talking about it, but all the posts were from before i joined here so that's why i never seen them.