Perhaps there is a difference between MAQS and the home made formic treatment we use. We have seen live mites above the treatment in a hive that had formic acid towels placed in the middle between two brood boxes. None below.
We took that as a sign that the treatment goes as high as possible in the hive. By mid-August, the only time of year we use F.A. as a severe I.P.M. treatment, we have already taken the honey supers off, except for the one box for the bee's Winter supply. It stays and gets treated along with the brood. The queen and some attendants get put into a queen bank colony for 2 or 3 days while the treatment is in and a day or two after, and then they go back to their respective hives.
This coming week has a prediction for our area of 98 degrees tomorrow (Thursday, 13 August, 2020), 103, 96, 105, 107, 109, 107, 105, 100, and 96 degrees peak temp's on the following days, so formic is out of the question here, unless I can move the bees some place cooler.