OA treatment of bee package
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http://www.ars.usda.gov/SP2UserFile...1-400/384-Harbo--Heating Adult Honey Bees.pdf
I'll stick with OAV.
I'll stick with OAV.
So ou hive the bees...queen in cage. Pull the cage for 10 min or so while you Vapourizer the package bees and then replace the queen cage for release?
Janne - What I did was simply hived the bees as normal. Went back after queen was released, removed cage as normal, then waited 5 days. Did the OAV after making sure there was brood. I didn't want the brood to be too close to capped and the mites already be in the cells hiding.
I should add that when I hive bees from packages, I use a simple marshmallow in the release hole. Normally only takes at most a day for release.
I followed the method above just in case something did happen to the queen during the process there would be eggs/larva to make a new queen.
I should add that when I hive bees from packages, I use a simple marshmallow in the release hole. Normally only takes at most a day for release.
I followed the method above just in case something did happen to the queen during the process there would be eggs/larva to make a new queen.
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i just sawthat video on youtube jan 13 2021 i am a new beekeeper in central florida. i receive my package in late march. i asked the usda insp and she said ova is good if temps below 90 but ask producer who told me they treat in the fall. after reading your posts. ...thxs... i will ova while bees in package while inverted in hive like the youtube from triad bee supply suggested using an empty brood box on top to cover package with shim and lid. any advice is appreciated
Welcome to beekeeping and the site. I would ask your supplier if they treat as many do these days. If not, I think Most would advise that you hive the package and then treat after they have settled in, but before they have capped any cells. As you may know, oxalic acid is an effective treatment for phoretic mites. The treatment is unable to penetrate the wax cappings so that's why it is best to give them a shot before cells are capped. If you plan on treating exclusively with a OAV, it needs to be done in a series so you are eventually treating all (most really) of the bees, and killing mites before a cell is capped. There are lots of discussions on this and timing has changed, so look for posts within the past 2 years. Best of luck and welcome aboard. J
Bearcavesaga, The consensus among experienced beekeepers is to NOT treat a package until after they have drawn some comb and the queen is laying, but BEFORE any of the brood is capped, 9 days after the first egg is laid. Packages are not anchored well since there is no comb or brood in the hive and the queen is not laying. I would hate for you to treat them too soon, only to have the entire colony abscond shortly thereafter. There is no upper temperature limitation on OAV, lower temp is around 40-45 degrees F. Any colder and the bees are in too tight of a cluster for the treatment to do much good.
OAV is OA applied as a vaporized dust using a heating device that sublimates the OA. OAD is a dribble or spray application of OA dissolved in a light sugar syrup.
OAV is OA applied as a vaporized dust using a heating device that sublimates the OA. OAD is a dribble or spray application of OA dissolved in a light sugar syrup.
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thanks for the very sound advice about assuring eggs and brood before treating mites in the package to ensure survival of the hive after package install. getting advice from this forum is really helpful.
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66 Posts
If a mite hides in the food stored in a cell before capping and breaths through a snorkel at what point is OAV useless, as it attacks mites through their feet?
I would want to treat packages and swarms before that point.
I would want to treat packages and swarms before that point.
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One reason I have gathered is the bees will turn on the queen, since her pheromones aren't full force yet.
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If you're buying packages that have varroa, probably time to find a new supplier.
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I was just reading an article by Randy Oliver (the guru of killing mites) where he talked about a year that timing was just off and despite treating the mites got away from him.
Better safe than sorry. Why not treat after the queen starts laying but before there is capped brood?
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I have heard (and seen) that with Formic Acid. I have never had (or heard) that problem with OA.
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what packages don't have varroa ?
A package can show zero mites on a alcohol wash (meaning they are coming from a supplier who is doing very good mite control) and still have 30 mites
Every mite you kill in april is 62 mites you or the bees don't have to deal with in oct, that's 1860 mites (not counting drift) at the end of the year vs 60 or so if you OAV the package at a 97% kill rate.
say the package producer is following thresholds his hives were at 1% when the package was shook, not time to treat yet.... thats a starting load of 105 and 6720 mites by OCT and likely a mite bomb.
It pays dividends to treat a package.. and its good beekeeping.. If it was SOP there would be al lot less 1st year beekeepers with dead hives right about now, and a lot less people fighting mite bombs e
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It's bad beekeeping to sell mite infested packages.
Especially if they're going to be charging such high prices.
I agree that mites should be addressed in packages, but I disagree the customer should be responsible for taking care of that responsibility (although it seems like they're being forced to take on that burden),.
Especially if they're going to be charging such high prices.
I agree that mites should be addressed in packages, but I disagree the customer should be responsible for taking care of that responsibility (although it seems like they're being forced to take on that burden),.
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