Moving forward with Oxalic Acid Mite Treatment Research

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

Hey Bob, did you see those increased counts across the rest of your yards? If not, I agree, potentially a mite loaded neighbour

[@bobbinnie9872]

The other yards had increased mite numbers that would be considered normal but nothing like the two yards mentioned. Because these two were so close to each other we think they got into the same source of mite bombs. It's just a theory, and I could be wrong, but I think that's what probably happened. What I didn't mention in the video is that there is a bee-yard less than a mile away run by a man that dropped from 250 colonies to 150 last winter because of a lack of timely mite treatments. His remaining bees were still struggling in spring. He's a good friend, a good guy and a very knowledgable beekeeper but he's way too busy and has a hard time keeping up with his bees. We've talked about the problem, and he knows he needs to change something. I'm wondering if this could be the source.

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

Ah yes. Well at any rate, they needed mites in the hives ti see if there is efficacy to the treatment

[@bobbinnie9872]

@@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog Lemons into lemonade.

[@randallcarter-carterhillho2277]

Great video, in northwest alabama i have 6 out yards with 6-8 colonies in each. I did washes in mid march and had 0-1 mites. I too had high (10-25 on average)washes in late july but the 2 yards closest to town where there is other beekeepers and more feral colonies averaged higher mite counts overall on a per yard basis. In my no treatment years i would start seeing absconding take place in as early as mid to late june in my honey production colonies.

[@baniortiz797]

Hi I don't agree with the neighbors theory , here in SC we have a year with a high mite population maybe the weather I already loose 1 hive I am trying to save other hives

[@donbearden1953]

Bob, I want to thank you for donating you hives, time and money and all you do for the study of bees to help other beekeepers, our nation and mankind! It’s ashamed our government doesn’t get onboard to help with this cause! After all, our bees play a big part in feeding the world! Our government should help pay to treat the mites, they pay for a lot of things a lot less important!

[@bobbinnie9872]

Amen.

[@FlyBuy777]

Big 👍 on that. So much money wasted on unimportant things.

[@Edgarsantosofficial1]

What a great teaching with more than 8 k views God bless Bob you deserve for your great teaching 1 million views and 1 million thumbs up .

[@tuhuertoyjardin]

Bob, I was the one commenting from Chile. Please note that our mentor here (Chile's Lake District. We have a rainy weather but cold. Not snow here in winter) recommends only 2 strips per colony in the brood box, despite what the Aluen Cap instructions says. Maybe you can try 4 in some and two in others. We apply three times in the season: Early spring, summer and fall. Thanks!

[@bobbinnie9872]

@@DC-Accuracy Sorry, I don't.

[@bobbinnie9872]

@Rex Roberton I believe it's 42 days.

[@xyalbo5892]

@@DC-Accuracy hey, just produce them yourself, its very easy , there are lot of videos about it

[@jpthedelawarebeeman6239]

Hi Bob thank you for doing what you do and I can't wait to hear some of the results.

[@kamonreynolds]

Thanks for sharing Bob!

[@nickford5549]

Comment for the alg mostly, you guys really do help the industry. Many of the concepts you not only talk about point out the research on makes deciphering the opinion from facts for the new guys

[@matthewklump7586]

Thank you for your videos Bob. I've learned and used a lot of your knowledge on my own colonies. I really appreciate what you do.

[@dsummerscm]

So fascinating and exciting! Thank you Bob for giving of your time, your resources and so much more to this project!

[@bobbinnie9872]

Hi Dawn. Thank you.

[@solivaguswayfarer]

Thank you and GBA for supporting the lab!

[@joelcaldwell4852]

Really appreciate your videos Bob!

[@thesidelinebeekeeper-craig6924]

This is great to see! With Apivar having issues, it’s wonderful to see new treatments being investigated. With the temps being what they are in the south, when we need to treat, having options is wonderful. Thanks for sharing.

[@jeffsea6490]

*Interesting Video,thx 4 sharing Bob*

[@ristol6867]

Thanks for all you do! I've learned so much from your vids, and appreciate all you do for the community! I look forward to hearing the results of the study.

[@russellkoopman3004]

Very interesting Bob. Sure hope they work because we need a safe product to use that doesn't break the bank. Looking forward to the results. I know this product will take years to clear all the paperwork and hurdles.

[@kathyhathaway8823]

Hello Bob just got a chance to watch this video. In my bees this year I have done washes about every 30-45 days an I have had zeros on two all year an the other hive I had four mites . Then in early September I done a OA treatment just to check an WOW on my screen bottom board

[@alfredobonillacastaneda1541]

Shocking! I have been shadowing your inspection times with my times too. I was at 0 and some hives at 1 mite per 300. I checked just like what you did and found my self at average of 16% across. Some hive check at 35 mites for 300. I like your theory. I have another beekeeper close by; I when to talk to him and he describe to me a very similar situation. I gotta said the weather was all crazy up here in Canada. Thanks for the videos Mr Binnie.

[@seanmccaffrey6378]

Good video,I run 200 hives in the uk but have never treat yearly for varroa only when I see problems ,i ve never used any other treatments in twenty years only oxalic acid vaporised when required and only cost pence per hive and done in a minute! I never do mite counting because most mites are in cells so I feel killing 300 bees is pointless.I don’t think mites choose drone cells,as I run a brood framed of drone in every box and have uncapped one and found no mites,if there’s drone cells on the base of a brood frame I find more mites in there. I find a brood break is extremely beneficial to reduce numbers of mites. Keep up the good work and good luck!

[@TheUnknownBeekeeper]

Be good to test up here in northeast one-day soon hopefully

[@beekeepinggarden165]

Hello Bob Sebastian from UK Thank you for fantastic information about Beekeeping challenges 🐝👍

[@RTFMAce]

The thought that your colonies experienced a "mite bomb" is interesting. I need to look around my area a bit more since I found a similar situation in my yard. I have only 24 hives with early August mite counts between 0 and 2. My late September numbers were between 9 and 14 on three tested hives which prompted me to treat the yard right away with Apivar. I was confused as to how the count bounced so high in 7.5 weeks but, I never considered other hives in the area. Thank you for the videos and for all the work (and donation of hives) for these tests. I'm very interested in your results.

[@beemanandbeeboy2334]

Very interested in hearing about the final results.

[@bobbinnie9872]

Jennifer hopes to put that out soon.

[@francesmoore7827]

Ha Bob did they finish up with the test and did the strips work and did u find out where u can buy them Thanks have a blessed week

[@bobbinnie9872]

Hi Frances. The test is finished and we'll be showing the results sometime in November.

[@KayiFarmJaHoneyBees]

Hi Bob, I was thinking a migration of drones could be a one of the potential cause of higher mite growth, as what I understand is that once hives start to experience low flood resource in dearth, they evict the drones and so these drones go to hives that are typically higher in food resource and more accepting. Just a thought.

[@hockinghillshoneyfarm9273]

Thanks Bob hopefully this is a game changer in mite control.

[@charlesoneill466]

Great information. Thanks

[@repurposedart9897]

???How did the study and treatment work on these hives??? Is there an updated video

[@bobbinnie9872]

We're meeting with Jennifer in January to share the results. I'll post it.

[@brucesnavely3603]

Bob I had a hive just six months old with a new Queen this year that was really going strong. Two deeps of brood. Only made one super of Honey though which is low for me in this area. I should have done a mite count in July or early August but I did not and did one on the 13th of October. I was shocked to find 90 mites out of 238 bees. I was really dismayed and thought how is this even possible?

[@bobbinnie9872]

It's always a shock to see numbers like that. Before the study was finished some of the numbers on the controls were like that.

[@lisavogel8346]

@@bobbinnie9872 If a colony has a mite test of 90 mites in a sample like this (238 bee sample? ), do you usually find that it crashes even after treatment? My experience is those are dead bees walking. The viral load is already too high and beyond control.

[@bobbinnie9872]

@@lisavogel8346 It's tough to bring them back but you can. Our main trick is to boost them with a couple of frames of brood from a healthy colony if it's not to late in the season. We may even come back a week later and do it a second time. And then of course, there are times when it may not be worth the effort.

[@wayneshoneybees5439]

Randy Oliver last year had similar issue. Went from near zero to high numbers in the fall. I think some mite fall migration. We need to study how and when mites migrate. Not just on the backs.

[@RyanMcDonnough]

If you find out when/where we can view the PBS presentation, then please let us know Thanks for showing us how quickly mite bombs can tear-up a yard. More people need to understand this.

[@bobbinnie9872]

Will do.

[@kathyhathaway8823]

Oops something happen as I was saying on the bottom board an all three hives it looked like thousands well there to much to count . I am on my fourth OA treatment now an the mites are way down. I think maybe one more treatment may get them back to around zero. So I am having the same problem. Thanks for your video’s. I have learned a lot from them . Thanks

[@lenturtle7954]

Bob with what we know about mites and drones now do you think checking the drones during and before these tests would have changed the way you look at this .

[@bobbinnie9872]

Yes. This helps our understanding of how the slowing of drone rearing contributes to the sudden increase in mite sampling numbers in mid to late summer.

[@scottpierson7495]

Hello Bob, I’m sure you are very busy, but that was great news with the lab getting the funding, I’m not far from UC Davis which has a great bee keeping program. Have you ever done anything with them? Also I’m looking into buying some quality Caucasian breeders in early spring, to mix with my stock, any recommendations? Hopefully will be putting the autographed timing box I hope to get from you this winter, which I can pay for now, Always appreciate your input and great work you are doing in the fight against these darn mites. Great content Sir. Thank you, Scott sunnyshoneynbeeworks

[@bobbinnie9872]

I would suggest Shibu Raj. His website and email are in the video description of our video "Artificial Queen Bee Insemination with Shibu Raj". kzbin.info/www/bejne/pXmXl4yLp76eZ9k. I've not done anything with UC Davis. We'l be building those timing boxes in December or January. Please check back and we'll get you one. Thanks.

[@kevinwright8823]

Thanks for sharing!!

[@justducky0]

I have had a similar thing happen. Zero mites, zero mites and then when the robbing started they were bombed.

[@timjones6637]

It possible those high rate mites already inside broods til it hatch out at the time y’all alcohol washing??

[@richblohm1666]

Thanks to both you, Jennifer and the rest of the team. Could you provide a link so some of us could make an additional donation to the bee lab. We all benefit from research that comes out of Jennifers lab and I'd hate to see it go under do to lack of funds.

[@jimhegarty9561]

Bob, Thanks for posting these videos! At what avg daytime temp do you remove the frame feeder?

[@bobbinnie9872]

We leave them in some of our double deeps all year but we don't like to use them if the daytime temps fall consistently below 55f.

[@gerardjohnson2106]

Good research.

[@BlanchardsBees]

🐝Here's an observation of mine using OAV in SW Iowa. I started OAV on Sept. 7th and did 9 OAV treatments approx 3-4 days apart. During which I noticed all my hives went almost completely broodless in September?. I had high mite loads to begin but in October they were back to 1%-none. Any thoughts why they went broodless so early maybe to aggressive on the OAV? Thanks.

[@blain2484]

Hi Bob, just curious.....do we know what the difference is between beekeeping oxcalic acid and off the shelf? Off the shelf will say 99.6% oxcalic acid, While beekeeping stuff says 97% oxcalic acid and 3% some other ingredients. Do we know what those other 3% ingredients are?

[@bobbinnie9872]

Sorry, I don't know what the other ingredients are.

[@KevinJones-ve3hl]

Great info Bob, looking foreword to the follow up. So glad the University of Georgia was able to get more funding to keep the lab open. They should be funded by the USDA due to the importance of their research.

[@cbbees1468]

Do those cage nets disrupt the returning foragers and possibly increase bee drift?

[@bobbinnie9872]

They do disrupt things for awhile. As far as drift, I think most of them find home when it's over.

[@cbbees1468]

@@bobbinnie9872 Thanks for the response!

[@barrykasdorf5633]

Thanks Bob. I’ve heard but haven’t tried 1:1 oxalic acid/glycerine on paper towel (saturated) and laid flat on the frames of the bottom deep. I’m not sure of the regulations in Canada around this use of OA. Have you heard of this or something similar?

[@bobbinnie9872]

UGA studied something much like this with some of my bees two years ago and they didn't have good results. I don't know the concentration they used.

[@barrykasdorf5633]

@@bobbinnie9872 thanks for the prompt reply Bob!

[@chadhagel5093]

I am up in Canada , and have a candy board on for winter it has some hard candy and fondant in it. Do i need to remove it for oxalic acid treatments? Will it ruin the feed?

[@bobbinnie9872]

Hi Chad. I honestly don't know the answer to that.

[@chadhagel5093]

@@bobbinnie9872 no problem. I appreciate the reply.

[@andywhite9932]

Bob. Has the bee lab conducted any studies of mite control using the rna developed by Bayer and sold to Greenlight Biosciences?

[@bobbinnie9872]

I don't know the answer to that.

[@mrw2403]

I'm guessing that product isn't out for purchase yet?

[@bobbinnie9872]

Not in the USA. Hint, you might want to hold off on getting any until you see the results.

[@honeydropfarm1605]

@@bobbinnie9872what if you got bombed again right before removing the strips? Then you wouldn't know if it worked or not. If you got bombed before the experiment even started, then the odds are high that the bombing continued throughout the experiment, especially with those large yards nearby. Many of the mites in Jennifer's final count were probably raised in another colony, not yours. If your mites were all gone at the end of the experiment, you'd know that it worked; but if they WEREN'T all gone, then you wouldn't know that it didn't work! If the results were unfavorable, then I think that Jennifer's paper should include a note that results could have been skewed by mite bombs and the experiment needs to be repeated. I can't see this being conclusive.

[@armanpoloyan570]

Hello Mr. Bob,after Your advice, I treat my bees twice against varroa mites .Whatever I could fined in the market was heavy chemical called (Бипин Т)-russian production ,after that I somehow got information from internet to use fir essential oil.The way to use it is: to drop one ml per one frame of full bees on the cotton pellow and leave them under the hive,second treatment after one week. The result is amazing.I found this could be interesting for You.

[@bobbinnie9872]

Thank you for the information. Bipin-T contains both amitraz and thymol. My guess is that it gave you more control than the fir oil but I don't know for sure.

[@markbooth8458]

Hello Bob. I have a quick question. Would you have Dadant winter patties on. When you do a oxalic acid treatment? I was asked that question and can't find anything that says you can or can not. Thanks

[@bobbinnie9872]

Hi Mark. It may be just fine, and seems like it would be, but I honestly don't know for sure so I actually avoid having patties on when I vaporize.

[@GEEZBEEZ]

Thanks so much for sharing. Looking forward to more results.

[@3Beehivesto300]

Net dome over hive??? It that to stop robbing during inspection? Lol I asked them a few min later in the video you explain…

[@naturessweetbees3033]

Hi Bob, after being mite bomb, do you feel like your bees will still survive winter if you are able to knock the mites back to acceptable numbers within a 1 month timeline?

[@bobbinnie9872]

We've been treating and tending aggressively and it looks like we'll save around 75%. We'll see.

[@pcelarskisokak]

@@bobbinnie9872 Imported mite on fortunately have ruined brood in someone else hives.This situation shows how varroa mite could be unpredictable and there is no time to rest in struggle against varroa. Low number of varroa mites in the earlier alcohol wash gives hope that bees will survive. Corrective treatment will solve the problem. Thanks for the video, mite reinvasion is very common today and beekepers should be aware of it.

[@robinfrazier9763]

Well education is great but us old timers have to do the way we like . Rob.

[@badassbees3680]

First.. I've wondered why someone hasn't injected strips with oa like Apivar..Looks like they are!

[@melaniejenkins109]

Fascinating

[@ZZTalkZZ]

Why can’t we use a high speed camera + algorithm to count the mites without killing the bees?

[@bobbinnie9872]

A high percentage of the mites are out of sight.

[@ZZTalkZZ]

@@bobbinnie9872 thanks for the response; was also thinking the time would be way higher… just sad so many bees die to save the whole :-(

[@mileawayhoney2802]

? you did not like the link?

[@bobbinnie9872]

I don't recall, send it again. Thanks.

[@Lbfarmsllc]

OA doesn’t like to work in Georgia for some reason.

[@otogoshadze8868]

Здравствуйте...пажалуста если сможете пририсите мне рецепт препарат "варомед"... хочу сам приготовит...для мои пчёлы....

[@Plopstick55]

Perhaps the zeros were a false positive result and something happens in your testing method.?

[@bobbinnie9872]

Perhaps but I don't think so. We tested a good number of colonies in that yard.

[@oscarvilla6841]

👍

[@bobbinnie9872]

😀Hi Oscar.

[@honeydropfarm1605]

Suspense.... I hope you don't lose too many colonies

[@bobbinnie9872]

So far just 9 out of the 45. Not to b bad.

[@greghill9958]

We run 75 hives of Russians here and going for 150 in 20/22.

[@rajeshpinapati007]

Indian plz reply. I want artificial Queen bee insemination kit.

[@ShibuRajkalluvila]

Where are you located ?

[@rajeshpinapati007]

@@ShibuRajkalluvila guntur andhrapradesh india

[@jayphillips2582]

Alright Bob, it’s time to release the results lol

[@bobbinnie9872]

I agree. Jennifer and Lewis and I have been trying to get together but one obstacle after another keeps getting in the way. Right now I hoping to see them the second week in January. We'll see.