PRESENT: Frank Lindsay, (Pres.), Mary Ann Lindsay (Treas.), John Burnet (Sec.) and 27 members as listed in the attendance book.

APOLOGIES: Cliff Hulston, Alan Paterson, Pam McDowell

MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING: Minutes of meeting held 12 May 2003 as detailed in the June newsletter were confirmed. (Moved: Deborah Paterson, Seconded: Amor Walter - CARRIED)

Varroa Update: President advised that varroa has now spread into Waitotara (probably deliberately), Wanganui, Manawatu, Havelock North, Horowhenua (as far south as Levin), and Whitemans Valley. The northern limit of the local infestation appeared to Taupo Swamp, Plimmerton and the southern limit was at Whitby. Frank suggested that club members within 20km of a red spot (as marked on AgriQuality’s varroa map), have probably got mites. Hutt Valley was probably also infected and hives in this area should now be checked while the queen was not laying. Michelle King confirmed recent discovery of mites in her hives at Te Horo.

Bayvarol strips were now available at the meeting for insertion in the middle of brood boxes. ($8 per pack)

Ham Maxwell, honorary life member and ex club president had donated a number of unwanted beekeeping books, which while old, were still very relevant to modern beekeeping.

Trevor Reynolds, one-time Wellington beekeeper and now resident in Turangi, had written advising his six hives, extractor and equipment was hives were for sale. Secretary had advised him that as his hives were north of the Movement Control line, they could not be sold in Wellington or the southern half of the North Island. A possible Bay of Plenty purchaser was suggested or alternatively he wait until the line was abolished and re-established at Cook Strait which was likely at the end of the month.

Les Solomon (Wainuiomata) has a hive for sale.

President advised that he knew of two new beekeepers in Brooklyn and Otaki who were looking for hives.

Ivan Pedersen:

Varroa in the South Island: Ivan drew members attention to a recent NZ Farming magazine article which stated that the NZ Govt was unwilling to outlay $70,000 to provide varroa control for South Island beekeepers. The impact of this decision on the agricultural industry would be disastrous.

Formic Acid: Ivan suggested use of strong plastic bags enclosing absorbent material such as Pinex pieces or newspaper. While risk from fumes when putting these on the hives was not significant, this was not the case when removing these pads. Consequently this should be done as fast as possible and with mask and glove protection.

Wax Bath: Ivan demonstrated his homemade wax bath made from a large second-hand stainless steel sink (cost $40) and an externally fitted heating element (cost $190). Use of paraffin wax in the bath was much cheaper than beeswax.

Oxalic Acid: Various heating tools and the use of these through the hive entrance versus the hive top were discussed. A tea candle to heat the crystals (1 gram) was recommended. This process is one of the cheapest varroa controls available – only eight minutes burning per hive would provide 91% – 97% effectiveness. Full details of this procedure would be provided in next month’s newsletter.

Varroa resistant bees: Research was currently underway on a Russian bee which may prove more varroa resistant than any other bee. A Northland beekeeper was planning to import Carnolean bees which were believed to be more resistant than NZ’s common Italian bees. While African bees were known to become less aggressive as they migrated north into California and northern US States and mixed with other breeds, their resistance to varroa was not known.

Hive Levies: The issue of levying hive numbers being used to levy beekeepers as opposed to apiary numbers was discussed. Submissions had now closed however it was likely that apiary sizes would have to be defined.

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(From The Australasian Beekeeper April 2003) Following Bruce White's comments a month or so ago a lady beekeeper rang and asked, "How Do You Open a Hive?"

The answer is quite a long subject and one, which I will cover, in a future issue. 

But the short answer is; "There are a number of procedures to open a hive each depending on the purpose for which it is opened.  First however, there are number of operations common to all openings" Ensure that the smoker is well stoked and a thick cloud of smoke is coming easily when the bellows are compressed.  This is no time to support the antismoking campaign. Always approach the hive from the side or rear. Give one large puff of smoke across the entrance and follow this with two or three puffs of smoke directly into the entrance. Lift the lid or box and blow a puff or two of smoke across the tops of the frames.  If the hive is temperamental close the lid for about 10 seconds then reopen and continue putting a puff or two down between several frames.  If you just want to look for honey, remove two or three frames from the honey super and make an assessment for ripe (scaled) honey. If you want to look at the brood and queen, remove the supers and stand on their end or on the upturned lid.   Remember before you remove the super to lift the box about 50mm and blow some smoke across the frames. Then blow more down between three or four frames, before attempting to remove the super. Use smoke every three or four minutes and don't forget a "shot across the bows (the entrance)" from time to time). Don't hold a hive open for more than ten minutes.  If you take longer than this you are dawdling and/or not well prepared for your work."

Made Simple

by FRANC SIVIC (Courtesy of "BEE CRAFT")

The purity of their bee products is of primary importance to Slovenian beekeepers, particularly the production of honey, pollen, and propolis with no medicinal residues. They therefore prefer to treat against Varroa destructor using natural substances such as essential oils and organic acids. Varroa is also slower to build up resistance to these products.

Iris, the Slovenian company based in Ľjubljana, is preparing the registration for Apiguard, produced by Vita (Europe), which is based on the essential oil, thymol. We have used thymol against Varroa for many years now, but occasionally there have been some problems during treatment. If the summer temperatures rise above 30'C thymol begins to evaporate too rapidly, forcing the bees to leave their hive. The new Apiguard gel controls the action of thymol, enabling its use as an effective and sympathetic treatment. At high temperatures, the thymol evaporation rate from the gel is reduced to one that is acceptable to the bees. Apiguard is used in summer after the honey has been removed.

Experience has shown that bees need to be treated again against Varroa in late autumn or early winter @hen hives are free from parasites. At that time, the female Varroa mites are on the worker bees and it is these adult mites that are most vulnerable to treatment. However, the low temperatures prevent evaporation of essential oils, making their use ineffective.

The contact effect of oxalic acid has proved better than expected. Slovenian beekeepers have experimented with two methods of application: spraying and dripping the solution over the bees (at a minimum temperature of 5'C). The first case uses a 3% aqueous solution of oxalic acid and in the second, 4-5% of acid in a sugar solution. The latter method is especially quick and efficient and has been widely adopted by beekeepers. Its disadvantages are that it can be applied only once in the autumn-winter period and that there are some bee deaths.

The latest application method for oxalic acid is sublimation. Varrox, a special electrical vaporiser made in Switzerland, reaches a temperature of 100'C within a matter of seconds and vaporises, or rather sublimes, the oxalic acid crystals. Particles of the acid cover the bees' bodies and kill the Varroa mites hiding under the abdominal segments, sucking the blood of their host.

Sublimation has some advantages over the other two methods. Experience has shown that bees can be treated using sublimation several times in a season, without being harmed. It has to be stressed that, when using this treatment, the beekeeper must wear a suitable gas mask (such as FFP3 SL which meets the DIN EN 149 standard) against the harmful vapours, which might escape from a hive with less than snug fitting brood chamber and crown boards.

Two years ago, lvan Jurkovic from Ľjubljana, invented a very simple sublimation device, which uses a lit candle. In five minutes, the candle heats up the dish containing 1 gram of oxalic acid to a temperature of 300'C and, in the next few minutes, turns it into white smoke. The efficacy is up to 99%. Most Varroa mites fall off the bees in the first three days, yet the treatment remains viable for a further two weeks. The bees are not disturbed and do not leave their hive. The sublimator must be removed from the hive after some eight minutes, more oxalic acid added and transferred to a new hive without putting out the candle flame.

Jurkovic's sublimator has not yet been officially patented and is still in the testing phase. The results so far are very encouraging and the proposed price is quite reasonable and increasing demand is expected from both home and abroad.

The sublimator represents a Slovenian contribution to the worldwide endeavours to reduce the harmful effects of Varroa. It will also be of considerable value in maintaining the purity of hive products.

Information about the sublimator will be available at Apimondia, 24-29 August 2003 in Ljubljana. Details from: Gorazd Cad, Cankarjev Dom Cultural and Congress Centre, Presemova 10, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.

E-mail: gorazdcad@cd-cc.si (See Bee Craft, November 2002, page 8).

(By kind permission of the Editor of Bee Croft) from The Scottish Beekeeper May 2003.

 
Here's a simple oxalic acid fumigator that any hobbyist could put together and use with reasonable confidence that it will work during the winter when there is no brood.  For those in the warmer areas where brood is in the hives all year around, the treatment would have to be repeated within 7-10 days to take care of the mites which are breading in the brood.

I recommend that whenever you treat your hives, monitor the mite fall and then a few weeks later check again using a conventional method such as a strip in a jar of 300 bees or the sugar shake method. 

There are other, as yet "unregistered", cheap methods of controlling mites. Thymol should be registered shortly but there is also an interest in using Food Grade Mineral Oil. The method consists of using cotton (piping) ropes which are dipped into emulsified FGMO, beeswax and honey.  These are placed over the brood nest frames. The ropes can either be left there for the bees to remove or they can be changed every month and should provide an affective control for varroa if used with a mesh floor. Overseas sampling of hives that have used this method for three years have so far found that it does not produce any residue.

My concern is that this method would work perfectly well for a hobbyist beekeeper who doesn't sell any honey.  However because MAF funding for Varroa has finished, it won't be researched.

We as an organisation need to approach MAF and request that such research should be funded as part of the public good sector funding.  If we are to encourage hobby beekeeping with all its advantages to the
community as a whole, we must find cheap, safe and easy to administer
methods of controlling varroa mites. Frank Lindsay

Alternatively - FORMIC and OXALIC Acid are available from Clark Products, phone 06 843 6049, PO Box 541, Napier. They are available in 25kg plastic containers with provision for mounting a tap.

The Oxalic acid is available in 25kg sacks and comes in the form of granulated white crystals almost like sugar, The price for the Formic is $47.50 + GST + p&p. The Oxalic is a similar price. These are totally organic processes which will leave no pesticide in honey or wax.

Formic acid is the only known agent so far that will get the varroa mite in the capped cells. The cost of application is about 80c. The strength of the formic is 85%, and at that strength should only be on the hive for six days. Watering down is not necessary and far too dangerous.

Oxalic acid – if 2g of oxalic acid is vaporized, it will take 2 minutes and the cost is about 5c, and the hive does not need to be taken apart. If oxalic acid is applied as an autumn treatment all brood should be removed the day before and a good kill of the varroa might then be achieved. Brood should be melted down with boiling water to retrieve the wax. Do not feed to the chooks. There should not be much brood in autumn anyway.

A group from the Club could perhaps purchase the above? Ivan Pederson

REMEMBER – now is the time to repair and paint hive boxes, AND queen excluders should be OFF, cleaned and painted ready for Spring