At any time when colonies show symptoms of AFB (i.e. brown scales and sticky to ropy dead larvae)

Report to your Bee Inspector immediately and ask for recommendations

1. Burn or irradiate all infected equipment and kill the bees

2. Treat the rest of the bee yard with OXYTET-25-S or OXYSOL-62.5 powdered sugar mix

3. New queens

4. Gamma irradiation

Control measure: This is a serious, readily transmissible disease. Action should be taken immediately after diagnosis to prevent further spread of the disease. Several options of actions can be taken:  

1. Burn all frames, bottom boards and bees of heavily infected hives. Scorch empty bee boxes, inner covers and lids.

2. Treat all remaining colonies with OXYTET-25-S or OXYSOL-62.5 powdered sugar mix. Repeat 3 times at 5 - 10 day intervals. Stop treating 4 weeks before the main honey flow.

3. Requeen all remaining colonies with new queens from the Hygienic stocks. Check the list of Queen and Nuc producers for those who have tested their stock in the Tech-Transfer program.

4. Disinfect contaminated empty hive parts using irradiation. Supers with frames without bees should be placed in bee tight containers for irradiation. For details, contact Steve Bowman in Whitby, ON at 905-432-1106. Treatment using 1.2 M rads will completely sterilize the combs and hive parts. You will have to decide if it is economically feasible to sterilize your contaminated combs and hive parts. You can reuse the equipment after this process.

At any time when colonies show symptoms of EFB (i.e. brown, twisted larvae)

Report to your bee inspector and ask for recommendations.

1.Replacement of infected combs

2.Treat with OXYTET-25-S or OXYSOL-62.5 powdered sugar mix according to the label

3.New queens

Spring: Place pads when daytime temperatures reach 10^oC

It is better to wait for warmer weather, and until the bees get some brood. On really small colonies, move the brood to the side of the hive and place pad in the middle.

65% formic acid*

1. Mite-Away II™ single application pad (250 mL per pad). This is the preferred method of application as you only go to the hive once. Those who use Mite-Wipes do not usually complete the number of applications to achieve proper control.

2. Mite-Wipe multiple applications pad
(35 mL per pad)

If infestation level is 10% or higher, then treat your colonies. If you are using formic acid for Varroa treatment, you do not need further treatments for HBTM.

1. Place the Mite-Away II™ single application pad on 1/2" spacers on top bars. Accommodate another 1/2" on the top of the pad by using a rim. Leave for 21 days. Follow the label instructions.

2. Apply one Mite-Wipe pad, which contains 35-mL formic acid/hive. Place the pad on the top bars close to the brood area. It is important to apply Mite-Wipe pads 3 times, 4 days apart.

Late Spring and Summer

HBTM resistant queens

Requeen your colonies with queens from HBTM resistant stocks once every two years. If you are interested in breeding, encourage these colonies to raise more drones to help in spreading and maintaining the resistance genes.

Fall: After harvesting the honey crop (preferably
last week of August or first week of September)

65% formic acid - Mite-Away II™ as in spring treatment

If you treated with formic acid in the spring, it will not be necessary to treat again in the fall, unless the HBTM infestation level in samples are 10% or higher. Treat as described in the spring treatment after harvesting the honey crop.

formic acid*:

1.Mite-Away II™ single application pad

or

2. Mite-Wipe multiple applications pad (65% formic acid, 35mL/pad)

Control measure:

1.If any varroa mites are found in bee colonies, treat all colonies using Mite-Away II™ single application pads, as described above. This treatment is good for both HBTM and varroa mites.

2. Use Mite-Wipe as described above. Apply 6 applications, 4 days apart. This treatment is good for both HBTM and varroa mites. Note: For Mite-Wipe pads to be effective on varroa, they must be put on every four days.

If Varroa infestation is EXTREMELY HIGH in the spring and you have ABNORMALLY HIGH LOSSES over the winter call your Bee Inspector to check for resistance to Apistan® or CheckMite+™ depending on the treatment that you were using, before you treat with any product. A recommendation will be developed on a case by case basis.

Drone Trapping

Using frames without foundation:

Using plastic drone foundation:

Screen bottom board:

To use a drone trap:

• Remove combs containing drone cells from the brood chambers.
• Place two empty frames for the bees to draw into drone cells. The queen will lay eggs to be developed into drones in these combs. 80% of the Varroa will be in the drone cells if they are available.
• Remove these combs after the cells are capped and before adult drones emerge.
• Melt these combs to kill Varroa mites and produce beeswax or freeze for one week and then place in bee colonies for the bees to clean or feed to pigs or chickens.

To use plastic drone foundation:

• Scrape capped brood from plastic foundation before it emerges and replace frames. Put scrapings in a container and remove from the bee yard (melt up).
• Repeat from spring until the drones are evicted in mid-August and you will get results equivalent to treating with a registered product. Note: Queen Breeders need the drones for mating, so this method only works for production hives. Some beekeepers are putting 2 small frames in each hive and cutting off the drone brood each time they open the hives.
  

To use screen bottom board:

• Screen Bottom boards - incorporate 8 x 8 mesh screens into bottom boards. You need a 1 1/2" spacing to have the varroa that fall through the screen separated from the bees.
• Put a sticky board under the screened bottom boards using a cafeteria serving tray to hold the sticky board. Remove each time you open the hive and count the number of mites. Mark the boards with the date that you put them in the colony. Calculate average mite drop per day. Replace sticky board with a new one that you date.
  

Early Fall: As soon as you remove the honey supers by the last week of August or the first week of September. The bees that form your winter cluster are hatched in these two weeks. If they are highly infested, they will have sustained enough damage that the colony will not winter properly and is likely to die.

Late Fall: At the time of packing the bees.

Formic Acid*:

Mite-Away II™

or

6 applications of Mite-Wipe, 4 days apart.

CheckMite+™ and Apistan®

Oxalic acid trickle method

It is recommended to use Formic Acid treatments in both spring and early fall, with a follow up in the late fall with oxalic acid.

This recommendation will keep CheckMite+™ and Apistan® effective (for extremely high mite infestations) by preventing the development of resistance to these products or it will allow those areas with known resistance to these products to revert back to susceptibility.

CheckMite+™ and Apistan® are still registered for use in Ontario. If you choose to use either of them, apply according to the label directions.

There is also a group of diligent beekeepers that carefully monitor their bees and only treat when monitoring results indicate. They have been able to reduce their treatments significantly. See the NOTES section for monitoring methods.

CONDITIONS OF USE:
1. Purity of Oxalic Acid

Sources of oxalic acid dihydrate used must have a purity of 99.6% minimum.

2. Required Directions for Use:

Users must take note of the following information and use the product as follows:

PRECAUTIONS
KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN
Fatal or poisonous if swallowed.
May be harmful if inhaled.
May be harmful if absorbed through the skin.
Corrosive to eyes and skin by direct contact.
May be a skin sensitizer.
DO NOT ingest.
DO NOT inhale/breathe dust.
DO NOT get in eyes.
DO NOT get on skin.
Wear protective goggles, dust/mist filter, chemically resistant gloves, long-sleeved shirt, pants, shoes, and socks whenever handling, mixing, and loading oxalic acid dihydrate and when performing clean-up and maintenance activities.
Wear a full-face respirator or a half-face respirator and protective goggles, fitted with organic acid filter, chemically resistant gloves, long-sleeved shirt, pants, shoes, and socks whenever applying oxalic acid dihydrate with a vapourizer.
Wear protective goggles, chemically resistant gloves, long-sleeved shirt, pants, shoes, and socks whenever applying oxalic acid dihydrate by the solution method.
All clean-up and maintenance activities should be performed in a well ventilated area, preferably outdoors.
Wash skin thoroughly with soap and water after handling oxalic acid dihydrate.
Remove clothing immediately if contaminated by splash or spill.
Store and wash contaminated clothing separately from household laundry.
The handling of oxalic acid dihydrate should only be performed in a well ventilated area.
The application of oxalic acid dihydrate is limited to outdoor use only.
DO NOT use in enclosed overwintering areas.
If this control product is to be used on a commodity that may be exported to the U.S. and you require information on acceptable residue levels in the U.S., contact www.cropro.org/.

DIRECTIONS FOR USE
Oxalic acid is for the control of Varroa mites in honey bee colonies. Apply in late fall to early spring when monitoring indicates treatment is necessary.

CAUTION: Oxalic Acid may damage bee brood. Oxalic Acid will not control Varroa mites in capped brood. Use only in late fall to early spring when little or no brood is present. Do not use when honey supers are in place to prevent contamination of marketable honey.

TRICKLE METHOD
NOTE: To completely dissolve oxalic acid dihydrate, use warm syrup.

Dissolve 35 g of oxalic acid dihydrate in 1 litre of syrup made from a 1:1 sugar : water (weight:volume) mixture of sugar and water. Smoke bees down from the top bars. With a syringe or an applicator, trickle 5 mL of this solution directly onto the bees in each occupied bee space in each brood box. The maximum dose is 50 mL per colony whether bees are in nucs, single, or multiple brood chambers. Under certain unfavourable conditions, e.g., weak colonies, unfavourable overwintering conditions, this application method may cause some bee mortality or overwintering bee loss.

TOXICOLOGICAL INFORMATION
Treat symptomatically.
Probable mucosal damage may contraindicate the use of gastric lavage.
STORAGE
Keep away from food, drink, and bee feeds.

DISPOSAL
Do not contaminate irrigation/ drinking water supplies or aquatic habitats by disposal of unused product.

Dispose of any unused oxalic acid dihydrate-sugar-water solution immediately after application in accordance with provincial requirements.

Dispose of the container in accordance with provincial requirements.

For information on disposal of unused, unwanted product, contact the provincial regulatory agency. Contact the provincial regulatory agency in case of a spill, and for clean-up of spills.