Topic: HONEY BEE PARASITIC MITES

[PREMTAL]

Hi All,
         One of our allotment members is also a bee keeper, in conversation one afternoon he went onto the subject of honey bee mites and how they were devastating hives world wide.

I decided to research the possibility of a herbal treatment for this infestation and found an herb which I believe may hold the answer to the problem.

The perennial Chinese herb in question can easily be cultivated in the UK as it will survive at MTZ 5(-29 to -23 DEG C).

If any bee keeper is interested in following up this message please send me a PM and I will respond with a data sheet of the herb, how to cultivate, harvest and prepare it for use, and where to purchase the seeds in the UK.

As far as I am aware at this point in time, this herb has not had any clinical trial for this purpose, so it is left to the judgment of of the individual bee keeper wheather or not to investigate the worth of the herb.

I do not seek any recompense for this information, my objective is to pass on information which may solve the problem.


                                                                       PREMTAL

[Robert_Brenchley]

Dreadful things! What's the herb? Essential oils kill mites; I've been relying largely on a thymol-based mix for years, though I also use oxalic acid. The thing that makes me hesistant about herbs is that strength is a bit unpredictable, and it's vital as the metabolisms of mite and bee are quite similar, and the dose has to be right to kill the mite without killing the bee. Many treatments (which I refuse to use) are seriously harmful to bees, and persistent in beeswax. Thymol is non-persistent, but temperature-dependent; if it's too cool it doesn't evaporate, if it's too hot it drives the bees out of the hive. Oxalic does harm bees, but one treatment per generation is tolerable. It's a bad one, and the best long-term solution seems to be breeding for resistant bees. A lot of progress is being made on this now, but we're not there yet. Then there are other bee pests on the horizon.

I'd be interested in hearing more.