# Apivar



## red (Jan 15, 2013)

Does anybody know if Apivar is temperature sensitive ? I want to treat my hive's when I bring them home from the almonds but it will still be to cold for thymol or formic acid. Any other ideas are appreciated.


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

Well, it depends how you look at it. :lookout: Here's a FAQ from Dadant:


> *Do high or low temperatures affect the efficiency of Apivar treatments?*
> Temperature has no effect on the active ingredient in Apivar strips; however, low temperatures tend to reduce bee activity. Since the spread of Apivar’s active ingredient throughout the hive is dependent on the bees coming into contact with the active ingredient, lower bee activity levels can reduce the efficacy of the treatment.
> 
> http://www.dadant.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/2011/09/FAQs_Apivar_US_2012.pdf


On the other hand ...


> • Temperature variations during the treatment are important. If the temperature is above 35°C, the treatment is more effective (< 70%) but causes a higher larval mortality. If the temperature is less 12°C the treatment is less effective (>60%), and leads to a higher mortality of adult bees.
> 
> http://www.apiservices.com/articles/us/efficacy_of_bayvarol.pdf


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## jean-marc (Jan 13, 2005)

Temperatures will not affect effieciency, unless it were very cold and bees were clustered. I would be 100% comfortable treating in high temperatures. We just do not seem to get them here. In your area you'll be good to go after almond pollination. We have had very good results with that product.

Jean-Marc


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## 123_Bee (Jan 30, 2012)

Hi 

I don't know if this is any use, it's from New Zealand http://www.apivar.co.nz/FAQs.htm#FAQ 3


> 3. What is the effect of high and low temperatures on the treatment efficacy?
> Spread of amitraz into the colony is the result of the contact between the honey bees and the strips. As a consequence, this diffusion is not directly linked to the external temperature. This mode of action is different from other devices used to treat against Varroa such as thymol-based products whose diffusion by vaporization changes in relation to the hive's atmosphere. This diffusion is blocked at a low temperature or dangerously increased at a very high temperature.
> 
> Regarding amitraz, temperature has no effect on the product itself. Nevertheless, we can consider that at low temperature, activity of bees is lowered and contacts with the strips can decrease.
> ...


 In Britain we are advised to use Apivar either before the bees start collecting nectar in Spring, or afterwards in autumn. Some beekeepers leave it on for as long as 8 weeks when it's colder because the bees are less active.


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## red (Jan 15, 2013)

Thank you for the replies I think i'll try it.


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## Matt Beekman (Dec 15, 2007)

jean-marc:

Are most Canadian beekeepers using 1 strip per 5 frames of bees or having success with a higher ratio of strips per frames of brood?


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## Markt (Feb 8, 2012)

Treatment recommendations in Ontario are 1 strip per brood chamber with good results


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## Charlie B (May 20, 2011)

Has anyone used MAQS vs. Apivar? Which do you prefer?


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## Markt (Feb 8, 2012)

I've heard of major queen loss issues with MAQS... Never tried them personally but it sort of defeats the purpose of reducing mite loads if you kill the queen right before winter


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## red (Jan 15, 2013)

I tried the MAQS for two years. The first year I separated my hives while treating and had great results. Last year I added a super as the directions stated and lost a little over half of my hives. The dead outs all had from 5 to 20 queen cells in them. I think the MAQS over powers the queen and the bees think they are queen less. Also I treated the first of September the first year and the end of September last year. By treating later I didn't have time to recheck things after my treatment because it started snowing.


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## mgolden (Oct 26, 2011)

Rader Sidetrack said:


> Well, it depends how you look at it. :lookout: Here's a FAQ from Dadant:
> 
> 
> On the other hand ...


Unless I'm mistaken, these quotes are for Apiguard, which is thymol embedded in a gel. Apivar contains the pesticide, Amitraz and is a totally different product. From Reza Shahrouzi paper - "The use of Apiguard has the (above quoted) disadvantage".

I am interested, as I would like to be sure that Apivar does not adversely affect larvae.


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## jean-marc (Jan 13, 2005)

Matt:

AFAIK canadian beekeepers are following the application recommendations of 1 strip per 5 frames of bees. As far as changing the ratio I am pretty sure nobody is putting more than 1 strip per 5 frames , unless you had a weak hive in the spring with 3-4 frames of bees and did ot want to tryto cut the strip. The tendancy would be to put less than the recommended dosage, perhaps 2 strip for a double brood chamber colony. If that were the case I would make sure that the strips are in contact with the bees. It is still early here as far as sping goes, so the bees could still be in the bottom box with a box of honey overhead. If that is the case and say there were the equivalent of 12 frames of bees, I woud put the 2 strips in the bottom box so they had the maximum contact with the bees. Afterall Apivar is a contact miticide.

Jean-Marc


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## Charlie B (May 20, 2011)

Markt said:


> I've heard of major queen loss issues with MAQS... Never tried them personally but it sort of defeats the purpose of reducing mite loads if you kill the queen right before winter


I treated 10 of my hives last fall with MAQS. 9 out of 10 are still alive, no queen deaths. I only used 1 strip on the smaller hives. It was very easy to use but I'm always looking for something better.


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## Markt (Feb 8, 2012)

I've heard several cases of 60 to 100% queen mortality, I believe these were associated with high treatment temperatures but still not hitting the maximum recommended temperature (This involved a week or more of around 30 celcius where label says 35 max)... It'll be interesting what spring yields for people who treated in the fall...


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## 123_Bee (Jan 30, 2012)

mgolden said:


> I am interested, as I would like to be sure that Apivar does not adversely affect larvae.


I have Apivar in my hives at the moment, because I missed the brood free time to do oxalic acid. The New Zealand site http://www.apivar.co.nz/FAQs.htm#FAQ 8 says


> It is very important to position the strips in an area of high activity and nearest to the Varroa breeding area (in the brood).
> Nevertheless, when there is no brood in the hive, treatment is also effective.
> 
> In the apiary: First of all, locate the brood area, then place 2 strips between the frames with a minimum distance of 2 frames between strips.


The strips are left in for a minimum of 6 weeks.


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## Charlie B (May 20, 2011)

Does it effect honey supers?


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

> Does it effect honey supers?

Dadant is the US distributor. From their Apivar page:



> 2. Remove honey supers before application of Apivar®.
> http://www.dadant.com/news/apivar-amitraz-approved-for-varroa-control-in-south-dakota


Here's what the New Zealand site linked in post #15 says:


> *7. Can I treat whenever I want during the year?
> 
> *From a regulatory point of view, Apivar can be used all year round. Nevertheless, in accordance with good beekeeping practice,* we recommend to treat when honey supers are not presen*t. This would be the best way to convey a good image for honey as a natural product. As a consequence, strips should be removed before the main nectar-collecting period in the spring and can be placed into the hive after harvesting during summer.
> 
> http://www.apivar.co.nz/FAQs.htm#FAQ 7


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## johnpfaff (May 12, 2011)

I think Apivar kills queens and brood. Out of four hives treated this spring (not a very large sample), one dead, two queenless, one with queen but small brood area. 3 of 4 broodless by third week.


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## Allen Martens (Jan 13, 2007)

johnpfaff said:


> I think Apivar kills queens and brood. Out of four hives treated this spring (not a very large sample), one dead, two queenless, one with queen but small brood area. 3 of 4 broodless by third week.


I'd look for other causes. There is always that chance but apivar is credit with providing some excellent wintering stats on the Canadian prairies (this one being an exception for other reasons) when other varroa treatments became ineffective. Personally I've used thousands of strips the last couple of seasons at all temperatures and have not seen any kill.


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## hpm08161947 (May 16, 2009)

johnpfaff said:


> I think Apivar kills queens and brood. Out of four hives treated this spring (not a very large sample), one dead, two queenless, one with queen but small brood area. 3 of 4 broodless by third week.


Never seen Amitraz do that..... better look for other causes.


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## red (Jan 15, 2013)

I used Apivar in 30 hives this spring. Temps. were 30 to 50 degree days and 20 to 30 degree nights. The first fifteen days I was seeing mites but after that I didn't see any more even in the drone brood. I haven't done a roll test yet as they have only been out for two weeks. All of these hives have been split either coming out of the almonds or shortly after. All are booming now and might need to be split again. So far I don't see any queen issues from the Apivar and I feel like I got good results.


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