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Frequently
Asked Questions.
1. Why
treat against Varroa mites?
2. What
is Apivar, and how does it work?
3. What
is the effect of high and low temperatures on the
treatment efficacy?
4. When
should I treat my hives with Apivar?
5. What
is the recommended dosage and why?
6. Is it
recommended
to treat at the same time as feeding?
7. Can I treat whenever I want
during the year?
8. Can I treat in the presence of
brood?
9.
Recommendations for high efficacy of Apivar
10. What to do when strips are
covered by propolis?
11. How long can strips be kept
after opening the sachet?
12. What is recommended after
removal?
13. Is there a monitoring of the
efficacy of Apivar? Is the efficacy still very
good despite the frequent use of Apivar?
14. Is Apivar submitted to
residues trials?
15. Is
Amitraz more toxic than pyrethrinoids?
16. Is there any risk of
accumulation of residues due to the duration of the
treatment?
17. Is Taktic equivalent to
Apivar?
1. Why treat
against Varroa mites?
If you don't treat a colony that is infested
with Varroa mites effectively, you are
condemning it to certain death, within a
year in many cases.
These mites weaken the bees by feeding off
their haemolymph (blood). Bees become
far less resistant to other diseases, their
lifetime is greatly shortened and their
wings become atrophied. Fewer forager
bees can fly to find pollen and nectar to
feed larvae in the brood, and weakened,
their return flight to the hive becomes more
and more difficult. The colony
produces less and less honey and becomes
unable to feed the new bees, which causes
the weakness (in spite of the laying
activity of the queen) then the colony
collapses.
Moreover, it has been proven that the higher
the rate of infestation, the shorter the
duration of life of honey bees. That
is a real issue for wintering bees that are
infested during their development and not
able to go through winter and take part in
colony development in spring.
Treating against
Varroa mites is a matter of bees and colony
survival. The goal is to lower the
infestation rate to a threshold that can be
sustainable for colony development and
survival in winter.
Varroa
destructor is a real plague for the honey
bees and beekeepers in a majority of
countries all over the world. Its
control is a matter of global concern of
the worldwide beekeeping industry. |
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2. What is Apivar,
and how does it work. |
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Apivar strips
are made of two components: |
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Amitraz is an acaricide. It does not
kill mites directly, but is rather
considered as a sub-lethal miticide with an
original mode of action from neurotoxicity
type, different from other current Varroacides. Acting on the synaptic
transmission of mites, it leads to constant
excitation and paralysis, followed by mite
drop from the bee's back. Secondarily,
Varroa dies due to starvation as a result of
this paralysis. Amitraz acts by
contact only. |
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A plastic polymer specially chosen for its
rigidity and to allow a slow and continuous
release of amitraz during many weeks. |
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Apivar strip has
been designed to release the active
ingredient, from the opening of the pack, as
soon as it is put into the hive. Amitraz is
available on the surface of the strips for
the bees that come in contact. The
active ingredient is spread into the colony from one
bee to another by contact. After a
short period of time, amitraz is hydrolyzed
and disappears from the hive. |
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Mode of action
into the hive |
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Legend:
1. Amitraz is available at the surface of
the strip in the hive
2. Honey bees in contact with the strips
pick up the active ingredient (no diffusion into the
hive by evaporation)
3. By contact, honey bees can transfer the
amitraz within the colony
4. Amitraz is quickly hydrolyzed and
disappears from the hive. (cf FAQ residues) |
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Merrington, O (1990).
Bibliography on the Use of Amitraz for
Varroa Control in Bees (Apis
spp.) (1979-1989).
Cambridge, UK, Cambridge Animal and Public
Health Ltd. 36pp. |
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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 the apiary: If the situation requires a
treatment, strips can be put into the hive
as soon as hives become active after the winter
or just after the honey collection and
withdrawal of supers during summer. |
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4. When should I treat my hives with
Apivar?
You
may use the product all year round, but as
an additional safety factor for the good
image of honey, it is recommended to not use
Apivar when the honey supers are present:
- After harvesting, towards the mid or end of the Summer - "Autumn
Treatment"
- Before the nectar collecting period in the Spring - "Spring
Treatment" |
Treatment after the last usable honey
flow - Autumn Treatment.
The aim of the autumn treatment is to
decontaminate the colony before winter bees
are produced and is considered the most
important treatment in most beekeeping
systems to prepare the colony for a good
wintering, in addition with correct feeding
when needed. |
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It should be initiated as soon as honey
supers are removed |
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when the nurses of winter bees are
developing so that their breeding capacities
can be maximized. |
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before the parasites have had time to harm
the colony |
In the apiary: Put the strips into the hive
just after the honey supers are removed. |
Spring Treatment
The aim of the spring treatment, with the
removal of the strips before adding the
honey supers, is to decrease the mite
populations before honey collection and to
be sure that there will be no risk of colony
collapse during the season up to the Autumn
treatment and to maximise honey yield.
Varroa mites can be most quickly and easily
eliminated when the least amount of brood is
present.
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5. What is the
recommended dosage and why?
The recommended dosage is 2 strips per brood
chamber (or 1 strip per 5 frames of bees).
Apivar was tested on the basis of a precise
dosage and specific use directions,
therefore these should be followed to obtain
the best performance.
Under-dosage may
lead to poor efficacy and be critical for
the colony survival until the next varroa
treatment.
An
excessively low concentration may cause the
parasites to become resistant to the active
ingredient. That could be the case if
only one strip was inserted, if old strips
were re-used or if strips were not removed
after the treatment period. |
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6. Is it
recommended
to treat at the same time as feeding?
There is no contraindication to feed and
treat at the same time. Apivar
does not effect feeding. On
the contrary, it can be easily thought that
the two activities are synergistic to fight
against Varroa mite: |
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Feeding increases activity in the colony
and probably the contact of bees with the
Apivar strips. So it can be considered
as a good way to increase the speed of
decontamination. |
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Feeding has the same goal as Apivar
treatment, to reinforce the colony for the winter
season. As a consequence feeding and
treating at the same time can be regarded as
good
preparation for the wintering period. |
In the apiary: Do not
hesitate to treat with Apivar and feed honey
bees at the same to time to prepare for the
winter. |
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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
present. 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. |
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8. Can I treat in the
presence of brood?
It is recommended to treat when
there is some brood in the colony and that
is one of the major assets of a long-release
treatment such as Apivar in treating against Varroa.
The strips release amitraz for many weeks.
As a consequence, treatment is effective for
several reproduction cycles of the Varroa
mite and can be more effective for
decontamination of the colony.
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. |
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9. Recommendations
for high efficacy of Apivar
As Apivar is a medicine, you should read and
follow the directions of use. |
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1. |
Positioning of
the strips.
Apivar works by contact only. It is
therefore very important to position your
strips in an area of high bee activity, and
nearest to the Varroa breeding area in the
brood area.
This ensures that many bees will be in
regular contact with the strips in order to
give effective distribution of the Amitraz
throughout the hive.
Ideal positioning is to hang up each strip
between 2 frames inside the brood area with
a minimum distance of 2 frames between
strips. |
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2. |
Respect the
recommended dosage.
The recommended dosage is 2 strips per brood
chamber. Apivar was tested on the
basis of a precise dosage and specific
direction for use. The recommended
dose on the label should be followed to
obtain the best performance. |
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3. |
Treating all the
hives at the same time:
Adult Varroa mites attach themselves to
adult bees. They spread when hives are
robbed, when drones move from one hive to
another, and even, according to some
researchers, when pollen is gathered through
foraging bees. Hive member exchanges,
meeting of colonies, artificial swarming and
even bee shipments and purchase may infest a
hive that has previously been healthy.
To avoid this, check your hives regularly
and treat all of them if you see any
infestation. |
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4. |
Checking strips
position after a few weeks.
Sometimes, during the Autumn treatment, the
brood area can slowly move. As a
consequence, a few weeks after the beginning
of the treatment, the strips of Apivar are
no longer amongst the brood. This
situation can decrease the efficacy of the
treatment by lowering the number of contacts
between bees and strips.
It is recommended to check the position and
to correct if necessary. In this case
it can be appropriate to lengthen the
treatment by 2 additional weeks. |
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5. |
Remove the
strips at the end of treatment.
Strips should be removed at the end of the
treatment for 2 main reasons: |
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At the end of treatment, after a long
releasing process, the quantity of amitraz
released by the strips is lower. This
creates favourable conditions for resistance
development. |
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Apivar strips are not biodegradable.
Product should be disposed of in a
registered local body landfill (i.e. local
rubbish collection). |
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6. |
Strips should
not be reused. |
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10. What to do when
strips are covered by propolis?
This is very rare. Our recommendation
will be to remove the propolis from the
surface as it prevents bees from having real
contact with the strips and lowers the
diffusion of amitraz.
In the apiary: Scratch
the strips with a hive tool when there is
too much propolis. In this case, it
can be appropriate to lengthen the treatment
a few additional days. |
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11. How long
can strips be kept after opening the sachet?
Apivar packs are sealed under vacuum to
ensure a good preservation of the strips and
the best quality. So, to guarantee a
high concentration of amitraz, strips have
to be used as soon as possible after
opening.
In the apiary:
It is recommended not to prepare strips the
day before their installation into the hives. |
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12. What is
recommended after removal?
After removal the strips should be disposed
of in a registered local body landfill (i.e.
local rubbish collection). |
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13. Is there
a monitoring of the efficacy of Apivar?
Is the efficacy still very good despite the
frequent use of Apivar?
In the EU where it has been developed,
Apivar is classed as a veterinary medicine
and is subject to the medicine regulations.
As a consequence, Apivar benefits from a
full market authorization dossier with
efficacy data that shows its efficacy to
reduce Varroa mite infestation.
Since it has been authorized, many trials
have been carried out on a regular basis to
monitor its efficacy. For example, in
France, where Apivar is authorized and used
on a large scale since 1995, Veto-pharma
takes part every year in an efficacy study.
The efficacy of Apivar remains very high
despite a very intensive and repeated use
for many years in a lot of countries
worldwide.
Trials have also
been conducted in the US and Turkey in 2009,
and in Bulgaria in 2011. All the results
are consistent and show a constant efficacy. |
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14. Is Apivar
submitted to residues trials?
The French laboratory of ANSES in Sofia
Antipolis, is the reference lab for the
European Union for honey bee health.
It has conducted a residue trial in 2007
whose results are consistent to previous
ones: |
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No residue of Amitraz was detected in honey
after 10 weeks of treatment, regardless of
the date of sampling. This is due to
the instability of the active ingredient in
an acid environment. Other studies
have also proved that the amitraz is fully
degraded after 10 days in honey. |
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No residue of amitraz in wax after 24h after
the removal of the strips. |
This publication
also studied residues of coumaphos in honey
and wax with less satisfactory results.
Other studies concluded that quantities of
residues of amitraz or its main metabolites
in honey are always under the MRL. |
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Ref: Martel A.C. et al, Acaricide residues
in honey and wax after treatment of honey
bee colonies with Apivar or Asuntol 50,
Apidologie (2007), 38, 2002, 534-544
Ref : R.M. Goodwin et al, Residues of
amitraz in wax honey and propolis after
using Apivar, 2002 |
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15. Is Amitraz more
toxic than pyrethroids?
Apivar is authorized in several countries
thanks to a complete Market Authorization
Dossier that includes safety data. |
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Two types of
toxicity have been assessed: |
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Toxicity for the bees.
A study applying Amitraz at a dosage 5 times
more than that recommended, shows no effect on
honey bees, queens and brood. |
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Toxicity for human beings.
This safety is controlled with the MRL system
that fixed a maximum limit of residues that
are allowed into products dedicated to human
consumption. Many residues studies have
proved that the residues of amitraz and its
main residue are always lower than this
threshold which is 200 ppm (200 mg per ton
of honey).
This good situation is due to the high
instability of amitraz and its quick
hydrolysis. |
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As a
consequence, it can be said that
amitraz is safe when it is used in
accordance with recommendations (dosage, treatment duration...) |
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Ref: Martel A.C. et al, Acaricide residues
in honey and wax after treatment of honey
bee colonies with Apivar or Asuntol 50,
Apidologie (2207), 38, 2002, 534-544 |
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On the contrary
pyrethroids (like fluvalinate) are more
stable in wax. Some studies show that
the level of residues of this product is
higher for a longer time than those of
amitraz's. The risk of residues in
honey is more likely with these type of
actives. |
Ref: S. BOGDANOV et al, ACARICIDE RESIDUES
IN BEESWAX AND HONEY, (1997)
Ref: K. WALLNER, Varroacides and their
residues in bee products, Apidologies 30
(1999) 235-248 |
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16. Is there any
risk of accumulation of residues due to the
duration of the treatment?
Apivar is the result of a unique technology
allowing the continuous liberation of a
little dose of the amitraz for a long
duration. To cover many varroa mite
life cycles, it is important to leave the
strips unmoved for several weeks. This
long-acting treatment does not lead to an
accumulation of residues. Amitraz is
very sensitive to hydrolysis which means
that it is very quickly destroyed after
liberation. Many studies have shown
that there is no more residue after 24h in
wax and honey.
Amitraz is destroyed as the treatment goes
along.
Nevertheless, it is important to remove the
strips at the end of the treatment to avoid
the continuous liberation of amitraz at very
low dosage, too weak to be effective but
probably high enough to select resistances.
Forgetting the strips in the beehive for
all of the wintering period could probably be
responsible for the hypothetic emergence of
resistance. |
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17. Is Taktic
equivalent to Apivar?
It has been recognised for many years that
amitraz is very effective for the control of
varroa mite infestation in the colonies.
Nevertheless, efficacy and security for both
humans and bees are only provided by a
restricted use of the active ingredient.
The use of Taktic in
the apiary is very far from Apivar
guarantees. Taktic is a short acting
product and as a consequence only kills
phoretic varroa present at the moment of the
application with no control of the residues
and the quantity of actives inhaled by the
beekeepers. New generations of bees
will be contaminated as soon as they emerge
from their cells. As a consequence,
this illegal treatment presents very low
effect when there is brood in the colony
and is responsible for high risks to honey
bees and human health.
On the other
hand, Apivar is authorised as a drug which
delivers a controlled and continuous amount of
active during many varroa lifecycles
allowing elimination of most of the varroa
in the beehive. Moreover, the residues
are known and always lower than the
regulatory threshold (Maximum Residue Limit) defined for this active.
Apivar is not only effective but safe and
helps beekeepers to increase the quality
image of the honey.
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Apivar® is
the product and the trademark of Veto-pharma
- France. |
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