A recent article in the Journal of Economic Entomology reports on an Arizona study to comparing Oxalic Acid and Sucrocide™ as treatments for Varroa mites in honeybee colonies.
Sammataro D, Finley J, Underwood R (2008) Comparing Oxalic Acid and Sucrocide Treatments for Varroa destructor (Acari: Varroidae) Control Under Desert Conditions. Journal of Economic Entomology: Vol. 101, No. 4 pp. 1057–1061
Bottom line: Oxalic Acid treatments were successful in killing Varroa destructor mites, but Sucrocide™ treatments were not effective. In fact, the study’s authors found that Sucrocide™ treatment was no more effective than giving the hives no treatment at all.
This seems to be in line with last year’s report of research by Alison Skinner, Janet Tam, Rachel Bannister and Melanie Kempers carried out under the Ontario Beekeepers’ Association Tech-Transfer Program. (See Can Sucrocide Control Varroa Mites in Canada?) The team evaluated Sucrocide™ as a Varroa mite treatment from July 2004 to July 2006, and found that the product did not show much promise as a mite control technique.
Written by beekeepers
Topics: How to Keep Bees