Amicel varroa 1L

01 · HOW IT WORKS

By contact: only the varroa outside the capping

Amitraz acts on theoctopamine receptorsof the mite, and the route is contact: the bees brush against the strip and spread the product through the nest. From there comes the rule that governs everything else — it only reachesphoretic varroa; the one under the capping is out of reach. That is why it is appliedwhen there is little brood and that is why it runs 35 days: that is how long the capped brood takes to emerge and expose the mites that come out with it.

It also explains a figure that throws you when comparing: Amicel treats with500 mg of amitraz per hive, while the plastic strips with the same active substance —Apivar, Apitraz— go to1 g. The manufacturer puts it down to the carrier: bees work cellulose easily, the spread is more efficient and half the dose is enough.

02 · PREPARING THE STRIPS

10 ml per strip, 6 to 12 hours ahead

Apply10 ml per strip with the graduated syringe in the box, on one face only, letting it soak in. The6 to 12 hours window is not about convenience: it is how long the cellulose takes to spread the product and air off. The strip goes in loaded, not soaking. In Layens, spread it evenly and leave3-4 cm dry at the top, which is where you handle it; in Langstroth and Dadant, soak from the corners in both directions and fold it in half to insert it.

With a whole apiary ahead of you, the temptation is to tip the bottle over hundreds of strips stacked in a tray. The problem is not haste: laid flat, the solution runs down by gravity and the bottom ones end up waterlogged while the top ones come out dry. If you work that way,stand them upright and let them air off. A dripping strip doses worse: it runs off to the floor instead of staying where the bees brush it.

03 · TIMING AND PLACEMENT

Day 1, day 12 and day 35 — and the whole apiary at once

They hang on the frame at thecentre of the brood area, and both can go in the same spot. Day 1, first strip; day 12, second; day 35, both come out along with any cellulose debris on the floor. Together they add up to the500 mg dose: adding more improves nothing. And the other instruction is worth committing to memory —treat the whole apiary at the same time, because any hive you leave untreated will reinfest the treated ones through robbing.

04 · HONEY AND HARVEST

Zero days' withdrawal does not mean you can harvest

The technical sheet sets thehoney withdrawal period at zero days and, in the very same section, adds the other half:do not use during the foraging period. Do not stop at the first one. Zero days says there is no waiting period before discarding honey; the second says when you may use it, and that is outside the flow — the same thing the mode of action already required.

⚠ PRECAUTIONS

Prepare and place the strips wearingrubber gloves. Amitraz can have neurological effects in humans and is amonoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI): if you take MAOI medication, take extra care. Do not eat, drink or smoke while handling it.

Do not go over10 ml per strip and never reuse the strips. The technical sheetsets no minimum temperature for application: if you have read a figure in degrees, it does not come from there. What does condition the result is the bees being able to walk the strip — with the colony clustered, contact drops and efficacy with it.

05 · SUPPLY AND PACK SIZES

Amicel Varroa is aprescription-only veterinary medicine and is administered under veterinary supervision or control. Because of that status itcannot be supplied by distance selling: this page is informational and does not process any purchase. As for packs, this one, of1 litre with 100 strips covers 50 hives; the220 ml one with 22 strips, 11.