ANEW AUTHORISED VARROA TREATMENT MAQS® Beehive Strips (CEO, NOD Apiary Products Ltd) Sof February 2013, the UK Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) has ‘granted Marketing ‘Authorisation for MAQS ‘anew too! for use against vvarroa mites. “The product, developed in Cana by NOD Airy Prods Leal 0D) was fest shown to beekeepers in 2008 thas achieved registations across the US, Canada and Hungary, ane now the UX-NOD took 3 new approach to vara: teat 58 brood disease, Varroa as a Brood Disease: Targeting Varroa Reproduction ‘When brood is present, 70-80% ofthe female mites are out of sight under the 00d capping, engaged in reprodacion while eeing David VanderDussen ‘on the developing honey bee During feeding, the mites ‘transmit viruses that cause deformities and weaken the bees, one by ane unt ‘thousands of bees are atfected, lesding to colony collapze. Historically varoa weatments have tled on catching the ‘ema varoa mite berween reproduction cycles, hile she is ‘outon the adut bees, This time ‘of exposure iscalled the phoretc stage ans only for he female votoa as the male mites da not leave the cl Formic Acid NOD has worked with formic id a5 an active ingreciont against var since 1997. The first product, Mite-Awayl™, ‘was regstered in North America in 2005, was a 27-day treatment to be used before of Brent and Bonnie Woodworhs US commercial beekeepers, opening wp their MAQS® treed Hives tn 2017 ‘growth that way the MAQS® (ite Away Quick Siri) she result of several yeas of RAD. Penetrating ‘th 10488, the formic ac molecule has been made sticky, It penewates the oroad capping and has been proved tobe effective at kiling male varroa there, sucesstuly targeting reproduction As discovered in the fl tal, itis abo effective inkling phoretcvaroa and female mites in sealed brood cll, Therefore MAQS® ie effective agains allstages ofthe votoa Hle cycle The developing been the sealed cell appears io be unharmed by the treatment By ragetng vara feeding ‘on develoring bees under the brood capping, retarding vitus transfer, MaQS® is teating vao8 tke the brood dsease it nays What is MAQS? MAQ5? is a combination of ‘tee formic acid and sowr-eesce formates na saccharide gel stro, made thin enough oft into the bee space between hive components. The gel & after the honey flow. Desite ‘the reputation of formic aid being efecte against vartoa under the eappings, our testing ‘of Mite-Awayl™ showed twas ‘only effecve agains phortic Targeting the Male Research and development (0) continued, withthe focus hing fom the female vara mite to the mate. The male mes never develop the hard outer shel of the female mits, probably making them ‘more susceptible to formic acid ‘vapours than the female. Abo, ‘nce the males do not leave the broad ets, they area non roving target. we could catch them before mating takes place, ve could cause infertiy within the surviving female population, stopping varoa population10 = New Varioa Treatment: MAQS® The varoa mite. Silla major problem nour bee clones strips wrapped in a specialy formulated compastable ‘wicking paper developed with BASE St) are placed ‘0 the fame ton bars inthe brood eating area of the bve No spacer im, oke o extra ‘equinmentisequie. The design ofthe stip allows fora telatvey low dose of formic aid to be bight effective in avery shor period of time, compared with other mite lweatments. The weatment ero for MAQS® is just seven days. The in MAQS’ stands for Quick" After the seven days, the stip is considered Spent. can be lft inthe hive ntl removed ether by the bees by the beekeeper during the next inspection ofthe colony. «can be naturally disposed of by composting Framesfrom ano the Waodoris cloister teimen with Mags No Residues in Honey ‘or Wax MAQS® technology. combined withthe response ofthe bees, provides an etectve fumigation treatment that doesnot leave residues inthe honey or wax, Formic acid ‘snatualy occuring in ‘the hive atmosphere at level of 1-5 pats pe iin (opm). wen the treatment is apd, the formic acid levels quickly elevate until the bees gain contol of the evel by movement of a. ivery important thatthe colony has adequate acces to fresh ait ‘The bees ae quite comfortable functioning at 49 pom and even higher; amounts greater than 20 ppm are toxic tothe mites “ypically the bees will hold ‘the formic acd concentration _aroune the 40 pm evel or 3-4 days, before dropping ‘off tothe naturaly occuring level of 1-5 ppm a weck after appleation. With MAQS®, the bees assume contol othe Side Effects it MAQ5®, al the efecs are acute thar are no get ‘donc of sual effects Theres wide range of colony responses, ‘even nthe same aia, Bearing behaviour foes coming outof the hive and clustering up she Frnt) is not ‘uncommon, but many clones, even in the same apa rated atthe same time, do not ‘Some colonies have some inal egg and young brood oss, others do not, Some bees, including queens, ‘tha are fragile or reasons :anging from age to disease Foads, are move susceptible to formic acid vapour, In some colonies, especially here supesedure or swatming was initiated bythe colony before treatment, mother and daughter queens may be found ater eatment Where queen cell are found before or ater ‘treatment they shouldbe let alone forthe young queens to ‘emerge and mate In shor, the best approach with MAQS® is forthe teekeepe 10 app the ‘reatment, after making sure ‘there are good food eserves ‘and good access to fresh ar 2105 the width a she hve, and ‘then let the bees manage ther aff! Under warm conditions| the beekeeper can verify the colony queenright ane month ator treatment as part of standard beekeoping practice Itshould be noted thatin the ‘autumn, colonies may naturally shut down brood eating for 2 peviod but there shouldbe a heathy sized Custer going into Corrosion Formic acd vapours are cotosve to ferrous meta, bt not aluminium or most stainless tees Some metal ‘queen excludes develop a white onder an them and willshow rust around the edges over time. Paste excluders ae nat affected; there are now some ‘00d ones valle, [MAQS® Bechive Strips in place na doubl ‘wrapping means thatthe sip ca be lf fort be taken out by the beekeeper atthe Residues and Resistance Honey seis naturally acc, with formic acd being one of ‘the naturally occuring acids making itso. ‘When bes ae weated wth MAQS®, the level of formic act in honey stays within naturally ‘occuring eval. This allows MAQS® to be used wen {hore are supers onthe hives, vithout fear of eantamiating ‘the honey Foxmic acid isnot lnoatili, so it will nat be brorbed into the wax, Bulk-up ‘of mitcide residues nthe wax inthe hve hasbeen a colony health concer a beekeepers the use of MAQS® can avoid this probe, Nature's Defence Chemical Formic acid is one of nature's defence chemicals, naturally ‘occuring in lant such as stinging nettles andin ant ites With MAQS®, there appears to be east ow commentary modes of action at work agaist mites a he honey bee Although it isnot clearly understood when comes ‘May 2013 V0195 15"brood chamber colny. The compostable ‘nthe hive either forthe est remave seat operon tomite contol, formic acid is known 0 be an inhibitor of e mitochondial ytaclyome oxidase complex, causing Hstotoxic hypoxia, leading cel death, and the lw, ai, pH generated in the hve enim ca fac to MAQS® has dual mode of action ris. The Varroa resstance to formic id has not ocurred inthe past and isnot expected inthe foreseeable future Summary Hundreds of thousands of beehives have been protected by beekeepers using MAQS® Ircan be used almost anytime during the actne beekeeping As with any treatment, it important to read and flow the abe instructions. MAQs® has one-year shoe, needs 10 be stored under 25°C and Is designed tobe compostable R&D is ongoin, swith he current focus being Yo improve sal fe, Feld al re schedule for this yout Commercial, beekeeping ‘small market, classed by the regulatory structure as Minar Use Minor Species: MAQS® is now being made avaible to the beekeepers of the UC thanks to sponsorship and angoing support fom 8 MAQS® wil be dstinuted in the UK by BOW (Agreulture Ld and EH Thome (Behive) Li with the product being avaiable this sping. 2 when ses Further Information For more tion please ga to wav eC Wagricco.uk, ‘wera MAQS co.uk or contact Mr Sn Price on 07630 655722, avid VanderDussen, CEO of NOD Apiary Products Lu, wth hs da, Sead ek kod ~ ° Beehive Strip Purchase now from B.CW. (Agriculture) Limited. 01630.655.722 MAGQS" Benefits + Authorised Veterinary Medicine + Ready to use - no mess. + No additional hive equipment + Proven high efficacy + Tested in UK climate * Kills varroa where they breed + No resistance observed + Flexible treatment times + Use with honey supers on + No residue in honey or wax «Increase honey yields ‘Get into a regular treatment program twice 2 year with MAQS® and your bees willbe as they should be, healthy and thriving." Bonnie Woodworth, ‘Commercial Beekeeper 22 ‘we love my distributed by THORNE i 01675.858.555 Mr. Sion Price (01630.655.722 sales@bewagric.co.uk sponsored by To learn more visit Ea wnw.MAGS.co.uk or www. 8CWagric.co.ukMAKING QUALITY BEEKEEPING EQUIPMENT FOR 100 YEARS MAQS: Beehive Strip Flexible Treatment Times Tested in UK Climate Proven High Efficacy No residue in honey or wax £55.20 per bucket 1 bucket = 10 treatments (20 strips) Bulk oiscount rates available 'MAQSimising Economic Return’ E.H.THORNE (Beehives) LTD BEEHIVE BUSINESS PARK, RAND, Nr, WRAGBY, LINCOLNSHIRE, LN8 SNJ TEL. 01673 858555 sales@thome.co.uk www.thome.co.uk Follow us on Twitter @thornebeehives Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/E.H.Thome