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Author Topic: Grease patties for tracheal mite  (Read 8292 times)

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Offline Jen

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Grease patties for tracheal mite
« on: December 30, 2013, 06:10:02 pm »
How do grease patties, Crisco shortening, help with tracheal mite?
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Offline iddee

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Re: Grease patties for tracheal mite
« Reply #1 on: December 30, 2013, 06:23:08 pm »
The mite lodges itself in the throat of the bee. The grease covers the mite's breathing holes in it's sides, thus suffocating it and dislodging it.
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Offline Perry

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Re: Grease patties for tracheal mite
« Reply #2 on: December 30, 2013, 06:26:47 pm »
Menthol soaked cardboard works well for tracheal mites, as does formic acid.
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Offline Crofter

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Re: Grease patties for tracheal mite
« Reply #3 on: December 30, 2013, 06:27:27 pm »
From memory the grease coats the bees and interferes with the tracheal mites ability to smell identify the proper aged bee to jump onto. Pheremones are different from different aged bees.  Strong scented compounds like thymol, wintergreen, etc. probably help confuse the mites. The bees dont eat the patties but do try to haul it out of the hives and groom each other trying to clean off the smear.

Feed patties for bees contain only roughly 2% fat content; not at all like tracheal mite patties with something ~3o% grease.

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Offline Slowmodem

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Re: Grease patties for tracheal mite
« Reply #4 on: December 30, 2013, 06:29:35 pm »
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Offline iddee

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Re: Grease patties for tracheal mite
« Reply #5 on: December 30, 2013, 06:48:46 pm »
It seems as times have changed. I was taught in the late eighties to add menthol to the patties to kill the mites in the bees. maybe later evidence discounted that. I guess I just didn't keep up.
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Offline Perry

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Re: Grease patties for tracheal mite
« Reply #6 on: December 30, 2013, 07:36:44 pm »
I believe it would accomplish the same thing Iddee. The bees breathe the menthol vapour and the mites in the bees trachea die.
At least I would think it would do the same thing in a patty?
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Offline Jen

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Re: Grease patties for tracheal mite
« Reply #7 on: December 30, 2013, 11:58:54 pm »
Did formic acid in October, hoping that will work for the trach.

Is there a way to tell if your bees have trach mites?
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Offline Perry

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Re: Grease patties for tracheal mite
« Reply #8 on: December 31, 2013, 07:46:11 am »
Get yourself a microscope, or send in a sample to a lab.
Forgive the title on the link. It does have a good description though.
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-detect-tracheal-mites-in-your-beehive.html
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Offline Crofter

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Re: Grease patties for tracheal mite
« Reply #9 on: December 31, 2013, 09:43:06 am »
Killing the mites in the bees is maybe not the best approach; those bees will be dead in a number of weeks anyways. Preventing the infestation of new bees stops the process as the mites perish quickly if they cant get into a young bee.  Most bees seem to have developed resistance to tracheal mites and most treatments for varroa mites hammers them too. There are some recent reports though of infestations sneaking back and not being recognized.
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