5 ms·
This is great news, but I have a few questions that weren't covered in the article: 1. How long-lasting is the effect? How long does the LiCl stay "active"? Wi
by mtrpcic 9y ago
This is great news, but I have a few questions that weren't covered in the article:
1. How long-lasting is the effect? How long does the LiCl stay "active"? Will bees need to be fed this at a regular cadence to keep them mite free?
2. Is there any evidence on whether or not the LiCl makes its way into the honey produced by treated bees? LiCl can affect the nervous system (although this is an extremely low quantity). I'm just wondering if there is someone who eats a LOT of honey, could they be impacted (similar to those people who reportedly got mercury poisoning from eating too much fish)
I know very little about the biological mechanisms at work here, but those were two thoughts that immediately came to mind.
- xyzzyz 9y ago1. How long-lasting is the effect? How long does the LiCl stay "active"? Will bees need to be fed this at a regular cadence to keep them mite free? The paper says that a single feeding achieved good results, though worse than continued feeding spanning a few days. It seems then that a single treatment will only kill mites that are already in the hive, but will not do anything to help develop immunity. Looks like bee keepers will just have to add lithium compounds to the list of treatments they already regularly apply. 2. Is there any evidence on whether or not the LiCl makes its way into the honey produced by treated bees? The paper mentions that it doesn’t accumulate in bees wax, though it says nothing about the honey. They discuss potential toxicity though, and it seems that lithium is not toxic to mammals in concentrations relevant here. Certainly there is no bioaccumulation effect here that makes eating fish somewhat dangerous.
- jandrese 9y agoOnly doing a single feeding seems like a great way to breed resistance in the mites.
- lostlogin 9y agoBroodless bees don’t need treating for long with most treatments - it’s the brood that’s hard to hit. That said, avoiding resistance is important.
- zafka 9y agoI would guess that a small amount would get in the honey the bees were making at that time, but beekeepers would not harvest that honey. When many flowers are blooming, a second box is added to the hive just for honey( a super). At this time the beekeeper does no additional feeding.
- lostlogin 9y agoMost treatment see the honey supers removed to avoid contamination. There are a few exception which don’t require this, like oxalic acid. When the honey flow starts, you need to add boxes fast - I’m up to 7 and 2 of those have been removed, extracted and put back on.