Nobody gets a free ride, not even a honeybee. Today there are a multitude of pests living on its blood, while other viral foes attack the developing brood in the comb.
Today, we were placing formic acid pads on the top bars of the brood chambers in an effort to eradicate tracheal mites, a microscopic transparent creature which lives in the tracial tubes of the honeybee.
This tracheal mite lives on the bees blood, and will increase in numbers inside the tracial tubes until it weakens and suffocates its host. Formic acid is a naturally occuring substance (which can be found in very small amounts in honey) is lethel to the tracheal mite in a stronger solution. At Campbells Honey, our approach is to soak small pads in formic acid, and then place them on the top bars of the brood chamber, right inside the beehive.
How does formic acid work? The mites are killed when the bees breathe in the strong fumes of the acid. Its essential to wear gloves and use tongs when you apply the acid soaked pads; we must be careful not to come in contact with the solution, which can severly burn our skin. Beekeeping is dangerous sometimes.
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