A comparison between the efficiency of summer treatments using formic acid and Taktic® against Varroa jacobsoni in beehives

There is a need to control the mite Varroa jacobsoni following the citrus honey extraction in Israel. The mite population was very large at that time, and the hives were weakened by the dry summer conditions. We demonstrated that 8 consecutive treatments with formic acid during the month of August gave satisfactory mite control without harming or irritating the bees. The experiments also showed that 8 formic acid treatments during June suffice to keep a hive through the summer until control activities during requeening in the Autumn