February 26, 2013, MAQS® Beehive Strip has received registration in the United Kingdom for beekeeper’s use. It has received approval by VMD (Veterinary Medical Department).
The beekeepers of the United Kingdom now have a new tool to combat the most serious threat to its honeybees, the Varroa destructor parasitic mite. Left untreated, Varroa mites will transmit viruses that weaken a honeybee colony. Millions of colonies across Europe have died in recent years from this parasitic mite.
MAQS® is a saccharide gel strip formulation of formic acid, an e ective active ingredient that is naturally occurring in honey. Because the Varroa mites reproduce on the developing baby bee, transmitting viruses that deform the bee, their control is being approached as a brood disease. The saccharide gel formic acid vapours released from the saccharide gel strip penetrate the brood cap, stopping the mite where it reproduces. The initial target was the male mite, which never leaves the brood cell. However, trials show that it is also very e ective on all stages of the female mite. It is the first mite treatment to successfully target Varroa mite reproduction.
The concept of MAQS® Beehive Strip was first developed in Canada, by NOD Apiary Products Ltd. operating in the UK as NOD Europe. NOD’s personnel worked with BASF’s scientists to overcome technical barriers, the solution to which was BASF’s biodegradable and compostable film Ecoflex®. The resulting treatment is just 7 days,
Available this spring with our distributors for UK: BCW Agriculture Ltd, Market Drayton Shropshire TF9 3UX, BASIS number: E/6193/ICM. Thorne Beehives Ltd, 01673 858555 or NOD Europe Ltd. at 00800 62776633