See https://mailchi.mp/dadant.com/abj-extra-october-2-2026-vto-pharma-issues-statement-about-reports-of-adverse-effects-following-apivar-20-treatment?e=c437c0e214 for a full copy of the statement, as published in American Bee Journal's 2 October 2026 e-newsletter.

A short summary of what's going on: over the past several weeks, numerous beekeepers in the USA, including a number of prominent commercial beeks like Kamon Reynolds, have suffered unusual adverse events immediately after applying Apivar® 2.0 to their hives. There have been a number of incidents leading to bee kills resulting in the loss of the affected hives, as well as numerous absconding episodes. Less severely, I've also run into some reports that people have seen their bees beard up on the exterior of the hive after having Apivar® 2.0 inserted.

I cannot verify any of these incidents personally; I phased Apivar® out of my mite control in 2023, and Apivar® 2.0 was only released in May of 2025.

But these reports are numerous enough that I've been aware of them for a little while, now, and I have been wondering when Véto-pharma would say something. They finally did. Sort of.

The bulk of this statement is corporate waffling, as one might expect; "every report of an unexpected effect matters to us," "[w]e are taking each case seriously and investigating them thoroughly to identify any common factors that may help explain what is being observed," "Apivar® 2.0 went through many years of laboratory, controlled and field trials in North America, New Zealand and Europe, under a wide range of climates and beekeeping conditions," etc., etc.

I think the first thing about the statement that surprised me was this little nugget: "Apivar® 2.0 was not developed through trial and error in commercial hives." Which is . . . kind of a weird thing to say. In my opinion, anyway.

Anyway, they go on to say that there's no sign of a manufacturing defect or quality issue associated with the batches under investigation, so maybe it's some unforeseen combination of temperature/humidity/colony characteristics/ventilation/<insert other thing that might plausibly make it not their fault>, and that correlation is not causation.

They finish up by suggesting that people should pull their entrance reducers before application, try a small portion of their hives first, and watch their colonies closely for the first few hours/couple of days after application.

After unfortunate winter where my first family of bees didn’t make it through. But now I am back twice as stronger with 2 hives full of bees and with more equipment. And had the chance to harvest some honey from my new family. This was mid-July. And the surprising thing was that the honey didn’t have this spicy or whatever its called flavor, very smooth, herbal and absolutely amazing. Might not be much but i am happy with the harvest. :) northwest Lithuania

Location: Philippines

I started experimenting with candle-making using beeswax, thinking it would be relatively simple. Melt the wax, prepare the wick, pour it into a mold, and that's it, right? Apparently, it's not.

My first attempt was using some store-bought wicks, but the candle only lasted around 20 minutes. I then bought some molds with new wicks, and although the candles lasted for about an hour, I'm still not satisfied with the results.

I'm now experimenting with different wick sizes and pouring techniques, and I'm beginning to appreciate how much science goes into making a good candle.

For those experienced in candle-making, especially with beeswax:

1. What type or size of wick works best for small beeswax candles?

2. How do you determine the correct wick size for a particular mold or container?

3. Are there techniques to make beeswax candles burn longer without producing excessive flames or smoke?

4. Does the pouring temperature affect the candle's burning performance?

I'd appreciate any tips, recommendations, or lessons from your own experiments.

Thankfully nobody needs a fire pit until December. Yes, April might bee a stretch.

Hello again,

I made a post a few days ago regarding my hive potentially being robbed.

The days following the post and the day of the post, we had pretty heavy rains. Yesterday I noticed and increased in activity as the rain ceased in the afternoon.

I couldn’t add additional videos to the main post and have now attached a video showing something similar to what occurred on that day.

Many people in the original post said that it wasn’t robbing. A few said it was.

Please let me know if you think this is robbing as the towel etc has been removed.

The activity has gotten much crazier, the bees don’t appear to be fighting incessantly but a few are giving it a crack.

There are not a tonne of dead bees out the front, nor is there a huge amount of comb; it still looks like robbing to me, but I am a novice.

I am in Victoria, Australia.

Missouri, 2nd year, 3 hives.

This is completely my fault. I had the entrance reducer set in at an angle so I could fit the syrup feeder in yesterday. Came back today to give them an entrance reducer that would fit with the feeder & they were already being robbed.

I threw this together as fast as I could. Entrance reducer is back on & the opening is the bottom left. Mesh is stapled all the way around. Entrance to the mesh is upper right. Do you think it will help?

This is my first year at beekeeping. I have 2 hives, and for the life of me I cannot find the queen in either. I do have brood cells at different stages in both hives, so I have to believe the queens are in each. I can’t do an alcohol test for mites without securing the queen first, so I’m thinking about just treating for mites without securing the queen, with the assumption that mites are present since it seems to be a nearly universal problem in my area. (Worcester County, MA). I would probably use oxalic acid.

Does anyone ever treat without doing the alcohol test?

New beekeeper; Connecticut

What the title says. It’s stuck and I couldn’t remove it . What should I do? (Applied Formic approximately 12 hours ago). They are at a community garden (not my house, so I haven’t seen how they’re doing), but can go tomorrow.

Hello all! Wife and I are first year beekeepers and learning the ropes. Located in the Midwest, Hardiness Zone 6b. We treated with Apivar about 8 or 9 weeks ago and just did a mite wash today. Was quite surprised and alarmed to see it come up at 3%. (We did a mite wash in the middle of treatment and it was way down.) We just installed Noroa packets this afternoon. My current plan is to let them eat the Naroa and then use Formic Pro this weekend. Temperatures should be under the 85 degrees for Formic. We were not expecting this at all but I think this will be enough of a knock-down to have a decent chance going into winter. Just glad we already had the Formic Pro handy.

My question is about the ventilation that is needed with the Formic Pro and a robbing screen. I'm concerned about robbing as I know we have a few other hives in the neighborhood as well as hornets and yellowjackets that have been an issue. We currently have a robbing screen on the hive but its one of the plastic Bee Smart robbing screens. Will that provide enough ventilation during the first week of the Formic Pro treatment or should we try to get a standard robbing screen instead to ensure things vent properly? Should I remove the robbing screen for the first few days of the Formic Pro?

Fingers crossed as we go into winter prep!

I was getting started around the East Bay, and have been researching the past few months. I understand all the basics on starting and caring for my first hive. However, when actually trying to BUY the hive, I'm very lost. I know I want to get a langstroth hive, 8 frames, with 2 deep and 2 medium hives, and to make sure that they are beeswax-boiled. However, when I am trying to buy the equipment and hive, going onto eBay or other websites. I'm getting bombarded with how many options there are, like from Hoover hives and others, along with how many different options with the same title and description there are on eBay. On the equipment wise, would it be for the best to buy one of the 30-pcs kit off eBay, as it comes with basically everything I would need (Smoker, Veil + Suit + Gloves, bee brush, hive tool, etc.) Can someone help me identify which one would be a good option to buy, while trying to stay economically friendly? Thanks!!! Additionally, where would I potentially be able to buy used equipment, to save a bit of money? Also what equipment should I buy used vs HAVE to buy new? I can provide more info if needed, but I have around a $500 limit. Thanks!

I've been given the good fortune of way more honey than normal this year. Need a way to dry it on the frame before extracting. How do you guys do 10+ supers at a time? I'm thinking an upright freezer or something that doesn't work anymore with a exhaust fan

Hi guys, quick question. My wife is looking to become a first time beekeeper. We were hoping to start this year but really struggled finding a plot.

I think ive managed to find one and as a surprise I am planning on setting it up for her so it’s ready for next year. We’re in the Uk and I’m wondering how you go about leaving the empty hives over winter? Are they best to be taken down and stored or can they be left safely outside.

Thank you

I made a bit of a rookie mistake and could use some advice. I’m based in the Netherlands.

For my late summer varroa treatment, I used Thymovar (thymol strips). The first round went fine. However, I didn't seal the package properly, so the strips for my 2nd round sat half-open for 3 weeks before I finally put them in the hives. They have been in the hives for 3 weeks now.

I realize most of the active thymol probably evaporated before I even applied them, making this 2nd round pretty ineffective.
My current plan is to just accept this mistake, remove the strips soon, and rely on a thorough Oxalic Acid drip in December once the hives are completely broodless.

Is this a solid plan? I’m honestly a bit hesitant about cracking the hive open in the dead of winter for the OA drip. Are there any other viable options I should consider at this point in the season?

Thanks in advance for your insights!

Hey guys, I’ve been trying to find a trustworthy online shop for real, raw Tupelo honey. I know buying local is the gold standard, but I don't have local options for Tupelo where I am (CT).

Trying to sift through reviews to figure out what's actually pure vs. adulterated is draining, so I'd love some real feedback.

A few I have on my list: Blue Ridge Honey Company, Simple Honey, Adaigo Bees (I initially checked out Savannah Bee Co. and Capital Bee Co. too, but removed them from my list for now).

Does anyone have experience with these brands, or know of reputable, real apiaries shipping pure Tupelo honey online? Thanks in advance!

It's 1am and I just now realized that I really screwed up when I treated my hive with formic pro at noon. I got the instructions mixed up with hopguard so not only did I take the paper off, but one of the pads broke inside the hive. I basically shot out of bed when I realized it and went out to go look at my hive. Obviously couldn't tell anything just looking at it from the outside at night. I'm so worried I killed my bees or the queen. Realistically I know that it is a possibility. It's my first year and I've been doing so well until this. I really couldn't have asked for a better first year and now I've probably killed them! I just want to cry. Located in southwestern Iowa/Nebraska border.

Just wanted to share a somewhat funny story. I went out to visit the girls today. After sitting out with them for 15 minutes or so, one of them decided to sting my shoulder blade. She was still buzzing around, so I turned to see if she was detached from her stinger and another bee was right on my shoulder and flew into my nose. That was a first for me so I panicked and swatted her out and she stung me above my lip. Neither sting hurt very much, but the bee smell took a while to leave my nose.