Api-Bioxal
Behandlungsmittel
Api-Bioxal is an oxalic-acid-based veterinary medicinal product from an Italian manufacturer.
Api-Bioxal is an oxalic-acid-based veterinary medicinal product from an Italian manufacturer. It is approved in several European countries, including Austria, where it is intended for both trickle application and vaporization. In German beekeeping practice it mainly comes up because it is available in neighboring countries.
For Germany, the legal classification is the crucial point. A veterinary medicinal product approved abroad may not simply be imported and applied. Such an intra-Community movement route requires a therapeutic emergency, and a therapeutic emergency only exists if no approved medicinal product is available for the animal species and the indication concerned. This is not the case for Varroa control; approved oxalic acid products exist. Practicality or personal preference do not constitute a therapeutic emergency.
In addition, there is a professional argument. Comparative studies found similarly high efficacy rates of around 95 to 98 percent for trickling, spraying, and vaporizing oxalic acid. No additional treatment success from vaporization is therefore to be expected compared with the methods already approved in Germany. Anyone wanting to vaporize oxalic acid in Germany should use the product approved for this purpose here.
In technical terms, Api-Bioxal behaves like other oxalic acid products. The active substance acts through contact, only reaching mites sitting freely on the bees, and does not penetrate into the capped brood. Treatment is therefore carried out in the broodless colony, usually as a final mite treatment in late autumn or winter. Dosage, preparation, and application details follow the package leaflet of the relevant national authorization.
The usual precautions for oxalic acid apply when handling it: acid-resistant gloves and safety goggles, plus respiratory protection for aerosol-forming applications. For honey, what matters is that treatment is carried out after the last honey harvest of the year as a general rule. Anyone unsure of the current authorization and import status should ask a veterinarian or advisory service before application.
Quellen (4)
- Emmerich, I.: Zugelassene Arzneimittel für Honigbienen in Deutschland, Berliner und Münchener Tierärztliche Wochenschrift 2018
- LLH Bieneninstitut Kirchhain: Infoblatt Varroazide (Übersicht zugelassener organischer Varroazide)
- BVL: Hinweise zur Anwendung des Tierarzneimittels Varroxal in Bezug auf die geeigneten Verdampfer (15.03.2024)
- LAVES Institut für Bienenkunde Celle: Was man über Varroxal, das bislang einzige zugelassene Varroazid zum Verdampfen, wissen sollte