Vita starts registration process for green varroa control treatment

Harvesting hops - not all for beer!

Vita (Europe) Limited has begun the pan-European registration process for HopGuard®, a varroa control treatment that uses natural food-based compounds and is suited for year-round use. The registration process for Europe is expected to be complete in early 2016 and beekeepers should then have a new, highly effective, versatile weapon against the varroa mite which has taken such a toll on honeybee colonies.

HopGuard will be the first registered varroa control treatment in Europe that can be used at any time of year, even during a honey flow. The food-grade ingredients, based on natural hop compounds, are entirely safe for bees, brood and humans, and have proven to be highly effective in controlling varroa mite populations.

HopGuard is very easy to apply: two strips are placed between brood frames — they don’t even need to be removed because the strips disintegrate naturally and the bees remove the particles from the hive during normal hive-cleaning activities. When brood is present, three treatments at weekly intervals are required, but if the colony is broodless only one treatment is required. The treatment is an ideal component of an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategy.

Dr Max Watkins, Technical Director of Vita (Europe) Ltd, said: « We are very impressed by HopGuard because of its efficacy and safety, and because it can be used at any time of year even if supers are on the hive. It can also be used during the ultra-sensitive process of queen-rearing. Our rigorous field testing is showing that HopGuard will give beekeepers a very effective, safe and versatile additional treatment in controlling varroa. »

Jeremy Owen, Sales Director of Vita (Europe) Ltd, said: « BetaTec, the originators of HopGuard, have introduced the product very successfully in the USA and Vita has reached an agreement to market the product in Europe and elsewhere. The registration process in Europe will not be quick or straightforward, even for a product consisting of food-grade ingredients, but, as ever, Vita is firmly committed to obtaining the required veterinary registration for its products so that beekeepers can be assured their efficacy and safety. We also aim to ensure that it will be an affordable treatment for beekeepers. »

HopGuard will be the first honeybee health product to be registered through the European Centralised Registration Procedure. Vita hopes that this will help speed up registration throughout Europe. Roll-out of HopGuard in non-European Union countries may be earlier, dependent upon the respective regulatory systems.

BetaTec currently markets HopGuard in 32 states of the USA where the product has been registered under emergency use exemptions. A Section 3 registration in the USA is under process.

Notes To Editors

1 About Vita (Europe) Ltd

Vita (Europe) Limited is a mite control and honeybee health specialist. It is the world’s largest dedicated supplier of honeybee health products to the honey and pollination industries.
With headquarters in the UK, offices in Italy, France and Russia, and partners across the globe, Vita researches, develops, and manufactures a range of honeybee health products. These products are marketed internationally through a network of 60 distributors in 50 countries.

Vita’s product range to improve honeybee health includes anti-varroa acaricides – Apistan® (outside the USA/Canada) and Apiguard® – chalkbrood and wax moth controls, foulbrood diagnostic kits and health-promoting feeds. Vita products have been registered by more than 60 veterinary authorities.

Vita promotes sustainable beekeeping through Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Its treatments are designed to inhibit the build-up of resistance and wherever possible contain natural compounds and biological controls that are benign to all but the target pests.

Vita invests a very high proportion of its turnover in research and development. Research partners include universities such as Cardiff, Milan, Udine and Naples and institutes such as the Tierhygienisches Institut (Institute of Animal Health) in Freiburg, Germany, the UK Central Science Laboratory and the USDA in America. Vita’s innovative research and development work has been recognised by and has received support from the UK Government.

As a result of its primary research of natural control agents, Vita is currently engaged in new projects exploring mite control in the agriculture, veterinary, and horticulture industries as well as public health and human allergen control.

See www.vita-europe.com for more information.

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