APIS Volume 12, Number 9, September 1994

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In this issue

Paul Cutts Dies
September is National Honey Month
Terramycin (R) Use in Extender Patties
Natonal Honey Board Resarch--Frozen Desserts

PAUL CUTTS DIES

Mr. Paul Cutts, head of the Cutts beekeeping clan in Florida, died July 16 in Dothan, Alabama at the age of 91. Mr. Cutts' father kept bees in Alabama for honey production, but Paul moved the business to a queen-rearing focus early in his career. From 1915 to 1945, the business was based near Montgomery, Alabama. However, the demise of the great tulip poplar forests in the area, cut down to aid the World War II effort, caused the Cutts clan to migrate to Chipley in Florida's panhandle. During the next three decades, Cutts' queens were in great demand throughout the United States and Canada. In 1978, Mr. Cutts moved into semi-retirement, relocating in winter to Copeland, Florida in an effort to take advantage of rearing queens early in the season. In 1985, health problems caused he and his wife, Inez, to move back to Chipley.

Throughout his life, Mr. Paul Cutts served the beekeeping industry in many ways. He was president of numerous associations, including: Tupelo Beekeepers Association, Florida State Beekeepers Association, Southern States Beekeepers Federation, and the Alabama Beekeepers Association. Mr. Cutts, one of Florida's true pioneer beekeepers, was given the Florida State Beekeepers Association's Beekeeper of the Year Award for his efforts in developing the queen-rearing industry in the state. He was a charter member of the American Bee Breeders Association and held the presidency of that organization. He was also an Honorary Kentucky Colonel and a Woodman of the World.

SEPTEMBER IS NATIONAL HONEY MONTH

The National Honey Board asks everyone to join with Mike Espy, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture who has declared September as National Honey Month. The Board has distributed a good many "Honey Month" kits to food editors, freelance writers and supermarket consultants. These kits are still available and can be ordered from Tracy Baker, National Honey Board, 421 21st. Ave., #203, Longmont, CO 80501-1421, ph 800-553-7162.

TERRAMYCIN (R) USE IN EXTENDER PATTIES

There continues to be a good deal of discussion about Terramycin (R) use in bee colonies. This is especially true with reference to vegetable oil "extender patties." Dr. Keith Delaplane at the University of Georgia recently coauthored an article with Dr. Fernando Lozano, who works for Pfizer, Inc., the manufacturer of Terramycin (R). The article, entitled "Using Terramycin (R) in Honey Bee Colonies," American Bee Journal, Vol. 134, No. 4, April 1994, pp. 259-261, emphasizes several important points:

Terramycin (R) is the only medication approved for preventing and controlling American and European foulbrood.
Pfizer, Inc. makes three formulations for bees: TM-50D, TM- 100D and TM-25, also known as Terramycin Soluble Powder (TSP).
TM-50 D contains 50 grams of active ingredient per pound; TM- 100D contains 100 grams of active ingredient per pound and TM-25 contains 25 grams of active ingredient per pound, but is packaged in 6.4 ounce foil packs, each containing 10 grams of active ingredient.
At least three bee supply companies reformulate Pfizer Terramycin (R) products into medications under different brand names.
Not all Terramycin (R) products are safe for bees; only those that have labels for honey bees should and can legally be used.
The product most readily available in small quantities--TSP or TM-25--has a label which creates confusion. It uses "impractically small units (teaspoons and ounces)," contains a reference to TM-10 (a cancelled product) and has no instructions for mixing antibiotic extender patties.
Extender patties allow Terramycin (R) to be delivered for up to several weeks with only one trip to the beehive. The oil in extender patties has also been shown to deter tracheal mites.

The original idea of extender patties comes from work by Dr. Bill Wilson and colleagues entitled "Antibiotic Treatments That Last Longer," American Bee Journal, September, 1970, pp. 348-351. 44 The recipe in that article, thought to be the best in most cases, has been published many times. It is 1/3 lb Crisco (R), 2/3 lb granulated sugar, two (2) tablespoons of TSP or TM-25, yielding two patties. Later, Dr. Wilson found that a patty half as large was satisfactory and would last six weeks (see R. Morse and H. Shimanuki, "Summary of Control Methods," Honey Bee Pests, Predators, and Diseases, edited by R. Morse and R. Nowogrodzki, Cornell University Press, second edition, 1990, p. 348).

The article by Drs. Delaplane and Lozano has recipes for all Pfizer products formulated as dust, syrup and patties. The TSP "dosage guide" for extender patties is as follows:

  No. 
6.4 Oz        Lbs Vegetable    Lbs Powdered    Colonies treated 
Packets TSP    shortening       sugar          1 lb patty/colony 

1		4.6		9.1			14 
2		9.1		8.2			28 
3		13.7		27.4			42 
4		18.2		36.5			56 
5		22.8		45.6			70

The authors state that the TSP, powdered sugar and vegetable shortening should be mixed together and each colony be fed a patty on the top bars. They also urge removal of any remaining material at least four (4) weeks before the honey flow and that any honey stored while patties are on a colony must not be used for human consumption. Finally, they state that extender patties require a higher dosage of medication per colony (up to 800 mg active ingredient) to provide adequate active ingredient levels. This means that fewer colonies can be treated with the same amount of active ingredient using the extender patty method.

Since the publication of the above article by Drs. Delaplane and Lozano, there have been postings on the BEE-L Internet discussion list indicating that several concerns about extender patties remain. The first is whether they have a label and are legal. In his Spring 1991 B- Plus Newsletter from Michigan State University, Dr. Roger Hoopingarner declared the patties legal from his perspective. One major reason for using commercially prepared patties is they come with a label. Drs. Delaplane and Lozano stated that the FDA has approved extender patties as a "delivery method" for Terramycin (R) and that Pfizer, Inc. is working on a label for TM-25. For now, the only thing beekeepers really can reference with TSP is what's published in the article. Both TM-50D and TM-100D are clearly labelled for bee use and their labels contain instructions for use. Anyone wishing to see all the recipes published by Drs. Delaplane and Lozano can request a copy of their article from me.

The next issue concerns the ingredients. What difference is there, if any, between patties made with granulated sugar and those made with powdered sugar? This was not addressed in the article. And what kind of vegetable oil might be best? Dr. Wilson's first recipes called for Crisco (R), yet apparently any solid vegetable oil (not animal fat found in lard!) will do, according to the article.

Kerry Clark, Apiculture Specialist in British Columbia, Canada wrote on the Internet that he has examined the labels of various vegetable oils and shortenings. The Crisco (R) label says that it "may" contain a variety of oils. In western Canada it could be canola oil, whereas in the eastern states, corn or soya oil. He has also seen extender patties made with a variety of vegetable oils and hydrogenated vegetable oils (solid shortening), as well as used, semi-solid oil from deep frying.

Mixing of the ingredients is also a consideration. There can be problems getting a uniform distribution of Terramycin (R) throughout a patty. Drs. Delaplane and Lozano mention that mixing is especially important with concentrated products like TM-50D and TM-100D and a commercial-sized mixer might be necessary. At least one commercial formulation is mixed using a proprietary process. It is possible that inadequate mixing could be responsible for different results in patty use reported over the years.

Patty placement may also be responsible for effectiveness. Mr. P.F. (Roy) Thurber, writing in the 1980 and 1981 Speedy Bee, "Medication and Comb Rotation for AFB," said bees must be forced to eat the patties. This is accomplished by placing them so they interfere with feeding the brood, ventilating the colony, and/or ripening honey. He concluded: "...what good would a patty do if placed under the lid of a 5-story hive with bees in only the three lower supers? Obviously none, but patties have been placed that way and then called ineffective when the colony became diseased."

Finally, what about storage life? Mr. Clark guesses that an extender patty without antibiotic would last several years (as long as its physical properties look reasonable), while one with antibiotic would have a shelf life about the same as the expiration date of the antibiotic. Dr. Hoopingarner in his 1991 newsletter urged beekeepers to watch the color of a patty made with TM-25. If the yellow color turns orange or reddish, the patty "probably has lost its effectiveness."

NATIONAL HONEY BOARD RESEARCH--FROZEN DESSERTS

The National Honey Board funded a recent study to explore the optimal level of honey use in dairy desserts. Dr. R. Bradley at the University of Wisconsin conducted the research designed to:

Develop a honey-based ice cream with controlled freeze-thaw stability.
Develop a honey-based ice cream that ranks high on consumer scoring.
Determine if honey-sweetened frozen yogurt has consumer acceptance.

The results were published in Honey Hotline, No. 2, 1994, newsletter of the National Honey Board Food Technology Program, P.O. Box 281525, San Francisco, CA 94128-1525, ph 1-800-356-5941. In summary, the study showed that honey-based ice creams were preferred, at least as much and often more, than sucrose-based products. Storing the products for 60 days at -10 degrees F also showed them to be comparable to other ice creams. The most acceptable ice cream in terms of shelflife and consumer acceptance was formulated with 13 percent milk fat, 11 percent non- fat milk solids, 10 percent honey, 7 percent sucrose and 0.2 percent gelatin. Finally, fruit flavored frozen yogurt formulations with 7 percent honey solids were ranked highly by trained panelists.

Another study reported in the newsletter revealed public attitudes about honey:

Honey is thought of as a natural product by over 90 percent of consumers.
45.6 percent of consumers see honey as "very" nutritious as opposed to 10.6 percent who see corn syrup as nutritious.
"Nutritious," "tasty" and "an alternative to sugar," lead the list of consumer views on honey.
The National Honey Board's honey bear logo conveys important product attributes and strengths.
More than 49 percent of consumers indicated a preference for a honey added product. Less than two percent would select a product with artificial honey added.
Honey is seen as an extra value compared to corn syrup or sugar.
Consumers are willing to pay 13 percent more for a honey sweetened product compared to the same product sweetened with other sweeteners.
When a label says "honey added," nearly 50 percent of consumers expect at least 60 percent of the sweetener to be honey.

These statistics show how important honey's reputation is to the consumer. The last four points above emphasize how potentially damaging adulterating and mislabeling are to honey industry marketing efforts. Although the National Honey Board's service mark is in use and becoming recognized, far too few products with the word "honey" on the label have the logo. This was brought to the attention of Florida beekeepers last month when several products (mustards and barbecue sauces) found in local stores were presented at a meeting of the Division of Plant Industry's Honey Bee Technical Council. They all had honey prominently on the label, but none sported the service mark. And none had appreciable amounts of the sweet in the product. On the ingredients list, almost invariably the first words listed were: corn syrup.

Malcolm T. Sanford
Bldg 970, Box 110620
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611-0620
Phone (904) 392-1801, Ext. 143 FAX: 904-392-0190
INTERNET Address: MTS@GNV.IFAS.UFL.EDU