Article

Evaluation of food grade mineral oil treatment for varroa mite control

December 2004

Authors:

Food grade mineral oil (FGMO) applied with an insect fogger was evaluated for varroa mite control in honey bee colonies by comparison to an industry standard, coumaphos strips, and an untreated control group (eight colonies per treatment group). During the six-week test period, the Varroa populations increased in untreated colonies and those treated with FGMO, while those treated with coumaphos strips decreased greatly and, consequently, averaged 96.1 to 99.4% fewer Varroa than the untreated colonies at the end of the test period, by the alcohol wash and sticky board methods, respectively. In addition to providing no control for Varroa, FGMO applied in an insect fogger may pose a fire and/or other health hazard to beekeepers and bees.

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Histiostoma blomquisti n. sp. (Acari: Astigmata: Histiostomatidae), a phoretic mite of the red impor...

October 2010 · Acarologia

The new species Histiostoma blomquisti n. sp., associated with the Red Imported Fire Ant, Solenopsis invicta, is described by its deutonymph. A putative adult female is depicted. The deutonymphs only attach to female alates, dealates and queens of S. invicta. While queens may be covered by more than 200 deutonymphs over their entire bodies, the numbers of deutonymphs substantially differed ... [Show full abstract] between alates, dealates and queens, which are the preferred carriers, and the males and workers, which are usually not the phoretic hosts of these deutonymphs. It is assumed that the large amount of deutonymphs on queens may be a consequence of special conditions during nest foundings of monogyne colonies. Presence of deutonymphs apparently stimulates the cleaning behavior in workers; however deutonymphs are not removed during this procedure. This may be a consequence of chemical components produced in the opisthonotal glands of astigmatid mites that allow the mite to repel cleaning workers and remain strongly adhered to its carrier. It is unknown whether or not these mites affect the vitality of fire ant colonies.

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De Aziatische hoornaar: gevolgen voor bestuivers en bestuiving. The yellow-legged Hornet: consequenc...

September 2019

The Asian hornet (Vespa velutina subsp. nigrithorax, Lepeletier 1836) is an invasive exotic hornet species which is established in Europe since 2004. In 2017, the first nest was found in the Netherlands and subsequently eliminated, by which establishment most likely has been postponed. Flying insects and specifically the honey bees, feature prominently in the diet of the Asian hornet. ... [Show full abstract] Furthermore, anecdotal reports from Southern Europe suggest grave consequences for honey bees and beekeeping. Since 2016, the Asian hornet is on the Union list of the EU regulation 1143/2014. This means that member states are obligated to eliminate this species and to control them proportionately to the environmental impact it causes. This report entails the current knowledge of the relation between the Asian hornets and pollinators. Specifically the relation with honey bees has been studied (Chapter 1). Hereafter a review of monitoring strategies and control methods is given (Chapter 2), followed by a science-based policy framework for different stages of invasion of the Asian hornet (Chapter 3).

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Quantitative patterns of vertical transmission of deformed wing virus in honey bees

March 2018 · PLOS One

Deformed wing virus (DWV) is an important pathogen in a broad range of insects, including honey bees. Concordant with the spread of Varroa, DWV is present in the majority of honey bee colonies and can result in either low-level infections with asymptomatic bees that nonetheless exhibit increased colony loss under stress, or high-level infections with acute effects on bee health and viability. DWV ... [Show full abstract] can be transmitted vertically or horizontally and evidence suggests that horizontal transmission via Varroa is associated with acute symptomatic infections. Vertical transmission also occurs and is presumably important for the maintenance of DWV in honey bee populations. To further our understanding the vertical transmission of DWV through queens, we performed three experiments: we studied the quantitative effectiveness of vertical transmission, surveyed the prevalence of successful egg infection under commercial conditions, and distinguished among three possible mechanisms of transmission. We find that queen-infection level predicts the DWV titers in their eggs, although the transmission is not very efficient. Our quantitative assessment of DWV demonstrates that eggs in 1/3 of the colonies are infected with DWV and highly infected eggs are rare in newly-installed spring colonies. Additionally, our results indicate that DWV transmission occurs predominantly by virus adhering to the surface of eggs (transovum) rather than intracellularly. Our combined results suggest that the queens’ DWV vectoring capacity in practice is not as high as its theoretical potential. Thus, DWV transmission by honey bee queens is part of the DWV epidemic with relevant practical implications, which should be further studied.

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Spatulaphorus geotruporum (Acari: Pygmephoridae) a new record for mites fauna of Asia, with some not...

May 2019 · Journal of Insect Biodiversity and Systematics

During a comprehensive survey of the heterostigmatic mites associated with dung beetles in the hyrcanian forests, northern Iran, several colonies of the pygmephoroid mites including four species of the genus phoretic on Geotrupes spiniger (Marsham, 1802) were found. This is the first record of S. geotruporum from Asia. Furthermore, this is the first record of phoresy of S. geotruporum on G. ... [Show full abstract] spiniger.

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Detection of QTL for varroa mite resistance trait in Azarbaijan honey bee colonies

September 2019

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Survey of Italian honeys for the presence of foreign matter using the filth test

February 2014 · Food Additives and Contaminants

Abstract Honey is an ancient food that has always been considered a natural and healthy product, free of contaminants. However, it can contain toxic substances, such as antibiotics, pesticides and heavy metals, as well as foreign matter (e.g. arthropod body parts and microbial contaminants), working as allergens and vectors of human pathogens. In this study, we used the filth test to evaluate the ... [Show full abstract] abundance of foreign matter in 70 Italian honeys, including Castanea sativa, Robinia pseudoacacia and multifloral honeys, the latter both from small beekeeping farms and industrial producers. The abundance of different foreign matter varied in honeys, with a higher number of carbon particles and other inorganic fragments, followed by fragments of animal origin. This latter included insects (Diptera Brachycera larvae and Strepsiptera), their cuticular fragments (mainly Coleoptera, Hymenoptera and Lepidoptera), mites (mainly Glycyphagidae, Acaridae and Tarsonemidae) and mammal hairs. No differences were recorded in the abundance of foreign matter among different kinds of honey, as well as between honeys from small and large-sized producers. Foreign matter found in honey provided functional information to evaluate honey quality standards in apiary, honey extraction and packaging phases. Overall, the filth test method applied to honey quality control can be considered an excellent tool, also for local beekeepers, since it allows rapid and frequent quality checking of the production process. This method is cheap, requires minimal instrumental equipment and results can be interpreted quickly.

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Division of labour and specification of castes in the red imported fire ant Solenopsis invicta Buren

May 1981 · Animal Behaviour

Division of labour in Solenopsis invicta follows a familiar pattern: younger, smaller ants tend toward brood care while older, larger ants tend toward foraging. However, long-term observations of marked individuals reveal that length of nursing and foraging ‘careers’ and the age of transition between these activities vary considerably between and within size groups, and are related to length of ... [Show full abstract] life. Experiments with entire colonies show that larger ants are more likely than smaller ants to forage for insect prey. There are two main worker castes, ‘nurses’ and ‘foragers’, whose members span a wide age-size range, and a large ‘reserve’ subcaste, heterogeneous in age, size, and behaviour: reserves may nurse, forage, store liquid food, or relay food from nurses to foragers. The proportion of ants engaged in foraging decreases with colony size because many ants in large colonies are not exposed to recruitment signals.

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A Scientific Note on the Evolutionary Relationships Between Honey Bees and Their Enemies

March 2018 · CERCETARI AGRONOMICE IN MOLDOVA (AGRONOMIC RESEARCH IN MOLDAVIA)

Hossam Abou-Shaara

Honey bees are used in intensive way in agriculture due to their vital role in pollination of crops. Moreover, there are many valuable products from the bee colonies. Unfortunately, there are many enemies to honey bees. These enemies belong to various taxonomic ranks, including birds, insects and mites. Serious damages can be caused to honey bee colonies by these enemies. The sophisticated ... [Show full abstract] evolutionary relationships between honey bees and their enemies are not well investigated. In this study, phylogenetic trees between honey bees and their enemies were constructed based on the mtDNA and the COX1. The constructed trees reflected the evolutionary relationships according to behavior and taxonomical characters based on mtDNA and COX1, respectively. Predators, cavity-nesting bees, and parasites were separated than each other based on the first 1000 bases of the mtDNA. Insects were separated than mites and birds, in line with the classification of each organism based on the COX1.

Article

Invasion behavior of varroa mites into honey bee brood cells.

January 1970

Article

Detection of coumaphos resistance in Varroa destructor in Florida

January 2002 · American Bee Journal

Four populations of the honey bee parasitic mite Varroa destructor in central and southwestern Florida were tested for resistance to the organophosphate acaricide coumaphos, using a standard laboratory method. Preliminary ether rolls of randomly selected colonies in each yard resulted in up to 46 varroa per roll one year after treatment with CheckMite+®, the formulated product containing ... [Show full abstract] coumaphos. Such numbers were relatively high given previous beekeeper experience with CheckMite+®. Results of a laboratory test showed significant resistance of all four varroa populations to coumaphos. Discussion is given as to future possible management procedures for varroa control in light of a dwindling arsenal of acaricides for varroa suppression.

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Non-reproducing Varroa jacobsoni Oud. in honey bee worker cells—status of mites or effect of brood c...

May 1994 · Experimental and Applied Acarology

Stefan Fuchs

The parasitic mite Varroa jacobsoni Oud. reproduces in sealed honey bee brood cells. Within worker cells a considerable fraction of the mites do not produce offspring. It is investigated whether variation in the ratio of cells without reproduction is caused by properties of the worker brood, or by the state of the mites entering cells. Pieces of brood comb were taken from colonies of 12 different ... [Show full abstract] bee lines and were placed simultaneously into highly infested colonies. Non-reproduction was independent of the origin of the brood pieces, indicating a minor role of a variation due to different brood origin. Between colonies used for infestation, however, it differed considerably. A comparison of the proportion of cells without reproduction when infested by one Varroa mite or when infested by two or three Varroa mites showed, that non-reproduction was mainly related to the state of the mites entering cells, and only to a minor degree to an influence of the brood cells. A high ratio of worker cells without reproduction was consistently reported in bee lines which survive the disease without treatment, and a high level of non-reproduction is thus regarded to be a key factor in breeding bees for high Varroa tolerance. The current results indicate, that differences in this trait are only to a minor degree related to differences between bee lines in the ability of the bee brood to induce oviposition. These differences seem rather to depend on other, unknown colony factors influencing the reproductive state of Varroa when they enter cells for reproduction.

Article

Possibilities and limitations of the Varroasis control concept developed in Baden-Württemberg

September 2007 · Tierärztliche Umschau

F. Neumann

Varroasis remains as the biggest menace to beekeeping worldwide. Repeated, extensive bee colony deaths led to the Varroasis control strategy developed in Baden-Württemberg in 1998. This strategy, based on three approaches, aims at keeping the degree of infestation of Varroa mites below a damaging level.