Judith Figueroa’s research while affiliated with Universidad Nacional de Colombia and other places

The global spread of the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor has promoted the spread and virulence of highly infectious honey bee viruses. This phenomenon is considered the leading cause for the increased number of colony losses experienced by the mite-susceptible European honey bee populations in the Northern hemisphere. Most of the honey bee populations in Central and South America are Africanized honey bees (AHBs), which are considered more resistant to Varroa compared to European honey bees. However, the relationship between Varroa levels and the spread of honey bee viruses in AHBs remains unknown. In this study, we determined Varroa prevalence and infestation levels as well as the prevalence of seven major honey bee viruses in AHBs from three regions of Colombia. We found that although Varroa exhibited high prevalence (92%), its infestation levels were low (4.5%) considering that these populations never received acaricide treatments. We also detected four viruses in the three regions analyzed, but all colonies were asymptomatic, and virus prevalence was considerably lower than those found in other countries with higher rates of mite-associated colony loss (DWV 19.88%, BQCV 17.39%, SBV 23.4%, ABPV 10.56%). Our findings indicate that AHBs possess a natural resistance to Varroa that does not prevent the spread of this parasite among their population, but restrains mite population growth and suppresses the prevalence and pathogenicity of mite-associated viruses.

The global spread of the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor has promoted the spread and virulence of highly infectious honey bee viruses. This phenomenon is considered the leading cause for the increased number of colony losses experienced by the mite-susceptible European honey bee populations in the Northern Hemisphere. Most of the honey bee populations in Central and South America are Africanized honey bees, which are considered more resistant to Varroa compared to European honey bees . However, the relationship between Varroa levels and spread of honey bee viruses in Africanized honey bees remains unknown. In this study, we determined Varroa prevalence and infestation levels as well as the prevalence of seven major honey bee viruses in Africanized honey bees from three regions of Colombia. We found that although Varroa exhibited high prevalence (92%), its infestation levels were low (4.6%) considering that these populations never received acaricide treatments. We also detected four viruses in the three regions analyzed, but all hives were asymptomatic, and virus prevalence was considerably lower than those found in other countries with higher rates of mite-associated colony loss ( DWV 19.88%, BQCV 17.39%, SBV 23.4 %, ABPV 10.56%). Our findings indicate that AHBs possess natural resistance to Varroa that does not prevent the spread of this parasite among their population, but restrains mite population growth and suppresses the prevalence and pathogenicity of mite-associated viruses.

This paper reports on the implementation of the Apivectoring Technology for the first time in an experimental strawberry crop (Fragaria x ananassa) in Colombia. Honey bees (Apis mellifera) were used as vector of the bio-pesticide Trichoderma harzianum for the control of Botrytis cinerea in an experimental plot of strawberry, in which 6 treatments were established that overspan different agronomic management systems. This study evaluated the foraging preference of the bees in commercial strawberry crop, the floral visitors density, the acquisition of the bio-pesticide by the vector, the distribution of the bio-pesticide in the flowers, fruits and leaves, as well as the impact of the different treatments in the control of B. cinerea and the quality of the fruits. Complementary, an analysis of the commercial potential of the Apivectoring Technology implementation was made, and finally the experience in the transfer of Apivectoring Technology to agricultural producers in Colombia was reviewed.

Beekeepers in Colombia are using almost exclusively Africanized hybrids which are considered to be more resistant to diseases and climatic conditions than European-derived honey bee populations. There are no reports of losses of larval and adult bee populations in the country due to infectious diseases. However, there is no official diagnostic system to detect the presence of pathogenic bacteria for Apis mellifera, such as Melissococcus plutonius and Paenibacillus larvae causing European foulbrood and American foulbrood respectively. To assess their presence and prevalence in a large sample sets, representatives of beekeeping populations in the country, we conducted a study on 491 of 5400 registered hives located in three regions in Colombia, analyzing larvae samples with conventional and molecular real-time PCR and molecular taxonomy techniques. Out of the two bacteria targeted, only M. plutonius was detected in 7 of the 491(1.4%) larval samples in all three regions in this sampling campaign. There was no evidence of symptoms consistent with European or American foulbrood. Therefore we are updating and confirming the low prevalence of M. plutonius and the no detection of P. larvae in an extensive sampling survey of Africanized bees at three different regions of Colombia. Our results are consistent with the view that africanized hybrid bees are more more resistant to diseases.

RESUMEN La Tecnología Apivector, representa una alternativa sostenible para el manejo preventivo de plagas y enfermedades en cultivos agrícolas, basada en el conocimiento de las relaciones multitrópicas desarrolladas por miles de años entre poli-nizadores, plantas y patógenos; utiliza un innovador método de control: la inoculación de abejas con biocontroladores para ser dispersados por los insectos en el proceso de pecoreo. Este mecanismo permite manejar poblaciones de pató-genos y plagas, principalmente en flores y frutos. La tecnología se ha implementado en cultivos como fresa, frambuesa, peral, manzano, girasol, canola y tomate, entre otros. En el presente documento, se muestran las bases de la Tecnología Apivector y se define cada componente, así mismo, se presenta el desarrollo histórico de la tecnología al hacer un reco-rrido por diferentes estudios realizados alrededor del mundo. ABSTRACT Apivector technology represents a sustainable alternative for the preventive management of pests and diseases in crops, knowledge and multitropic relationships developed for miles of years between pollinators, plants and pathogens; It uses an innovative method of control: the inoculation of bees with biocontrollers to be dispersed by insects in the pecking process. This mechanism allows managing populations of pathogens and pests, mainly flowers and fruits. The technology has been implemented in crops such as strawberry, raspberry, pear, apple, sunflower, canola and tomato, among others. In this document, the bases of the technology are shown. Apivector and each component is defined, likewise, the historical development of the technology is presented.