medigraphic.com

2007, Number 1

<< Back Next >>

Vet Mex 2007; 38 (1)

Effectiveness of two natural miticides, formic acid and thymol, for control of the mite Varroa destructor in honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) in Villa Guerrero, Mexico

Espinosa-Montaño LG, Guzmán-Novoa E

Language: English/Spanish
References: 38
Page: 9-19
PDF size: 244.37 Kb.


ABSTRACT

This study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of two natural miticides, formic acid and thymol, for controlling infestations of the mite Varroa destructor in honey bee colonies (Apis mellifera L.). An apiary with 36 infested colonies was established and four groups of nine colonies each were formed. Treatments were assigned randomly to those groups as follows: 65% formic acid (group 1), 12.5 g of thymol per application (group 2), 25 g of thymol per application (group 3), and control colonies without treatment (group 4). At the end of the experiments, colonies were treated with four strips of a synthetic miticide (fl umethrin) to kill remaining mites and to asses the relative effectiveness of the treatments tested. The highest effectiveness was obtained with two applications of 12.5 g of thymol (92.1%), whereas with the formic acid the effectiveness was 66.4%. Both miticides killed a signifi cant number of mites (P ‹ 0.0001), but their effectiveness decreased after the fi rst application. The total cost of treating each colony was 70.81, 37.76 and 70.21 pesos (6.48, 3.45 and 6.42 dollars), for formic acid, thymol single concentration, and thymol double concentration, respectively. These results suggest the use of two treatments of a single concentration of a thymol-based product (12.5 g).


REFERENCES

  1. Anderson DL, Trueman JWH. Varroa jacobsoni (Acari: Varroidae) is more than one species. Exp Appl Acarol 2000;24:165-189.

  2. De Jong D. Mites: Varroa and other parasites of brood. In: Morse RA, Flottum K, editors. Honey bee pests, predators and diseases. Ithaca New York: Root Publishing, 1997:279-328.

  3. Chihu AD, Rojas ALM, Rodríguez DSR. Presencia en Veracruz, México, del ácaro Varroa jacobsoni, causante de la varroasis de la abeja melífera (Apis mellifera L.). Tec Pecu Méx 1992;30:133.

  4. De Jong D, De Jong PH, Gonçalves LS. Weight loss and other damage to developing worker honey bees (Apis mellifera) due to infestation with Varroa jacobsoni. J Apic Res 1982a;20:37-40.

  5. Arechavaleta-Velasco ME, Guzmán-Novoa E. Producción de miel de colonias de abejas (Apis mellifera L.) tratadas y no tratadas con fl uvalinato contra Varroa jacobsoni Oudemans en Valle de Bravo, Estado de México. Vet Méx 2000;31:381-384.

  6. Slabezki Y, Gal H, Lensky Y. The effect of fl uvalinate application in bee colonies on population levels of Varroa jacobsoni and honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) and on residues in honey and wax. Bee Science 1991;1:189-195.

  7. Wallner K. The use of varroacides and their infl uence on the quality of bee products. Am Bee J 1995;135:817-821.

  8. Milani N. The resistance of Varroa jacobsoni Oud. to acaricides. Apidologie 1999;30:229-234.

  9. Guzmán-Novoa E, Correa-Benítez A. Selección de abejas melíferas (Apis mellifera L.) resistentes al ácaro Varroa jacobsoni O. Vet Méx 1996;27:149-158.

  10. Page RE, Guzman-Novoa E. The Genetic Basis of Disease Resistance. In: Morse RA, Flottum K, editors. Honey Bee Pests, Predators, and Diseases. 3rd ed. Medina, Ohio USA: A.I. Root Co, 1997:469-492.

  11. Bogdanov S, Imdorf A, Kilchenmann V. Residues in wax and honey after Apilife VAR treatment. Apidologie 1998;29:513-524.

  12. Mattila HR, Otis GW. Trials of Apiguard, a thymolbased miticide. Part 1. Effi cacy for control of parasitic mites and residues in honey. Am Bee J 1999;139:947-952.

  13. Calderone NW, Nasr ME. Evaluation of a formic acid formulation for the fall control of Varroa jacobsoni (Acari: Varroidae) in colonies of the honey bee Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in a temperate climate. J Econ Entomol 1999;92:526-533.

  14. Stanghellini MS, Raybold P. Evaluation of selected biopesticides for the late fall control of Varroa mites in a northern temperate climate. Am Bee J 2004;144:475- 480.

  15. Chiesa F. Effective control of varroatosis using powdered thymol. Apidologie 1991;22:135-145.

  16. Imdorf A, Bogdanov S, Ochoa RI, Calderone N. Use of essential oils for the control of Varroa jacobsoni Oud. in honey bee colonies. Apidologie 1999;30:209-228.

  17. Melathopoulos AP, Gates J. Comparison of two thymolbased acaricides, Apilife VAR and Apiguard, for the contrl of Varroa mites. Am Bee J 2003;143:489-493.

  18. Vivas RJA, Otero CG, Rodríguez BD. Aplicación de tratamientos con ácido fórmico para el control de la varroasis. Memorias del X Seminario Americano de Apicultura; 1996 agosto 2-4; Veracruz (Veracruz) México. México (DF): Secretaría de Agricultura, Ganadería y Desarrollo Rural, 1996:s/p.

  19. Pérez-Santiago G, González CM, Marrufo OJ, Zapata MS. Mortalidad de Varroa jacobsoni con tratamientos de Apistan y ácido fórmico en abejas melíferas. Memorias del XI Seminario Americano de Apicultura; 1997 agosto 7-10; Acapulco (Guerrero) México. México (DF): Secretaría de Agricultura, Ganadería y Desarrollo Rural, 1997:s/p.

  20. Reyes SA, Delabra-Vaca G, Fragoso SH, Bojorques NL, Castell BH. Uso del Api-plus para el control de varroa en abejas melíferas (Apis mellifera). Memorias del 5º Congreso Internacional de Actualización Apícola; 1998 mayo 29-31; Guadalajara (Jalisco) México. México (DF): Asociación Nacional de Médicos Veterinarios Especialistas en Abejas, AC, 1998:s/p.

  21. De Felipe HM, Guzmán CS, Vandame R. Control alternativo de Varroa con ácidos orgánicos y timol. Investigación y capacitación en el Estado de Veracruz. Memorias del XIII Seminario Americano de Apicultura; 1999 agosto 26-28; Morelia (Michoacán) México. México (DF): Secretaría de Agricultura, Ganadería y Desarrollo Rural, 1999:s/p.

  22. Vicario ME, Medina ML. Uso del ácido fórmico y timol en el control del ácaro Varroa jacobsoni en Yucatán, México: Resultados preliminares. Memorias del XIII Seminario Americano de Apicultura; 1999 agosto 26-28; Morelia (Michoacán) México. México (DF): Secretaría de Agricultura, Ganadería y Desarrollo Rural, 1999:s/p.

  23. May-Itzá WJ, Marrufo-Olivares JC, Delabra-Vaca G, Quezada-Euán J. Control del ácaro Varroa destructor con un gel a base de timol en colonias de abejas africanizadas (Apis mellifera L.) bajo condiciones de clima tropical en Yucatán. Memorias del XVII Seminario Americano de Apicultura y 7ª Expo-Apícola; 2003 agosto 7-9; Aguascalientes (Aguascalientes) México. México (DF): Secretaría de Agricultura, Ganadería y Desarrollo Rural, 2003:158-160.

  24. Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática. Carta de climas de México. México (DF): INEGI, 1981.

  25. Nasr ME, Thorp RW, Tyler TL, Briggs DL. Estimating honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) colony strength by a simple method: Measuring cluster size. J Econ Entomol 1990;83:748-754.

  26. De Jong D, Roma DA, Gonçalves LS. A comparative analysis of shaking solutions for the detection of Varroa jacobsoni on adult honey bees. Apidologie 1982b;13:297-306.

  27. Floris I, Satta A, Cabras P, Garau VL, Angioni A. Comparison between two thymol formulations in the control of Varroa destructor: Effectiveness, persistence, and residues. J Econ Entomol 2004;97:187-191.

  28. Milani N, Barbattani R. Treatment of varroatosis with Bayvarol strips (fl umethrin) in northern Italy. Apicoltura 1989;5:173-192.

  29. Ferrer-Dufol M, Martinez VAI, Sanchez AC. Comparative tests of fl uvalinate and fl umethrin to control Varroa jacobsoni Oudemans. J Apic Res 1991;30:103-106.

  30. Ferrer-Dufol M, Moreno MC, Martinez VAI, Sanchez AC, Garcia SMJ. Field trials of treatments against Varroa jacobsoni using fl uvalinate and fl umethrin strips in honey bee colonies containing sealed brood. J Apic Res 1995;34:147-152.

  31. Higes M, Llorente J. Ensayo de efi cacia en el control de la varroasis en colmenas de producción: timol. Vida Apícola 1997;81:14-17.

  32. Microsoft. Statview (Computer program) for MacIntosh. Version 4.0. California USA, 1996.

  33. Secretaría de Gobernación. Comisión Nacional de los Salarios Mínimos. Salario mínimo para el área geográfica C. México (DF):Diario Ofi cial de la Federación, 2003.

  34. Mattila HR, Otis GW. The effi cacy of Apiguard against varroa and tracheal mites, and its effect on honey production: 1999 trial. Am Bee J 2000;140:969-973.

  35. Ellis JD, Delaplane KS, Hood WM. Effi cacy of a bottom screen device, Apistan®, and Apilife VAR®, in controlling Varroa destructor. Am Bee J 2001;141:813-816.

  36. Feldlaufer MF, Pettis JS, Kochansky P, Shimanuki H. A gel formulation of formic acid for the control of parasitic mites of honey bees. Am Bee J 1997;137:661-663.

  37. Calderone NW, Spivak M. Plant-extracts for control of the parasitic mite Varroa jacobsoni (Acari: Varroidae) in colonies of the Western honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae). J Econ Entomol 1995;88:1211-1215.

  38. Underwood RM, Currie RW. The effects of temperature and dose of formic acid on treatment effi cacy against Varroa destructor (Acari: Varroidae), a parasite of Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Exp Appl Acarol 2003;29:303-313.




2020     |     www.medigraphic.com