Varroa sensitive hygiene

About: Varroa sensitive hygiene is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 714 publications have been published within this topic receiving 24928 citations. The topic is also known as: VSH.

Varroosis – the Ongoing Crisis in Bee Keeping

Abstract: Varroosis is the most destructive disease of honey bees worldwide, inflicting much greater damage and higher economic costs than all other known apicultural diseases The disease pattern of Varroosis is not uniform, as both the rate of infestation and secondary infections determine the clinical symptoms Brood and adults bees are impaired The mite injures the bee through repeated intake of hemolymph with her chelicerae while the host is in the larval, pupal and adult stage The loss of hemolymph negatively effects the organ development of the bee Colonies infested by V destructor develop the parasitic mite syndrome and ultimately collapse if left untreated Favourable reproduction conditions in the new host A mellifera, the increasing impact of secondary infections (viruses) and the lack of coordinated and comprehensive treatment strategies and control methods that are often implemented too late or unsuccessfully by the beekeeper result in reappearing wide spread colony losses A viral infection vectored by V destructor obviously increases its impact on colony collapses with the cause of this ongoing crisis Varroa control should be a natural part of a beekeeper’s operation and flow into a system of Varroa control The residues from Varroacide applications which are detectable today are all below the permitted maximum values Although these minor detectable residues pose no threat to the consumer, they must be avoided in bee products, as honey possesses a very positive image in the mind of consumers

Ecology of Varroa destructor, the Major Ectoparasite of the Western Honey Bee, Apis mellifera

Abstract: Varroa destructor is the most important ectoparasite of Apis mellifera. This review addresses the interactions between the varroa mite, its environment, and the honey bee host, mediated by an impressive number of cues and signals, including semiochemicals regulating crucial steps of the mite's life cycle. Although mechanical stimuli, temperature, and humidity play an important role, chemical communication is the most important channel. Kairomones are used at all stages of the mite's life cycle, and the exploitation of bees' brood pheromones is particularly significant given these compounds function as primer and releaser signals that regulate the social organization of the honey bee colony. V. destructor is a major problem for apiculture, and the search for novel control methods is an essential task for researchers. A detailed study of the ecological interactions of V. destructor is a prerequisite for creating strategies to sustainably manage the parasite.

Altered Physiology in Worker Honey Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Infested with the Mite Varroa destructor (Acari: Varroidae): A Factor in Colony Loss During Overwintering?

Abstract: The ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor (Anderson & Trueman) is the most destructive pest of the honey bee, Apis mellifera L., in Europe and the United States. In temperate zones, the main losses of colonies from the mites occur during colony overwintering. To obtain a deeper knowledge of this phenomenon, we studied the mites’ impact on the vitellogenin titer, the total protein stores in the hemolymph, the hemocyte characteristics, and the ecdysteroid titer of adult honey bees. These physiological characteristics are indicators of long-time survival and endocrine function, and we show that they change if bees have been infested by mites during the pupal stage. Compared with noninfested workers, adult bees infested as pupae do not fully develop physiological features typical of long-lived wintering bees. Management procedures designed to kill V. destructor in late autumn may thus fail to prevent losses of colonies because many of the adult bees are no longer able to survive until spring. Beekeepers in temperate climates should therefore combine late autumn management strategies with treatment protocols that keep the mite population at low levels before and during the period when the winter bees emerge.

The prevalence of pathogens in honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies infested with the parasitic mite Varroa jacobsoni

Abstract: SUMMARY The prevalence of nine honey bee viruses in samples of dead adult bees from Apis mellifera colonies in the Netherlands and Germany infested with the parasitic mite Varroa jacobsoni was compared with virus incidence in uninfested colonies in Britain. In colonies with low mite populations the viruses present and their incidence during the year were similar to the results obtained from British colonies. However, in marked contrast with findings in Britain, acute paralysis virus (APV) was the primary cause of adult bee mortality in German honey bee colonies severely infested with V. jacobsoni. Dead brood from unsealed and sealed infested cells from German colonies with high mite populations also contained much APV. The evidence suggests that V. jacobsoni activates APV replication in adult bees by its feeding behaviour and transmits virus from adult honey bees to pupae. In addition, adult bees, in which APV is multiplying, transmit the virus to unsealed brood in the larval food.