1
|
Bahreini R, Docherty C, Feindel D, Muirhead S. Comparing the efficacy of synthetic Varroacides and Varroa destructor phenotypic resistance using Apiarium and Mason jar bioassay techniques. PEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 2024; 80:1577-1592. [PMID: 37974358 DOI: 10.1002/ps.7891] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2023] [Revised: 10/28/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Varroa mite, Varroa destructor, is a major threat for honey bee, Apis mellifera, colonies. Beekeepers have used synthetic Varroacides against Varroa mite for decades, but resistance to organophosphates, pyrethroids and formamidine has been reported in many locations worldwide. The goals of this study were to develop a reliable bioassay to assess efficacy and phenotypic resistance to commercial Varroacides. In this study, efficacy and Varroa resistance was evaluated using the Apiarium technique in comparison to the Mason jar method. RESULTS Among tested Varroacides, a high efficacy (89%) for Apivar was identified when compared to Bayvarol (58%), Apistan (44%) and CheckMite (6%), in a 24 h assessment. We also found that CheckMite was toxic to bees in the Mason jar method. In addition, the Apiarium technique revealed a case of phenotypic resistance to Bayvarol, Apistan and CheckMite in the mite population evaluated. CONCLUSION A laboratory protocol was developed using the Apiarium method to evaluate Apivar efficacy. Collectively, the findings indicated that the Apiarium methodology provided a reliable technique to measure Varroacide efficacy and determine the presence of phenotypic resistance in V. destructor. © 2023 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rassol Bahreini
- Plant and Bee Health Surveillance Section, Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation, Edmonton, Canada
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
| | - Cassandra Docherty
- Plant and Bee Health Surveillance Section, Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation, Edmonton, Canada
| | - David Feindel
- Plant and Bee Health Surveillance Section, Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation, Edmonton, Canada
| | - Samantha Muirhead
- Plant and Bee Health Surveillance Section, Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation, Edmonton, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Sevin S, Bommuraj V, Chen Y, Afik O, Zarchin S, Barel S, Arslan OC, Erdem B, Tutun H, Shimshoni JA. Lithium salts: assessment of their chronic and acute toxicities to honey bees and their anti-Varroa field efficacy. PEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 2022; 78:4507-4516. [PMID: 35808970 DOI: 10.1002/ps.7071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2021] [Revised: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 07/09/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Varroa control is essential for the maintenance of healthy honey bee colonies. Overuse of acaricides has led to the evolution of resistance to those substances. Studies of the short-term acaricidal effects and safety of various lithium (Li) salts recently have been reported. This study examined the long-term in vitro and in vivo bee toxicities, short-term motor toxicity to bees and long-term anti-Varroa field efficacy of several Li salts. RESULTS In an in vitro chronic-toxicity assay, lithium citrate (18.8 mm) was the most toxic of the examined salts, followed by lithium lactate (29.5 mm), and lithium formate (32.5 mm). In terms of acute locomotor toxicity to bees, all of the Li salts were well-tolerated and none of the treatment groups differed from the negative control group. In an in vitro survival study, all of the Li treatments significantly reduced bee life spans by a factor of 1.8-7.2, as compared to the control. In terms of life expectancy, lithium citrate was the most toxic salt, with no significant differences noted between lithium formate and lithium lactate. In the bee-mortality field study, none of the examined treatments differed from the negative control. Amitraz and lithium formate exhibited similar acaricide effects, which were significantly different from those observed for lithium lactate and the negative control. CONCLUSION In light of lithium formate's honey bee safety and efficacy as an acaricide, additional sublethal toxicity studies in brood, drones and queens, as well as tests aimed at the optimization of administration frequency are warranted. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sedat Sevin
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Vijayakumar Bommuraj
- Department of Food Quality & Safety, Institute for Postharvest and Food Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Center, Rishon LeZion, Israel
| | - Yaira Chen
- Department of Food Quality & Safety, Institute for Postharvest and Food Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Center, Rishon LeZion, Israel
| | - Ohad Afik
- Agricultural Extension Service, Ministry of Agriculture and rural development, Bet Dagan, Israel
| | - Shlomi Zarchin
- Agricultural Extension Service, Ministry of Agriculture and rural development, Bet Dagan, Israel
| | - Shimon Barel
- Kimron Veterinary Institute, Department of Toxicology, Bet Dagan, Israel
| | - Okan Can Arslan
- Department of Biological Sciences, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Babür Erdem
- Department of Biological Sciences, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Hidayet Tutun
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, Burdur, Turkey
| | - Jakob A Shimshoni
- Department of Food Quality & Safety, Institute for Postharvest and Food Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Center, Rishon LeZion, Israel
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Jovanovic NM, Glavinic U, Ristanic M, Vejnovic B, Stevanovic J, Cosic M, Stanimirovic Z. Contact varroacidal efficacy of lithium citrate and its influence on viral loads, immune parameters and oxidative stress of honey bees in a field experiment. Front Physiol 2022; 13:1000944. [PMID: 36171978 PMCID: PMC9510912 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2022.1000944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 08/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
With an almost global distribution, Varroa destuctor is the leading cause of weakening and loss of honey bee colonies. New substances are constantly being tested in order to find those that will exhibit high anti-Varroa efficacy at low doses/concentrations, without unwanted effects on bees. Lithium (Li) salts stood out as candidates based on previous research. The aims of this study were to evaluate Li citrate hydrate (Li-cit) for its contact efficacy against Varroa, but also the effect of Li-cit on honey bees by estimating loads of honey bee viruses, expression levels of immune-related genes and genes for antioxidative enzymes and oxidative stress parameters on two sampling occasions, before the treatment and after the treatment. Our experiment was performed on four groups, each consisting of seven colonies. Two groups were treated with the test compound, one receiving 5 mM and the other 10 mM of Li-cit; the third received oxalic acid treatment (OA group) and served as positive control, and the fourth was negative control (C group), treated with 50% w/v pure sucrose-water syrup. Single trickling treatment was applied in all groups. Both tested concentrations of Li-cit, 5 and 10 mM, expressed high varroacidal efficacy, 96.85% and 96.80%, respectively. Load of Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus significantly decreased (p < 0.01) after the treatment in group treated with 5 mM of Li-cit. In OA group, loads of Acute Bee Paralysis Virus and Deformed Wing Virus significantly (p < 0.05) increased, and in C group, loads of all viruses significantly (p < 0.01 or p < 0.001) increased. Transcript levels of genes for abaecin, apidaecin, defensin and vitellogenin were significantly higher (p < 0.05—p < 0.001), while all oxidative stress parameters were significantly lower (p < 0.05—p < 0.001) after the treatment in both groups treated with Li-cit. All presented results along with easy application indicate benefits of topical Li-cit treatment and complete the mosaic of evidence on the advantages of this salt in the control of Varroa.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nemanja M. Jovanovic
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Uros Glavinic
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Marko Ristanic
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Branislav Vejnovic
- Department of Economics and Statistics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Jevrosima Stevanovic
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
- *Correspondence: Jevrosima Stevanovic,
| | - Milivoje Cosic
- Institute of Forestry, Belgrade, Serbia
- Department of Animal Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, Bijeljina University, Bijeljina, Bosnia and Herzegovina
| | - Zoran Stanimirovic
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Leska A, Nowak A, Nowak I, Górczyńska A. Effects of Insecticides and Microbiological Contaminants on Apis mellifera Health. Molecules 2021; 26:5080. [PMID: 34443668 PMCID: PMC8398688 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26165080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2021] [Revised: 08/09/2021] [Accepted: 08/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Over the past two decades, there has been an alarming decline in the number of honey bee colonies. This phenomenon is called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Bee products play a significant role in human life and have a huge impact on agriculture, therefore bees are an economically important species. Honey has found its healing application in various sectors of human life, as well as other bee products such as royal jelly, propolis, and bee pollen. There are many putative factors of CCD, such as air pollution, GMO, viruses, or predators (such as wasps and hornets). It is, however, believed that pesticides and microorganisms play a huge role in the mass extinction of bee colonies. Insecticides are chemicals that are dangerous to both humans and the environment. They can cause enormous damage to bees' nervous system and permanently weaken their immune system, making them vulnerable to other factors. Some of the insecticides that negatively affect bees are, for example, neonicotinoids, coumaphos, and chlorpyrifos. Microorganisms can cause various diseases in bees, weakening the health of the colony and often resulting in its extinction. Infection with microorganisms may result in the need to dispose of the entire hive to prevent the spread of pathogens to other hives. Many aspects of the impact of pesticides and microorganisms on bees are still unclear. The need to deepen knowledge in this matter is crucial, bearing in mind how important these animals are for human life.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Aleksandra Leska
- Department of Environmental Biotechnology, Lodz University of Technology, Wolczanska 171/173, 90-924 Lodz, Poland
| | - Adriana Nowak
- Department of Environmental Biotechnology, Lodz University of Technology, Wolczanska 171/173, 90-924 Lodz, Poland
| | - Ireneusz Nowak
- Faculty of Law and Administration, University of Lodz, Kopcinskiego 8/12, 90-232 Lodz, Poland; (I.N.); (A.G.)
| | - Anna Górczyńska
- Faculty of Law and Administration, University of Lodz, Kopcinskiego 8/12, 90-232 Lodz, Poland; (I.N.); (A.G.)
| |
Collapse
|