Evaluation of sampling methods for determining infestation rates of the tracheal mite (Acarapis woodi R.) in colonies of the honey bee (Apis mellifera): Spatial, temporal, and spatio-temporal effects

1992 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 285-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas W. Calderone ◽  
Hachiro Shimanuki
2019 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Sakamoto ◽  
T. Maeda ◽  
M. Yoshiyama ◽  
F. Konno ◽  
J. S. Pettis

AbstractThe infestation of honey bees by the endoparasitic tracheal mite Acarapis woodi was first discovered in Apis mellifera on the Isle of Wight, England, and the mite has since spread to all continents except Australia. Since 2010, this tracheal mite has spread rapidly in the Japanese honey bee, Apis cerana japonica, of mainland Japan, causing considerable colony mortality. In contrast, infestations by the mites in the imported and managed European honey bee, A. mellifera, have rarely been observed in Japan. A previous laboratory experiment revealed a difference in susceptibility by demonstrating that the tracheal mite more frequently enters tracheae of A. cerana than those of A. mellifera. In this study, we compared autogrooming responses of A. cerana and A. mellifera by depositing a mite on each honey bee’s mesoscutum, and we then assessed the efficacy of autogrooming to remove the mite. The bees that received mites more frequently showed an autogrooming response compared to unchallenged bees in both bee species. However, a significantly greater proportion of A. mellifera individuals autogroomed compared to A. cerana. In addition, when bees autogroomed, A. mellifera removed the tracheal mite more effectively than A. cerana. When considering all bees in the mite-deposited group, the proportion of mite removal in A. mellifera was almost twice as high as that in A. cerana. Thus, the difference in susceptibility to the tracheal mite between these two bee species is attributed to the difference in the behavioral response threshold to mites and the effectiveness of mite removal by grooming.


1989 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. G. Lozano ◽  
J. O. Moffett ◽  
B. Campos P. ◽  
M. Guillen M. ◽  
O. N. Perez E. ◽  
...  

In a 1986 survey taken in northeastern Mexico, 44% of the 6,200 honey bees, Apis mellifera L., examined were infested with tracheal mites, Acarapis woodi (Rennie). Mites were found in 80% of the 310 colony samples of 20 bees each. These samples were taken monthly from 10 colonies in each of three apiaries located from 130 to 230 km apart in the state of Tamaulipas. Infestation levels varied greatly among apiaries, months, and between samples. Monthly infestations in individual bees ranged from a low of 2% in the Hidalgo apiary in August to a high of 97% in February in the Aldama apiary. The average infestation was 11% of the bees in the Hidalgo apiary, 35% in the Ciudad Mante apiary, and 71% in the Aldama apiary. Mite populations tended to decline in late spring and summer. There was a significant correlation (r = 0.91, p < 0.01) between the percentage of bees infested in the apiary and the number of mites in each infested bee. The number of mites per infested bee ranged from an average of 14 for infested bees from the four monthly apiary samples with the lowest percentage of infested bees to 44 mites/infested bee in the four samples with the highest percent of infested bees. The average number of mites per infested bee was 34.2. The proportion of mites in each life stage varied markedly. Overall, 19% of the 92,392 mites were in the egg stage, 37% were larvae, and 44% were adults. The ratio of males to females was 1:2.43 or 29% males to 71% females. Both right and left tracheae were equally susceptable to becoming infested, as mites were found in 2,144 right and 2,138 left trachea. Both tracheae were infested in 58% of the bees parasitized with mites. There was also a highly significant correlation (r = 0.98, P < 0.01) between percentage of bees infested in each sample and percentage of infested bees with mites present in both tracheae.


2001 ◽  
Vol 133 (6) ◽  
pp. 793-803 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis van Engelsdorp ◽  
Gard W. Otis

AbstractWe evaluated the resistance to tracheal mites, Acarapis woodi (Rennie) (Acari: Tarsonemidae), of colonies of honey bees, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), headed by daughters of three queens from each of three honey bee stocks: (i) British Columbia "mite-resistant stock, (ii) Buckfast "mite-resistant" stock, and (iii) Canadian unselected stock. Colonies of all nine families were distributed among four apiaries; half of the colonies in each apiary were treated with formic acid to attempt to control tracheal mites. The study documented significant differences in resistance to tracheal mites among the families of bees, even within each of the three stocks. After the first 4 months of study (by November 1993), differences in mite infestations had developed among the nine families. Formic acid treatments had either short-lived effectiveness (1993) or no effect (1994) on tracheal mite infestations, thereby eliminating the opportunity to evaluate colony performance in the absence of mites. Mite infestations varied significantly among apiary sites. This study highlights the value of evaluating sets of colonies headed by sister queens when identifying mite-resistant stock for breeding purposes.


Parasitology ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 100 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. A. Royce ◽  
P. A. Rossignol

SummaryWe demonstrate, by truncating the expected negative binomial distribution, that the tracheal mite parasite, Acarapis woodi, causes mortality in the Europen honey bee, Apis mellifera, but, that this mortality can be documented only during periods of low mite densities (mites per bee). At high mite densities, this technique no longer reveals mite-induced mortality. We suggest that this paradox results from a reduction in the mortality threshold at high mite densities, concealing mortality from our truncation procedures. Longitudinal comparisons of hive and forager bee cohorts, nevertheless, suggests mortality at all levels of infestation. We propose that persistent parasitism overcomes a colony's ability to compensate for losses, leading to its sudden decline and death.


2012 ◽  
Vol 132 (4) ◽  
pp. 530-536 ◽  
Author(s):  
Encarna Garrido-Bailón ◽  
Carolina Bartolomé ◽  
Lourdes Prieto ◽  
Cristina Botías ◽  
Amparo Martínez-Salvador ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Morgan A Roth ◽  
James M Wilson ◽  
Keith R Tignor ◽  
Aaron D Gross

Abstract Varroa mite (Varroa destructor Anderson and Trueman) infestation of European honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) colonies has been a growing cause of international concern among beekeepers throughout the last 50 yr. Varroa destructor spread from the Asian honey bee (Apis cerana Fabricius [Hymenoptera: Apidae]) to A. mellifera populations in Europe in the 1970s, and subsequently traveled to the Americas. In addition to causing damage through feeding upon lipids of larval and adult bees, V. destructor also facilitates the spread of several viruses, with deformed wing virus being most prevalent. Several sampling methods have been developed for estimating infestation levels of A. mellifera colonies, and acaricide treatments have been implemented. However, overuse of synthetic acaricides in the past has led to widespread acaricide resistant V. destructor populations. The application of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) techniques is a more recent development in V. destructor control and is suggested to be more effective than only using pesticides, thereby posing fewer threats to A. mellifera colonies. When using IPM methods, informed management decisions are made based upon sampling, and cultural and mechanical controls are implemented prior to use of acaricide treatments. If acaricides are deemed necessary, they are rotated based on their mode of action, thus avoiding V. destructor resistance development.


1992 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara L. Dawicke ◽  
Gard W. Otis ◽  
Cynthia Scott-Dupree ◽  
Medhat Nasr

1991 ◽  
Vol 331 (1260) ◽  
pp. 123-129 ◽  

Based on population dynamics, tracheal mite ( Acarapis woodi ) parasitism of colonies of honey bees ( Apis mellifera ) appears to be, potentially at least, regulatory and stable. Empirical and theoretical considerations suggest, however, that intracolony population dynamics of mite-honey bee worker seem to be unstable in managed situations where honey bee worker population is allowed to grow unchecked. Experimental studies showed that tracheal mite population levels increased in a managed honey bee colony but were impaired in one in which brood rearing was interrupted by loss of the queen. Mite densities but not prevalence were lowered in experimental swarms kept from rearing brood. We propose that swarming reduces mite density within a colony, therefore implicating modern techniques of hive management in the sudden historical appearance of the mite on the Isle of Wight.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document