Varroa Destructor and the Sustainability of Apis Mellifera - an Overview

Varroa destructor is a parasitic mite that represents a major global threat for the Western honeybee Apis mellifera. This parasite managed to switch from its natural host the Eastern honeybee, A. cerana, and within a few decades, it spread among A. mellifera populations around the world. Today beekeepers are using a variety of different acaricides to keep the parasite population under control. However, for many of these substances, the parasite evolved resistance asking for the development of novel compounds. Hence the treatment is less suited as a sustainable tool in honeybee health; consequently, other alternative options are needed, and breeding of Varroa resistant honeybees have been suggested as a more sustainable solution. Here we reviewed the successful efforts and the apicultural procedures needed to be implemented to achieve resistant honeybees. We also describe the underlying resistance mechanisms and discuss the benefits of breeding within regional populations, considering the biodiversity aspects of A. mellifera.

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Resistance rather than tolerance explains survival of savannah honeybees (Apis mellifera scutellata) to infestation by the parasitic mite Varroa destructor

Parasitology ◽

10.1017/s0031182015001754 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 143 (3) ◽

pp. 374-387 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

URSULA STRAUSS ◽

VINCENT DIETEMANN ◽

HANNELIE HUMAN ◽

ROBIN M. CREWE ◽

CHRISTIAN W. W. PIRK

Keyword(s):

Apis Mellifera ◽

Varroa Destructor ◽

Resistance Mechanisms ◽

Mite Infestation ◽

Apis Mellifera Scutellata ◽

Individual Host ◽

Breeding Programmes ◽

Parasitic Mite ◽

Susceptible Populations ◽

The Individual

SUMMARYVarroa destructor is considered the most damaging parasite affecting honeybees (Apis mellifera L.). However, some honeybee populations such as the savannah honeybee (Apis mellifera scutellata) can survive mite infestation without treatment. It is unclear if survival is due to resistance mechanisms decreasing parasite reproduction or to tolerance mechanisms decreasing the detrimental effects of mites on the host. This study investigates both aspects by quantifying the reproductive output of V. destructor and its physiological costs at the individual host level. Costs measured were not consistently lower when compared with susceptible honeybee populations, indicating a lack of tolerance. In contrast, reproduction of V. destructor mites was distinctly lower than in susceptible populations. There was higher proportion of infertile individuals and the reproductive success of fertile mites was lower than measured to date, even in surviving populations. Our results suggest that survival of savannah honeybees is based on resistance rather than tolerance to this parasite. We identified traits that may be useful for breeding programmes aimed at increasing the survival of susceptible populations. African honeybees may have benefited from a lack of human interference, allowing natural selection to shape a population of honeybees that is more resistant to Varroa mite infestation.

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Three QTL in the honey bee Apis mellifera L. suppress reproduction of the parasitic mite Varroa destructor

Ecology and Evolution ◽

10.1002/ece3.17 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 1 (4) ◽

pp. 451-458 ◽

Cited By ~ 35

Author(s):

Dieter Behrens ◽

Qiang Huang ◽

Cornelia Geßner ◽

Peter Rosenkranz ◽

Eva Frey ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Apis Mellifera ◽

Honey Bee ◽

Varroa Destructor ◽

Parasitic Mite

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Toxicity of destruxins against the parasitic mite Varroa destructor and its host Apis mellifera

Journal of Apicultural Research ◽

10.1080/00218839.2017.1304611 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 56 (3) ◽

pp. 278-287 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Marco Lodesani ◽

Cecilia Costa ◽

Simone Franceschetti ◽

Patrizia Bergomi ◽

Gianni Galaverna ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Apis Mellifera ◽

Varroa Destructor ◽

Parasitic Mite

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What Will it Take to Address the Global Threat of Antibiotic Resistance?

The Journal of Law Medicine & Ethics ◽

10.1111/jlme.12253 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 43 (2) ◽

pp. 363-368 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Steven J. Hoffman ◽

Kevin Outterson

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Antibiotic Resistance ◽

Collective Action ◽

Global Health ◽

Global Strategy ◽

World Today ◽

The World ◽

The Many ◽

Global Threat ◽

Economic Tools

Of the many global health challenges facing the world today, only a small number require global collective action. Most health challenges can be fully addressed through action at local, regional or national levels.What kind of actions must be taken to address the global threat of antibiotic resistance (ABR)? What legal, political and economic tools might be needed to achieve this level of action?In March 2015 the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation convened a workshop in Uppsala, Sweden to address these questions in partnership with the Global Strategy Lab, the Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics (JLME), the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, and ReAct — Action on Antibiotic Resistance. Eleven concise articles were commissioned to explore whether ABR depended on global collective action, and if so, what tools could help states and non-state actors to achieve it.

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Varroa destructor: A Complex Parasite, Crippling Honeybees Worldwide

10.20944/preprints202002.0374.v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kirsten Traynor ◽

Fanny Mondet ◽

Jaochim de Miranda ◽

Maeva Techer ◽

Vienna Kowallik ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Disease Transmission ◽

Varroa Destructor ◽

Apis Cerana ◽

Honey Production ◽

Recent Developments ◽

Parasitic Mite ◽

Honeybee Health ◽

Native Host ◽

Asian Honeybee ◽

European Honeybee

The parasitic mite, Varroa destructor, has shaken the beekeeping and pollination industries since its spread from its native host, the Asian honeybee (Apis cerana), to the naïve European honeybee (A. mellifera) used commercially for pollination and honey production around the globe. Varroa is the greatest threat to honeybee health. Worrying observations include increasing acaricide resistance in the varroa population and sinking economic treatment thresholds, suggesting that the mites or their vectored viruses are becoming more virulent. Highly infested weak colonies, popularly dubbed “mite bombs”, facilitate mite dispersal and disease transmission to stronger and healthier colonies. Here, we review recent developments in the biology, pathology and management of varroa, and unearth old knowledge that was lost in the archives.

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Can colony size of honeybees (Apis mellifera) be used as predictor for colony losses due to Varroa destructor during winter?

10.1101/2020.06.22.164525 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Coby van Dooremalen ◽

Frank van Langevelde

Keyword(s):

Apis Mellifera ◽

Colony Size ◽

Varroa Destructor ◽

Warning Signs ◽

Colony Losses ◽

Early Warning Signs ◽

Parasitic Mite ◽

Almost All ◽

Early Predictor

AbstractFor more than three decades, honeybee colonies (Apis mellifera) experience high losses during winter, and these losses are still continuing. It is crucial that beekeepers monitor their colonies closely and anticipate losses early enough to apply mitigating actions. We tested whether colony size can be used as early predictor for potential colony losses, in particular due to the parasitic mite Varroa destructor. V. destructor is one of the most important causes for these losses. Such early predictor for potential V. destructor induced losses is especially relevant as measuring V. destructor load in colonies is difficult and cumbersome. During three years, we monitored colonies with high and low V. destructor load from July until March of the next year. We found that differences in colony size were only visible after November, even though we lost almost all colonies every winter in the group with high V. destructor load. In the Northern hemisphere, November is considered to be too late for beekeepers to strengthen colonies in preparation for winter. We therefore argue that early-warning signs for potential colony losses due to V. destructor are urgently needed to allow beekeepers preventing winter losses. We discuss the role of precision apiculture to monitor the health and productivity of honeybee colonies.

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The effects of crude propolis, its volatiles and ethanolic extracts on the ecto-parasitic mite, Varroa destructor and health of the African savannah honey bee, Apis mellifera scutellata

Parasitology ◽

10.1017/s0031182021000305 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-26

Author(s):

Beatrice T. Nganso ◽

Baldwyn Torto

Keyword(s):

Apis Mellifera ◽

Honey Bee ◽

Varroa Destructor ◽

Apis Mellifera Scutellata ◽

Ethanolic Extracts ◽

Parasitic Mite

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Interaction of Varroa destructor and Sublethal Clothianidin Doses during the Larval Stage on Subsequent Adult Honey Bee (Apis mellifera L.) Health, Cellular Immunity, Deformed Wing Virus Levels and Differential Gene Expression

Microorganisms ◽

10.3390/microorganisms8060858 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (6) ◽

pp. 858 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Nuria Morfin ◽

Paul H. Goodwin ◽

Ernesto Guzman-Novoa

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Apis Mellifera ◽

Varroa Destructor ◽

Deformed Wing Virus ◽

Complex Interactions ◽

Abiotic Stressors ◽

Neonicotinoid Insecticide ◽

Parasitic Mite ◽

Differential Gene ◽

Regulatory Effects

Honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) are exposed to many parasites, but little is known about interactions with abiotic stressors on their health, particularly when affected as larvae. Larvae were exposed singly and in combination to the parasitic mite Varroa destructor and three sublethal doses of the neonicotinoid insecticide clothianidin to evaluate their effects on survivorship, weight, haemocyte counts, deformed wing virus (DWV) levels and gene expression of the adult bees that subsequently developed. Clothianidin significantly reduced bee weight at the highest dose and was associated with an increase in haemocyte counts at the lowest dose, whereas V. destructor parasitism increased DWV levels, reduced bee emergence, lowered weight and reduced haemocyte counts. An interaction between the two stressors was observed for weight at emergence. Among the differentially expressed genes (DEGs), V. destructor infestation resulted in broader down-regulatory effects related to immunity that was often shared with the combined stressors, while clothianidin resulted in a broader up-regulatory effect more related to central metabolic pathways that was often shared with the combined stressors. Parasites and abiotic stressors can have complex interactions, including additive effects on reduced weight, number of up-regulated DEGs and biological pathways associated with metabolism.

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