Most Varroa induced colony losses occur during the autumn or winter season as a consequence of an elevated Varroa infestation level and an insufficient health status of the adult bees. Even with an initial low Varroa infestation in early spring, critical mite and virus infection levels can be reached before winter if colonies continuously rear brood throughout the whole season. To overcome this challenge, beekeepers can artificially interrupt brood production by suitable management procedures, depending on their type of beekeeping operation. To assess their efficacy, associated workload, and impact on colony development, different methods for brood interruption (queen caging with the combination of oxalic acid treatment, total brood removal, trapping comb technique) were tested during two seasons in 11 locations on 370 colonies in 10 European countries. A protocol was developed to standardize the methods’ application across different environmental conditions. The efficacy of queen caging depended on the mode of oxalic acid application and ranged from 48.16% to 89.57% mite removal. The highest efficacies were achieved with trickling a 4.2% solution (89.57%) and with the sublimation of 2 g of oxalic acid (average of 88.25%) in the broodless period. The efficacy of the purely biotechnical, chemical-free trapping comb and brood removal methods did not differ significantly from the queen caging groups. We conclude that a proper application of one of the described brood interruption methods can significantly contribute to an efficient Varroa control and to the production of honey bee products meeting the highest quality and food-safety standards.

中文翻译：

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夏季育雏中断作为欧洲有效控制瓦螨的综合管理策略

大多数 Varroa 引起的蜂群损失发生在秋季或冬季，这是由于 Varroa 感染水平升高和成年蜜蜂的健康状况不足。即使在早春最初的低瓦螨侵染情况下，如果菌落在整个季节持续繁殖，也可以在冬季前达到临界螨虫和病毒感染水平。为了克服这一挑战，养蜂人可以根据其养蜂操作的类型，通过适当的管理程序人为地中断育雏生产。为了评估它们的功效、相关的工作量和对集落发育的影响，不同的育雏中断方法（蜂王笼养结合草酸处理、全育雏、诱捕梳技术）在两个季节在 10 个欧洲国家的 370 个殖民地的 11 个地点进行了测试。开发了一个协议来标准化方法在不同环境条件下的应用。蜂王笼养的效果取决于草酸的施用方式，去除螨虫的效果从 48.16% 到 89.57% 不等。在无育期期间，通过滴加 4.2% 溶液 (89.57%) 和升华 2 g 草酸（平均 88.25%）获得最高功效。纯生物技术、无化学物质的诱捕梳和除虫方法的功效与蜂王笼养组没有显着差异。