Abstract
The ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor Anderson and Trueman (Acari: Varroidae) is a pest that severely damages honey bee health worldwide. This mite is considered a major reason for winter colony loss of the western honey bee Apis mellifera Linnaeus (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Monitoring of Varroa mites in honey bee colonies is required for effective management of Varroa infestations. The mite is dislodged from adult bees when the bees roll in powdered sugar. The sugar roll test is one of the major methods used to survey V. destructor infestations in honeybee colonies. However, powdered sugar agglomerates during commodity distribution to the customers or under humid conditions. In this study, roasted soybean flour was evaluated as a powder for Varroa mite detection, because this powder rarely forms a hard agglomerate. Roasted soybean flour may eliminate Varroa mites from adult bees as well as powdered sugar. Therefore, the roasted soybean flour can be a useful powder for convenient Varroa monitoring under humid conditions.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Branco MR, Kidd NAC, Pickard RS (1999) Development of Varroa jacobsoni in colonies of Apis mellifera iberica in a Mediterranean climate. Apidologie 30:491–503. https://doi.org/10.1051/apido:19990604
Brodschneider R, Crailsheim K (2010) Nutrition and health in honey bees. Apidologie 41:278–294. https://doi.org/10.1051/apido/2010012
Currie RW, Gatien P (2006) Timing acaricide treatments to prevent Varroa destructor (Acari: Varroidae) from causing economic damage to honey bee colonies. Can Entomol 138:238–252. https://doi.org/10.4039/n05-024
Delaplane KS, Hood WM (1997) Effects of delayed acaricide treatment in honey bee colonies parasitized by Varroa jacobsoni and a late-season treatment threshold for the south-eastern USA. J Apic Res 36:125–132. https://doi.org/10.1080/00218839.1997.11100938
Delaplane KS, Hood WM (1999) Economic threshold for Varroa jacobsoni Oud. in the southeastern USA. Apidologie 30:383–395. https://doi.org/10.1051/apido:19990504
Delaplane KS, Ellis JD, Hood WM (2010) A test for interactions between Varroa destructor (Acari: Varroidae) and Aethina tumida (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) in colonies of honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Ann Entomol Soc Am 103:711–715. https://doi.org/10.1603/an09169
Dietemann V, Nazzi F, Martin SJ et al (2013) Standard methods for varroa research. J Apic Res 52:1–54. https://doi.org/10.3896/IBRA.1.52.1.09
Forfert N, Natsopoulou ME, Frey E et al (2015) Parasites and pathogens of the honeybee (Apis mellifera) and their influence on inter-colonial transmission. PLoS ONE 10:1–14. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0140337
Gatien P, Currie RW (2003) Timing of acaracide treatments for control of low-level populations of Varroa destructor (Acari: Varroidae) and implications for colony performance of honey bees. Can Entomol 135:749–763. https://doi.org/10.4039/n02-086
Kralj J, Fuchs S (2006) Parasitic Varroa destructor mites influence flight duration and homing ability of infested Apis mellifera foragers. Apidologie 37:577–587. https://doi.org/10.1051/apido:2006040
Kralj J, Brockmann A, Fuchs S, Tautz J (2007) The parasitic mite Varroa destructor affects non-associative learning in honey bee foragers, Apis mellifera L. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sensory, Neural, Behav Physiol 193:363–370. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-006-0192-8
Macedo PA, Wu J, Ellis MD (2002) Using inert dusts to detect and assess varroa infestations in honey bee colonies. J Apic Res 41:3–7. https://doi.org/10.1080/00218839.2002.11101062
Martin SJ (2001) The role of Varroa and viral pathogens in the collapse of honeybee colonies: a modelling approach. J Appl Ecol 38:1082–1093. https://doi.org/10.2307/827245
Nazzi F, Le Conte Y (2016) Ecology of Varroa destructor, the major ectoparasite of the western honey bee, Apis mellifera. Annu Rev Entomol 61:417–432. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ento-010715-023731
R Development Core Team (2013) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R foundation for statistical computing, Vienna
Shimanuki H, Calderone NW, Knox DA (1994) Parasitic mite syndrome: the symptoms. Am Bee J 134:827–828
Strange JP, Sheppard WS (2001) Optimum timing of miticide applications for control of Varroa destructor (Acari: Varroidae) in Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in Washington State, USA. J Econ Entomol 94:1324–1331. https://doi.org/10.1603/0022-0493-94.6.1324
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Asst. Prof. Shigeru Matsuyama (University of Tsukuba) for advice on devices for the powder roll test. We would like to thank Prof. DeMar Taylor (University of Tsukuba) for helpful comments on the manuscript. We also thank Ms. Noriko Takaya, Ms. Mai Wakasa, and Mr. Mitsugu Ebihara for their technical support. The authors would like to thank Enago (www.enago.jp) for the English language review.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ogihara, M.H., Stoic, M., Morimoto, N. et al. A convenient method for detection of Varroa destructor (Acari: Varroidae) using roasted soybean flour. Appl Entomol Zool 55, 429–433 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13355-020-00698-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13355-020-00698-3