Characterization of <i>Varroa destructor</i> Mites in Cuba Using Mitochondrial and Nuclear Markers

Rodríguez, Anais; García, Carlos Ariel Yadró; Pérez, Adolfo; Invernizzi, Ciro; Tomasco, Ivanna H.

doi:10.2478/jas-2020-0022

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Hence, this ensures the invading mite fails to reproduce 1 or reducing mite fertility but to the recapping process 3 . Although, in this study no signi cant difference was found in the reproduction of Varroa in recapped or non-recapped cells supporting the ndings of two previous studies 4,14 . Therefore, recapping may be playing a minor role in resistance.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

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Recapping and mite removal behaviour in Cuba: home to the world’s largest population of Varroa-resistant European honeybees

Luis¹,

Grindrod

Webb

et al. 2022

Preprint

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The Varroa destructor ectoparasitic mite spread globally and in conjunction with Deformed Wing Virus killed millions of honeybees (Apis mellifera) colonies. Forcing Northern hemisphere beekeepers into using miticides to avoid mass colony losses. However, in many Southern hemisphere countries widespread treatment did not occur since miticides where prohibitively expensive or a centralised choice was made not to treat, both allowing natural selection to act. This Varroa caused initial high losses before mite-resistant appeared in the honeybee populations. Initially, mite-resistance was only associated with African and Africanised honeybees. Although recently, several isolated mite-resistant European honeybee populations have appeared. Here we studied the mite-resistance in Cuba and found high rates (77%) of recapping of infested worker cells, high removal of mites (80%) and corresponding low mite fertility (r=.77). These are all traits found in all naturally evolved Varroa-resistant populations. We can confirm Cuba has the world’s largest European mite-resistant population with 220,000 colonies that have been treatment-free for over two decades. Cuban honeybees are also highly productive, 40-70 kg of honey produced annually, and are mild mannered. Cuba has many queen rearing stations and is excellently positioned to export Varroa resistant European queens throughout the region and beyond.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…Recapping rates from both worker and drone showing levels in non-infested (yellow) or infested (red) cells from this (in bold) and previous studies 3,4,14 .…”

Section: Declarations Figuresmentioning

confidence: 69%

Recapping and mite removal behaviour in Cuba: home to the world’s largest population of Varroa-resistant European honeybees

Luis¹,

Grindrod

Webb

et al. 2022

Preprint

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“…Some genotyping methods that do not require sequencing have also been described, such as PCR-RFLP (PCR restriction-fragment-length polymorphism) protocols that discriminate the haplotypes J, K and P1, based on the sizes of digested fragments [ 60 , 66 , 71 ]. The haplotypes K and S1 could also be distinguished by ARMS-PCR (amplification-refractory mutation system PCR), a PCR format in which amplification primers target variant-specific polymorphisms, which makes sequencing dispensable [ 66 , 67 , 72 ].…”

Section: Description Of Main Bee Pathogens and Molecular Methods For ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular Detection and Differentiation of Arthropod, Fungal, Protozoan, Bacterial and Viral Pathogens of Honeybees

Lannutti

Gonzales

Santos

et al. 2022

Veterinary Sciences

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The honeybee Apis mellifera is highly appreciated worldwide because of its products, but also as it is a pollinator of crops and wild plants. The beehive is vulnerable to infections due to arthropods, fungi, protozoa, bacteria and/or viruses that manage to by-pass the individual and social immune mechanisms of bees. Due to the close proximity of bees in the beehive and their foraging habits, infections easily spread within and between beehives. Moreover, international trade of bees has caused the global spread of infections, several of which result in significant losses for apiculture. Only in a few cases can infections be diagnosed with the naked eye, by direct observation of the pathogen in the case of some arthropods, or by pathogen-associated distinctive traits. Development of molecular methods based on the amplification and analysis of one or more genes or genomic segments has brought significant progress to the study of bee pathogens, allowing for: (i) the precise and sensitive identification of the infectious agent; (ii) the analysis of co-infections; (iii) the description of novel species; (iv) associations between geno- and pheno-types and (v) population structure studies. Sequencing of bee pathogen genomes has allowed for the identification of new molecular targets and the development of specific genotypification strategies.

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“…In contrast, some countries like South Africa [ 10 ] and Cuba [ 11 ] took a decision not to treat Varroa and allowed mite-resistance to appear naturally. In both countries 1,000’s of colonies were lost initially, but losses declined after several years as resistance to the mite developed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A survey of UK beekeeper’s Varroa treatment habits

Valentine

Martin

2023

PLoS ONE

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The global spread of the parasitic mite Varroa destructor instigated a substantial decline in both managed and feral honeybee (Apis mellifera) colonies mainly across the Northern hemisphere. In response, many beekeepers began to treat their colonies with chemical acaricides to control mite populations in managed colonies. However, some countries or beekeepers allowed their bees to develop mite-resistance by adopting a “treatment-free” approach, rather than using selective breeding programs. Yet, the distribution and proportion of beekeepers either treating or not within the United Kingdom (UK) is unknown, as it is in most Northern hemisphere countries. Therefore, the aim of this study was to conduct a beekeeper survey to determine the current treatment strategies within the UK. We gathered 2,872 beekeeper responses from an estimated 30,000 UK beekeepers belonging to 242 bee-associations in the winter of 2020/21. The survey indicated that the majority (72–79%) of UK beekeepers are still treating their bees for Varroa, typically twice-yearly using chemical-based methods. Six percent or 1,800 UK beekeepers were treatment-free for six years or more. This is reflected by our finding that 78 associations out of 242 consist of responders who entirely treated, while only four associations had more than 75% of their members that were non-treating. Overall treatment status was not affected by association currently. Using the baseline data from this survey it will be possible in the future to observer if a shift towards treatment-free beekeeping occurs or not.

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Characterization of Varroa destructor Mites in Cuba Using Mitochondrial and Nuclear Markers

Cited by 4 publications

References 26 publications

Recapping and mite removal behaviour in Cuba: home to the world’s largest population of Varroa-resistant European honeybees

Recapping and mite removal behaviour in Cuba: home to the world’s largest population of Varroa-resistant European honeybees

Molecular Detection and Differentiation of Arthropod, Fungal, Protozoan, Bacterial and Viral Pathogens of Honeybees

A survey of UK beekeeper’s Varroa treatment habits

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