Factors restraining the population growth of Varroa destructor in Ethiopian honey bees (Apis mellifera simensis)

Gebremedhn, Haftom; Bezabeh, Amssalu; Smet, Lina De; Graaf, Dirk C. de

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0223236

Cited by 30 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…Beekeeping is unique in Africa since it is the only global region that has large, genetically diverse populations of native honey bees (Apis mellifera) still thriving in the wild 45 . In fact, numbers of managed hives are increasing in many African countries due to limited colony losses and managed honey bee populations relatively resilient to Varroa mite 46 .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A global assessment of drivers and risks associated with pollinator decline

Dicks

Breeze

Ngo

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Pollinator decline has attracted global attention, and substantial efforts are underway to respond, through national pollinator strategies and action plans. These policy responses require clarity on what is driving pollinator decline, and what risks it generates for society, in different parts of the world. Using a formal expert elicitation process, we evaluated relative regional and global importance of eight pressures driving pollinator decline, and ten consequent risks to human well-being. Our results indicate that global policy responses should focus on reducing pressure from changes in land cover and configuration, land management, and pesticides, as these were considered very important drivers in most regions. We quantify for the first time how the importance of drivers, and risks from pollinator decline, differ among regions. For example, losing access to managed pollinators was only considered a serious risk to people in North America, whereas yield instability in pollinator-dependent crops, classed as a serious or high risk in four regions, presented only moderate risk in Europe and North America. Overall, perceived risks were substantially higher in the Global South. Despite extensive, research on pollinator decline, our analysis reveals considerable scientific uncertainty about what this means for human society.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A global assessment of drivers and risks associated with pollinator decline

Dicks

Breeze

Ngo

et al. 2020

Preprint

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“…V. destructor and the tracheal mite Acarapis woodi are present in Ethiopia (Pirk et al 2015), but no studies on colony losses linked to them are available. In fact, a study by Gebremedhn et al (2019) indicated that observed Ethiopian (Tigray region) bee colonies had very low brood infestation levels. From 6727 analysed brood cells, only 133 mites were found and from those, only 18.8% were capable of reproducing, supporting our knowledge that African honey bees successfully cope with the varroa mite.…”

Section: Honey Bee Management and Bee Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges and perspectives for beekeeping in Ethiopia. A review

Gratzer

Wakjira

Fiedler

et al. 2021

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

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The honey bee is an important fruit and vegetable pollinator and a producer of honey and other hive products. Beekeeping is a sustainable and high-potential activity for local communities and especially for the rural poor to gain additional income through non-timber forest products, does not require much land or high starting costs, maintains biodiversity and increases crop yields. Ethiopia is one of the top ten honey and beeswax producers in the world, but plays only a minor role in the international honey trade. Unlike large-scale beekeepers using modern techniques found in most leading honey-producing countries, the majority of Ethiopian beekeepers are small-scale producers practicing traditional beekeeping. In this article, we summarize the knowledge on Ethiopian beekeeping, honey bees, honey bee pests, marketing strategies, cultural aspects and major challenges of beekeeping. Furthermore, we used FAOSTAT data to calculate a pollination gap in order to draw the attention of stakeholders and decision-makers to bees and their importance in pollination and sustainable rural development. In regard to forage, we compiled 590 bee forage plants and their flowering times as a supplement to the article. This review outlines the following major points: (1) Ethiopia is a top honey and beeswax producer mainly for the domestic market; (2) Equipment for traditional beekeeping is easily accessible but brings disadvantages (gender gap, limitations in hive management and lower honey yield), while transitional and modern systems require certain beekeeping skills and higher starting costs; (3) Colony numbers increased by 72% from 1993 to 2018 and crop areas needing pollination by 150%; (4) Honey yield per hive and number of beehives managed per area of bee-pollinated crops increased by 20% and 28%, respectively; (5) Pesticide use has been increasing and there is a lack in pesticide use education. Recommendations to realize Ethiopia’s tremendous apicultural potential are discussed.

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“…Table S5. Link between 'hygienic behaviour towards dead brood' and colony survival or infestation level reported in literature [42,97,172,183,185,215,231,270,312,315,319,320,324,325,327,328,340,[349][350][351][352][353][354][355][356][357][358][359][360][361][362][363][364][365][366]. Table S6.…”

Section: Supplementary Informationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advances and perspectives in selecting resistance traits against the parasitic mite Varroa destructor in honey bees

et al. 2020

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Background In spite of the implementation of control strategies in honey bee (Apis mellifera) keeping, the invasive parasitic mite Varroa destructor remains one of the main causes of colony losses in numerous countries. Therefore, this parasite represents a serious threat to beekeeping and agro-ecosystems that benefit from the pollination services provided by honey bees. To maintain their stocks, beekeepers have to treat their colonies with acaricides every year. Selecting lineages that are resistant to infestations is deemed to be a more sustainable approach. Review Over the last three decades, numerous selection programs have been initiated to improve the host–parasite relationship and to support honey bee survival in the presence of the parasite without the need for acaricide treatments. Although resistance traits have been included in the selection strategy of honey bees, it has not been possible to globally solve the V. destructor problem. In this study, we review the literature on the reasons that have potentially limited the success of such selection programs. We compile the available information to assess the relevance of selected traits and the potential environmental effects that distort trait expression and colony survival. Limitations to the implementation of these traits in the field are also discussed. Conclusions Improving our knowledge of the mechanisms underlying resistance to V. destructor to increase trait relevance, optimizing selection programs to reduce environmental effects, and communicating selection outcomes are all crucial to efforts aiming at establishing a balanced relationship between the invasive parasite and its new host.

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Factors restraining the population growth of Varroa destructor in Ethiopian honey bees (Apis mellifera simensis)

Cited by 30 publications

References 65 publications

A global assessment of drivers and risks associated with pollinator decline

A global assessment of drivers and risks associated with pollinator decline

Challenges and perspectives for beekeeping in Ethiopia. A review

Advances and perspectives in selecting resistance traits against the parasitic mite Varroa destructor in honey bees

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