Regular dorsal dimples and damaged mites of Varroa destructor in some Iranian honey bees (Apis mellifera)

Abstract

The frequency of damaged Varroadestructor Anderson and Trueman (Mesostigmata: Varroidae) found on the bottom board of hives of the honey bee, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae) has been used as an indicator of the degree of tolerance or resistance of honey bee colonies against mites. However, it is not clear that this measure is adequate. These injuries should be separated from regular dorsal dimples that have a developmental origin. To investigate damage to Varroa mites and regular dorsal dimples, 32 honey bee (A. mellifera) colonies were selected from four Iranian provinces: Isfahan, Markazi, Qazvin, and Tehran. These colonies were part of the National Honey bee Breeding Program that resulted in province-specific races. In April, Varroa mites were collected from heavily infested colonies and used to infest the 32 experimental colonies. In August, 20 of these colonies were selected (five colonies from each province). Adult bees from these colonies were placed in cages and after introducing mites, damaged mites were collected from each cage every day. The average percentage of injured mites ranged from 0.6 to 3.0% in four provinces. The results did not show any statistical differences between the colonies within provinces for injuries to mites, but there were some differences among province-specific lines. Two kinds of injuries to the mites were observed: injuries to legs and pedipalps, and injuries to other parts of the body. There were also some regular dorsal dimples on dorsal idiosoma of the mites that were placed in categories separate from mites damaged by bees. This type of classification helps identifying damage to mites and comparing them with developmental origin symptoms, and may provide criteria for selecting bees tolerant or resistant to this mite.

Associations of Parameters Related to the Fall of <I>Varroa destructor</I> (Mesostigmata: Varroidae) in Russian and Italian Honey Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Colonies

“…In addition, it is difÞcult to assess damage to mites (Bienefeld et al 1999, Ruttner andHänel 1992). Apparent damage may result from predatory insects (Szabo andWalker 1995, Davis et al 2007), temperature and humidity (Currie andTahmasbi 2008, Tahmasbi 2009), developmental problems (Davis 2009, Ardestani et al 2011) and storage and handling (ArechavaletaÐVelasco and GuzmanÐNovoa 2001, Vandame et al 2002). Further, Bienefeld et al (1999) suggested that young daughter mites be excluded in the assessment of grooming behavior because they have higher rates of damage (Moosbeckhofer 1992, Lodesani et al 1996 and are more likely to have "damages by chance."…”

Investigating the influence of postcapping period on varroa mite infestation

“…They referred to resistance mechanisms of honey bees as well as shorter duration of capping period in A. m. capensis compared to other races. In our previous studies, however, grooming behavior was shown to exist to a somewhat lesser extent in similar honey bee colonies of the National breeding program (Ardestani, Ebadi, & Tahmasbi, 2011.…”

Διερεύνηση της συμπεριφοράς περιποίησης και της εξυγιαντικής συμπεριφοράς ως μηχανισμός άμυνας της μέλισσας έναντι του ακάρεος Varroa και αξιοποίησή τους για την παραγωγή ανθεκτικών πληθυσμών μελισσών

“…Επιπλέον, ένα ορισμένο μέρος των ακρωτηριασμένων ακάρεων μπορεί να έχει καταστραφεί μετά από το φυσικό τους θάνατο μέσα στα σφραγισμένα κελιά του γόνου (Rosenkranz et al, 1997). Αρκετοί ερευνητές έχουν αναφέρει και ποσοτικοποιήσει τα κατεστραμμένα ακάρεα που βρίσκονται στα μελίσσια (Lodesani et al, 1996 Η συχνότητα των ομαλών ραχιαίων βαθουλωμάτων (Ardestani et al, 2011) ήταν σύμφωνη με τα αποτελέσματα του Davis (2009). Tο 1,3-3,5% των ακάρεων ήταν με δύο λακκάκια και το 3,9-6,1% με ένα, ενώ ο Davis (2009) ανέφερε ότι βρήκε 2,5% και 8,1%, αντίστοιχα .…”

“…Αυτό μπορεί να οδηγήσει σε ένα ή δύο ομαλά λακκάκια στο ραχιαίο θώρακα. Είναι απίθανο οι κινήσεις των ποδιών της νύμφης (Harbo και Harris 1999b) να έχουν προκαλέσει αυτά τα ραχιαία λακκάκια (Ardestani et al, 2011).…”