Eggs sampling as an effective tool for identifying the incidence of viruses in honey bees involved in artificial queen rearing.

The Carniolan honey bee (Apis mellifera carnica) plays an essential role in crop pollination, environment diversity, and the production of honey bee products. However, the health of individual honey bees and their colonies is under pressure due to multiple stressors, including viruses as a significant threat to bees. Monitoring various virus infections could be a crucial selection tool during queen rearing. In the present study, samples from all developmental stages (eggs, larvae, pupae, and queens) were screened for the incidence of seven viruses during queen rearing in Slovenia. The screening of a total of 108 samples from five queen breeders was performed by the RT-qPCR assays. The results showed that the highest incidence was observed for black queen cell virus (BQCV), Lake Sinai virus 3 (LSV3), deformed wing virus B (DWV-B), and sacbrood virus (SBV). The highest viral load was detected in queens (6.07 log10 copies/queen) and larvae (5.50 log10 copies/larva) for BQCV, followed by SBV in larvae (5.47 log10 copies/larva). When comparing all the honey bee developmental stages, the eggs exhibited general screening for virus incidence and load in queen mother colonies. The results suggest that analyzing eggs is a good indicator of resilience to virus infection during queen development.

Ultrastructural Changes in the Midgut of Brazilian Native Stingless Bee Melipona scutellaris Exposed to Fungicide Pyraclostrobin.

Melipona scutellaris is a Brazilian stingless bee that is important for pollinating wild flora and agriculture crops. Fungicides have been widely used in agriculture, and floral residues can affect forager bees. The goal of our study was to evaluate the effects of sublethal concentrations of pyraclostrobin on the midgut ultrastructure of M. scutellaris forager workers. The bees were collected from three non-parental colonies and kept under laboratory conditions. The bees were orally exposed continuously for five days to pyraclostrobin in syrup at concentrations of 0.125 ng a.i./µL (FG1) and 0.005 ng a.i./µL (FG2). The control bees (CTL) were fed a no-fungicide sucrose solution, and the acetone solvent control bees (CAC) received a sucrose solution containing acetone. At the end of the exposure, the midguts were sampled, fixed in Karnovsky solution, and routinely processed for transmission electron microscopy. Ultrastructural analysis demonstrated that both the fungicide concentrations altered the midgut, such as cytoplasmic vacuolization (more intense in FG1), the presence of an atypical nuclear morphology, and slightly dilated mitochondrial cristae in the bees from the FG1 and FG2 groups (both more intense in FG1). Additionally, there was an alteration in the ultrastructure of the spherocrystals (FG1), which could be the result of cellular metabolism impairment and the excretion of toxic metabolites in the digestive cells as a response to fungicide exposure. The results indicate that ingested pyraclostrobin induced cytotoxic effects in the midgut of native stingless bees. These cellular ultrastructural responses of the midgut are a prelude to a reduced survival rate, as observed in previous studies.

Sensitivity to imidacloprid insecticide varies among some social and solitary bee species of agricultural value.

Pollinator health risks from long-lasting neonicotinoid insecticides like imidacloprid has primarily focused on commercially managed, cavity-nesting bees in the genera Apis, Bombus, and Osmia. We expand these assessments to include 12 species of native and non-native crop pollinators of differing levels of body size, sociality, and floral specialization. Bees were collected throughout 2016 and 2017 from flowering blueberry, squash, pumpkin, sunflower and okra in south Mississippi, USA. Within 30-60 minutes of capture, bees were installed in bioassay cages made from transparent plastic cups and dark amber jars. Bees were fed via dental wicks saturated with 27% (1.25 M) sugar syrup containing a realistic range of sublethal concentrations of imidacloprid (0, 5, 20, or 100 ppb) that are often found in nectar. Bees displayed no visible tremors or convulsions except for a small sweat bee, Halictus ligatus, and only at 100ppb syrup. Imidacloprid shortened the captive longevities of the solitary bees. Tolerant bee species lived ~10 to 12 days in the bioassays and included two social and one solitary species: Halictus ligatus, Apis mellifera and Ptilothrix bombiformis (rose mallow bees), respectively. No other bee species tolerated imidacloprid as well as honey bees did, which exhibited no appreciable mortality and only modest paralysis across concentration. In contrast, native bees either lived shorter lives, experienced longer paralysis, or endured both. Overall, longevity decreased with concentration linearly for social bees and non-linearly for solitary species. The percentage of a bee's captive lifespan spent paralyzed increased logarithmically with concentration for all species, although bumble bees suffered longest. Of greatest concern was comparable debilitation of agriculturally valuable solitary bees at both low and high sublethal rates of imidacloprid.

Virus Prevalence in Egg Samples Collected from Naturally Selected and Traditionally Managed Honey Bee Colonies across Europe.

Monitoring virus infections can be an important selection tool in honey bee breeding. A recent study pointed towards an association between the virus-free status of eggs and an increased virus resistance to deformed wing virus (DWV) at the colony level. In this study, eggs from both naturally surviving and traditionally managed colonies from across Europe were screened for the prevalence of different viruses. Screenings were performed using the phenotyping protocol of the 'suppressed in ovo virus infection' trait but with qPCR instead of end-point PCR and a primer set that covers all DWV genotypes. Of the 213 screened samples, 109 were infected with DWV, 54 were infected with black queen cell virus (BQCV), 3 were infected with the sacbrood virus, and 2 were infected with the acute bee paralyses virus. It was demonstrated that incidences of the vertical transmission of DWV were more frequent in naturally surviving than in traditionally managed colonies, although the virus loads in the eggs remained the same. When comparing virus infections with queen age, older queens showed significantly lower infection loads of DWV in both traditionally managed and naturally surviving colonies, as well as reduced DWV infection frequencies in traditionally managed colonies. We determined that the detection frequencies of DWV and BQCV in honey bee eggs were lower in samples obtained in the spring than in those collected in the summer, indicating that vertical transmission may be lower in spring. Together, these patterns in vertical transmission show that honey bee queens have the potential to reduce the degree of vertical transmission over time.

Harmful Effects of Pyraclostrobin on the Fat Body and Pericardial Cells of Foragers of Africanized Honey Bee.

Managed honey bees are daily exposed in agricultural settings or wild environments to multiple stressors. Currently, fungicide residues are increasingly present in bees' pollen and nectar and can harm colonies' production and survival. Therefore, our study aimed to evaluate the effects of the fungicide pyraclostrobin on the fat body and pericardial cells of Africanized honey bees. The foragers were divided into three experimental treatment groups and two controls: pyraclostrobin 0.125 ng/µL (FG1), 0.025 ng/µL (FG2), 0.005 ng/µL (FG3), untreated control (CTL), and acetone control (CAC). After five days of oral exposure (ad libitum), the bees were dissected and prepared for histopathological and morphometric analysis. The FG1-treated bees showed extensive cytoarchitecture changes in the fat body and pericardial cells, inducing cell death. Bees from the FG2 group showed disarranged oenocytes, peripheral vacuolization, and pyknotic nuclei of pericardial cells, but the cytoarchitecture was not compromised as observed in FG1. Additionally, immune system cells were observed through the fat body in the FG1 group. Bees exposed to FG3 demonstrated only oenocytes vacuolization. A significant decrease in the oenocyte's surface area for bees exposed to all pyraclostrobin concentrations was observed compared to the CTL and CAC groups. The bees from the FG1 and FG2 treatment groups presented a reduced surface area of pericardial cells compared to the controls and the FG3 group. This study highlighted the harmful effects of fungicide pyraclostrobin concentrations at the individual bee cellular level, potentially harming the colony level on continuous exposure.

Complex population structure and haplotype patterns in the Western European honey bee from sequencing a large panel of haploid drones.

Honey bee subspecies originate from specific geographical areas in Africa, Europe and the Middle East, and beekeepers interested in specific phenotypes have imported genetic material to regions outside of the bees' original range for use either in pure lines or controlled crosses. Moreover, imported drones are present in the environment and mate naturally with queens from the local subspecies. The resulting admixture complicates population genetics analyses, and population stratification can be a major problem for association studies. To better understand Western European honey bee populations, we produced a whole genome sequence and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotype data set from 870 haploid drones and demonstrate its utility for the identification of nine genetic backgrounds and various degrees of admixture in a subset of 629 samples. Five backgrounds identified correspond to subspecies, two to isolated populations on islands and two to managed populations. We also highlight several large haplotype blocks, some of which coincide with the position of centromeres. The largest is 3.6 Mb long and represents 21% of chromosome 11, with two major haplotypes corresponding to the two dominant genetic backgrounds identified. This large naturally phased data set is available as a single vcf file that can now serve as a reference for subsequent populations genomics studies in the honey bee, such as (i) selecting individuals of verified homogeneous genetic backgrounds as references, (ii) imputing genotypes from a lower-density data set generated by an SNP-chip or by low-pass sequencing, or (iii) selecting SNPs compatible with the requirements of genotyping chips.

Evaluation of the risks for animal health related to the presence of hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) in feed for honey bees.

The European Commission has asked the EFSA to evaluate the risk for animal health related to the presence of hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) in honey bee feed. HMF is a degradation product of particular sugars and can be present in bee feed. HMF is of low acute toxicity in bees but causes increased mortality upon chronic exposure. A benchmark dose lower limit 10% (BMDL10) of 1.16 µg HMF per bee per day has been calculated from mortalities observed in a 20-day study and established as a Reference Point covering also mortality in larvae, drones and queens for which no or insufficient toxicity data were available. Winter bees have a much longer lifespan than summer bees and HMF shows clear time reinforced toxicity (TRT) characteristics. Therefore, additional Reference Point intervals of 0.21-3.1, 0.091-1.1 and 0.019-0.35 µg HMF/bee per day were calculated based on extrapolation to exposure durations of 50, 90 and 180 days, respectively. A total of 219 analytical data of HMF concentrations in bee feed from EU Member States and 88 from Industry were available. Exposure estimates of worker bees and larvae ranged between 0.1 and 0.48, and between 0.1 and 0.51 µg HMF/per day, respectively. They were well below the BMDL10 of 1.16 µg HMF/bee per day, and thus, no concern was identified. However, when accounting for TRT, the probability that exposures were below established reference point intervals was assessed to be extremely unlikely to almost certain depending on exposure duration. A concern for bee health was identified when bees are exposed to HMF contaminated bee feed for several months.

Authoritative subspecies diagnosis tool for European honey bees based on ancestry informative SNPs.

BACKGROUND: With numerous endemic subspecies representing four of its five evolutionary lineages, Europe holds a large fraction of Apis mellifera genetic diversity. This diversity and the natural distribution range have been altered by anthropogenic factors. The conservation of this natural heritage relies on the availability of accurate tools for subspecies diagnosis. Based on pool-sequence data from 2145 worker bees representing 22 populations sampled across Europe, we employed two highly discriminative approaches (PCA and FST) to select the most informative SNPs for ancestry inference. RESULTS: Using a supervised machine learning (ML) approach and a set of 3896 genotyped individuals, we could show that the 4094 selected single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) provide an accurate prediction of ancestry inference in European honey bees. The best ML model was Linear Support Vector Classifier (Linear SVC) which correctly assigned most individuals to one of the 14 subspecies or different genetic origins with a mean accuracy of 96.2% ± 0.8 SD. A total of 3.8% of test individuals were misclassified, most probably due to limited differentiation between the subspecies caused by close geographical proximity, or human interference of genetic integrity of reference subspecies, or a combination thereof. CONCLUSIONS: The diagnostic tool presented here will contribute to a sustainable conservation and support breeding activities in order to preserve the genetic heritage of European honey bees.

Effects of coumaphos and imidacloprid on honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) lifespan and antioxidant gene regulations in laboratory experiments.

The main objective of this study was to test comparatively the effects of two common insecticides on honey bee Apis mellifera worker's lifespan, food consumption, mortality, and expression of antioxidant genes. Newly emerged worker bees were exposed to organophosphate insecticide coumaphos, a neonicotinoid imidacloprid, and their mixtures. Toxicity tests were conducted along with bee midgut immunohistological TUNEL analyses. RT-qPCR assessed the regulation of 10 bee antioxidant genes linked to pesticide toxicity. We tested coumaphos at 92,600 ppb concentration, in combination with 5 and 20 ppb imidacloprid. Coumaphos induced significantly higher bee mortality, which was associated with down regulation of catalase compared to coumaphos and imidacloprid (5/20 ppb) mixtures, whereas, both imidacloprid concentrations independently had no effect on bee mortality. Mixture of coumaphos and imidacloprid reduced daily bee consumption of a control food patty to 10 mg from a coumaphos intake of 14.3 mg and 18.4 and 13.7 mg for imidacloprid (5 and 20) ppb, respectively. While coumaphos and imidacloprid mixtures induced down-regulation of antioxidant genes with noticeable midgut tissue damage, imidacloprid induced intensive gene up-regulations with less midgut apoptosis.

Toxicity of Selected Acaricides to Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) and Varroa (Varroa destructor Anderson and Trueman) and Their Use in Controlling Varroa within Honey Bee Colonies.

The efficacies of various acaricides in order to control a parasitic mite, the Varroa mite, Varroa destructor, of honey bees, were measured in two different settings, namely, in laboratory caged honey bees and in queen-right honey bee colonies. The Varroa infestation levels before, during, and after the acaricide treatments were determined in two ways, namely: (1) using the sugar shake protocol to count mites on bees and (2) directly counting the dead mites on the hive bottom inserts. The acaricides that were evaluated were coumaphos, tau-fluvalinate, amitraz, thymol, and natural plant compounds (hop acids), which were the active ingredients. The acaricide efficacies in the colonies were evaluated in conjunction with the final coumaphos applications. All of the tested acaricides significantly increased the overall Varroa mortality in the laboratory experiment. Their highest efficiencies were recorded at 6 h post-treatment, except for coumaphos and thymol, which exhibited longer and more consistent activity. In the honey bee colonies, a higher Varroa mortality was recorded in all of the treatments, compared with the natural Varroa mortality during the pretreatment period. The acaricide toxicity to the Varroa mites was consistent in both the caged adult honey bees and workers in the queen-right colonies, although, two of these acaricides, coumaphos at the highest doses and hop acids, were comparatively more toxic to the worker bees.

Impact of Thiamethoxam on Honey Bee Queen (Apis mellifera carnica) Reproductive Morphology and Physiology.

High honey bee losses around the world have been linked in part by the regular use of neonicotinoids in agriculture. In light of the current situation, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of thiamethoxam on the development of the reproductive system and physiology in the honey bee queen. Two experimental groups of honey bee queen larvae were treated with thiamethoxam during artificial rearing, applied via artificial feed in two cycles. In the first rearing cycle, honey bee larvae received a single treatment dose (4.28 ng thiamethoxam/queen larva on the 4th day after larvae grafting in artificial queen cells), while the second honey bee queen rearing cycle received a double treatment dose (total of 8.56 ng thiamethoxam/queen larva on the 4th and 5th day after larvae grafting in artificial queen cells). After emerging, queens were anesthetized and weighed, and after mating with drones were anesthetized, weighed, and sectioned. Ovary mass and number of stored sperm were determined. Body weight differed between untreated and treated honey bee queens. The results also show a decrease in the number of sperm within honey bee queen spermathecae that received the double thiamethoxam dose.

Sublethal Effects of Imidacloprid on Honey Bee Colony Growth and Activity at Three Sites in the U.S.

Imidacloprid is a neonicotinoid pesticide heavily used by the agricultural industry and shown to have negative impacts on honey bees above certain concentrations. We evaluated the effects of different imidacloprid concentrations in sugar syrup using cage and field studies, and across different environments. Honey bee colonies fed sublethal concentrations of imidicloprid (0, 5, 20 and 100 ppb) over 6 weeks in field trials at a desert site (Arizona), a site near intensive agriculture (Arkansas) and a site with little nearby agriculture but abundant natural forage (Mississippi) were monitored with respect to colony metrics, such as adult bee and brood population sizes, as well as pesticide residues. Hive weight and internal hive temperature were monitored continuously over two trials in Arizona. Colonies fed 100 ppb imidacloprid in Arizona had significantly lower adult bee populations, brood surface areas and average frame weights, and reduced temperature control, compared to colonies in one or more of the other treatment groups, and consumption rates of those colonies were lower compared to other colonies in Arizona and Arkansas, although no differences in capped brood or average frame weight were observed among treatments in Arkansas. At the Mississippi site, also rich in alternative forage, colonies fed 5 ppb imidacloprid had less capped brood than control colonies, but contamination of control colonies was detected. In contrast, significantly higher daily hive weight variability among colonies fed 5 ppb imidacloprid in Arizona suggested greater foraging activity during a nectar flow post treatment, than any other treatment group. Imidacloprid concentrations in stored honey corresponded well with the respective syrup concentrations fed to the colonies and remained stable within the hive for at least 7 months after the end of treatment.

Effects of Nosema ceranae and thiametoxam in Apis mellifera: A comparative study in Africanized and Carniolan honey bees.

Multiple stressors, such as chemicals and pathogens, are likely to be detrimental for the health and lifespan of Apis mellifera, a bee species frequently exposed to both factors in the field and inside hives. The main objective of the present study was to evaluate comparatively the health of Carniolan and Africanized honey bees (AHB) co-exposed to thiamethoxam and Nosema ceranae (N. ceranae) spores. Newly-emerged worker honey bees were exposed solely with different sublethal doses of thiamethoxam (2% and 0.2% of LD50 for AHB), which could be consumed by bees under field conditions. Toxicity tests for the Carniolan bees were performed, and the LD50 of thiamethoxam for Carniolan honey bees was 7.86 ng bee(-1). Immunohistological analyses were also performed to detect cell death in the midgut of thiamethoxam and/or N. ceranae treated bees. Thiamethoxam exposure had no negative impact on Nosema development in experimental conditions, but it clearly inhibited cell death in the midgut of thiamethoxam and Nosema-exposed bees, as demonstrated by immunohistochemical data. Indeed, thiamethoxam exposure only had a minor synergistic toxic effect on midgut tissue when applied as a low dose simultaneously with N. ceranae to AHB and Carniolan honey bees, in comparison with the effect caused by both stressors separately. Our data provides insights into the effects of the neonicotenoid thiamethoxam on the AHB and Carniolan honey bee life span, as well as the effects of simultaneous application of thiamethoxam and N. ceranae spores to honey bees.

Chronic bee paralysis virus and Nosema ceranae experimental co-infection of winter honey bee workers (Apis mellifera L.).

Chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV) is an important viral disease of adult bees which induces significant losses in honey bee colonies. Despite comprehensive research, only limited data is available from experimental infection for this virus. In the present study winter worker bees were experimentally infected in three different experiments. Bees were first inoculated per os (p/o) or per cuticle (p/c) with CBPV field strain M92/2010 in order to evaluate the virus replication in individual bees. In addition, potential synergistic effects of co-infection with CBPV and Nosema ceranae (N. ceranae) on bees were investigated. In total 558 individual bees were inoculated in small cages and data were analyzed using quantitative real time RT-PCR (RT-qPCR). Our results revealed successful replication of CBPV after p/o inoculation, while it was less effective when bees were inoculated p/c. Dead bees harbored about 1,000 times higher copy numbers of the virus than live bees. Co-infection of workers with CBPV and N. ceranae using either method of virus inoculation (p/c or p/o) showed increased replication ability for CBPV. In the third experiment the effect of inoculation on bee mortality was evaluated. The highest level of bee mortality was observed in a group of bees inoculated with CBPV p/o, followed by a group of workers simultaneously inoculated with CBPV and N. ceranae p/o, followed by the group inoculated with CBPV p/c and the group with only N. ceranae p/o. The experimental infection with CBPV showed important differences after p/o or p/c inoculation in winter bees, while simultaneous infection with CBPV and N. ceranae suggesting a synergistic effect after inoculation.

Gene expression in honey bee (Apis mellifera) larvae exposed to pesticides and Varroa mites (Varroa destructor).

Honey bee (Apis mellifera) larvae reared in vitro were exposed to one of nine pesticides and/or were challenged with the parasitic mite, Varroa destructor. Total RNA was extracted from individual larvae and first strand cDNAs were generated. Gene-expression changes in larvae were measured using quantitative PCR (qPCR) targeting transcripts for pathogens and genes involved in physiological processes, bee health, immunity, and/or xenobiotic detoxification. Transcript levels for Peptidoglycan Recognition Protein (PGRPSC), a pathogen recognition gene, increased in larvae exposed to Varroa mites (P<0.001) and were not changed in pesticide treated larvae. As expected, Varroa-parasitized brood had higher transcripts of Deformed Wing Virus than did control larvae (P<0.001). Varroa parasitism, arguably coupled with virus infection, resulted in significantly higher transcript abundances for the antimicrobial peptides abaecin, hymenoptaecin, and defensin1. Transcript levels for Prophenoloxidase-activating enzyme (PPOact), an immune end product, were elevated in larvae treated with myclobutanil and chlorothalonil (both are fungicides) (P<0.001). Transcript levels for Hexameric storage protein (Hsp70) were significantly upregulated in imidacloprid, fluvalinate, coumaphos, myclobutanil, and amitraz treated larvae. Definitive impacts of pesticides and Varroa parasitism on honey bee larval gene expression were demonstrated. Interactions between larval treatments and gene expression for the targeted genes are discussed.

Exposure to pesticides at sublethal level and their distribution within a honey bee (Apis mellifera) colony.

Honey bee colonies were exposed to pesticides used in agriculture or within bee hives by beekeepers: coumaphos; diazinon; amitraz or fluvalinate. Samples of bee workers, larvae and royal jelly were analysed using Gas Chromatography-Electron Capture Detection (GC-ECD). Amitraz was quantified using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), and Gas Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS/MS) was used for quantification of diazinon. Sixth day after treatment, coumaphos was found in the royal jelly (250 ng/g) secreted by nurse workers and fluvalinate was found in both bee heads (105 ng/g, 8 days after treatment) and in larvae (110 ng/g, 4 days after treatment). Amitraz residues in all sampled material were below the level of detection of 10 ng/g. Diazinon was not detected in any of the analysed samples. The large quantities of fluvalinate found in bee heads and larvae, the coumaphos residues in royal jelly, and additional potential sub-lethal effects on individual honey bees or brood are discussed.

Autophagy and its physiological relevance in arthropods: current knowledge and perspectives.

Autophagic process is one of the best examples of a conserved mechanism of survival in eukaryotes. At the molecular level there are impressive similarities between unicellular and multicellular organisms, but there is increasing evidence that the same process may be used for different ends, i.e., survival or death, at least at cellular levels. Arthropods encompass a wide variety of invertebrates such as insects, crustaceans and spiders, and thus represent the taxon in which most of the investigations on autophagy in non-mammalian models are performed. The present review is focused on the genetic basis and the physiological meaning of the autophagic process on key models of arthropods. The involvement of autophagy in programmed cell death, especially during oogenesis and development, is also discussed.

Residues of Pesticides in honeybee (Apis mellifera carnica) bee bread and in pollen loads from treated apple orchards.

Honey bee (Apis mellifera carnica) colonies were placed in two apple orchards treated with the insecticides diazinon and thiacloprid and the fungicide difenoconazole in accordance with a Protection Treatment Plan in the spring of 2007. Pollen and bee bread were collected from combs inside the hives. The residue of diazinon in pollen loads 10 days after orchard treatment was 0.09 mg/kg, and the same amount of residue was found in bee bread 16 days after treatment. In pollen loads 6 days after application 0.03 mg/kg of thiacloprid residues and 0.01 mg/kg of difenoconazole were found on the first day after application. Possible sub-lethal effects on individual honey bees and brood are discussed.

Rotenone and oxalic acid as alternative acaricidal treatments for Varroa destructor in honeybee colonies.

This experiment assessed the efficacy of rotenone and oxalic acid (OA) in an aqueous sugar solution in controlling the honeybee mite Varroa destructor. Colonies were populated with mite-infested brood combs and worker bees. Three rotenone or OA treatments administered during the period with capped brood on 31 July, 14 and 18 August resulted in an average efficacy of 24.10%. In untreated colonies mite mortality averaged 5.40%. No significant differences (P>0.05) were found between the rotenone and OA treatments. Three OA treatments administered on 9, 12 and 18 September resulted in a 77.93% mite mortality. An increase in mite drop (P<0.05) was observed at 2 and 4 days after each treatment. OA applications in broodless colonies resulted in significantly (P<0.001) higher mite mortality rates (98.65% average) than the three treatments of rotenone or OA in colonies with capped brood. The dynamics of mite mortality after each rotenone or OA treatment are discussed in this study.

The control of Varroa destructor using oxalic acid.

Twenty-four honeybee (Apis mellifera) colonies were used to monitor the efficacy of a solution of 2.9% oxalic acid (OA) and 31.9% sugar against the mite Varroa destructor. Mite mortality was established prior to and after OA treatments, which were conducted in August and September. The treatments resulted in 37% mite mortality as opposed to 1.11% in the controls. OA treatment conducted in September on previously untreated colonies resulted in 25% mite mortality. OA treatments in October and November resulted in approximately 97% mite mortality. These results suggest that OA is effective during the broodless period and less effective when applied to colonies with capped broods. The possible use of OA against the Varroa mite in honeybee colonies as an alternative to routine chemical treatments is discussed.