Varroa jacobsoni Mites

A large number of synthetic pyrethroids with a variety of aromatic and aliphatic fluorine substituents have been commercialized, and will be discussed in the sections on fluorinated ether, aromatic fluorine, and fluorinated aliphatic groups, respectively. Fluvalinate (Mavrik ) [50] is a trifluoromethylphenyl pyrethroid, initially introduced by Zoecon (later Zandos Ag) and later replaced by tau-fluvalin-ate, which contains two of the four isomers of fluvalinate. Tau-fluvalinate (Apistan ) is a synthetic pyrethroid used for the topical treatment of honeybees against the parasitic mite Varroa jacobsoni. Mite resistance to tau-fluvalinate has been reported [51],... 

Besides thymol, other terpenes have been tested for their toxicity against Varroa jacobsoni. Imdorf et al. determined in vitro the effective miticidal air concentrations, but with minimal effects on the bees as follows 5-15 pg/litre air for thymol, 50-150 pg/litre for camphor and 20-60 pg/litre for menthol 1,8-cineole was too toxic for honey bees [86], Another interesting paper considered the efficacy of different isomers of menthol on Acarapis woodi [87]. The natural crystals obtained from the plant, synthetic crystals and the L-form gave more than 96% mite mortality, while the D-form crystals only a 37% mortality. 

A recent survey about essential oils and their pure constituents used to control Varroa jacobsoni, contained three interesting tables that reported the toxicity of essential oils for V. jacobsoni and Apis mellifera after 24, 48 and 72 hours in a topical application and in an evaporation test, and the effects of essential oils on behavior and reproduction of V jacobsoni and on the bee brood [63]. The most interesting oils were those of cinnamon and clove, with 100% mite mortality after 24 h and no significant toxicity on honey bees. Furthermore, clove essential oil produced small brood mortality, and it was an inhibitor of mite reproduction. Other effective oils were anise, fennel, lavender, rosemary and wintergreen, which killed 100% mites after 48-72 hours. On the contrary, the oils obtained from garlic, onion, oregano and thyme, were found to be very toxic for honey bees. Among pure constituents, camphor, linalool, linalyl acetate and pinene resulted small brood mortality and inhibited mite reproduction. 

Y. (2002). Potential mechanism for detection of the parasitic mite Varroa jacobsoni inside sealed brood cells by Apis mellifera. Physiol. Entomol., 27,175-189. 

Rickli, M., Guerin, P.M. and Diehl, P. A. (1992). Palmitic acid released from honeybee worker larvae attracts the parasitic mite Varroa jacobsoni on a servosphere. Naturwissenschaften, 79, 320-322. 

Salvy, M., Martin, C., Bagneres, A.-G., Provost, E., Roux, M., LeConte, Y. and Clement, J.-L. (2001). Modifications of the cuticular hydrocarbons profile of Apis mellifera worker bee in the presence of the ectoparasitic mite Varroa jacobsoni in brood cells. Parasitology, 122, 145-159. 

PBO AND THE CONTROL OF VARROA JACOBSONI, THE MITE ATTACKING HONEY BEES... 

Tau-fluvalinate (contains two of four isomers of racemic mixture, fluvalinate) Topically treatment Honeybees Parasitic mite Varroa jacobsoni Polymer matrix strip (8 g in weight crmtaining 800 mg tau-iluvalinate suspended midway for 6—8 weeks... 

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