Varroa mites

The amount of organic acids in honey is less than 0.5%. Organic acids can be used as an important indicator of organoleptic properties like color and flavor and physical and chemical properties such as pH, acidity, and electrical conductivity (Crane, 1990). The organic acids in honey also have antibacterial and antioxidant activities (Gheldof et ah, 2002 Weston et ah, 1998). Organic acids in honey can be used as fermentation indicators, or for the treatment of Varroa mite infestation (Calderone, 2000 Mutinelli et ah, 1997) and discriminating between honeys based on their... 

During the 90s, several cases of resistance to common acaricides employed in beekeeping by Varroa mites (Acari Varroidae) were reported from different countries [7-10]. In Italy, the consequences of the resistance were disastrous colony losses. Available statistics show that in... 

The same research group evaluated neem oil in the field [54]. They sprayed a 5% solution of the oil on infested honey bee colonies, killing about 90% Varroa mites but obtaining only a slight but not statistically significant decrease in tracheal mite infestation levels. Unfortunately this treatment caused 50% queen loss and the treated colonies showed one-third as many adult bees and one-sixth as much brood as untreated... 

Coumaphos is of interest because it is the most effective pesticide against varroa mites and small hive beetles in beehives and is an ingredient of insecticide strips hung in the hives to kill the mites.9 There is some concern regarding this use because of coumaphos detected in honey. The U.S. EPA has granted extensions for the use of coumaphos in beehives, including one to run from February 2, 2002, to February 1, 2003. 

Bayer s checkmite (coumaphos) has been given a specific exemption by the EPA to the California Department of Pesticide Regulation for use on beehives to control varroa mites, Chemical Business NewsBase Agricultural Chemical News, May 15, 2001, p. 1. 

Baird D. S. (2001) Semiochemical studies on the red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta), the tarnished plant bug (Lygus lineolaris) and the varroa mite (Varroa destructor). In Chemistry. Simon Fraser University Burnaby. 

Coumaphos is an insecticide for control of a wide variety of livestock insects, including cattle grubs, screwworms, lice, scabies, flies, and ticks. It is also used to control Varroa mites and small hive beetles in beehives. It has an oral LD50 in rats of 13-41 mg/kg. 

Fall The bees are past swarming by this time, and the beekeeper can begin to relax and harvest the honey. Once you have removed the honey store and effectively taken away the bees winter food store, feed them with sugar syrup. It s also important to protect your hive from the Varroa mite, which carries a virus remove the supers and suspend two medicated plastic strips in the brood frame. The strips contain chemicals that are slowly released into the hive and kill the mites. Remove the strips after six weeks if you do detect an infection, treatment is possible, so seek professional advice. 

Africanized bees made their way north through South and Central America following an accidental release in Brazil in 1957. The bees entered North America in the early 1990 s and have come to reside in Texas, California, Louisiana, Arkansas, New Mexico, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. The massive number of stings these bees inflict can be fatal to both animals and humans, which is why they are also called killer bees. Varroa mites are the number one killer of honeybees worldwide and are one of the largest ectoparasites (parasites that live on the outside of the host). If this mite s size was considered on a human scale, it would as big as a basketball. 

Used to control the population of Varroa mites in honey bee colonies... 

Beekeepers use formic acid as a miticide against the Tracheal (Acarapis woodi) mite and the Varroa mite. 

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