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Field evaluation of nine families of honey bees for resistance to tracheal mites

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

Dennis van Engelsdorp  and
Gard W. Otis
Dennis van Engelsdorp
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1
Gard W. Otis*
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1
*
2 Author to whom all correspondence should be addressed (E-mail: [email protected]).
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Abstract

We evaluated the resistance to tracheal mites, Acarapis woodi (Rennie) (Acari: Tarsonemidae), of colonies of honey bees, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), headed by daughters of three queens from each of three honey bee stocks: (i) British Columbia "mite-resistant stock, (ii) Buckfast "mite-resistant" stock, and (iii) Canadian unselected stock. Colonies of all nine families were distributed among four apiaries; half of the colonies in each apiary were treated with formic acid to attempt to control tracheal mites. The study documented significant differences in resistance to tracheal mites among the families of bees, even within each of the three stocks. After the first 4 months of study (by November 1993), differences in mite infestations had developed among the nine families. Formic acid treatments had either short-lived effectiveness (1993) or no effect (1994) on tracheal mite infestations, thereby eliminating the opportunity to evaluate colony performance in the absence of mites. Mite infestations varied significantly among apiary sites. This study highlights the value of evaluating sets of colonies headed by sister queens when identifying mite-resistant stock for breeding purposes.

Résumé

Nous avons évalué la résistance aux acariens des trachées, Acarapis woodi (Acari : Tarsonemidae), chez des colonies d’abeilles domestiques, Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera : Apidae), dont les reines sont les filles de trois reines provenant de trois stocks connus (i) le stock de Colombie-Britannique, « résistant aux acariens » (ii) le stock Buckfast, « résistant aux acariens » et (iii) un stock canadien non sélectionné. Les colonies des neuf familles étaient réparties dans quatre ruchers; dans chaque rucher, la moitié des colonies a été traitée à l’acide formique dans une tentative de lutte contre aux acariens des trachées. Nous avons enregistré des différences significatives dans la résistance aux acariens des trachées d’une famille d’abeille à une autre, même au sein d’un même stock. Après les 4 premiers mois de l’étude (novembre 1993), il y avait déjà des différences dans l’importance des infestations chez les neuf familles. Les traitements à l’acide formique ont eu des effets de courte durée (1993) ou n’ont pas eu d’effet (1994) sur les infestations d’acariens, éliminant par le fait même la possibilité d’évaluer la performance d’une colonie en l’absence d’acariens. Les infestations variaient significativement d’un rucher à l’autre. Cette étude met en évidence l’intérêt d’évaluer des séries de colonies dont les reines sont soeurs lorsqu’on cherche à identifier les stocks résistants aux acariens pour des fins d’élevage.

[Traduit par la Rédaction]

Type
Articles
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 133 , Issue 6 , December 2001 , pp. 793 - 803
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 2001

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