Parasite-Host Interactions Between Thevarroamite and the Honey

Parasite-host interactions between the Varroa mitean dth e honeybe e A contribution to sustainable Varroacontro l Johan N.M. Calis Promotoren: Professor Dr.J.C . van Lenteren Hoogleraar ind e Entomologie,Wageninge n Universiteit Professor Dr. M.W. Sabelis Hoogleraar ind e Populatiebiologie, Universiteit van Amsterdam ^tio^\ ,2oft Stellingen behorend bij het proefschrift Parasite-host interactions between the Varroa mite and the honey bee, a contribution to sustainable control van Johan N.M. Calis. 1. Imkeren met gezonde bijenvolken is mogelijk zonder het gebruik van synthetische acariciden. Imdorf,A ,Charriere ,J D& Fluri ,P (1999 )Alternativ e strategies forth econtro lo facaricid e resistant Varroa mites.Proceedings ofthe 36" "Apimondia congress, Vancouver,Canada , pp 143;Di t proefschrift. 2. Zolang imkers de varroamijt bestrijden,za lva n natuurlijke selectie voor minder gevoelige honingbijen geen sprake zijn. 3. Wanneer de ontwikkelingsduur van werksters van Europese honingbijen (Apis mellifera subsp.), net als bij de Kaapse honingbij (Apis mellifera capensis), gekoppeld is aan kenmerken die bij de kaste-differentiatie een rol spelen, is dit kenmerk niet geschikt voor selectie op honingbijen die minder gevoelig zijn voor de varroamijt. Beekman, M, Calis,JNM , Boot,W J (2000) Parasitic Cape honeybees get royal treatment. Nature 404:723 ;Di t proefschrift. 4. Het voortplantingsucces van de varroamijt in het broed van de westerse honingbij, Apis mellifera, is veel lager dan in het darrenbroed van de oosterse honingbij,Apis cerana. Wanneer de varroamijt zich ook bij de westerse honingbij specialiseert op broed van een type, kan verwacht worden dat het voortplantingsucces vand e varroamijt hogerwordt . 5. De thelytoke voortplanting van werksters van de Kaapse honingbij is niet de oorzaak van hun parasitisme in volken van de Afrikaanse honingbij, het draagt echter wel bij aan deteloorgan g van dezevolken . Beekman, M, Calis,JNM , Boot,W J (2Q00) Parasitic Cape honeybees get royal treatment. Nature 404:723 . 6. Bij het vaststellen of inbouwen van verdedigingsmechanismen tegen plaaginsecten bij gewassen wenselijk is, dient de toxiciteit voor de op het gewas fouragerende bijenvolken inogenschou w genomen teworden . 7. De toegenomen participate van vrouwen op de arbeidsmarkt heeft ervoor gezorgd dat de voortplantingsstrategie van de mens niet alleen vaak lijkt op die van de kip, maaroo k steeds vaker op die van de cassuarier. 8. Het aanleggen van de Betuwelijn geeft uiting aan een Haagse vorm van rivierblindheid. ->n Parasite-host interactions between the Varroamit e andth e honey bee A contribution to sustainable Varroa control Johan N.M. Calis Proefschrift ter verkrijging van degraa dva n doctor op gezag van de rector magnificus van Wageningen Universiteit, Prof. Dr. Ir. L. Speelman, in het openbaar te verdedigen opdinsdag26juni2001 des ochtends te elf uur in de Aula /.,-"> ' V to^: •» CENTRALE LANDBOUWCATALOGUS 0000 0807 3997 Calis, Johannes Nicolaas Maria (2001) Parasite-host interactions between the Varroamit e and the honey bee A contribution to sustainable Varroacontro l Thesis Wageningen Universiteit. -With ref. -With summary in Dutch ISBN no. 99-5808-446-9 Ter nagedachtenis aanJoo p Beetsma Table of contents page General introduction,objective s and summary 9 Chapter 1:Invasio n behaviour of Varroajacobsoni Oud.: from bees into brood cells. J. Beetsma,W.J .Boo t &J.N.M . Calis, 1999.Apidologi e 30: 125-140. 17 Chapter 2: Control of Varroab ycombinin g trapping in honey bee worker broodwit hformi caci d treatment ofth e capped brood outsideth e colony: putting knowledge on brood cell invasion into practice. J.N.M. Calis,W.J . Boot, J. Beetsma, J.H.P.M.va n den Eijnde,A . de Ruijter & J.J.M. van der Steen, 1998. Journal of Apicultural Research 37:205-215 . 33 Chapter 3: Effective biotechnical control of Varroa:applyin g knowledge on brood cell invasion to trap honey bee parasites indron e brood. J.N.M. Calis,W.J .Boot ,J.Beetsma ,J.H.P.M .va nde n Eijnde,A . de Ruijter & J.J.M. van der Steen, 1999.Journa l of Apicultural Research 38:49-61 . 47 Chapter 4: Model evaluation of methods for Varroajacobsoni mite control based ontrappin g mites in honey bee brood. J.N.M. Calis,W.J . Boot &J . Beetsma, 1999.Apidologi e 30: 197-207. 63 Chapter 5: Population modelling of Varroajacobsoni Oud. J.N.M. Calis, I. Fries &S.C . Ryrie, 1999.Apidologi e 30: 111-124. 75 Chapter 6: Natural selection of Varroajacobsoni explains the different reproductive strategies in colonies ofApis ceranaan dApis mellifera. W.J. Boot,J.N. M Calis,J . Beetsma, D.M. Hai,N.K . Lan,T.V . Toan, L.Q. Trung & N.H. Minh, 1999. Experimental andApplie d Acarology 23:133-144. 97 Chapter 7: Reproductive success of Varroamite s in honey bee brood with differential development times. J.N.M. Calis,W.J . Boot &J . Beetsma. submitted. 109 Chapter 8: Attractiveness of brood cells to Varroamite s indifferen t honey bee races (Apismellifera). J.N.M. Calis,W.J . Boot &J . Beetsma. submitted. 123 Inleiding, onderzoeksdoelen en samenvatting 129 List of publications 137 Nawoord 141 Curriculum Vitae 143 General introduction,objective s andsummar y Introduction Varroamites asparasites ofhoney bees Varroa destructor (Anderson & Trueman, 2000), is the most important pest of European races of the Western honey bee, Apis mellifera L, weakening bees and vectoring bee diseases (Matheson, 1993). Over the past decades it has spread all over theworl d and control measures are requiredt o maintain healthy honey beecolonies . Originally, this mite only occurred in colonies of the Eastern honey bee, Apis cerana Fabr., in Asia. Varroa destructor was formerly known as V. jacobsoni Oud. (Anderson &Trueman , 2000). The Varroamit e was described in 1904 by Oudemans as a parasite of Eastern honey bees in Indonesia. Although the actual damage inflicted by the mite to the Eastern honey bee has never been determined, the Varroa mite is not considered to be a problem in colonies of its original host. However, Varroaturne d into a serious pest of Western honey bees when beekeepers moved the Western honey bee intoth e area of distribution of the Eastern honey bee.Th e mite appeared to bea harmful parasite on its new host, but before this was realised it had already spread over the world through shipments of colonies and queens (De Jong et al., 1982; Matheson, 1993). Varroa mites may ruin Western honey bee colonies because parasitised bees suffer from malformations and a shortened life span (Beetsma et al., 1989). The Varroa mite feeds on both adult bees and brood, but reproduction is restricted to brood cells, which mites invade during the final larval developmental stage of the honey bee. Offspring is produced during the period that the immature bee develops in the capped brood cell and the mother and her progeny emerge together with the young bee. In addition to direct damage to bees through feeding, mites act as vectors of honey bee pathogens and increase the incidence of honey bee diseases (Ball, 1994). This threat of Varroa mites to beekeeping resulted in the development of acaricides and nowadays several effective acaricides are available which are applied world-wide (Koeniger & Fuchs, 1988; Ritter, 1990). However, the use ofacaricide s has important disadvantages. Acaricides contaminate bee products like honey and wax (De Greef, 1994) and thus the use of these acaricides is in conflict with the status of honey and wax as natural products. Another disadvantage is that mites have become resistant to these acaricides and this resistance is spreading world-wide, which implies the need for alternative ways of control. Towardssustainable Varroacontrol In this thesis, I present studies on biotechnical methods of Varroa control and studies on how variation in the honey bee's susceptibility to Varroa affects the mite population growth. In theory, biotechnical control methods in which mites are trapped in brood cells and removed from the colony, so-called trap-comb methods, are simple. In practice, however, these methods may become complicated because timing of application needs to be integrated in other activities of the beekeeper, such as swarm prevention. In addition,applicatio n of these methods is usually labour intensive. Effective trap-comb methods are available, but reduction of labour intensity is still needed. Much research is therefore directed to breed honey bees that are less susceptible to Varroa mites (Woyke, 1989; Buchler, 1994; Moritz, 1994). In this field, I investigated whether 10 General introduction reduced developmental time of bee brood and attractiveness of bee brood to mites are suitable traits for selection aiming at reduced susceptibility of honey bees to Varroa mites. If less susceptible honey bees are available, the high effectiveness of control methods needed for successful control may be relaxed. This in turn may allow simplification of biotechnical control methods. The aim of my thesis is to develop acaricide-free beekeeping by using alternative methods for effective control of Varroa. Objectives and research questions Applying knowledge on invasion behaviour in the development of biotechnical control methods andpopulation modelling The parasite-host interactions between the mite and the honey bee have been intensively studied, because such knowledge may lead to new ways of control. In earlier work, Icollaborate d with Beetsma and Boot (1995) to study invasion behaviour of mites into brood cells. Varroa mites survive on adult bees, but reproduction is restricted to the capped brood cell (Ifantidis & Rosenkranz, 1988). The rate of brood cell invasion defines the distribution of mites over bees and brood and,therefore , the population dynamics of the mite. The rate of invasion appeared to depend mainly on the ratio of brood cells that are being capped per bee inth e colony, as reviewed in Chapter 1. Inthi s thesis I applied this knowledge to design control methods that are based on trapping mites in bee brood.

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