Occurrence Of Honey Bee (Apis mellifera L.) Parasites Acarapis woodi (Rennie) and Varroa destructor Q. In The Region of Muğla, Turkey Msc. Duygu Şimşek*, Prof. Dr. Nevin KESKİN* *Hacettepe University, Department of Biology, Applied Biology Section, Ankara-TURKEY e-mail:[email protected] INTRODUCTION Another mite which causes a disease in adult honeybees is Acarapis woodi. According to the some studies carried in different periods between the years 1988-2003, there is no evidence for A. woodi which has This study was carried out to determine the occurrence of honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) parasites Acarapis been spread out in Balkans in recent years (3, 7). However, this parasite was detected in a country- woodi (Rennie) and Varroa destructor in the province of Muğla which has 17% of the hives and governs %80- wide study which was carried out with molecular techniques by Hacettepe University Bee Health Laboratory in 2005 (12). In this study, there is no evidence for A. woodi existence in samples according to the 85 of the honey export of our country. microscopic(Figure 3) and molecular assays. Varroa destructor Q (Acari, Varroidae) is a haemolymph-sucking parasite of European honey bees (9). The parasite may directly (haemolymph-sucking) and indirectly (as a vector of bacterial, fungal and viral diseases) affect the type and prevalence of honey bee pathogens causing mortality in infested colonies (2). It can be found on adult bees, on the brood and in hive debris. Adult females are a reddish colored oval-flat bodied and measured 1.1 mm long x 1.5 mm wide. They can be seen with naked eye and easily noticed on the white pupa due to their reddish color. Males are smaller and light colored than females (14). The first V. destructor Q infestation of A. mellifera was reported in Hong Kong (5) and it is also seen in Europe at the end of the seventies (4, 6). Acarapis woodi was first described by Rennie and named Tarsonemus woodi. Then, Hirst revised the classification and placed this mite in genus Acarapis, thus changing the name to Acarapis woodi. Females measure 120-190 µm long by 77–80 µm wide and weight 5.5x10–4 mg; males 125–136 µm long by 60–77 µm wide and weight 2.61x10–4 mg (13). The body is oval, widest between the second and third pair of legs, Figure 2. Varroa destructor Q Figure 3. A clean tracheal piece and whitish or pearly white with shining, smooth cuticle. Mite has an elongate, beaklike gnathosoma with long bladelike styles for feeding on the host (14). Tracheal mites and their eggs are rarely occurring in the air sacs There are various discourses on economical affect of A. woodi. Some researchers think that it doesn’t lead to of the bees’ abdomen and head, and externally on the wing basis (13). A. woodi infection was spread to serious problems and others think that it causes colony collapse (15). The degree of sensitivity of England and all over Europe from Wight Island (10). honeybees to A. woodi is unknown for our country. Therefore, infection spread schema is unpredictable. Although apiaries are taken to the barracks in their provinces by beekeepers in winter, Muğla is one of the first-degree risk zones because it is one of the most visited provinces by migratory beekeepers among the year. It is difficult to provide healthy conditions for apiaries in migratory beekeeping and this leads to disease distribution easier. It will be useful making regular scanning across the country to prevent or at least slow down the spread of infection which is not known in detail. It should be investigated why A. woodi is not being in apiaries in Muğla. In addition to the influence of the floral wealth of the region, "Disease resistant colonies to grow on" is also possible to achieve positive results. In the case of genetic resistance against diseases, the export of genetic material can be made in addition to the honeybee products. Similarly, if plant species endemic to the region are effective in protecting against disease, drugs which include the components derived from these plants will contribute economically to the region. Infection (%) Season Acarapis woodi (Rennie) Varroa destructor Q. Spring - 100 Autumn - 100 Figure 1. Provinces of Muğla Table 1. Acarapis woodi (Rennie) and Varroa destructor Q rates (%) in Muğla MATERIAL AND METHODS We did cooperation with the “Beekeepers Union of Muğla” when we were selecting apiaries. 108 apiaries in Due to large-scale fire in Muğla, pine honey production areas have narrowed and pine honey different locations and 40 adult honey bees were collected from each apiary. Totally 4320 worker honey bees production decreased in 2006-2007 (11). With impact of global climate change, weather conditions also were collected in 13–15 November 2006 and 9–11 April 2007 in the provinces of Muğla (Figure 1). These affect honeybees from time to time. All this negativity makes fight against disease even more important for bees were from under the top lid, from outside the cluster or from the hive entrance. Adult bees were placed beekeepers. Weakness because of illness reduces the colony resistance to against other negativities and in a bottle which has a cap pierced with holes. Due to short field time period, bees could transport alive to the increases the risk of colony loses. This will force the beekeeper economically even more. Hacettepe University Honey Bee Health Laboratory. Brood combs were fold in a white paper. All samples Increasing awareness about bee diseases is very important and gladsome. In 2006 the country produced were kept at +4 ºC during this study. 83,842 tons of honey and Muğla took part in the first place with 12,072 tons (16). Conscious applications We grasped honeybees with a forceps and scanned its feather under dissection microscope for examination about the products obtained and diseases are increasing day by day. However, it's not been reached the of V. destructor Q, an external parasite. It was detected in some of the comb samples which were collected targeted awareness level yet. As a result of the work between beekeepers and scientists Muğla's for brood diseases. beekeeping industry will provide important contributions to the beekeeping industry of both Turkey and the world. The thoracic disk method was used for examination of A. woodi. We followed the protocol reported in Shimanuki-Knox (14). Guanine visualization method was used in case mild infection which is not detectible with classical methods (8). ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This study was supported by Muğla Beekeeping Association, Turkey. We thank Ziya Şahin (President of Muğla Beekeepers’ Association) for strategic helps RESULTS AND DISCUSSION and Veterinerian Sezai Erginoğlu (Member of Muğla Beekeepers’ Association) for helps in field studies. Muğla has the largest ration in the production of bee products and one of the most intense regions of REFERENCES migratory beekeeping in country. Therefore, we carried out this study to have detailed information about the 1)Akyol, E., Kaftanoglu, O. ve Özkök, D, 1997, KKTC’li arıcılara bal arısı hastalık ve zararlıları kurs notları 2)Ball B.V., Secondary infections and diseases associated with Varroa jacobsoni, The varroosis in the Mediterranean region Zaragoza : CIHEAM-IAMZ, 1997. 103 p. (Cahiers general distribution of A. woodi and V. destructor Q. infections and their seasonal and/or local distribution Options Méditerranéennes ; v. 21). 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