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Effects of release pattern and room ventilation on survival of varroa mites and queens during indoor winter fumigation of honey bee colonies with formic acid

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 April 2012

Robyn M. Underwood  and
Robert W. Currie
Robyn M. Underwood*
Affiliation:
Department of Entomology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada R3T 2N2
Robert W. Currie
Affiliation:
Department of Entomology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada R3T 2N2
*
1 Corresponding author (e-mail: underwoodrm@yahoo.com).
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Abstract

This study examined the effects of indoor fumigation with formic acid on survival of honey bee, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), queens and varroa mites (Varroa destructor Anderson and Trueman (Acari: Varroidae)). A relationship between cumulative formic acid concentration and varroa mite mortality was established for colonies subjected to high-concentration fumigation while held indoors at 2–4 °C during winter. We also examined the effects of the formic acid release pattern and room ventilation rate on queen loss and treatment efficacy during fumigation. Two experiments were conducted in a wintering building. In both experiments, room air had higher formic acid concentrations than hive air. In experiment 1, 50% and 95% of mites were killed when exposed to in-hive concentration × time combinations of 49 ppm × days (CT50 product) and 111 ppm × days (CT95 product), respectively. No queen loss was observed under either the increasing-concentration or constant high concentration fumigation pattern. In experiment 2, 33% of queens were lost when minimum ventilation was used with room air concentrations of 57 ± 8 ppm (mean ± SE), whereas no queens were lost in controls or colonies exposed to room air concentrations of 27 ± 8 ppm with variable ventilation. Queen loss was associated with peak in-hive formic acid concentrations >20 ppm, but not with CT product, suggesting that queens are affected by acute rather than chronic exposure to formic acid. Formic acid fumigation significantly reduced the mean abundance of mites under both minimum- and variable-ventilation treatments.

Résumé

Nous examinons les effets de la fumigation à l’intérieur avec de l’acide formique sur la survie des reines d’abeilles Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera : Apidae) et de Varroa destructor Anderson et Trueman (Acari : Varroidae). Lors de fumigations à forte concentration de colonies maintenues à l’intérieur en hiver à 2–4 °C, il existe une relation entre la concentration cumulative d’acide formique et la mortalité des acariens varroas. Nous avons aussi examiné durant les fumigations les effets du patron de libération de l’acide formique et du taux de ventilation de la pièce sur la perte des reines et l’efficacité du traitement. Nous avons procédé à deux expériences dans un bâtiment où les abeilles passent l’hiver. Dans les deux expériences, l’air de la pièce contenait une plus forte concentration d’acide formique que l’air des ruches. Dans l’expérience 1, 50 % des V. destructor sont morts lors d’une exposition dans les ruches à une combinaison de concentration × temps d’exposition de 49 ppm × jours (produit CT50); à 111 ppm × jours (produit CT95), la mortalité est de 95 %. Nous n’observons aucun perte de reine, ni avec un pattern de fumigation de concentration croissante, ni avec un de concentration élevée constante. Dans l’expérience 2, 33 % des reines sont mortes avec une ventilation minimale et une concentration dans l’air de la pièce de 57 ± 8 (ET) ppm, alors qu’il n’y a aucune perte de reine dans les conditions témoins, ni dans les colonies exposées à l’air de la pièce contenant en moyenne une concentration de 27 ± 8 ppm avec une ventilation variable. La perte des reines est associée à des mesures d’acide formique atteignant des pics supérieurs à 20 ppm, mais non à des produits CT; cela laisse croire que les reines sont affectées par la toxicité aiguë plutôt que chronique de l’acide formique. Les fumigations avec l’acide formique réduisent significativement l’abondance moyenne des acariens varroas, tant dans les conditions de ventilation minimales que variables.

[Traduit par la Rédaction]

Type
Articles
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 139 , Issue 6 , December 2007 , pp. 881 - 893
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 2007

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