Varroa sensitive hygiene

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Varroa sensitive hygiene (VSH) is a behavioral trait of honey bees (Apis mellifera) in which bees detect and remove bee pupae that are infested by the parasitic mite Varroa destructor. V. destructor is considered to be the most dangerous pest problem for honey bees worldwide. VSH activity results in significant resistance to the mites.

Contents

Subspecies with Varroa sensitive hygiene

Some subspecies of Apis mellifera show naturally Varroa sensitive hygiene, for example Apis mellifera lamarckii [1] and Apis mellifera carnica . [2]

Development

Bees with the VSH trait were initially bred by the United States Department of Agriculture Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics and Physiology Laboratory in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, from colonies in which mite populations grew only slowly. [3]

The factor causing slow mite population growth was found to be heritable. [4] The rate of mite population growth was found to be correlated with the reproductive rates of mites, [3] resulting in naming the factor "suppressed mite reproduction" (SMR). [5] It was later discovered that the factor is founded on hygienic activity of adult bees, [6] [7] so SMR was renamed VSH. The behavior involves nest cleaning bees recognizing infested brood aged 15–18 days old (emergence occurs at 21 days old). Mite-infested bee pupae are removed from their brood cells, which kills any immature varroa mites present. [8]

VSH activity results in (1) an abnormally low proportion of mites that produce offspring within the population that remains in capped brood and (2) reducing the brood infestation rate by greater than 70%. The specifics of how hygienic bees detect mite infested brood currently are unknown.

Cross-breeding

Bees bred to have high levels of VSH can keep mite populations below thresholds recommended for Varroa treatment including miticides. [9] Queens from such VSH breeding sources can be allowed to mate freely with non-VSH drones, and the resulting hybrid colonies from these outcrosses will retain lower and variable but generally still useful resistance to V. destructor while retaining desirable beekeeping traits such as honey production. [10]

VSH outcrossed to commercial Italian bees recently have been shown to perform well in migratory crop pollination. [11] [12]

VSH thus is a trait that can be used by breeders to mix with any type of desirable honey bee and is expanding resistance to V. destructor among diverse bee strains. In 2018 it was announced that VSH Buckfast bees would be made available for sale in 2019. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buckfast bee</span> Breed of honey bee

The Buckfast bee is a breed of honey bee, a cross of many subspecies and their strains, developed by Brother Adam, who was in charge of beekeeping from 1919 at Buckfast Abbey in Devon in the United Kingdom. Breeding of the Buckfast bee is now done by breeders throughout Europe belonging to the Federation of European Buckfast Beekeepers (G.D.E.B.). This organization maintains a pedigree for Buckfast bees, originating from the time of Brother Adam.

<i>European dark bee</i> Subspecies of honey bee

The European dark bee is a subspecies of the western honey bee, evolving in central Asia, with a proposed origin of the Tien Shan Mountains and later migrating into eastern and then northern Europe after the last ice age from 9,000BC onwards. Its original range included the southern Urals in Russia and stretched through northern Europe and down to the Pyrenees. They are one of the two members of the 'M' lineage of Apis mellifera, the other being in western China. Traditionally they were called the Black German Bee, although they are now considered endangered in Germany. However today they are more likely to be called after the geographic / political region in which they live such as the British Black Bee, the Native Irish Honey Bee, the Cornish Black Bee and the Nordic Brown Bee, even though they are all the same subspecies, with the word "native" often inserted by local beekeepers, even in places where the bee is an introduced foreign species. It was domesticated in Europe and hives were brought to North America in the colonial era in 1622 where they were referred to as the English Fly by the Native Americans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thymovar</span> Pesticide against varroa mites

THYMOVAR is a product to control the Varroa mite on bees and contains the essential oil thymol.

<i>Varroa destructor</i> Species of mite

Varroa destructor, the Varroa mite, is an external parasitic mite that attacks and feeds on honey bees and is one of the most damaging honey bee pests in the world. A significant mite infestation leads to the death of a honey bee colony, usually in the late autumn through early spring. Without management for Varroa mite, honey bee colonies typically collapse within 2 to 3 years in temperate climates. These mites can infest Apis mellifera, the western honey bee, and Apis cerana, the Asian honey bee. Due to very similar physical characteristics, this species was thought to be the closely related Varroa jacobsoni prior to 2000, but they were found to be two separate species after DNA analysis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russian honey bee</span> Breed of bee

The Russian honeybee refers to honey bees that originate in the Primorsky Krai region of Russia. This strain of bee was imported into the United States in 1997 by the USDA Agricultural Research Service's Honeybee Breeding, Genetics & Physiology Laboratory in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in response to severe declines in bee populations caused by infestations of parasitic mites, and has been used in breeding programs to improve existing stocks. Many Russian queens openly mate with drones from various stock, creating colonies that are genetically hybrid. Some of these 'uncontrolled' hybrids may exhibit "increased aggressiveness, reduced honey production and a decrease in their ability to withstand mites and detrimental expressions of other traits as well."

<i>Varroa</i> Genus of mites

Varroa is a genus of parasitic mesostigmatan mites associated with honey bees, placed in its own family, Varroidae. The genus was named for Marcus Terentius Varro, a Roman scholar and beekeeper. The condition of a honeybee colony being infested with Varroa mites is called varroosis.

<i>Varroa jacobsoni</i> Species of mite

Varroa jacobsoni is a species of mite that parasitises Apis cerana. The more damaging Varroa destructor was previously included under the name V. jacobsoni, but the two species can be separated on the basis of the DNA sequence of the cytochrome oxidase I gene in the mitochondrial DNA.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beekeeping in Nepal</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mite biting bees</span>

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Apis mellifera monticola is known by the common name of the East African mountain honey bee. In 2017 its complete mitochondrial genome was sequenced, confirming that it belonged to the A Lineage of honey bees and concluding that "A phylogenetic tree showed that A. m. monticola clusters with other African subspecies".

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<i>Apis mellifera syriaca</i> Subspecies of honey bee

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References

  1. ↑ https://www.fondazioneslowfood.com/en/ark-of-taste-slow-food/egyptian-honeybee/ Egyptian honeybee Ark of taste
  2. ↑ Andonov, S. (2014). "Swarming, defensive and hygienic behaviour in honey bee colonies of different genetic origin in a pan-European experiment". Journal of Apicultural Research. 53 (2): 248–260. doi: 10.3896/IBRA.1.53.2.06 . S2CID   56261380 . Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  3. 1 2 Harbo, J., and R. Hoopingarner. 1997. Honey Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in the United States that express resistance to Varroa jacobsoni (Mesostigmata: Varroidae). Journal of Economic Entomology 90: 893-898.
  4. ↑ Harbo, J., and J. Harris. 1999. Heritability in honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) of characteristics associated with resistance to Varroa jacobsoni (Mesostigmata: Varroidae). Journal of Economic Entomology 92: 261-265.
  5. ↑ Harbo, J., and J. Harris. 2002. Suppressing Mite Reproduction: SMR an Update. Bee Culture 130: 46-48.
  6. ↑ Harbo, J., and J. Harris. 2005. Suppressed mite reproduction explained by the behavior of adult bees. Journal of Apicultural Research 44: 21-23.
  7. ↑ Ibrahim, A. G. Reuter and M. Spivak. 2006. Field trials of honey bee colonies bred for mechanisms of resistance against Varroa destructor. Apidologie 38: 67-76.
  8. ↑ Harris, J. 2007. 2007. Bees with Varroa Sensitive Hygiene preferentially remove mite infested pupae aged < five days post capping. Journal of Apicultural Research 46: 134-139.
  9. ↑ Ward, K., R. Danka and R. Ward. 2008. Comparative performance of two mite-resistant stocks of honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in Alabama Beekeeping Operations. Journal of Economic Entomology 101: 654-659.
  10. ↑ Harbo, J., and J. Harris. 2001. Resistance to Varroa destructor (Mesostigmata: Varroidae) when mite-resistant queen honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) were free-mated with unselected drones. Journal of Economic Entomology 94: 1319-1323.
  11. ↑ Danka, Robert G.; Harris, Jeffery W.; Dodds, Garrett E. (2016-05-01). "Selection of VSH-derived "Pol-line" honey bees and evaluation of their Varroa-resistance characteristics". Apidologie. 47 (3): 483–490. doi: 10.1007/s13592-015-0413-7 . ISSN   1297-9678. S2CID   86197456.
  12. ↑ O’Shea-Wheller, Thomas A.; Rinkevich, Frank D.; Danka, Robert G.; Simone-Finstrom, Michael; Tokarz, Philip G.; Healy, Kristen B. (2022-04-07). "A derived honey bee stock confers resistance to Varroa destructor and associated viral transmission". Scientific Reports. 12 (1): 4852. doi:10.1038/s41598-022-08643-w. ISSN   2045-2322. PMC   8989980 . PMID   35393440.
  13. ↑ Dr. Peter Stöfen. "REPORTS: NEW: "Hygiene"-Buckfast Queens". buckfast-zucht.de. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
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