Abstract
Simple SummaryVarroa destructor is the most serious threat to the western honey bee, Apis mellifera. Screen bottom board, a cultural method for mite control, is a modified bottom board with a screen to allow mites to fall to a sticky board or to the grass or soil directly below the screen. Most studies show a trend of lower varroa population in colonies with these boards, but the results are usually not statistically significant. To understand whether the negative results were due to small sample sizes, or because the board is actually ineffective, we conducted a meta-analysis with seven published studies with 145 colonies. The results showed that the varroa population in colonies with screen bottom boards is significantly lower compared to those with traditional, wooden floors. The screen bottom board does have a significantly negative impact on the varroa population and can be part of tool kits for mite control.Varroa destructor is by far the most serious threat to the western honey bee, Apis mellifera. A screen bottom board, a cultural method for mite control, is a modified bottom board with a screen that allows mites to fall onto a sticky board, or the grass or soil below the screen. Whether or not a screen bottom board can reduce varroa significantly has been controversial. Most studies show a trend of lower varroa populations in colonies with these boards, but the results are usually not statistically significant. To understand whether the negative results have been due to small sample sizes, or because the board is actually ineffective, we conducted a meta-analysis with seven published studies with a total of 145 colonies. Meta-analysis showed that the confidence intervals of the combined effect sizes were negative with a Hedges’ g of −1.09 (SE 0.39, 95% CI −2.0 to −0.19, p < 0.01), which suggests that the varroa population in colonies with screen bottom boards is significantly lower compared to those with traditional wooden floors. We thus conclude that the screen bottom board does have a significantly negative impact on the varroa population and can be part of tool kits for mite control.
Highlights
IntroductionHoney bees (Apis spp.) are important agricultural pollinators, especially in the United States
Honey bees (Apis spp.) are important agricultural pollinators, especially in the United States.Over $14 billion is attributed to honey bee pollination in US agriculture [1]
A total of 25 references were found, and seven of them were chosen in our study according to the following criteria: 1. references should study mites in honey bees and not other insects; 2. the data should contain either mean numbers of natural mite fall (NMF) or mite density (MD) and with errors; 3. studies where the screen bottom board was tested in combination with pesticides were excluded; and 4. studies with no available data or duplicated were excluded
Summary
Honey bees (Apis spp.) are important agricultural pollinators, especially in the United States. Over $14 billion is attributed to honey bee pollination in US agriculture [1]. One third of the food we eat directly or indirectly is pollinated by honey bees [2]. The health of honey bees has Insects 2020, 11, 0624; doi:10.3390/insects11090624 www.mdpi.com/journal/insects. In the United States, the average yearly mortality of honey bee colonies has exceeded 50% [3]. Many factors have been blamed for this high mortality, including the varroa mite (Varroa destructor), pathogens, pesticide use, loss of habitat and transportation. Varroa destructor, which was originally associated with the Asian honey bee, Apis cerana, mainly targets the European honey bee, Apis mellifera, which has little resistance to it. Since the 1960s, varroa has spread from Asia to Europe, the Americas, to New Zealand and nearly the whole world [4]
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