Evaluation the Effect of some Plant Extracts in Controlling the Oriental Hornet vespa orientalis Linnaeus, 1771 Near the Apiaries

Abstract

A significant amount of apiaries is destroyed in most areas of Iraq by attacking of the hornet Vespa orientalis Linnaeus, 1771, as well as the deterioration of European honey bees’ Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758 productivity recently because the environmental changes and pollutions; this effect was evident in the economy and plant production, because the bees as the most popular species of pollinator of crops globally. There is no effective and environmentally safe method yet; Therefore, this study suggested to use essential oils of Mediterranean cypress Cupressus sempervirens L., 1753 (Pinales: Cupressaceae), and testing as a repellant substance. In the current investigations, we used three concentrations: 25000, 50000 and 100000 ppm to test efficacy the essential oil as a repellant with cow spleen as attractive bait for this wasp, in addition to, the extract was tested it within the apiary beehives to prevent wasps attacking and catching the worker bees. The result showed that the concentrations of 50000 and 100000 ppm were high repellant material, without finding any significant difference in statistical analysis; although it’s found between these concentrations and other treatments including the control. Therefore, we recommend using the concentration 50000 ppm in the apiaries to give it amazing results and a clear repellant of wasps, as they avoid getting close to the beehives openings at a distance of 45 cm. In addition, this essential oil did not effect on the activity of bees during the field observations.