Abstract
The hygienic behavior and variables related to the varroa mite in Apis mellifera colonies, with queens of different origins, were evaluated from October 2013 to June 2014. Queens from the selection program of the Maringá State University (Maringá / PR), from a beekeeper/ producer of Santa Terezinha/ SC and unselected queens, randomly selected in an experimental apiary (Irineópolis / SC) were evaluated. Colonies with queens of Maringá presented an increase in the invasion rate and total reproduction of varroa as there was reduction of hygienic behavior. This group presented a reduction in the effective reproduction of the mite, with a mean of 2.3 fertile offspring. Colonies with queens of Santa Terezinha presented an increase in the invasion rate due to the reduction of hygienic behavior, but in a less marked manner, since this characteristic remained stable, with an average of 92.0%. The total and effective reproduction of the mite for this group was 1.7 and 0.9 of total and fertile offspring, respectively. Colonies with queens of Irineópolis showed the lowest hygienic behavior (78.0%) and the highest total (12.6) and effective (5.3) reproduction of the mite. The use of selected queens, with hygienic behavior, interferes with the varroa population dynamics, contributing to the reduction of the invasion and total and effective reproduction rates of the mite.
Highlights
The hygienic behavior of honeybees is a natural resistance mechanism to the brood diseases and parasites (Wilson-Rich et al, 2009), characterized by uncapping and removal of dead and diseased brood, being an inherited characteristic (Rothenbühler, 1964)
Several factors contribute to this condition, among them the presence of the Africanized honeybee, which are more resistant than the European ones, mainly due to the reduced female fecundity of the V. destructor in the brood cells of Africanized Apis mellifera L. workers (Rosenkranz et al, 2010)
The objective of this research was to evaluate the relationship between the hygienic behavior traits, infestation and invasion rates, as well as the reproductive success of the V. destructor mite, in colonies of Africanized honeybees with queens of different origins and selected for different traits
Summary
The hygienic behavior of honeybees is a natural resistance mechanism to the brood diseases and parasites (Wilson-Rich et al, 2009), characterized by uncapping and removal of dead and diseased brood, being an inherited characteristic (Rothenbühler, 1964). The Varroa destructor Anderson and Trueman mite (Anderson & Trueman, 2000) is an ectoparasite of brood and adult individuals of Apis bees. Other important characteristics that limit the mite population are grooming behavior (Moretto et al, 1993; Moretto et al, 1995; Nganso et al, 2017), mite mortality in adult honeybees (Evans & Spivak, 2010), removal of varroa-infested brood (Guerra Jr et al, 2000), descendant mites mortality (Mondragón et al, 2006; Rivera-Marchand et al, 2012).
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