Abstract
Abstract Aethina tumida (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae - Small Hive Beetle - SHB), is a parasite of honey bee colonies that causes the notifiable disease called aethinosis. In 2014, SHB was detected in Southern Italy, where it is still present (Calabria region). As part of surveillance activities, official diagnosis of the disease is performed by veterinary services via visual inspection of single hives in the apiaries. New outbreaks can be eradicated and the spread of SHBs limited by early detection of new introductions. We report an alternative protocol for the diagnosis of SHB through swabs and hive debris analysis by PCR. This was tested in three apiaries through the evaluation of different SHB infestation levels with a hive inspection method. This approach for sampling, followed by biomolecular methods, was fast and useful in unfavorable conditions (bad weather, aggressiveness, robbing), could be integrated in the official diagnosis procedures and may act as pre-clinic indicator.
Highlights
Aethina tumida (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae - Small Hive Beetle - SHB) is an invasive honey bee pest native to Sub-Saharan Africa that has spread to all continents except for Antarctica in the last twenty-five years (Neumann et al, 2016)
Positive samples were further confirmed through Sanger sequencing of a 800 bp region coding for the COI gene as described by Evans et al (2000)
To ensure the absence of an inhibited amplification reaction, protocol accuracy was determined from DNA extracted directly from negative field samples made positive with the real time PCR target for the SHB COI gene
Summary
Aethina tumida (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae - Small Hive Beetle - SHB) is an invasive honey bee pest native to Sub-Saharan Africa that has spread to all continents except for Antarctica in the last twenty-five years (Neumann et al, 2016). Between 2016 and 2017, during inspection visits during three outbreaks in the same region, colonies of three different apiaries were visually inspected (Neumann et al, 2013) to verify SHB presence. Samples of debris from screened hive bottom boards (Cepero et al, 2014) or swabs from hive bottom and frames were collected to test alternative protocols for early diagnosis.
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