Raised seasonal temperatures reinforce autumn Varroa destructor infestation in honey bee colonies

Szymon Smoliński,Aleksandra Langowska,Adam Glazaczow

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-01369-1

Szymon Smoliński, Aleksandra Langowska + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-01369-1

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Abstract

Varroa destructor is the main pest of the honey bee Apis mellifera, causing colony losses. We investigated the effect of temperature on the autumn abundance of V. destructor in bee colonies over 1991–2020 in Central Europe. We tested the hypothesis that temperature can affect autumn mite populations with different time-lags modulating the bee abundance and brood availability. We showed that raised spring (March–May) and autumn (October) temperatures reinforce autumn V. destructor infestation in the bee colonies. The critical temperature signals embrace periods of bee activity, i.e., just after the first cleansing flights and just before the last observed bee flights, but no direct effects of phenological changes on V. destructor abundance were found. These effects were potentially associated with increased bee reproduction in the specific periods of the year and not with the extended period of activity or accelerated spring onset. We found significant effects of autumn bee abundance, autumn capped brood abundance, and the number of colonies merged on autumn mite infestation. We also observed differences in V. destructor abundance between bees derived from different subspecies. We indicated that climatic effects, through influence on the bee abundance and brood availability, are one of the main drivers regulating V. destructor abundance.

Highlights

Varroa destructor is the main pest of the honey bee Apis mellifera, causing colony losses
The random effect of the year explained a large part of the variance in the model of V. destructor abundance with calculated ICC = 0.58 (Table 2, Fig. 1)
V. destructor abundance in the autumn is driven by the population dynamics earlier in the season, which, in turn, may depend on temperature conditions[14,27]

Summary

Introduction

Varroa destructor is the main pest of the honey bee Apis mellifera, causing colony losses. The critical temperature signals embrace periods of bee activity, i.e., just after the first cleansing flights and just before the last observed bee flights, but no direct effects of phenological changes on V. destructor abundance were found. Improving our knowledge on the past biological responses to temperature alterations and predicting future consequences of these changes on organisms is an active field of research This may help in the planning of conservation and management actions considering projected global warming[7]. It was suggested that global climatic changes can affect honey bee colony fate on multiple levels[13], including the pressure from its antagonist, the ectoparasite mite Varroa destructor Anderson and T rueman[14,15]. V. destructor is considered one of the main drivers of A. mellifera colony losses w orldwide[16] This mite species parasitizes both imaginal and preimaginal forms of honey bees. The autumn V. destructor infestation is one of the main factors affecting survival probability[20,21,22] and spring

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