Toxic effect of a selection of medicinal plant products against the parasitic bee mite Varroa destructor

Abstract

Varroa destructor is a dangerous pest directly for beekeeping and indirectly for crops that require insect pollination. Acaricides appeared to be effective against Varroa mite but their application within the hives contaminates the wax and honey. The problems associated with the use of acaricides proved considerable incentive to develop new treatment strategies and screening for potential acaricides to minimize these problems. Natural products might provide effective solution to the problem of varroatosis. In the present study, we tested medicinal plant extracts including Achillea millefolium, Artemisia sieberi, Mentha longifolia,Peganum harmala, Satureja sahandica, Teucrium polium and Thymus kotchyanus, andFerula assa-foetida resin against varroa mite. The mortality was counted after first and second weeks of treatment and total number of dead mites was recorded. All plant extracts and resin showed strong toxicity. However, F. assa- foetida resin and A. sieberi and T. kotschyanus extracts were stronger plant materials in the all tested times and displayed the highest number of mortality. These results demonstrated that tested plant extracts and resin can be suitable alternatives to conventional chemical substances. Key words: Honey bee, management, plant extracts, plant resin, Varroa destructor.