The effectiveness of Apiguard against varroatosis (the case of Tyumen region apiaries, Russia
Abstract
T.F. Domatskaya*, A.N. Domatsky and M.A. Levchenko
A study of Apiguard effectiveness against varroatosis was carried out in 30 colonies of bees with brood in August-September 2020 and 2021 in an apiary located in the south of the Tyumen region. Bee colonies from experimental groups (20 bee colonies) were treated twice with an interval of 14 days with a product, which is a slowly evaporating gel, packaged in 50 g aluminum containers, containing 25% thymol as an active agent. To treat bees, the container with the product was placed on the upper bars of the frames under a canvas with a preliminary installed wooden bar on it to facilitate access of the bees to the acaricide. Control colonies (10 bee colonies) were not treated. The dead mites were counted every 2 days in all groups for 30 days, for which sheets of laminated cardboard were placed at the bottom of the hives, which were removed and the number of fallen ectoparasites was counted. After the end of the experiments, during examination, frames with the remaining sealed brood were removed from the bee colonies of both groups, after which the bees were treated twice with bipin (12.5% amitraz emulsion concentrate). During the period of the experiments, the average monthly day and night temperature in August and September 2020 was 18.16°C and 12.26°C, in 2021-19.79 and 17.94°C, respectively. The effectiveness of double treatment of bee colonies with Apiguard was found with a double treatment interval of 14 days at 53.6 ± 2.9% (47.9-56.5%, 2020) and 57.8 ± 3.2% (52.7-62.1%, 2020). At the same time, the maximum mite death rate was observed after the first acaricide treatment in both cases. In the control groups (2020), the natural mortality of mites during the observation period corresponded to 13.4 ± 1.4% and 13.0 ± 0.8% (2021). During the experiments, the death of bees and queens was not observed in all groups. To obtain more objective data on the effectiveness of Apiguard, we consider it necessary to conduct similar studies in the spring-summer period before the main honey flow, taking into account the effect of the product on the development of bee colonies, the egg-laying of queens, and the state of the brood.