Biological activity of some plant essential oils against <Emphasis Type="Italic">Varroa destructor</Emphasis> (Acari: Varroidae), an ectoparasitic mite of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Apis mellifera</Emphasis> (Hymenoptera: Apidae) |
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Authors: | Vahid Ghasemi Saeid Moharramipour Gholamhosein Tahmasbi |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University, PO Box 14115-336, Tehran, Iran;(2) Department of Honeybee Research, Animal Science Research Institute, Karaj, Iran; |
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Abstract: | This experiment was conducted to evaluate acaricidal activity of the essential oils of Thymus kotschyanus, Ferula assa-foetida and Eucalyptus camaldulensis against Varroa destructor under laboratory conditions. Moreover, fumigant toxicity of these oils was tested on Apis mellifera. After preliminary dose-setting experiments, mites and honey bees were exposed to different concentrations of the oil, with
10 h exposure time. Essential oil of T. kotschyanus appeared the most potent fumigant for V. destructor (LC50 = 1.07, 95% confidence limit (CL) = 0.87–1.26 μl/l air), followed by E. camaldulensis (LC50 = 1.74, 95% CL = 0.96–2.50 μl/l air). The lowest acaricidal activity (LC50 = 2.46, 95% CL = 2.10–2.86 μl/l air) was attributed to essential oil of F. assa-foetida. Surprisingly, among the three oils tested, essential oil of T. kotschyanus had the lowest insecticidal activity against A. mellifera (LC50 = 5.08, 95% CL = 4.54–5.06 μl/l air). These findings proved that essential oil of T. kotschyanus has potential of practical value for use as alternative acaricide in the management of varroa in apiaries. |
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