Open AccessEfficacy of essential oils against Varroa destructor infesting Apis mellifera Linn. colonies and their impact on brood development
Author(s) -
Vimla Goswami,
Prem S. Srivastava,
M. S. Khan
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of applied and natural science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2231-5209
pISSN - 0974-9411
DOI - 10.31018/jans.v6i1.370
Subject(s) - varroa , brood , varroa destructor , biology , mite , toxicology , essential oil , beekeeping , varroa sensitive hygiene , eucalyptus oil , botany , horticulture , immunology
Varroa destructor is a dangerous pest directly for beekeeping and indirectly for crops that require insect pollination. The present investigation has been carried out to study the efficacy and persistence of some essential oils and formic acid against Varroa mite in colonies of Apis mellifera Linn. at Pantnagar, Uttarakhand. The results revealed that highest mite mortality (77.54 %) with highest brood development (21.74 % increase) recorded in garlic oil followed by turmeric oil (75.84 %) with 15.39 per cent increases in brood development. The hives treated withT1(tulsi oil), T3 (turmeric oil), T4 (ajwin oil), T5 (cinnamon oil), T5 (clove oil) and T7 (formic acid) also showed good persistence with mite mortality ranging from 66.54 to 77.54 % and brood development -3.12 to 21.74 per cent increase after 3 weeks exposure of the treatments.