Low fertility, fecundity and numbers of mated female offspring explain the lower reproductive success of the parasitic mite <i>Varroa destructor</i> in African honeybees

Nganso, Beatrice T.; Fombong, Ayuka T.; Yusuf, Abdullahi Ahmed; Pirk, Christian Walter Werner; Stuhl, Charles; Torto, Baldwyn

doi:10.1017/s0031182018000616

Cited by 28 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 48 publications

(99 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The V. destructor fertility in both honey bee populations was similar, indicating that the difference in the mite population in both apiaries is not due to reproductive differences. This result contrasts with other studies that relate V. destructor fertility to the growth of mite populations in the colonies [ 23 , 69 , 78 , 79 ]. However, it cannot be ruled out that, with a larger sample, small differences would appear in the fertility of the mites of the two populations, having an impact on the level of infection in the colonies.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Unraveling Honey Bee–Varroa destructor Interaction: Multiple Factors Involved in Differential Resistance between Two Uruguayan Populations

Mendoza

Tomasco

Antúnez

et al. 2020

Veterinary Sciences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The ectoparasite Varroa destructor is the greatest biotic threat of honey bees Apis mellifera in vast regions of the world. Recently, the study of natural mite-resistant populations has gained much interest to understand the action of natural selection on the mechanisms that limit the mite population. In this study, the components of the A. mellifera–V. destructor relationship were thoroughly examined and compared in resistant and susceptible honey bee populations from two regions of Uruguay. Mite-resistant honey bees have greater behavioral resistance (hygienic and grooming behaviors) than susceptible honey bees. At the end of the summer, resistant honey bees had fewer mites and a lower deformed wing virus (DWV) viral load than susceptible honey bees. DWV variant A was the only detected variant in honey bees and mites. Molecular analysis by Short Tandem Repeat showed that resistant honey bees were Africanized (A. m. scutellata hybrids), whereas susceptible honey bees were closer to European subspecies. Furthermore, significant genetic differentiation was also found between the mite populations. The obtained results show that the natural resistance of honey bees to V. destructor in Uruguay depends on several factors and that the genetic variants of both organisms can play a relevant role.

show abstract

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

“…Numerous studies indicate that hygienic colonies display a better control of the V. destructor population [ 21 , 65 , 66 , 67 ]. Nevertheless, the role of hygienic behavior in limiting mite reproduction is still controversial [ 68 , 69 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unraveling Honey Bee–Varroa destructor Interaction: Multiple Factors Involved in Differential Resistance between Two Uruguayan Populations

Mendoza

Tomasco

Antúnez

et al. 2020

Veterinary Sciences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Additionally, physiological trait makes honey bees resistant to Varroa by reducing the mite reproductive success. These traits enable African honey bees to co-exist with V. destructor (Strauss et al 2016;Nganso et al 2018;Gebremedhn et al 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changing climate patterns risk the spread of Varroa destructor infestation of African honey bees in Tanzania

Giliba

Mpinga²,

Ndimuligo

et al. 2020

Ecol Process

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Climate change creates opportune conditions that favour the spread of pests and diseases outside their known active range. Modelling climate change scenarios is oftentimes useful tool to assess the climate analogues to unveil the potential risk of spreading suitability conditions for pests and diseases and hence allows development of appropriate responses to address the impending challenge. In the current study, we modelled the impact of climate change on the distribution of Varroa destructor, a parasitic mite that attacks all life forms of honey bees and remains a significant threat to their survival and productivity of bee products in Tanzania and elsewhere. Methods The data about the presence of V. destructor were collected in eight regions of Tanzania selected in consideration of several factors including potentials for beekeeping activities, elevation (highlands vs. lowlands) and differences in climatic conditions. A total of 19 bioclimatic datasets covering the entire country were used for developing climate scenarios of mid-century 2055 and late-century 2085 for both rcp4.5 and rcp8.5. We thereafter modelled the current and future risk distribution of V. destructor using MaxEnt. Results The results indicated a model performance of AUC = 0.85, with mean diurnal range in temperature (Bio2, 43.9%), mean temperature (Bio1, 20.6%) and mean annual rainfall (Bio12, 11.7%) as the important variables. Future risk projections indicated mixed responses of the potential risk of spreads of V. destructor, exhibiting both decrease and increases in the mid-century 2055 and late-century 2085 on different sites. Overall, there is a general decline of highly suitable areas of V. destructor in mid- and late-century across all scenarios (rcp4.5 and rcp8.5). The moderately suitable areas indicated a mixed response in mid-century with decline (under rcp4.5) and increase (under rcp8.5) and consistent increase in late century. The marginally suitable areas show a decline in mid-century and increase in late-century. Our results suggest that the climate change will continue to significantly affect the distribution and risks spread of V. destructor in Tanzania. The suitability range of V. destructor will shift where highly suitable areas will be diminishing to the advantage of the honey bees’ populations, but increase of moderately suitable sites indicates an expansion to new areas. The late century projections show the increased risks due to surge in the moderate and marginal suitability which means expansion in the areas where V. destructor will operate. Conclusion The current and predicted areas of habitat suitability for V. destructor’s host provides information useful for beekeeping stakeholders in Tanzania to consider the impending risks and allow adequate interventions to address challenges facing honey bees and the beekeeping industry. We recommend further studies on understanding the severity of V. destructor in health and stability of the honey bees in Tanzania. This will provide a better picture on how the country will need to monitor and reduce the risks associated with the increase of V. destructor activities as triggered by climate change. The loss of honey bees’ colonies and its subsequent impact in bees’ products production and pollination effect have both ecological and economic implications that need to have prioritization by the stakeholders in the country to address the challenge of spreading V. destructor.

show abstract

“…The inhibition of Varroa's reproduction by infested pupae, (i.e., a brood effect) is a shared trait of many Varroa-resistant A. mellifera populations across the globe as well as in the original host A. cerana [4,6,47,[95][96][97][98][99][100].…”

Section: Importance Of Grooming As a Defence Against Varroamentioning

confidence: 99%

Natural selection, selective breeding, and the evolution of resistance of honeybees (Apis mellifera) against Varroa

Alphen

Fernhout²

2020

Zoological Lett

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We examine evidence for natural selection resulting in Apis mellifera becoming tolerant or resistant to Varroa mites in different bee populations. We discuss traits implicated in Varroa resistance and how they can be measured. We show that some of the measurements used are ambiguous, as they measure a combination of traits. In addition to behavioural traits, such as removal of infested pupae, grooming to remove mites from bees or larval odours, small colony size, frequent swarming, and smaller brood cell size may also help to reduce reproductive rates of Varroa. Finally, bees may be tolerant of high Varroa infections when they are resistant or tolerant to viruses implicated in colony collapse. We provide evidence that honeybees are an extremely outbreeding species. Mating structure is important for how natural selection operates. Evidence for successful natural selection of resistance traits against Varroa comes from South Africa and from Africanized honeybees in South America. Initially, Varroa was present in high densities and killed about 30% of the colonies, but soon after its spread, numbers per hive decreased and colonies survived without treatment. This shows that natural selection can result in resistance in large panmictic populations when a large proportion of the population survives the initial Varroa invasion. Natural selection in Europe and North America has not resulted in large-scale resistance. Upon arrival of Varroa, the frequency of traits to counter mites and associated viruses in European honey bees was low. This forced beekeepers to protect bees by chemical treatment, hampering natural selection. In a Swedish experiment on natural selection in an isolated mating population, only 7% of the colonies survived, resulting in strong inbreeding. Other experiments with untreated, surviving colonies failed because outbreeding counteracted the effects of selection. If loss of genetic variation is prevented, colony level selection in closed mating populations can proceed more easily, as natural selection is not counteracted by the dispersal of resistance genes. In large panmictic populations, selective breeding can be used to increase the level of resistance to a threshold level at which natural selection can be expected to take over.

show abstract

Low fertility, fecundity and numbers of mated female offspring explain the lower reproductive success of the parasitic mite Varroa destructor in African honeybees

Cited by 28 publications

References 48 publications

Unraveling Honey Bee–Varroa destructor Interaction: Multiple Factors Involved in Differential Resistance between Two Uruguayan Populations

Unraveling Honey Bee–Varroa destructor Interaction: Multiple Factors Involved in Differential Resistance between Two Uruguayan Populations

Changing climate patterns risk the spread of Varroa destructor infestation of African honey bees in Tanzania

Natural selection, selective breeding, and the evolution of resistance of honeybees (Apis mellifera) against Varroa

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About