Method of Application of Tylosin, an Antibiotic for American Foulbrood Control, with Effects on Small Hive Beetle (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) Populations

Abstract

The method of application of the antibiotic tylosin (Tylan) for control of oxytetracycline-resistant American foulbrood (Paenibacillus larvae White) was tested in honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) colonies. A powdered sugar mixture with tylosin, applied as a dust, was efficacious in eliminating American foulbrood symptoms at a rate of 200-mg Tylan per 20 g of powdered sugar, applied at weekly intervals for 3 weeks. A second method of treatment consisting of Tylan mixed with granulated sugar and vegetable shortening and applied once as a patty, at an equivalent total dose as the dust method, to diseased colonies also effectively eliminated symptoms of disease. In all colonies treated with patties, however, small hive beetle (Aethina tumida Murray) populations significantly increased, compared with the powder sugar method or untreated controls. Bee populations in patty-treated colonies also were significantly reduced, most likely the result of the invasion and proliferation of adult and larval small hive beetles. Such reduction in colony strength was not seen in dust-treated colonies. Because of the obvious damaging populations of small hive beetles, concerns about development of disease resistance, unknown risks of residues, and lack of support by regulatory agencies for the use of the patty method, the use of the dust method of tylosin is greatly favored over the patty method.

The biology of the small hive beetle (Aethina tumida, Coleoptera: Nitidulidae): Gaps in our knowledge of an invasive species

“…In general, small hive beetle control should not overlook the control of other honeybee pests and vice versa. For example, grease/antibiotic patties used to control American foulbrood seem to worsen small hive beetle infestations because larvae readily accept the patties as food Elzen et al, 2002).…”

“…Even strong colonies of European honeybee subspecies can be taken over and killed by small hive beetles in the US (Sanford, 1998;Elzen et al, 1999a, b). The state most severely affected by the small hive beetle has been Florida (Elzen et al, 2002;Fig. 3) and the damage to local apiculture can be serious (Elzen et al, 2000b).…”

“…Furthermore, small hive beetle swarms can be occasionally observed in South Africa (Tribe, 2000). Massive aggregations of adult small hive beetles prior to the absconding of such heavily infested colonies can be found in Africa (Neumann et al, 2001b;Neumann and Härtel, 2004) and in the US (Elzen et al, 2002;Ellis et al, 2003a). In European honey bee hives, A. tumida infestations may consist of as many as 1000 adults and several hundred larvae per hive (Elzen et al, 1999b).…”

A historical review of managed honey bee populations in Europe and the United States and the factors that may affect them

“…The EFB-susceptible German black bee (A. mellifera mellifera) was largely replaced with the EFB-resistant Italian bee (A. mellifera ligustica) in the second decade of the 1900s (Voorhies et al, 1933). Early State efforts certainly reduced AFB incidence, however the widespread use of antibiotics (Sulfathiazole in the 1940s and 1950s, Oxytetracycline from the 1950s until the 1990s, and more recently Tylosin tartrate: Haseman and Childers, 1944;Turell, 1974;Elzen et al, 2002) has significantly (and arguably more dramatically) reduced the incidence of bacterial diseases. However, while prophylactic use of antibiotics may prevent disease outbreak, discontinuation of regular antibiotic application often results in disease reoccurrence (Alippi et al, 1999).…”

Determination of lincomycin and tylosin residues in honey by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

“…Recent field studies have shown that specific formulations of lincomycin 8 and tylosin 9,10 appear to be suitable for controlling infections of OTC-resistant P. l. larvae in honey bee colonies.…”