Present and future perspectives of using biological control agents against pests of honey bees

Abstract

Honey bee, Apis mellifera L., is considered as an essential organism to the agricultural sector due to its role in pollination and alleviation of poverty in rural areas. Many pests attack honey bee colonies causing severe damages and economic losses. These pests include Varroa mites, Vespa hornets, wax moths, small hive beetles, and parasitic flies. Using chemical methods to control these pests causes some negative effects on honey bees and contaminates their products, while using biological control agents is promising and has no serious hazards. This article aimed to review available studies on the role of biological control agents mainly predators, parasitoids, and pathogens in controlling bee's pests and to present new perspectives. Also, obstacles of using biocontrol agents inside and outside the hives were presented. This article is essential for planning integrated management programs for honey bee pests.

Using Maximum Entropy Algorithm to Analyze Current and Future Distribution of the Asian hornet, Vespa velutina, in Europe and North Africa Under Climate Change Conditions

“…Bearing in mind that honey bees are crucial pollinators for many crops worldwide (Allen-Wardell et al, 1998;Abou-Shaara, 2014). In fact, honey bees have numerous numbers of pests which are distributed geographically (Le Conte & Navajas, 2008;Abou-Shaara & Staron, 2019). Some of them has recently succeeded to invade new regions other than their original locations including the Asian hornets, Vespa velutina (Lepeletier, 1836) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) which were recorded in some Western European countries (López, González, & Goldarazena, 2011;Grosso-Silva & Maia, 2012;Monceau et al, 2014) and become established.…”

Modeling the Invasion of the Large Hive Beetle, Oplostomusfuligineus, into North Africa and South Europe under a Changing Climate

“…Such alternative foods could help in increasing the ability of these beetles to become established in new environments apart from apiaries. There is a good number of biological control agents to control bee pests, but such agents are likely to be absent in regions invaded by new pests [ 77 ]. Good monitoring protocols should therefore be followed to prevent the establishment of these beetles.…”

Modeling the potential distribution of the predator of honey bees, Palarus latifrons, in the Arabian deserts using Maxent and GIS

“…Such apiaries in the deserts or areas close to deserts are anticipated to be the main target of bee pirates. The options for the control of P. latifrons are limited and are not well documented unlike other bee pests ( Arbogast et al, 2007 , Beggs et al, 2008 , Abou-Shaara, 2017 , Rangel and Ward, 2018 , Abou-Shaara and Staron, 2019 ).…”