Effects of summer treatments against Varroa destructor on viral load and colony performance of Apis mellifera colonies in Eastern Canada

Abstract

Abstract Despite the use of various integrated pest management strategies to control the honey bee mite, Varroa destructor, varroosis remains the most important threat to honey bee colony health in many countries. In Canada, ineffective varroa control is linked to high winter colony losses and new treatment options, such as a summer treatment, are greatly needed. In this study, a total of 135 colonies located in 6 apiaries were submitted to one of these 3 varroa treatment strategies: (i) an Apivar® fall treatment followed by an oxalic acid (OA) treatment by dripping method; (ii) same as in (i) with a summer treatment consisting of formic acid (Formic Pro™); and (iii) same as in (i) with a summer treatment consisting of slow-release OA/glycerin pads (total of 27 g of OA/colony). Treatment efficacy and their effects on colony performance, mortality, varroa population, and the abundance of 6 viruses (acute bee paralysis virus [ABPV], black queen cell virus [BQCV], deformed wing virus variant A [DWV-A], deformed wing virus variant B [DWV-B], Israeli acute paralysis virus [IAPV], and Kashmir bee virus [KBV]) were assessed. We show that a strategy with a Formic Pro summer treatment tended to reduce the varroa infestation rate to below the economic fall threshold of 15 daily varroa drop, which reduced colony mortality significantly but did not reduce the prevalence or viral load of the 6 tested viruses at the colony level. A strategy with glycerin/OA pads reduced hive weight gain and the varroa infestation rate, but not below the fall threshold. A high prevalence of DWV-B was measured in all groups, which could be related to colony mortality.