Bioactivity and Prospects of Using Ethanolic Extracts of Some Plants and Bee Glue (Propolis) to Control the Greater Wax Moth Galleria mellonella (L) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

Abstract

The greater wax moth (Galleria mellonella) is one of the most important pests of stored or unattended combs that cause severe damage to bee broods, threatening the development of apiculture in various countries, especially Sudan. A laboratory experiment was conducted in the College of Agricultural Studies, Sudan University of Science and Technology, Shambat, Sudan, to explore the potency of ethanolic extract (EE) of different parts of three different plants and bee glue against the third larval instar of greater wax moth. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design and replicated five times. The percentage of mortality of GWM was recorded after 24, 48, 72, and 96 hours post-treatment. Analysis of the variance of the obtained data revealed significant differences regarding insecticidal effect between the EEs of the four test products and the control. The EE of Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Propolis, Nigella sativa, and Carum carvi have bioactivity action against the third instar larvae of GWM with an increased percentage of mortality according to the increase of concentration as well as elapse of time. Hence, the highest concentration (15%) caused 86.7%, 83.3%, 73.3 and 66.7% larval mortality after 96 hours for EE of leaves of E. camaldulensis, powder of bee glue (Propolis), seeds of N. sativa and seeds of C. carvi respectively. The results also clearly demonstrated that the EE of the powder of Propolis is significantly more toxic than E. camaldulensis, N. sativa, and C. carvi, where the LC50 values were 3.1% for Propolis, 5.0% for E. camaldulensis, 7.0 % for N. sativa and 7.7% for C. carvi. The products mentioned above at the mentioned concentration are environmental friendly, safe for honeybees, economically feasible, and affordable for small beekeepers.