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Olfaction as a Target for Control of Honeybee Parasite Mite Varroa destructor

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Olfactory Concepts of Insect Control - Alternative to insecticides

Abstract

The mite Varroa destructor Anderson & Trueman (Acari: Varroidae) is a major global threat to the European honeybee Apis mellifera. The mite is an obligatory ectoparasite. It feeds on the hemolymph of bees and also serves as an active vector for pathogenic viruses, which have become more abundant and virulent since the invasion of the mite. The Varroa life cycle is tightly linked to that of a honeybee. The cycle can be generally divided into two main phases: a reproductive phase, in which the female Varroa parasitizes bee pupae and reproduce within sealed brood cells, and a phoretic phase, in which it parasitizes adult bees. Between these phases Varroa mites can wander on comb surfaces. Hive volatiles, mainly from adult bees and brood, play a crucial role in the parasite’s life cycle, by guiding host finding, selection and regulating its reproduction suggesting that the mite’s olfaction may be an important target for new specific control agents. This concept was proven with some synthetic volatile compounds. Inhibition of host sensing leads to incorrect Varroa host selection or reduction in mite’s ability to reach a host. Although the mode of action of these compounds is not yet clear, this approach seems promising towards an integrated and sustainable control over this major apicultural pest.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada (Discovery grants # 477793-2015, 222923-2010 and Strategic Project grant # 396484-10 to EP) and from Chief Scientist of the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture grant #131-1815 and Israel Science Foundation Grant (No. 1652/14) to VS, and to Dan Eliash for the drawing of Fig. 6.1 and the illustration for Box 6.1.

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  1. Department of Entomology, Institute of Plant Protection, Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Center, Bet Dagan, Israel

    Victoria Soroker, Nitin Kumar Singh & Nurit Eliash

  2. Institute of Agroecology and Plant Health, Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel

    Nurit Eliash

  3. Department of Chemistry, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada

    Erika Plettner

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Correspondence to Victoria Soroker .

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  1. School of Bioengineering, Qilu University of Technology, Jinan, Shandong, China

    Jean-François Picimbon

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Soroker, V., Singh, N.K., Eliash, N., Plettner, E. (2019). Olfaction as a Target for Control of Honeybee Parasite Mite Varroa destructor . In: Picimbon, JF. (eds) Olfactory Concepts of Insect Control - Alternative to insecticides. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05060-3_6

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