Drug – bio-affecting and body treating compositions – Extract – body fluid – or cellular material of undetermined... – Derived from arthropod
Patent
1990-07-28
1992-08-04
Raymond, Richard L.
Drug, bio-affecting and body treating compositions
Extract, body fluid, or cellular material of undetermined...
Derived from arthropod
424 84, 514532, 514552, A01N 6302, A01N 3702, A01N 3706
Patent
active
051357585
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a process for combatting, by biological means, varroatosis, a serious parasitosis of bees which is due to Varroa jacobsoni Oud., an ectoparasitic acarian specific to the genus Apis. This biological combatting process comprises two aspects: first, that of the diagnosis of this parasitosis, and, in the case where it is present, the trapping and destruction of the acarian. The present invention also relates to trapping devices for implementing this process.
Varroatosis appeared in France in 1982 after being propagated in Asia and in Western Europe. It is also wreaking havoc in Africa and in South America, and has been present for a few months in the USA.
Varroa jacobsoni finds, in colonies of the domestic bee Apis mellifica, the optimal climatic and trophic conditions it requires for its development. By drawing out the hemolymph from the workers and males--in the adults as well as in the larvae and pupae--it causes considerable problems in these insects, generally leading to their early death. The bee colony is hence greatly weakened, and it disappears after approximately 4 years. In addition, the parasitized colonies are rapidly contaminated by secondary infections, especially viral infections, which further accelerate their extinction.
By way of example, a survey carried out by the Syndicat des Producteurs de Miel (Union of Honey Producers) of France at the end of 1986 revealed that, in the Mediterranean region, all the colonies were parasitized, and that a large proportion of them were in a critical situation.
The disappearance, or even the weakening, of colonies has considerable negative consequences from both the agronomic and the ecological standpoint:
The disappearance of bee colonies leads to a decrease in the pollination of many cultivated plants, the bee being the main pollinating insect. The negative effects on some plant productions are considerable in large-scale growing, in hybrid seed production, in arboriculture and in small-fruit crops. Also, the disappearance of bee colonies leads to a lower profitability of beekeeping enterprises as a result of the losses of colonies, the decrease in honey collected and the extra costs of production due to chemical treatments. From the ecological standpoint, bees participate in a general way in the ecological balance by pollinating many wild plants, and their disappearance runs the risk of upsetting this balance.
The only treatments presently effective against Varroa jacobsoni are chemical treatments based on acaricidal molecules. However, the use of these products has various drawbacks: on the one hand the acarians become more or less rapidly resistant to these molecules, and on the other hand they run the risk of sullying the image of the healthy and natural products of the hive, and especially honey. Although no trace of residue has ever been detected in France, it is not possible to foresee the future regarding this matter. In addition, the method of use of these molecules can have some drawbacks: if their duration of action is short (from a few hours to a few days), the many varroas which are inside the capped cells are not reached by the molecules and will emerge a few days later to reproduce in their turn and prolong the infestation; such methods are hence of limited efficacy. Conversely, if their duration of action is long (a few weeks), the molecules can pass into the wax or the honey after a certain period of time and contaminate them. In addition, the use of acaricides for long periods is not without risks of toxicity to the bees themselves.
It is observed that, in order to reproduce, the female Varroa jacobsoni leaves the adult bee and enters a cell containing a worker larva or male larva, with a preference for male larvae, approximately two days before capping. The Applicants have then been able to demonstrate the existence of kairomones emitted by Apis mellifica ligustica larvae which have an attractive effect on the Varroa jacobsoni under the temperature conditions of the colony. The active principles of these
REFERENCES:
patent: 4299816 (1981-11-01), Polyakov et al.
patent: 4965287 (1990-10-01), Stendel et al.
Arnold Gerard
Chappe Bertrand
Le Conte Yves
Masson Claudine
Ourisson Guy
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique "CNRS"
Clardy S. Mark
Institute National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)
Raymond Richard L.
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