Honey bee ectoparasites infestations may affect the insect and cause the population reduction and economic damage in apiculture system. The present study was aimed to determine the Prevalence of Varroa and association of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) in apiaries in Urmia suburb, Iran, over one year (2017- 2018). A total of 840 beehives of 120 apiaries in Urmia suburb were randomly sampled. Of those, 301 bees (35.83%) and 190 bee larvae (18.33%) were infested with Varroa. The highest infestation was found in bees and bee larvae in summer. 93 out of 840 apiaries had CCD signs. 61 out of 93 apiaries (65.59%) with CCD were infested to Varroa. There was a significant relation between CCD and Varroa (p <0/05). From the results of this work, it was concluded that Varroa mites are a prevalent ectoparasite in apiaries of Urmia suburb which may have an important role in the incidence of CCD.

Diseases of honeybee (Apis mellifera) are one of the major challenges for apiculture industry. Among honeybee diseases, Varroa mite is the most serious and extensive threat for this pollinator insect. In compare to other diseases, Varroa is the most costly to beekeepers. Varroa mite, in addition to weakening its host by consuming body tissues, is considered as carrier for many pathogens and viruses. In total, two main strategies are available for confronting Varroa. One of them is using chemical pesticides to remove it, and the other one is the developing resistant host to Varroa. In the past decades, several chemical pesticides have been used to control Varroa. However, this mite is rapidly evolving resistance to those chemicals. Over time, thus effectiveness and efficiency of these acaricides will be decreased. Therefore, it seems that the most important strategy to deal with Varroa is to increase host resistance. One of the key mechanisms is hygienic behavior. This behavior is carried out by workers as a protective behavior against various diseases such as bacteria and fungi and other pathogens. Now, hygienic behavior is considered as a trait at honeybee breeding programs. Another pathway to parasite resistance at honeybee is the ability of the larvae or pupae to prevent the reproduction of parasites in cells. Selected honeybees for this feature are more resistant to Varroa. Selection for resistant honeybees will be more effective when breeder uses molecular genetic techniques.

Varroa destructor Anderson and Trueman is considered as the most serious ectoparasite of Apis mellifera L. through the world. In this review, we effort to discuss on current knowledge about varroa mite impacts on physical, physiological and also some biological traits of European honey bee. Results of recent studies show that decreasing in physical traits of A. mellifera including bee body size, wet and dry weights and body water content significantly correlated with increasing in varroa infestation level. In physiological traits, protein and carbohydrate content of hemolymph, vitellogenin titer and proportion of normal hemocytes of mite-infested bees significantly decrease in compared with non-infested bees. Moreover, it is demonstrated that varroa mite infestation affects the biological aspects of honey bee including colony population, performance, wintering ability, survival rate, life span and foraging behavior. Late fall acaricides measure is recommended to prevent winter colony losses. Therefore, it can be suggested that beekeepers combine treatment strategies to keep the mite population below the Economic Injury Level (EIL) and improve winter survival rate of honey bee colonies.

Varroa destructor is the main health problem in the honey bee colonies. Regular monitoring of the Varroa load plays an essential role in determining the right time for treatment of the colony and evaluating the effectiveness of the treatment method. This research aimed at comparative evaluation of the efficacy of alcohol wash and powdered sugar methods to dislodge the Varroa mite from the adult bees' body. Our findings revealed that wash the bees with 75% ethanol dislodged 81.14±3.56% of the mites from their body. In contrast, powdered sugar could dislodge only 54.53±3.56% of the mites from the body of the bees. Therefore, alcohol wash method is more accurate for determining the infestation intensity of the adult honey bees to the Varroa mite.

Varroa destructor Anderson and Trueman is considered as the most important external parasite of the European honey bee. Considering the distribution of the European honey bee throughout the world, this mite could cause many concerns among beekeepers and threaten the beekeeping industry. The aim of present research was to calculate the time it took to cause 50 percent of mortality (LT50) in Varroa mite and honey bee population after the commencement of exposure with essential oil of Mentha longifolia L. For this purpose, Varroa mites and honey bees were treated with four concentrations of the oil including 1.87, 2.5, 3.12 and 3.75 µl/l air in Petri dishes (800 ml). For each species, the corresponding mortality rate was measured once in every two hours without opening the Petri dish until the complete demise of subjected organisms. Results showed that calculated LT50 values of the oil on Varroa mite in concentrations of 1.87, 2.5, 3.12 and 3.75 µl/l air were 10.12, 8.11, 7.26 and 6.21, respectively. However, LC50 values of the oil on A. mellifera at the same concentrations were 19.83, 19.56, 15.72 and 13.68, respectively. These results represented a much more severe toxicity of M. longifolia oil against Varroa mite compared with the European honey bee. Therefore, adjustment of oil concentration and exposure time would be applicable for the management of Varroa mite in apiaries.

In the present study, the status of management and hygienic of honey bee colonies in the north of West Azerbaijan province and their impact on pests and diseases were studied in 2020. The apiaries of 8 cities of this province were selected and subjected to field studies. We selected 12 apiaries from each city and grouped them into four groups of three colonies, including groups 0 to 100, 100 to 200, 200 to 300, and 300 to 400 colonies. From apiaries up to 100 colonies, 10 colonies, 100 to 200 colonies, 15 colonies, 200 to 300 colonies, 20 colonies, and 300 to 400 colonies, 25 colonies were randomly selected as a sample, numbered, and subjected to field studies. Selected samples were studied in terms of eggs, larvae, pupae, population, pests and diseases, and if pests and diseases were observed, their contamination was visually determined and recorded. Also, the selected colonies were examined in terms of the amount of produced honey, the presence of Varroa mites and yellow bees and their relationship with the number of colonies, their location in different places, the use of drugs and chemical pesticides used to control Varroa mites, Nosema and American foulbrood, the impact of migration to the tropics and the attempt to replace the queen. Statistical analysis of data was performed using the GLM method in SAS software. According to the results, the majority of beekeepers in this province were in the age range of 30 to 40 years, and only 21.9% of the youth of this province were engaged in this beekeeping profession. The results showed that the mean of produced honey has a significant relationship to the variables of location and number of hives. The average production of honey in Poldasht and chaypareh cities was higher than in other counties studied. Varroa mite had a significant relationship with the variable of place and drug of the control Varroa mite so that Varroa mite infection was more in Chaldoran city than other cities. The results of the present study showed that the Apistan drug had the greatest effect on the control of Varroa mites. The results of this study showed that increasing the management and health efficiency of bee colonies can have a significant effect on controlling pests and diseases and increasing the performance of bee colonies.

The living environment of the honey bee is a suitable place for all kinds of pests and diseases to live. Also, the presence of honey, wax, larvae, pupae, and a large number of bees in a dark space and some other things, including desirable temperature and humidity inside the hive, has attracted all kinds of pests and diseases. Varroa mite is the main obstacle to the survival of bee colonies. If you do not control it, it can cause the collapse of bee colonies in a few years. Varroa mite control is essential to maintain bee colonies in most beekeeping areas around the world. Beekeepers routinely use chemical treatments to control this mite. Nowadays, excessive use of chemical pesticides and incorrect management has led to widespread resistance in Varroa mite populations and the residual of these pesticides in beehive products. However, beekeepers usually use more chemical pesticides to control this parasite. Today, researchers are trying to find safer ways to control Varroa mites. Honey bee Specialists and international researchers have introduced several plant compounds as suitable alternatives to chemical pesticides in controlling Varroa mites. Therefore, the most important plants used in honey bee colonies to control Varroa mite have been introduced in this review.

Varroa destructor Anderson & Trueman is one of the most important pests of Apis mellifera L. world widely. It causes great economic loss to the beekeeping industry through feeding on various developmental stages of bees and by transmission of pathogenic viral agents. Recently, application of chemical pesticides has led to the occurrence of mite resistance and contamination of hive products. Therefore, the objective of the current study is to evaluate fumigant toxicity of essential oil from Mentha longifolia L. against varroa mite and honey bee. Adult females of varroa mites were treated with different concentrations of essential oil (from 0.5 to 3.75 µl/l air) at 25°C and 40% RH in darkness for 10 h. Also, worker honey bees were exposed to concentrations of essential oil (from 0.62 to 6.25 µl/l air) in incubator set at 32°C and 45 - 50% RH in dark for 10 h. All experiments were conducted with four replications. The number of dead and live treated animals was counted each hour from commencement of exposure. Results showed that the mortality was increased as concentration and exposure time of the oil increased. Estimated LC50 value of M. longifolia treated on V. destructor 9 and 10 h after exposure was 2.05 and 1.65 µl/l air, respectively. However, LC50 values of the oil on A. mellifera at the same exposure times were 5.08 and 4.76 µl/l air, respectively. These findings indicate that varroa mite is more susceptible than A. mellifera. Therefore, more comprehensive experiments are necessary to find appropriate concentration and exposure time of M. longifolia essential oil in varroa mite control programs in apiaries.

The Varroa destructor mite is considered as a major pest of honey bees Apis mellifera. The rapid spread of Varroa mites among bee colonies may be due to several factors, including drifting of infested bees, movement of bee swarms, and robbing of weakened colonies. Disease spread and predisposing the infested bees to other diseases lead to high economic losses in beekeeping industries. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of and evaluate some managing factors in Golestan Province in Iran in 2008. According to the records of Agricultural Research Center, 80 infested beekeeping centers identified and a questionnaire consists of managing factors for each center has been designed. All data were recorded and analyzed by SPSS software to calculate χ2 test. Among 80 apiculture centers, 72 centers (92%) were infested to Varroa and hive density of 90.6% of the centers was 31–60 hives in one center (P= 0.324). All of the apiculture centers had more than 6 km distance to near­est beekeeping center (P= 0.687). Amongst bee keepers 15(93.8%) had low literacy level (P= 0.479) and 26(89.7%) had 5–10 years experience in beekeeping (P= 0.953). We can conclude that because of the high prevalence of the disease, the usual methods of prevention are not effective. This high prevalence emphasizes that we are very far from a solution for Varroa infestation and extra researches on mite biology, tolerance breeding, and Varroa treatment is immediately required.

In this study, the effects of chamomile extract and walnut green husk were investigated to control Varroa mite. To conduct this study after selecting an apiary infected with Varroa mites in Lorestan province, 18 Langstroth beehive were exposed to the extract and smoke of medicinal plants after identifying the population and determining the level of initial infection. Six treatments with three replications including control treatment (without drug use), Apistan strip treatment, chamomile plant extract treatment as a spray, chamomile smoke treatment treatment, walnut green skin extract treatment as a spray and walnut green skin smoke treatment for five days were examined in selected hives. The results showed that comparing the mean effect of experimental treatments on different days and the whole period on Varroa mite indicates that walnut green shell smoke had the greatest effect and was able to equal the Apistan strip (P> 0.05). Other treatments including chamomile extract and smoke and walnut green husk extract had significant effects on the control of Varroa mite and had a significant difference with the control group (P<0.05). Also, the highest mortality occurred in the control group, which had a significant difference with other treatments (P <0.05) . There is no statistically significant difference (P> 0.05). And from all treatments, chamomile smoke had the least lethal effects on bees. Therefore, considering the harmful effects of chemicals used to control Varroa mite, the use of chamomile and especially the skin Walnut green in the form of smoke is recommended to control this mite.