Journal of Entomological Research

SCOPUSWeb of Science
  • Year: 2019
  • Volume: 43
  • Issue: 2

Evaluation of the efficacy of essential oils from aromatic plants in naturally infested honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) colonies by Varroa destructor

1Faculté des sciences de la nature et sciences de la vie, Université de Akli Mohand Oulhadj. Bouira, Algérie

2Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Agronomie, El-Harrach, Alger, Algérie

Faculté des sciences biologiques et des sciences agronomiques, Université Mouloud Mammeri. Tizi-Ouzou, Algérie

*Corresponding author's present address: Faculté des sciences biologiques et des sciences agronomiques, Université M. Mammeri. Tizi-Ouzou, Algérie; E-mail: malikaaouar@yahoo.fr

Online published on 25 July, 2019.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of two treatments based essential oils; Rosmarinus officinalis and Eucalyptus globulus against Varroa destructor to determine the effects of these treatments on bee colonies of Apis mellifera intermissa. The experimental studies were divided into 4 groups of 5 beehives, where two groups were treated by the essential oils, the third group was treated by a chemical treatment (Apivar) and the last was left untreated as a control. The results showed a significant variation in the effectiveness between colonies 45.75% for E. globulus and 29.46% for R. officinalis, Apivar proved the best with a rate of 89.28% in reducing of Varroa destructor. Further, the essential oil based on R. officinalis has an undesirable effect on colonies development and behavior of honey bee queens.

Keywords

Efficiency, essential oils, eucalyptus globulus, rosmarinus officinalis, Varroa destructor.