Old strategies as modern solutions, shook swarming reduced Varroa destructor infestation rates of managed honey bee, Apis mellifera, colonies

Transferring adult honey bees from the combs of their hive to a new empty hive is a management strategy known as “shook swarming” that has been used by beekeepers in a variety of contexts since as early as 1796. Varroa destructor are dependent on mature brood to reproduce and shook swarming breaks the colony’s brood cycle by separating the adult bees from the brood developing in the old combs. We investigated the efficacy and practicality of shook swarming to mitigate negative health effects of Varroa in honey bee colonies by reducing Varroa infestation rates. New colonies were founded via traditional splitting or the shook swarm technique either with or without comb in the new hive. All colonies were given ∼1 month to establish and then assessed for foraging activity, colony strength, and Varroa infestation rate. We observed a significant decrease in the Varroa infestation rates of colonies that experienced shook swarming compared with those that had not. Colonies established via shook swarming had lower colony strength scores but maintained similar relative foraging activity as traditional splits. Our findings indicate that shook swarming is a viable, non-chemical control strategy for managing Varroa infestations and should be considered in long-term management plans where colonies undergo shook swarming aligned with honey production and/or pollination service delivery.

将成年蜜蜂从原蜂巢巢脾转移至全新空巢的管理策略，被称为“抖蜂分群法（shook swarming）”，早在1796年便已被养蜂人应用于多种养蜂场景中。狄斯瓦螨（Varroa destructor）依赖成熟蜂幼虫完成繁殖，而抖蜂分群法通过将成年蜜蜂与旧巢脾中发育的蜂幼虫分离，打破蜂群的幼虫发育周期。本研究通过降低狄斯瓦螨侵染率，探究了抖蜂分群法用于缓解蜂群受狄斯瓦螨侵害所产生的健康负面影响的有效性与实用性。研究中，新蜂群通过传统分群法或抖蜂分群法建立，新蜂巢内可配备或不配备巢脾。所有蜂群均获得约1个月的建群适应期，随后对其觅食活动、群势及狄斯瓦螨侵染率开展评估。观测结果显示，相较于未实施抖蜂分群法的蜂群，采用该方法的蜂群狄斯瓦螨侵染率显著降低。通过抖蜂分群法建立的蜂群群势评分较低，但相对觅食活动水平与传统分群法蜂群保持一致。本研究结果表明，抖蜂分群法是一种可行的非化学防治策略，可用于管控狄斯瓦螨侵染，在与蜂蜜生产及/或授粉服务交付相适配的蜂群长期管理方案中，该方法值得纳入考量。