Tropilaelaps resistance data.xlsx

The introduction of the western honey bee <i>Apis mellifera</i> to Asia has seen the parasitic mites <i>Varroa destructor</i> and <i>Tropilaelaps</i> spp. transfer from their native Asian honey bee hosts (<i>Apis cerana</i> and <i>Apis dorsata </i>respectively) to infest the brood of <i>A. mellifera</i> causing significant damage to colonies and colony losses. <i>T. mercedesae </i>was recently detected in Europe for the first time in <i>A. mellifera</i> colonies and<i> </i>is considered a more damaging parasite of <i>A. mellifera </i>than <i>Varroa</i>. Beekeepers rely heavily on the use of synthetic miticides and organic chemicals to control <i>Varroa</i> and <i>Tropilaelaps</i> which has resulted in <i>Varroa</i> developing resistance to many synthetic miticides and these treatments becoming less effective. Less is known about chemical resistance in <i>Tropilaelaps</i> as no study has been undertaken that specifically looks at this issue, but there is evidence to suggest that <i>Tropilaelaps</i> do have resistance to chemicals such as Amitraz, Coumaphos, Flumethrin and Fluvalinate. The use of synthetic miticides is widely recommended for surveillance and detection of <i>Tropilaelaps</i> and this recommendation forms a part of the contingency response of several government agencies. The study developed a novel chemical resistance test for <i>Tropilaelaps</i> and sought to test the efficacy of commercially available synthetic miticides and found that mites were resistant to<i> </i>all the synthetic chemical treatments tested apart from Amitraz which was shown to be 64% effective. Understanding and managing miticide resistance in this species is critical to prevent its further spread and colony losses.