Published in Scientific Papers. Series D. Animal Science, Vol. LXV, Issue 1
Written by Eliza CĂUIA, Dumitru CĂUIA
The paper aims to present some preliminary results regarding the effectiveness of different lower concentration of formic acid formulas, used by brushing procedure, in killing the varroa mites (Varroa destructor) which are found in the reproductive phase in the capped brood. To perform the experiments, honeybee capped brood combs from untreated colonies were collected and treated in two experimental groups with different dilutions (20%, 30%, 40%, 50%) of concentrated formic acid (85%) used in water-based and alcohol-based dilutions. The measurements were focused on the evaluation the varroa mite mortality, as response variable, at 72 hours from the treatment application. Out of the obtained results one could remark that the mortality of mites increased as the concentration of formic acid increased in different formulas. Highly significant differences were established between the two experimental groups as well as between the mortality of different categories of varroa. The results clearly show that the use of formic acid is very effective in varroosis control also when used in lower concentrations (30-40%) by brushing procedure. The results also show that new formulas could be further optimised by setting up a standard protocol to evaluate the critical stages of mites inside brood and their vitality, which are affected following the application of treatments.
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