Biological activity of some plant extracts on Varroa mite (Varroa destructor) and Iranian honeybee (Apis mellifera meda) | ||
| Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology | ||
| Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available Online from 18 October 2025 PDF (646.37 K) | ||
| Document Type: Original Research | ||
| Authors | ||
| Ataollah Rahimi* 1; Rukhosh Rashed2; Banaz Abdulla3 | ||
| 1Animal Science Research Department, Kurdistan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Agricultural Research Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Sanandaj, Iran. | ||
| 2Horticulture Department, Collage of Agricultural Engineering Science, University of Sulaymaniyah, Iraq. | ||
| 3Biology Department, College of Education, University of Salahaddin, Erbil, Iraq. | ||
| Abstract | ||
| Research and development of new natural and safe veterinary medicaments to treat honeybee (Apis mellifera) varroosis caused by Varroa destructor is an essential step on the path to embarking on organic beekeeping. One of the feasible alternative treatments being used for their control is plant extracts. This experiment was conducted to evaluate the acaricidal and insecticidal activity of extracts of Ferula assa-foetida, Euphorbia serrata, Achillea millefolium, and Salvia rosmarinus plants on Varroa mite and its host in honeybee colonies in Kurdistan province, Iran during 2021 to 2023. In this research, all the different concentrations of the studied plant extract caused mite mortality without severe harmful effects on worker bees (adults and brood). Based on the results of statistical analysis, the concentration of 50% extract of F. assa-foetida plant showed the most significant effect on the mortality percentage of Varroa mite (88.1 ± 1.3 %) in the studied honey bee colonies which its difference was significant compared to other different concentrations of studied plants extract (p<0.01). An acceptable safety margin for bees (eggs, larvae, adult workers, and queen) were observed after employing the extracts over a 20 days treatment period in the current experiment. Therefore, it is possible to recommend the concentration of 50% F. assa-foetida extract as a suitable alternative to synthetic acaricides to control the Varroa mites in the honeybee colonies. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| Acaricidal activity, Honeybee, Insecticidal activity, Plant extract, Varroa mite | ||
| References | ||
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