Method for interfering reproduction of Varroa destructor and application thereof
By adjusting the oxygen concentration in the beehive to 10-17%, the reproduction of Varroa dispensae mites is disrupted, thus solving the problems of drug residues and drug resistance in the chemical control of Varroa dispensae mites and achieving effective control without drug residues.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202511107812.0
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-08-08
- Publication Date
- 2025-10-17
- Estimated Expiration
- Not applicable · inactive patent
AI Technical Summary
Existing methods for controlling Discochaete mites using chemical agents have problems with drug residues and resistance, and are harmful to bee health, failing to effectively prevent the reproduction of Discochaete mites and thus reduce the health of bee colonies.
By placing capped brood combs or bee colonies in hives with adjustable oxygen concentrations, controlling the oxygen concentration within the range of 10-17%, the reproductive process of the distemper mites is disrupted. This utilizes the differences in bees' adaptability to low-oxygen environments to prevent the distemper mites from reproducing.
Without the use of drugs, the number of Varroa mites can be significantly reduced, drug residues can be avoided, organic production and beekeeping can be combined, and Varroa mites can be effectively controlled.
Smart Images
Figure CN120787907A_ABST
Abstract
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present application belongs to the field of beekeeping, and relates to a method for interfering with the reproduction of Varroa destructor and application thereof. BACKGROUND
[0002] Varroa destructor (commonly known as "big mite") is an ectoparasite of honeybee, and its original host is Apis cerana, and it migrates to parasitize Apis mellifera and spread to almost all beekeeping areas, becoming the most serious disease and pest of the western honeybee industry in the world. Honeybees infected with Varroa destructor have decreased body condition and even developmental deformities, and a series of symptoms appear in the bee colony. It is also a carrier and transmitter of many pathogens. The co-infection of Varroa destructor and multiple pathogens is more harmful than any single pathogen infection, and can cause devastating damage to the bee colony. If the bee colony does not have a periodic mite control program, most of the bee colonies in temperate regions will collapse in 2-3 years. Therefore, it is an important part of western honeybee production to regularly use drugs to control mites and keep the mite parasitism rate below the threshold of about 10%. The existing methods for controlling Varroa destructor achieve the purpose by directly killing mites. Fluoro-cyanide, amitraz, formic acid and other chemical mite control agents have always been the first choice for controlling mites in beekeeping production. However, the long-term use of these chemical mite control agents will lead to drug residues in bee products and inevitable resistance of mites to the drugs, and at the same time, the drugs themselves have obvious harm to the health of honeybees. Therefore, it is urgent to develop new methods to control Varroa destructor.
[0003] Western honey bees have no resistance to the Varroa destructor mite, which can reproduce in large numbers within a bee colony, potentially overwhelming the colony's health once its population exceeds a certain threshold. The Varroa destructor mite's life cycle consists of two stages: the carrier phase in adult bees and the reproductive phase in parasitic wasp pupae. During the carrier phase, the mite primarily inhabits the intersegmental membranes of the abdomen or the dorsal thorax of the adult bee, accumulating nutrients in preparation for the reproductive period. The mite enters the honeycomb just as the honey bee larvae are about to cap. The first egg is laid approximately 60 hours after capping, followed by an egg every 30 hours. The first egg is typically haploid and develops into a male, while the remaining eggs are diploid and develop into females. As the male and female offspring mature, siblings mate. When the bees emerge from the hive, the mother mite, the male offspring, and the daughter mites follow the adult bees out of the hive. However, only the mother mite and the mated daughter mites continue to pose a threat to the bees. When the Varroa destructor mite infests worker or drone cells of Western honey bees, it produces 2-3 or 3-4 mature daughter mites per reproductive cycle, respectively. The capping period for worker and drone cells is 12 and 14 days, respectively. Combined with the period of carriage of adult female mites on adult bees, a single reproductive cycle can be completed in as little as 15 days. During the reproductive process, adult female mites and their offspring feed on honey bee pupae, severely impacting their development and health. In summary, the reproductive process is key to the harmful effects of the Varroa destructor mite. Interfering with its reproductive process is an important strategy for its control. Summary of the Invention
[0004] The present invention aims to provide a method for interfering with the reproduction of Varroa destructans mites. Based on the different adaptability of honeybees and Varroa destructans mites to hypoxic conditions, and the fact that Varroa destructans cannot successfully reproduce under these conditions, the present invention provides a method for interfering with the reproduction of Varroa destructans mites by placing a bee colony or capped honeycombs in a hypoxic environment. This method prevents the mites from reproducing, preventing their population from increasing and minimizing their harm. Furthermore, as existing Varroa destructans individuals die off, the Varroa destructans population gradually disappears.
[0005] The method is implemented by the following steps: (1) Provide a beehive capable of adjusting the oxygen concentration in the beehive; (2) Based on the different adaptability of honey bees and Varroa destructans to low oxygen conditions and the fact that Varroa destructans cannot successfully reproduce under low oxygen conditions, the bee colony or the honey bee capped honeycomb is placed in a beehive box A in which the oxygen concentration in the box can be adjusted; (3) Observe the reading of oxygen concentration meter D; (4) Adjust the gas flow rate controller E to control the gas flow rate from the gas tank C to the box A, and adjust the outlet size a at the bottom front of the box to control the speed of gas exchange between the box and the outside world, so that the oxygen concentration in the box is stable in the range of 10-17%; (5) Maintaining a low-oxygen environment in the box for more than one day can significantly affect or even prevent the reproduction of Varroa destructor mites, thereby achieving the purpose of preventing and controlling Varroa destructor mites.
[0006] The time of placing in low oxygen environment is more than 1 day, and the longer the time is, the better the effect of interfering the Varroa mite reproduction is.
[0007] The low oxygen condition in the present application refers to the oxygen concentration of 10% to 17% (or 13.5 to 15 kPa oxygen partial pressure). The oxygen concentration in this range has no obvious visible harm to bees, but the Varroa mite reproduction is significantly affected, and even fails to reproduce.
[0008] Under the environmental conditions in which the oxygen content in air is in the normal range, low oxygen conditions can be created in a closed space or a relatively closed space by certain methods. These methods include creating negative pressure by air extraction, passing nitrogen, passing mixed gas with low oxygen concentration, etc.
[0009] The method of the present application can be realized by placing the capped brood of bees in a container with lower oxygen concentration or placing the whole bee colony in a low oxygen environment.
[0010] The beehive is a tool for beekeeping production for the bee colony to inhabit, and generally has free gas exchange with the outside through the nest door or the gap of the box body, and the oxygen concentration inside and outside the ordinary beehive is the same. The beehive provided by the present application can adjust the oxygen concentration inside the box, which is composed of a box body A, a gas pipe B, a gas tank C, an oxygen concentration measuring instrument D inside the box, and a gas flow rate controller E.
[0011] The box body A is improved on the basis of the ordinary beehive. The box body is basically sealed, and a small opening a is left at the bottom of the front side for bees to enter and exit, while maintaining gas flow with the outside. A small opening b is opened on each of the front and rear sides for inserting the pipe to pass the gas with a specific oxygen concentration.
[0012] One end of the gas pipe B is connected to the small openings b on the front and rear sides of the box body A, and the other end is connected to the gas tank C. The gas tank C is filled with nitrogen gas with an oxygen concentration of 0-16% or a mixed gas of nitrogen and oxygen.
[0013] Two oxygen concentration measuring instruments D are placed inside the box body A to measure the oxygen concentration at two different points inside the box.
[0014] The gas flow rate adjustment inside the box of the present application includes two modes of automatic adjustment and manual adjustment. In the automatic adjustment mode, the oxygen concentration measuring instrument is connected to the gas flow rate controller E outside the box through the wire c, and when the oxygen concentration inside the box is too high, the gas flow rate is increased, and when the oxygen concentration is too low, the gas flow rate is decreased. In the manual adjustment mode, the gas flow rate is manually adjusted in real time when monitoring the oxygen concentration inside the box.
[0015] Another object of the present application is to provide the application of the method in interfering the Varroa mite reproduction in the bee colony or the capped brood of bees.
[0016] The method has the following characteristics compared with the prior art: (1) not dependent on any drug, no risk of drug residue in bee products; (2) multiple implementation methods, which can be combined with beekeeping production; (3) proper use of the method can effectively avoid Varroa destructor damage. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0017] Figure 1 . The structure diagram of the beehive device of the present application.
[0018] Figure 2 . It is a way to interfere with the reproduction of bee mites by placing the capped brood in a low-oxygen environment. a. A 20L container is placed in a constant temperature and humidity incubator; b. A piece of capped brood parasitized by bee mites (wrapped with a wire mesh) is placed in the container; c. Measure the oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations in the container.
[0019] Figure 3 . Device for reducing the oxygen concentration in the beehive by introducing nitrogen gas into the relatively closed beehive to interfere with the reproduction of bee mites. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0020] The present application is further illustrated by combining with examples. However, the protection scope of the present application is not limited to this.
[0021] Example 1 Reference Figure 1 The present application provides a beehive device capable of adjusting the oxygen concentration in the box, which is composed of a box body A, a gas conduit B, a gas tank C, an oxygen concentration measuring instrument D in the box, and a gas flow rate controller E.
[0022] The box body A is improved on the basis of a common beehive. The box body is kept basically sealed, with a small opening a at the bottom of the front side for bees to enter and exit, while maintaining gas flow with the outside. A small opening b is opened on each of the front and rear sides for inserting the conduit to pass the gas of a specific oxygen concentration.
[0023] The gas conduit B is connected at one end to the small openings b on the front and rear sides of the box body A, and at the other end to the gas tank C. The gas tank C is filled with nitrogen gas or a mixture of nitrogen gas and oxygen gas with an oxygen concentration of 0-16%.
[0024] Two oxygen concentration measuring instruments D are placed inside the box body A to measure the oxygen concentration at two different points in the box.
[0025] The gas flow rate adjustment in the box of the present application includes two modes: automatic adjustment and manual adjustment. In the automatic adjustment mode, the oxygen concentration measuring instrument is connected through a wire c with the gas flow rate controller E outside the box. When the oxygen concentration in the box is too high, the gas flow rate is increased, and when the oxygen concentration is too low, the gas flow rate is decreased. In the manual adjustment mode, the gas flow rate is manually adjusted in real time while monitoring the oxygen concentration in the box.
[0026] Example 2 Reference Figure 2 A 20L closed container a was selected, and a small hole was opened in the upper half and lower half of the container as the air inlet and air outlet, respectively. Nitrogen was uniformly fed into the container to reduce the oxygen concentration (oxygen partial pressure) in the container to about 15%. The newly capped worker bees parasitized by Varroa destructor were placed in the container. The oxygen concentration was corrected again by feeding nitrogen once a day. After 10 days, the nest house was opened to check the parasitism and reproduction of Varroa destructor in each nest house. The results showed that the number of effective offspring of all bee mites was 0.
[0027] Example 3 Using the experimental device in Example 1, the oxygen concentration in the container was reduced to 13% by supplementing nitrogen. The newly capped worker bees parasitized by Varroa destructor were placed in the container. The oxygen concentration was corrected again by feeding nitrogen once a day. After 10 days, the nest house was opened to check the parasitism and reproduction of Varroa destructor in each nest house. The results showed that the number of effective offspring of all bee mites was 0.
[0028] Example 4 The bee colony was moved from a normal oxygen concentration environment to an artificial low oxygen room with an oxygen partial pressure of 13.5 kPa and placed for 10 days. The reproduction of adult female mites corresponding to the capped worker bees was observed before and after being placed in the low oxygen environment for 10 days under normal oxygen concentration conditions. The results showed that under normal oxygen concentration conditions, the number of offspring of adult female mites was 4.36±1.37, of which the number of adult daughter mites was 2.45±0.83; and after being placed in the low oxygen environment with an oxygen partial pressure of 13.5 kPa for 10 days, the number of offspring of adult female mites was 1.56±0.86, of which the number of adult daughter mites was 0.
[0029] Example 5 The bee colony was moved from a normal oxygen concentration environment to an artificial low oxygen room with an oxygen partial pressure of 15 kPa and placed for 10 days. The reproduction of adult female mites corresponding to the capped worker bees was observed before and after being placed in the low oxygen environment for 10 days. The results showed that under normal oxygen concentration conditions, the number of offspring of adult female mites was 4.36±1.37, of which the number of adult daughter mites was 2.45±0.83; and after being placed in the low oxygen environment with an oxygen partial pressure of 15 kPa for 10 days, the number of offspring of adult female mites was 2.91±1.06, of which the number of adult daughter mites was 0.76±0.74.
[0030] Example 6 Referring to the schematic diagram of the device described in Example 1, all gaps in a common beehive are wrapped or filled with plastic wrap or other materials to create a relatively sealed beehive environment. At the same time, small openings are made on the front and back sides of the beehive, and the beehive door is slightly opened. Nitrogen is uniformly supplied into the beehive through the two small openings to maintain the oxygen concentration in the beehive at around 14% ( Figure 3 The Varroa destructor mite reproduction was examined after 5 days of maintenance. The results showed that the total number of offspring produced by the adult female mites corresponding to the worker bees just before leaving the hive was 1.03 ± 1.14, of which the number of adult daughter mites was 0.22 ± 0.52, indicating that the vast majority of the female mites did not reproduce effectively.
[0031] Example 7 Referring to the schematic diagram of the device described in Example 1, a mixed gas (oxygen + nitrogen) with an oxygen concentration of 5% is uniformly delivered into the beehive through the two small openings in the front and back, so that the oxygen concentration in the beehive is maintained at about 13.5% ( Figure 3 The Varroa destructor mite reproduction was examined after 10 days. The results showed that the total number of offspring produced by the adult female mites corresponding to the worker bees just before leaving the hive was 1.23 ± 1.01, of which the number of adult daughter mites was 0.03 ± 0.18, indicating that the vast majority of the female mites did not reproduce effectively.
Claims
1. A method for interfering with the reproduction of Varroa destructor mites, characterized in that: This is achieved by following these steps: (1) A beehive with adjustable oxygen concentration inside the beehive is provided; the beehive comprises a beehive body (A), a gas conduit (B), a gas tank (C), an oxygen concentration meter inside the beehive (D), and a gas flow rate controller (E); (2) Based on the different adaptability of honey bees and Varroa destructans to low oxygen conditions and the fact that Varroa destructans cannot successfully reproduce under low oxygen conditions, the bee colony or the bee capped honeycomb is placed in a beehive body (A) in which the oxygen concentration in the beehive can be adjusted; (3) Observe the reading of the oxygen concentration meter (D); (4) Adjust the gas flow rate controller (E) to control the gas flow rate from the gas tank (C) to the box (A), and adjust the outlet size (a) at the bottom front of the box to control the speed of gas exchange between the box and the outside world, so that the oxygen concentration in the box is stable in the range of 10-17%; (5) Maintaining a low-oxygen environment in the box for more than one day can significantly affect or even prevent the reproduction of Varroa destructor mites, thereby achieving the purpose of preventing and controlling Varroa destructor mites.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The time of placing the device in the hypoxic environment in step (2) is more than one day. The longer the time, the better the effect of interfering with the reproduction of Varroa destructor mites.
3. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The hypoxic condition involved in step (2) refers to an oxygen concentration of 10% to 17% or an oxygen partial pressure of 13.5 to 15 kPa.
4. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The hypoxic condition is achieved by pumping out air to generate negative pressure, passing nitrogen, or passing a mixed gas with a low oxygen concentration.
5. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The beehive (A) provided in step (1) is substantially sealed, with a small opening (a) at the bottom of the front side for bees to enter and exit while maintaining air circulation with the outside world. A small opening (b) is opened on each of the front and back sides for inserting a tube to pass gas with a specific oxygen concentration. One end of the gas tube (B) is connected to the small openings (b) on the front and back sides of the box body, and the other end is connected to a gas tank (C). The gas tank (C) is filled with nitrogen with an oxygen concentration of 0-16% or a mixture of nitrogen and oxygen.
6. The method according to claim 5 is characterized in that the gas flow rate adjustment in the box includes two modes: automatic adjustment and manual adjustment. In the automatic adjustment mode, the oxygen concentration meter is connected to the gas flow rate controller (E) outside the box through a wire (c). When the oxygen concentration in the box is too high, the gas flow rate is increased, and when the oxygen concentration is too low, the gas flow rate is reduced. In the manual adjustment mode, the gas flow rate is manually adjusted while the oxygen concentration in the box is monitored in real time.
7. Use of the method according to claim 1 in interfering with the reproduction of Varroa destructans in bee colonies or honeybee capped honeycombs.
8. The use according to claim 7, characterized in that The reproduction of Varroa destructans in a bee colony or a bee capped comb is interfered with by placing the bee capped comb in a container with a low oxygen concentration or placing the entire bee colony in a low oxygen environment.