Composition for preventing and treating Varroa destructor and application thereof

Abstract

The invention provides a composition for preventing and treating Varroa destructor and application thereof. The composition provided by the invention is prepared by mixing oleic acid and linoleic acid according to the mass ratio of 1: 0, 0: 1, 1: 1, 1: 2, 2: 1, 1: 3 or 3: 1. The composition is applied to bee-keeping production, and plays a role in killing Varroa destructor by volatilizing in a beehive. Compared with the prior art, the composition is long in efficacy time and high in safety.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the field of beekeeping and relates to a composition for preventing and controlling Varroa destructor mites and application thereof. Background Art

[0002] Varroa destructor (commonly known as "big bee mite") is an external parasite of honey bees. Its original host is the oriental honey bee. After host migration, it parasitizes the western honey bee and spreads to almost all beekeeping areas, becoming the most serious pest facing the western honey bee breeding industry in the world. The physical condition of bees infected with Varroa destructor deteriorates, and even develops deformities, and the bee colony will show a series of symptoms. It is also a carrier and spreader 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 bee colonies in temperate regions will collapse within one year. Therefore, it is an important part of western honey bee beekeeping production to regularly use drugs to control mites and keep the bee mite parasitism rate below the threshold of about 10%. Chemical miticides such as fluvalinate, amitraz, and formic acid have always been the first choice for preventing and controlling bee mites in beekeeping production. However, the long-term use of these chemical miticides will lead to drug residues in bee products and the Varroa mites will inevitably develop drug resistance. At the same time, the drugs themselves also have obvious harm to the health of bees. Therefore, it is urgent to develop new methods to control Varroa destructor mites.

[0003] Oleic acid and linoleic acid are both unsaturated fatty acids containing 18 carbon atoms, of which oleic acid has one double bond and the chemical formula is C18H34O2; linoleic acid has two double bonds and the molecular formula is C18H32O2. Summary of the invention

[0004] The object of the present invention is to provide a composition for controlling Varroa destructor mites. The composition provided by the present invention is prepared by mixing oleic acid and linoleic acid in a mass ratio of 1:0, 0:1, 1:1, 1:2, 2:1, 1:3 or 3:1.

[0005] Another object of the present invention is to provide the use of the composition in the preparation of drugs for controlling Varroa destructor mites.

[0006] The application of the composition of the present invention to control Varroa destructans is achieved in the following manner: A certain amount of the composition is placed on cotton cloth or other absorbent materials, and placed in a container for raising bees (generally referred to as a beehive in production). Through the volatilization of the drug, it kills the Varroa destructor. In beekeeping production, the location where the drug is placed generally refers to the bottom of the beehive, the frame beam of the nest frame, or the queen fence between the super and the hive. The dosage per hive is related to the size of the hive. The larger the capacity of the hive, the greater the amount of drug used. The dosage of a standard hive with a super (Langstrom hive) is 4 grams to 20 grams per time, and the dosage of a standard hive with only a nest is halved to 2 grams to 10 grams. If the container for raising bees is smaller, the dosage can be further reduced. Under laboratory cage conditions, the dosage of the drug can be as low as 0.05 grams.

[0007] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages: (1) the mites are killed by volatilization in the beehive, and the mite killing effect is good; (2) the recommended dosage is basically non-toxic to bees; (3) oleic acid and linoleic acid are both edible unsaturated fatty acids, safe and non-toxic to the human body, and will not cause quality and safety problems of bee products. Compared with the prior art, the composition has a long duration of efficacy and high safety. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] Figure 1 .Caged bee device for testing the efficacy of drugs in killing mites.

[0009] Figure 2 .Mortalities of bee mites after treatment with oleic acid.

[0010] Figure 3 .Mortalities of bee mites after treatment with linoleic acid.

[0011] Figure 4 .Mortalities of Varroa mites after treatment with a 1:1 mixture of oleic and linoleic acids.

[0012] Figure 5 .Method of using medicine under bee colony conditions. Place the medicine on cotton cloth, and then on the frame beams and queen excluder in the beehive. The volatilization of the medicine will kill the bee mites.

[0013] Figure 6 .The number of mites falling for 3 consecutive days after oleic acid and linoleic acid treatment under bee colony conditions.

[0014] Figure 7 .The number of mites falling for 3 consecutive days after treatment with a mixture of oleic acid and linoleic acid under bee colony conditions. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] The present invention is further described in conjunction with embodiments.

[0016] Example 1 The medicine of the present invention is prepared by mixing oleic acid and linoleic acid in a mass ratio of 1:0, 0:1, 1:1, 1:2, 2:1, 1:3 or 3:1.

[0017] Example 2 30 bees were housed in an aviation cup ( Figure 1 ), each box of bees was inoculated with 8 adult Varroa destructans. The drug (oleic acid) was added to a disposable cotton cloth, and 0.05 g, 0.1 g or 0.2 g of oleic acid was applied to each box of bees. The control group was not given the drug, and each group was repeated 3 times. The number of dead Varroa destructans was recorded at 6 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours, 36 hours and 48 hours after the start of the experiment. The results are shown in Figure 2 It can be seen that a high proportion of bee mites died 12 hours after the application of oleic acid. After 48 hours, the mortality rate of bee mites treated with 0.1 gram and 0.2 gram oleic acid reached more than 90%.

[0018] Example 3 Under laboratory conditions, 30 bees were kept in an aviation cup, and each box of bees was inoculated with 8 adult Varroa destructans. The drug (linoleic acid) was added to a disposable cotton cloth, and 0.05 grams, 0.1 grams, or 0.2 grams of linoleic acid were applied to each box of bees. The control group was not given the drug, and each group was repeated 3 times. The number of dead Varroa destructans was recorded at 6 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours, 36 hours, and 48 hours after the start of the experiment. The results are as follows: Figure 3 It can be seen that a high proportion of bee mites died 12 hours after the application of linoleic acid. After 48 hours, the mortality rate of bee mites treated with 0.1 gram and 0.2 gram linoleic acid reached more than 90%.

[0019] Example 4 Under laboratory conditions, 30 bees were kept in an aviation cup, and 8 adult Varroa mites were inoculated in each box of bees. The drug (a mixture of oleic acid and linoleic acid) was added to a disposable cotton cloth, and 0.05 grams, 0.1 grams or 0.2 grams of a 1:1 mixture of oleic acid and linoleic acid were applied to each box of bees. The control group was not given the drug, and each group was repeated 3 times. The number of dead Varroa mites was recorded at 6 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours, 36 hours and 48 hours after the start of the experiment. The results are as follows Figure 4 It can be seen that a high proportion of bee mites died 12 hours after the application of the mixture of oleic acid and linoleic acid. After 48 hours, the mortality rate of bee mites treated with 0.1 gram and 0.2 gram of the mixture of oleic acid and linoleic acid reached more than 90%.

[0020] Example 5 Select three bee colonies infected with Varroa destructor mites, apply 10 grams of oleic acid or linoleic acid to each, spread a piece of white paper on the bottom of the beehive to collect the fallen mites, and use a powder collecting bucket at the door of the hive to catch the mites that are cleaned out of the hive by the bees. Medication method: Put the drug on cotton cloth and place it on the frame beam and queen excluder in the beehive ( Figure 5 ). After applying the medicine, the total number of bee mites at the bottom and door of the box were counted every 24 hours. Figure 6 After using the medicine, dozens of bee mites died in three consecutive days in the three bee colonies, indicating that the medicine is effective.

[0021] Example 6 Select 5 bee colonies infected with Varroa destructans and apply 15 grams of a mixture of oleic acid and linoleic acid in different ratios (1:1, 1:2, 2:1, 1:3 or 3:1, directly mixed and dissolved in each other). Place a piece of white paper at the bottom of the beehive to collect the fallen mites, and use a powder collecting bucket at the door of the hive to catch the mites that are cleaned out of the hive by the bees. After the medication, count the total number of mites at the bottom and door of the hive every 24 hours. The results are as follows Figure 7 After using the medicine, dozens of bee mites died in 5 bee colonies for 3 consecutive days, indicating that the medicine is effective.

Claims

1. A composition for controlling Varroa destructor, characterized in that: The composition is prepared by mixing oleic acid and linoleic acid in a mass ratio of 1:0, 0:1, 1:1, 1:2, 2:1, 1:3 or 3:

1.

2. Use of the composition according to claim 1 in the preparation of a drug for controlling Varroa destructor mites.

3. The use according to claim 2, characterized in that: The application is implemented by the following steps: placing the composition on cotton cloth or other water-absorbent materials, and placing the composition in a container for raising bees, so as to kill the Varroa destructans through the volatilization of the drug; the dosage per hive is related to the size of the hive, the larger the capacity of the hive, the greater the dosage of the drug used, the dosage per time for a standard hive with supers is 4 to 20 grams, and the dosage per time for a standard hive with only nest boxes is halved to 2 to 10 grams; if the container for raising bees is small, the dosage is reduced.

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