The ectoparasitic mite, Varroa destructor (Anderson and Trueman), is the leading cause of western honey bee colony, Apis mellifera (L.), mortality in the United States. Due to mounting evidence of resistance to certain approved miticides, beekeepers are struggling to keep their colonies alive. To date, there are varied but limited approved options for V. destructor control. Vaporized oxalic acid (OA) has proven to be an effective treatment against the dispersal phase of V. destructor but has its limitations since the vapor cannot penetrate the protective wax cap of honey bee pupal cells where V. destructor reproduces. In the Southeastern United States, honey bee colonies often maintain brood throughout the year, limiting the usefulness of OA. Prior studies have shown that even repeated applications of OA while brood is present are ineffective at decreasing mite populations. In the summer of 2021, we studied whether incorporating a forced brood break while vaporizing with OA would be an effective treatment against V. destructor. Ninety experimental colonies were divided into 2 blocks, one with a brood break and the other with no brood break. Within the blocks, each colony was randomly assigned 1 of 3 treatments: no OA, 2 g OA, or 3 g OA. The combination of vaporizing with OA and a forced brood break increased mite mortality by 5× and reduced mite populations significantly. These results give beekeepers in mild climates an additional integrated pest management method for controlling V. destructor during the summer season.

中文翻译：

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诱导夏季育雏期可提高草酸蒸发对意大利蜜蜂（膜翅目：蜜蜂科）群体中破坏瓦螨（Mesostigmata：Varroidae）控制的功效

外寄生螨，瓦螨（Anderson 和 Trueman），是美国西部蜜蜂群体 Apis mellifera (L.) 死亡的主要原因。由于越来越多的证据表明对某些经批准的杀螨剂具有抗药性，养蜂人正在努力维持蜂群的生存。迄今为止，对于 V. 析构函数控制，有多种但有限的批准选项。汽化草酸 (OA) 已被证明是对抗 V. destructor 扩散阶段的有效治疗方法，但也有其局限性，因为蒸气无法穿透 V. destructor 繁殖的蜜蜂蛹细胞的保护性蜡盖。在美国东南部，蜂群经常全年产卵，限制了 OA 的用途。先前的研究表明，即使在有幼虫存在时重复施用 OA 也无法有效减少螨虫数量。2021 年夏天，我们研究了在用 OA 蒸发的同时进行强制育雏是否是对抗 V. destructor 的有效治疗方法。90 个实验群体被分为 2 组，一组有育雏期，另一组没有育雏期。在这些块内，每个菌落被随机分配 3 种处理中的一种：无 OA、2 g OA 或 3 g OA。结合使用 OA 蒸发和强制休息，可使螨虫死亡率增加 5 倍，并显着减少螨虫数量。这些结果为气候温和的养蜂人提供了一种额外的综合害虫管理方法，用于在夏季控制破坏 V. destructor。