Frontiers in effective control of problem parasites in beekeeping

Abstract

Demand for better control of certain parasites in managed western honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) remains apparent amongst beekeepers in both Europe and North America, and is of widespread public, scientific, and agricultural concern. Academically, interest from numerous fields including veterinary sciences has led to many exemplary reviews of the parasites of honey bees and the treatment options available. However, summaries of current research frontiers in treating both novel and long-known parasites of managed honey bees are lacking. This review complements the currently comprehensive body of literature summarizing the effectiveness of parasite control in managed honey bees by outlining where significant gaps in development, implementation, and uptake lie, including integration into IPM frameworks and separation of cultural, biological, and chemical controls. In particular, I distinguish where challenges in identifying appropriate controls exist in the lab compared to where we encounter hurdles in technology transfer due to regulatory, economic, or cultural contexts. I overview how exciting frontiers in honey bee parasite control research are clearly demonstrated by the abundance of recent publications on novel control approaches, but also caution that temperance must be levied on the applied end of the research engine in believing that what can be achieved in a laboratory research environment can be quickly and effectively marketed for deployment in the field.

Keywords: Apis mellifera; Biological control; IPM; Parasite; Regulation.

Graphical abstract

Fig. 1

An adapted amalgamation of a leaf blower, propane gas heater, and oxalic acid vaporizer as developed by a commercial beekeeping operation to improve the economic viability of acute oxalic acid treatment of many hundreds of colonies. Devices such as this allow even large apiaries to be treated with minimal labour (relative to the wider of context of beekeeping), but rely on beekeeper-led innovation and potentially loose regulatory environments.