Effect Of Bioagents On Honey Bees And Bee Enemies In The Hive

Honey bees which are the primary source of pollination for approximately one fourth of all crops produced throughout the world and has taken over as pollinator of many of the wild plants that maintain the stability of ecosystems.The present study was conducted to know the safety to honey bees of the four commonly used entomopathogenic bioagents for controlling the crop pests and their effect on the ectoparasitic mite, Varroa destructor inhabiting the bee colony. The bioagents tested included Metarhizium anisopliae, Verticillium lecanii, Beauveria bassiana and Bacillus thuringinensis kurstaki. Three methods of testing the efficacy were tried which included strip method, spray method and feeding method. The bioagents were applied at 108 spores/colony using strip and spray method and 107 spores in the feeding method. The book will give a key for the management of ectoparasitic infesting honey bee colonies without using any harmful chemicals.