Small-cell comb foundation does not impede Varroa mite population growth in honey bee colonies

La petite taille des alvéoles des rayons de cire n'entrave pas le développement des populations de Varroa destructor dans les colonies d'abeilles

Jennifer A. Berry , William B. Owens , Keith S. Delaplane

In three independently replicated field studies, we compared biometrics of Varroa mite and honey bee populations in bee colonies housed on one of two brood cell types: small-cell (4.9 ± 0.08 mm cell width, walls inclusive) or conventional-cell (5.3 ± 0.04). In one of the studies, ending colony bee population was significantly higher in small-cell colonies (14994 ± 2494 bees) than conventional-cell (5653 ± 1082). However, small-cell colonies were significantly higher for mite population in brood (359.7 ± 87.4 vs. 134.5 ± 38.7), percentage of mite population in brood (49.4 ± 7.1 vs. 26.8 ± 6.7), and mites per 100 adult bees (5.1 ± 0.9 vs. 3.3 ± 0.5). With the three remaining ending Varroa population metrics, mean trends for small-cell were unfavorable. We conclude that small-cell comb technology does not impede Varroa population growth.

Mots clés: Apis mellifera; Varroa destructor; IPM; comb; cell size<br>---<br>Apis mellifera; lutte intégrée; rayon; taille de la cellule

Domaines: Zoologie des invertébrés; Biodiversité; Ecologie, Environnement; Science des productions animales

Jennifer A. Berry, William B. Owens, Keith S. Delaplane. Small-cell comb foundation does not impede Varroa mite population growth in honey bee colonies. Apidologie, 2010, 41 (1), ⟨10.1051/apido/2009049⟩. ⟨hal-00892019⟩