Effect of thymol and resveratrol administered with candy or syrup on the development of Nosema ceranae and on the longevity of honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) in laboratory conditions

Effet du thymol et du resveratrol, administrés avec du sucre candi ou du sirop, sur le développement de Nosema ceranae et sur la longévité des abeilles (Apis mellifera), en conditions de laboratoire

Cecilia Costa , Marco Lodesani , Lara Maistrello

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of thymol and resveratrol administered in two different formulation modes (candy and syrup) on the development of Nosema ceranae and on the longevity of honey bees. Emerging bees from a nosema-free apiary were individually infected with 1 μL of sucrose syrup containing 18000 spores of N. ceranae, placed in cages, and kept in an incubator at 33 °C and 65% RH. The experimental groups were fed candy or syrup prepared with thymol (100 ppm) or resveratrol (10 ppm). Infection levels were monitored over a 25 day period by removal and dissection of two live bees per cage. On day 25, post-infection bees fed with thymol syrup had significantly lower levels of infection (60 ± 9 million spores/bee) compared to control bees (138 ± 7 million spores/bee). Bees fed with thymol or resveratrol syrup lived significantly longer (23 and 25 days, respectively) than bees fed with control syrup (20 days). Thymol treated syrup appears to be promising in the control of nosema infection.

Mots clés: Nosema; microsporidian; honey bee; thymol; resveratrol<br>---<br>Nosema; resveratrol; abeille; expérience en laboratoire

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

Cecilia Costa, Marco Lodesani, Lara Maistrello. Effect of thymol and resveratrol administered with candy or syrup on the development of Nosema ceranae and on the longevity of honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) in laboratory conditions. Apidologie, 2010, 41 (2), ⟨10.1051/apido/2009070⟩. ⟨hal-00892060⟩