Hygienic and grooming behavior, study methods of varroosis in apiaries of Corrientes

Abstract

Varroa destructor is the main parasite responsible for the death of registered bee colonies in Argentina. However, some lineages of Apis mellifera appear to have qualities that make them more resistance towards parasitism than other severely affected colonies, until collapse and death. Hygienic behavior, high grooming capacity, and swarming may be some of those characteristics. The aim was to study the hygienic behavior and grooming in A. mellifera colonies and its relationship with the percentage of V. destructor infestation. The methodology was: 1. Selection of apiaries; 2. Evaluation of Varroa infestation in adult and brood bees; 3. Assessment of the cleaning capacity of the bee population; and 4. Estimation of grooming behavior in the bee population. Regarding the hygienic behavior evaluated in the selected hives, it was observed that the bees in the area have a high percentage of efficiency in the removal of  dead brood. The percentage of the Varroa shed by the grooming action was high in the hives of the C1 and C14 trials, reaching 51% in the C12 trial. Bee populations studied have sanitary characteristics that distinguish them from bees from other regions of the country: 1- They show tolerance to the percentages of Varroa infestation and 2- They express high hygienic behavior and grooming. These qualities, added to studies of wing morphometry, could lay the foundations for differentiating and characterizing the bees of the Argentine Northeast.