Laboratorio de Artrópodos. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Parasitol Res. 2009 Dec;106(1):145-52. doi: 10.1007/s00436-009-1639-y. Epub 2009 Oct 1.
Varroa destructor is an external parasitic mite that is a serious pest of honeybees and has caused severe losses of colonies worldwide. One of the feasible alternative treatments being used for their control is essential oils. The aim of this work was to evaluate the bioactivity of some essential oils on V. destructor and Apis mellifera in relation with their chemical composition and physicochemical properties. Lavender, lavendin and laurel essential oils showed linalool as main compound in their composition. 1,8-Cineole was also present as a predominant component in the laurel essential oil. However, thyme oil was characterized by a high concentration of thymol. Mites and bees toxicity was tested by means of complete exposure method. For mites, LC(50) values for laurel, lavender and lavendin essential oil did not show significant variation throughout all observation times. However, the LC(50) values for thyme oil at 48 and 72 h were lower than at 24 h. Bee mortality was evident only in treatment with thyme oil. At 48 and 72 h, lavender essential oil presented better selectivity indexes. In this research, all essential oils caused mite mortality without severe harmful effects on adult bees. The simultaneous evaluation of the physicochemical analysis of the essential oils, the characterization of the dosage response relationships among them, and the mortality effects on mite and bees, give us the possibility to obtain comparative results for future research in Varroa control.
瓦螨是一种外寄生螨，是蜜蜂的严重害虫，已在全球范围内造成蜂群严重损失。目前正在使用的一种可行的替代治疗方法是使用精油。本研究的目的是评估一些精油对瓦螨和意大利蜜蜂的生物活性，以及它们的化学成分和理化性质。薰衣草、薰衣草和月桂精油的主要成分是芳樟醇。1,8-桉叶油醇也是月桂精油的主要成分。然而，百里香油的特点是百里酚浓度高。通过完全暴露法测试了螨虫和蜜蜂的毒性。对于螨虫，在整个观察时间内，月桂、薰衣草和薰衣草精油的 LC(50)值没有显著变化。然而，百里香油在 48 和 72 小时的 LC(50)值低于 24 小时。只有在使用百里香油时才会出现蜜蜂死亡。在 48 和 72 小时时，薰衣草精油表现出更好的选择指数。在这项研究中，所有精油都能杀死螨虫，而对成年蜜蜂没有严重的有害影响。同时评估精油的理化分析、它们之间剂量反应关系的特征以及对螨虫和蜜蜂的致死效应，使我们有可能获得未来瓦螨控制研究的比较结果。
