Department of Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University, PO Box 14115-336, Tehran, Iran.
Exp Appl Acarol. 2011 Oct;55(2):147-54. doi: 10.1007/s10493-011-9457-1. Epub 2011 Apr 12.
This experiment was conducted to evaluate acaricidal activity of the essential oils of Thymus kotschyanus, Ferula assa-foetida and Eucalyptus camaldulensis against Varroa destructor under laboratory conditions. Moreover, fumigant toxicity of these oils was tested on Apis mellifera. After preliminary dose-setting experiments, mites and honey bees were exposed to different concentrations of the oil, with 10 h exposure time. Essential oil of T. kotschyanus appeared the most potent fumigant for V. destructor (LC(50) = 1.07, 95% confidence limit (CL) = 0.87-1.26 μl/l air), followed by E. camaldulensis (LC(50) = 1.74, 95% CL = 0.96-2.50 μl/l air). The lowest acaricidal activity (LC(50) = 2.46, 95% CL = 2.10-2.86 μl/l air) was attributed to essential oil of F. assa-foetida. Surprisingly, among the three oils tested, essential oil of T. kotschyanus had the lowest insecticidal activity against A. mellifera (LC(50) = 5.08, 95% CL = 4.54-5.06 μl/l air). These findings proved that essential oil of T. kotschyanus has potential of practical value for use as alternative acaricide in the management of varroa in apiaries.
本实验旨在评估百里香、阿魏和桉树精油对实验室条件下瓦螨的杀螨活性。此外，还测试了这些油对蜜蜂的熏蒸毒性。在初步剂量设定实验后，将螨虫和蜜蜂暴露于不同浓度的油中，暴露时间为 10 小时。百里香精油对瓦螨的熏蒸活性最强（LC50=1.07，95%置信限（CL）=0.87-1.26μl/l 空气），其次是桉树精油（LC50=1.74，95%CL=0.96-2.50μl/l 空气）。阿魏精油的杀螨活性最低（LC50=2.46，95%CL=2.10-2.86μl/l 空气）。令人惊讶的是，在所测试的三种油中，百里香精油对蜜蜂的杀虫活性最低（LC50=5.08，95%CL=4.54-5.06μl/l 空气）。这些发现证明，百里香精油具有作为养蜂场瓦螨管理替代杀螨剂的实际应用潜力。
