Abstract
The honey bee ectoparasite Varroa destructor is considered the major threat to apiculture, as untreated colonies of Apis mellifera usually collapse within a few years. In order to control this mite, many beekeepers rely on a limited number of approved synthetic acaricides, including the pyrethroids tau-fluvalinate and flumethrin. Due to the intensive use of these products, resistance is now commonplace in many beekeeping regions across the world. In the present study, the occurrence of amino acid substitutions at residue L925 of the voltage-gate sodium channel—the pyrethroid target site—was studied in Varroa populations collected throughout Flanders, Belgium. Dose–response bioassays supported the involvement of the frequently observed L925V substitution in flumethrin resistance, resulting in a 12.64-fold increase of the LC50 in a Varroa population mostly consisting of homozygous 925 V/V mites. With the presence of L925 substitutions in about four out of 10 screened apiaries, the use of pyrethroid-based varroacides in Flanders, including the recently released PolyVar® Yellow, should be carefully considered.
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Acknowledgements
We thank the beekeepers for voluntarily providing us with Varroa samples and with information on the pyrethroid use history.
Funding
SV was supported by Greece and the European Union (European Social Fund) through the Operational Program ‘Human Resources Development, Education and Lifelong Learning’ in the context of the project ‘Strengthening Human Resources Research Potential via Doctorate Research’ (MIS-5000432), implemented by the State Scholarships Foundation.
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Vlogiannitis, S., Jonckheere, W., Laget, D. et al. Pyrethroid target-site resistance mutations in populations of the honey bee parasite Varroa destructor (Acari: Varroidae) from Flanders, Belgium. Exp Appl Acarol 85, 205–221 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-021-00665-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-021-00665-9