An assessment of the effectiveness of the thymol-based acaricide (Apiguard) gel against the Varroa mites on European honeybees in Pingtung, Taiwan Chinkangsadarn Suwimol, Mendez Canid Nefertiti, Clerger Florvil, Kafle Lekhnath* Department of Tropical Agriculture and International Cooperation, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung, Taiwan *Corresponding authors' E-mail: kafle@mail.npust.edu.tw
Online published on 20 December, 2024. Abstract This study evaluated the efficacy of newly approved Thymol based Apiguard gel in reducing varroa mite infestations in honeybee colonies (Apis mellifera ligustica) under field conditions in Pingtung, Taiwan. The efficacy of Apiguard in controlling mite infestations was evaluated by applying it at different intervals of 5, 6, and 7 days, with each interval involving four reapplications over a period of 35 days. Apiguard was applied at a dosage of 1 g per frame across bee colonies with varying populations of 4, 5, 6, and 7 frames per interval. Furthermore, mite mortality was assessed using the sugar powder method every week during the study. At 35 DAT (end of the study), Apiguard displayed notable efficacy against varroa mite infestations with application intervals of 5, 6 and 7 days, achieving infestation reductions of 100%, 100%, and 98%, respectively. On the other hand, varroa mite’s infestation was increased by 179% in the Control groups of bee colonies. Additionally, the application of Fluvalinate strip (40 mg/strip) resulted in a significant 92% infestation reduction compared to the control group of bee colonies at 35 DAT. Top Keywords Apiguard, Fluvalinate, Infestation reduction, Italian bee, Varroa mite. Top |