New Matrixes to Diagnose Aethina tumida Presence at Apiary Level

(Coleoptera: Nitidulidae - Small Hive Beetle - SHB), is a parasite of honey bee colonies that causes the notifiable disease called aethinosis. In 2014, SHB was detected in Southern Italy, where it is still present (Calabria region). As part of surveillance activities, official diagnosis of the disea...

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Published inJournal of Apicultural Science Vol. 65; no. 2; pp. 345 - 348
Main Authors Cersini, Antonella, Pietropaoli, Marco, Pietrella, Gabriele, Rivera-Gomis, Jorge, Federico, Giovanni, Tofani, Silvia, Conti, Raffaella, Rubino, Roberta C., Di Ruggiero, Camilla, Formato, Giovanni
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Pulawy Sciendo 01.12.2021
De Gruyter Poland
Subjects
Aethina tumida
Bees
Diagnosis
hive debris
Inspection
Parasites
PCR
Surveillance
swab
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Summary:(Coleoptera: Nitidulidae - Small Hive Beetle - SHB), is a parasite of honey bee colonies that causes the notifiable disease called aethinosis. In 2014, SHB was detected in Southern Italy, where it is still present (Calabria region). As part of surveillance activities, official diagnosis of the disease is performed by veterinary services via visual inspection of single hives in the apiaries. New outbreaks can be eradicated and the spread of SHBs limited by early detection of new introductions. We report an alternative protocol for the diagnosis of SHB through swabs and hive debris analysis by PCR. This was tested in three apiaries through the evaluation of different SHB infestation levels with a hive inspection method. This approach for sampling, followed by biomolecular methods, was fast and useful in unfavorable conditions (bad weather, aggressiveness, robbing), could be integrated in the official diagnosis procedures and may act as pre-clinic indicator.
ISSN:2299-4831
1643-4439
2299-4831
DOI:10.2478/jas-2021-0015