BIOLOGICAL LIFE CYCLE OF MITES - ECTOPARASITES OF BEES

Abstract

Honey bees are beneficial insects. They are valued for their nutritious, dietary and medicinal products. They pollinate entomophilous crops, helping to increase their yield. However, nowadays, there are serious problems in beekeeping that are hindering its development. These problems include the invasive acarine diseases – varroatosis and tropilaelapsosis of bees. The causative agents are Varroadestructur mites and four species of Tropilaelaps mites: Varroa destructur и четыре вида клещей Tropilaelaps: Tropilaelaps clareae, Tropilaelaps mercedesae, Tropilaelaps koenigerum и Tropilaelaps thaii. These are external parasitic mites – ectoparasites, which live on the bodies of larvae, pupae and adults of honey bees, feed on hemolymph, reproduce only on brood, thereby causing great harm to bee colonies and apiaries. In the fight against the pathogens of varroatosis and tropilaelapsosis, there are many acaricidal preparations, which should show their acaricidal effect on ticks, but unfortunately, the effectiveness is not always observed when using these chemicals. The reason is the untimely use of these chemicals. If acaricides are used when mites are in the combs of closed brood, the result will not be achieved. In closed brood, parasites are well protected from the influence of acaricides, so it is necessary to use these substances in the adult stage of parasites, when they leave the combs and are on the imago of bees or among them. When developing therapeutic and preventive measures against pathogens of the above diseases in the conditions of the region, it is necessary to study the biological life cycle of pathogens in bee colonies and establish specific optimal periods for the use of acaricides.