D3381: Susceptibility of the small hive beetle to new generations of insecticides and selected fungal pathogens

Bee health is critical for the success of pollination-based agriculture, which produces about a third of the diet in the United States. A healthy and secure honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) industry is valuable to modern agriculture, providing pollination services estimated at $14.6 billion annually in the US. Unfortunately, the number of honeybee colonies in the US has declined by more than 40% in the last few years. This decline of honeybee colonies has been attributed mainly to invasive pests such as Varroa mite (Varroa destructor Anderson and Truman) and small hive beetle (SHB) (Aethina tumida Murray). Thus, six new generations of insecticides were evaluated against the small hive beetle for use as potential control measures. These insecticides include neonicotinoids (imidacloprid, acetamiprid and thiametoxam), pyrazole (fenpryoximate), oxidazine (indoxacarb), and pyrole (chlorfenapyr). Data indicated that the neonicotinoid insecticides were the most effective in controlling the small hive beetle. Two fungal pathogens, Metarhizium anisopliae 3020 and Beauveria bassiana, were identified from cadavers using DNA fingerprinting and then tested against A. tumida. These fungi provided successful results and could be potential microbial control agents. Overall, the susceptibility of the small hive beetle (adult and larvae) populations to low concentrations of selected new generations of insecticides and entomopathogenic fungi could provide useful insights in the development of a sustainable pest management strategy for the small hive beetle.