Evaluation of Few Essential Oils for the Management of Parasitic Bee Mites, Varroa destructor (Acari: Varroidae) in Apis mellifera L. Colonies

Varroa destructor (Anderson and Trueman), is a greatest rigorous and economical pest of Apis mellifera L. worldwide. Many control measures including application of chemicals are adapted to resistor the influx of mites in hives of honey bee. The indiscriminate use of pesticides involve many problems; cause resistance in mites, residual in honey, wax and potentially hazardous to man and environment. Plant derived mixtures are normally more easily degradable and could show a minor undesirable impact on environment with respect to synthetic compounds. This study was planned to check the efficacy of four different essential oils (neem oil, lemon oil, eucalyptus oil and orange oil) at different doses against percent mortality of Varroa mites. The essential oils were applied at two different doses (2.5ml and 5ml) and percent mortality data was recorded after 12, 24, 48 and 72 h of the application. As seen from results, all essential oils gave satisfactory control of Varroa mites except orange oil. The percent mortality was observed higher in eucalyptus oil (76.13%) at 2.5ml dose. Similarly, at 5ml dose, eucalyptus oil (90.27%), lemon oil (85.54%) and neem oil (82.69%) gave significant control of Varroa mites. With the passage of time, mite mortality percentage increases. Overall, eucalyptus oil at 5ml dose rate gave best result and can be recommended to manage the varroa mite in apiculture.