First Report on the Mechanisms of Insecticide Resistance in Field Populations of the Small Hive Beetle in Florida
Open Access
- 18 June 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by MDPI AG in Agriculture
- Vol. 11 (6), 559
- https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11060559
Abstract
The small hive beetle (Aethina tumida Murray) is a serious threat to beekeeping and crops that rely on honeybees for pollination. The small hive beetle not only causes significant damage to honeybees by feeding on pollen and honey, attacking bee brood and causing stored honey to ferment, but also might serve as a vector of diseases. In addition, the small hive beetle has developed resistance to the pyrethroid and organophosphate insecticides registered for control of honeybee pests in the United States. The development of resistance in small hive beetle populations is a great concern to the beekeeping industry; thus, there is an urgent need for strategies to manage that resistance. Therefore, we used synergist probes to determine the mechanisms of resistance in a small hive beetle population to these insecticides. Our studies on the toxicity of insecticides alone or with the synergists piperonyl butoxide (PBO) and S,S,S,-tributyl phosphorotrithionate (DEF) suggested that mixed-function oxidases and esterases were the major resistance factors to these insecticides in a studied population of the small hive beetle. In contrast, there was no synergism with diethyl maleate (DEM), triphenyl phosphate (TPP) and formamidine. Therefore, glutathione-S-transferase, carboxylesterase and target site were not involved in insecticide resistance in the small hive beetle. Rotation of classes of insecticides (with different modes of action) and metabolic synergists were suggested for the development of successful resistance management programs. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study of the mechanisms of resistance in small hive beetle populations in Florida and suggests an urgent need for alternative control strategies for these serious pests of honeybee colonies.Keywords
Funding Information
- U.S. Department of Agriculture (Grant number 2014-38821-22401)
This publication has 33 references indexed in Scilit:
- Review of the subgenus Aethina Erichson s. str. (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae: Nitidulinae) in Korea, reporting recent invasion of small hive beetle, Aethina tumidaJournal of Asia-Pacific Entomology, 2017
- Quo vadis Aethina tumida? Biology and control of small hive beetlesApidologie, 2016
- Varroa destructor is an effective vector of Israeli acute paralysis virus in the honeybee, Apis melliferaJournal of General Virology, 2010
- Potential host shift of the small hive beetle (Aethina tumida) to bumblebee colonies (Bombus impatiens)Insectes Sociaux, 2008
- A Metagenomic Survey of Microbes in Honey Bee Colony Collapse DisorderScience, 2007
- An ecological digest of the small hive beetle (Aethina tumida), a symbiont in honey bee colonies (Apis mellifera)Insectes Sociaux, 2006
- Impact of an ectoparasite on the immunity and pathology of an invertebrate: Evidence for host immunosuppression and viral amplificationProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2005
- Longevity and Reproductive Success of Aethina tumida (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) Fed Different Natural DietsJournal of Economic Entomology, 2002
- Overview of the small hive beetle,Aethina tumida, in North AmericaBee World, 2000
- Field control and biology studies of a new pest species, Aethina tumida Murray (Coleoptera, Nitidulidae), attacking European honey bees in the Western HemisphereApidologie, 1999