Biological activities of essential oils from Moroccan plants against the honey bee ectoparasitic mite, Varroa destructor

ABSTRACT

This study describes the biological activities of six Moroccan essential oils against adults of Varroa destructor and young pupae of A. mellifera under laboratory conditions. The obtained results show that the tested essential oils exhibit a toxic and repellent effect against V. destructor adults and are less toxic for young pupae of A. mellifera. Indeed, Thymus willdenowii essential oil exhibits the highest acaricidal effect against V. destructor adults (LC₅₀ = 1.04 and LC₉₀ = 5.12 µL/L air), followed by Thymus munbyanus (LC₅₀ = 2.26 and LC₉₀ = 6.78 µL/L air), Lavandula maroccana (LC₅₀ = 2.49 and LC₉₀ = 8.41 µL/L air) and Mentha pulegium (LC₅₀ = 3.19 and LC₉₀ = 9.66 µL/L air). The highest repellent effect for the studied essential oils against V. destructor adults was observed for T. willdenowii essential oil (ED₅₀ = 0.42 and ED₉₀ = 1.26 µL/L air). Regarding the insecticidal effect, all tested essential oils revealed lower toxicity against young pupae of A. mellifera compared to their acaricidal activity. Artemisia herba-alba essential oil (LC₅₀ = 10.53 µL/L air, LC₉₀ = 18.62 µL/L air) produces high mortality against young pupae of A. mellifera among tested essential oils. The bioactivities of different essential oils were discussed based on their bioactive compounds.

KEYWORDS:

• Apis mellifera
• biological activities
• essential oil compositions
• varroa destructor

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).