Essential oils as sustainable control agents against Varroa destructor (Acari, Varroidae), an ectoparasitic mite of the western honeybees Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae): Review of recent literature (2010-onwards)

ABSTRACT

The western honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) is one of the most important insect species that, unfortunately, is being confronted with multiple biological stressors that threaten their existence. Varroa destructor (Anderson and Trueman) is the most devastating ectoparasitic mite known today. In this review, we offer an up-to-date review of the literature on the use of essential oils (EOs) against V. destructor, particularly the last decade (2010-onwards). We find that 40 aromatic plants were extracted for EOs and screened for their varroacidal activity under laboratory and/or field conditions. Through this review, we urge the scientific community to pay more attention to the following points: 1) the laboratory bioassays should be completed with field trials as they are the ones capable of revealing the true potency of the studied EO, 2) sub-lethal effects of the screened EO on honeybees as non-target organisms as well as their residual activity should also be investigated, and finally 3) more inquiries are required in regard to the mode of action of these substances to reveal their molecular targets in V. destructor.

KEYWORDS:

• Apis mellifera
• Varroa destructor
• essential oils
• plant extracts
• ectoparasitic mite
• honeybee
• review

Disclosure statement

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