Susceptibility of<i>Varroa destructor</i>(Gamasida: Varroidae) to four pesticides used in three Mexican apicultural regions under two different management systems

Abstract

ABSTRACT Mexico has five apicultural regions wich are defined according to their blooming period and geography. Varroa destructor Anderson and Trueman is controlled with pesticides and alternative treatments in all these regions. To determine the concentration-mortality response lines of V. destructor, bioassays with four pesticides that are used for its control in the Gulf of Mexico, Yucatan Peninsula and Central-Highland regions were conducted. The Burgerjon spraying tower was used to apply known concentrations of flumethrin, fluvalinate, amitraz and coumaphos. Lethal concentrations 50 (LC50) and resistance indexes were calculated with Probit analyses. In the Gulf region, the resistance indexes were: flumethrin, 659.43; fluvalinate, 21.83; amitraz, 12.77; coumaphos, 1.49×. In the Central-Highland region: flumethrin, 243.43; fluvalinate, 19.04; amitraz, 8.56; coumaphos, 1.22 x. In the Yucatan Peninsula region: flumethrin, 4057.32; fluvalinate, 199.57; amitraz, 26.55; coumaphos, 3.93×. These results suggest a resistance to flumethrin, fluvalinate and amitraz, with similar values in migratory beekeeping regions, and higher values in the non-migratory region. Coumaphos remained effective in V. destructor populations of the Gulf and Central-Highland regions. Key words: ResistanceMexicoflumethrinfluvalinateamitrazcoumaphosBurgerjonmigratorytranshumance Apis mellifera ACKNOWLEDGMENTS To the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT), CITROFRUT S.A de C.V., and Fundación Produce de Veracruz A.C., for the funding and facilities provided. This work is part of the PhD thesis carried out by the first author at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Unidad Iztapalapa.