Assessment of strategies for the control of the Varroa destructor mite in Apis mellifera colonies, throug a simple model

BENAVENTE,M; DEZA,R; EGUARAS M

Rosario

Congreso; II Congreso de Matemática Aplicada, computacional e industrial; 2009

ASAMACI

  Varroa destructor is an ectoparasite of honybee brood and adult bee, which, with-out control, cause the hive collapse in some years. In this paper we propose a model which consist of an ordinary differencial equation system considering two phases of the mite: the adult (incluing phoretic) and the reproductive. In the reproductive phase two subcategories are considered: offpring mites in the worker and drone brood cells. We considere this two subcategories because they are usefull to evaluate control strategies for the V. destructor growth. At first the V. destrouctor dynamic is studied to understand the growth mechanims. Then control strategies, as drone culling, quemical control, are evaluated to determine an optimal use of this methods.