MODEL OF Varroa destructor MITE IN Apis mellifera HIVES: DEVELOPMENTS, CALIBRATION AND NEW APPLICATIONS

DEZA, R; M.BENAVENTE,; BULACIO, N; EGUARAS, M

Buenos Aires

Congreso; IV MACI Congreso de Matematica Aplicada Computacional e Industrial; 2013

AMA

Recent developments on a formerly introduced model for the population dynamics of V. destructor mite in A. mellifera colonies are reported. Based on a nonlinear difference equation with two lags and a stylized (though realistic) treatment of preference functions and carrying capacities, this model was opportunely shown to qualitatively reproduce the behavior found with more elaborate models and yielded results allowing to easily decide on the performance of control strategies. In the present work we improve the stylized treatment of preference functions and carrying capacities, fit the seasonal oviposition function and calibrate the model with real data, and apply the model to the highly relevant case of organic chemical control. Our results show that a control similar to the one obtained with synthetic chemicals can be achieved using timol and combinations thereof, without sensibly altering the quality of honey