Oral administration of essential oils and main components: Study on honey bee survival and Nosema ceranae development

PORRINI, MARTÍN PABLO; GARRIDO, PAULA MELISA; GENDE, LIESEL BRENDA; ROSSINI, CÁRMEN; HERMIDA, LAURA; MARCÁNGELI, JORGE AUGUSTO; EGUARAS, MARTÍN JAVIER

JOURNAL OF APICULTURAL RESEARCH

INT BEE RESEARCH ASSOC

Año: 2017 vol. 56 p. 616 - 624

0021-8839

Diverse parasites and pathogens affect productivity and survival of honey bees. Plant secondary metabolites are poten- tial alternative treatments, however, their effect has been little studied on microsporidian diseases. Furthermore, there is poor information about the toxicity resulting from prolonged oral administration of these substances to bees. In this research, we evaluated in vivo effects of different essential oils and main components (MCs) on bee survival and Nosema ceranae development under an ad libitum non-choice regimen. Substances administered on sucrose syrup to newly emerged bees at different concentrations were avidly consumed and caused different survival performances. Neverthe- less, sublethal doses of substances did not control the parasite.