IFIMAR   20926
INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACIONES FISICAS DE MAR DEL PLATA
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
Assessment of strategies for the control of the "Varroa destructor" mite in "Apis mellifera" colonies, through a simple model
Autor/es:
MIGUEL A. BENAVENTE, ROBERTO R. DEZA Y MARTÍN EGUARAS
Lugar:
Rosario
Reunión:
Congreso; II MACI 2009; 2009
Institución organizadora:
ASAMACI
Resumen:
V. destructor—formerly V. jacobsoni, an ectoparasite of brood and adult honeybee—is a serious problem for the honey production activity. Without control, it can cause hive collapse in less than one year. Several detailed models exist in the literature that account for its population dynamics at different latitudes, but they depend crucially on the precise measurement of biological parameters. On the other hand, what beekeepers and deciders need is an easy-to-handle and robust tool for the assessment of the available control strategies and the design of innovative ones. Here we propose a simple model, based on a nonlinear difference equation with two lags, and a stylized (though realistic) treatment of preference functions and carrying capacities, that is shown to reproduce qualitatively the behavior found with more elaborate models and that allows to easily decide on the performance of control strategies.