Study Of The Seasonal Occurrence Of Varroa Jacobsoni Oudemans On Apis Mellifera Honey Bees In Basra Province

Abstract

The study aimed to calculate the rates of infection and the seasonal presence of the ectoparasite Varroa jacobsoni Oudemans, one of the most important pests of honey bees, Apis mellifera. During three months, which included the months of September and October for the 2020 season and February of the 2021 season, for three different locations in Basra province: Al-Haritha, Shatt Al-Arab, and Abi Al-Khasib districts. The results of the study showed that there were significant differences in the percentage of infection of adult honey bees, as Abi Al-Khasib district recorded the highest infection rate of 15.00% during the month of September, while the lowest infection percentage was in Shatt Al-Arab district, which amounted to 2.86% during the month of February. The results also achieved significant differences in the rate of infection percentage for honeybee brood, as the highest infection rate reached 23.83% in Abi Al-Khasib area during the month of February, and the lowest infection percentage reached 7.67% in Shatt Al-Arab district during the month of September. As for the seasonal presence of the Varroa parasite, the experiment was conducted in the Al-Haritha area within the hives of the bee project of the Plant Protection Department in the Basra Agriculture Directorate. The results of the study showed significant differences between phases and months, the highest rate of Varroa mites being 28.00 mites/100 male broods during February, and the lowest rate reaching 2.33 Varroa mites/100 adult bees during January.