[Pollinator] The BUZZ reports on new Varroa Trap from ARS

[Ladadams at aol.com]

This ezine is also available online at 
_http://home.ezezine.com/1636/1636-2009.07.01.10.20.archive.html_ 
(http://home.ezezine.com/1636/1636-2009.07.01.10.20.archive.html) 

CATCH  THE BUZZ 
Varroa Trap Seems  To Work 
Alan Harman 
A new bait could see Varroa mites literally walking into a trap. 
Agricultural Research Service (ARS)  scientists in Gainesville, Fla., are 
testing a bait-and-kill approach using  sticky boards and natural chemical 
attractants called semiochemicals. 
For patenting reasons, Teal won’t  reveal what the specific compounds are, 
other than to say they’re naturally  produced by honey bees and highly 
attractive to Varroa mites. 
Varroa mites rely on these  semiochemicals to locate - and then feed on - 
the bloodlike hemolymph of both  adult honey bees and their brood. Severe 
infestations can decimate an affected  hive within several months and rob the 
beekeeper of profits from honey or  pollinating services.  
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But in this case, the mites encounter a more heady bouquet of honey bee 
odors  that lure the parasites away from their intended hosts and onto the 
sticky  boards, where they starve.  
ARS Chemistry Research Unit research  leader Peter Teal reports preliminary 
tests of the attractant are promising.  
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“We are able to induce 35% to 50% of mites to drop off of bees when we 
present  them with either of the two attractants, and more than 60% of free 
mites are  attracted to these chemicals in biological tests,” Teal says.  
 
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Teal says the extra dose of semiochemicals wafting through hives didn't 
appear  to significantly interfere with the honey bees' normal behavior or 
activity.  
The research team hopes ARS'  patenting of the Varroa mite attractants will 
encourage an industrial partner to  develop the technology further. 
The original report can be found at: 
_http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/jul09/mites0709.htm_ 
(http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/jul09/mites0709.htm)  
This message brought to you by _Bee Culture,_ (http://www.beeculture.com/)  
The Magazine Of American  Beekeeping 
This year a proud supporter of _EAS 2009_ 
(http://www.easternapiculture.org/) . Registration closes July  26. Don’t miss out on this year’s exciting 
meeting – Toward Non-Chemical  Beekeeping! 







Laurie Davies Adams
Executive  Director
Pollinator Partnership 
423 Washington Street, 5th  floor
San Francisco, CA  94111
415-362-1137
LDA at pollinator.org

_www.pollinator.org_ (http://www.pollinator.org/) 

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National Pollinator Week is June 22-28, 2009. 
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