Apidologie 28 (1997) 375-384
DOI: 10.1051/apido:19970605

Fluvalinate resistance of Varroa jacobsoni Oudemans (Acari: Varroidae) in Mediterranean apiaries of France

M.E. Colin^a, R. Vandame^a, P. Jourdam^b and S. Di Pasquale<sup>a

a</sup>  Station de zoologie, Institut national de la recherche agronomique, domaine Saint-Paul, site Agroparc, 84914 Avignon cedex 9, France
^b  Association pour le développement de l'apiculture provencale, 22, rue Henri-Pontier, 13626 Aix-en-Provence cedex 1, France

Abstract - For control of Varroa jacobsoni Oudemans, a parasite of the honey bee (Apis mellifera L), we evaluated the level of susceptibility of mite populations to the most common acaricide (fluvalinate). Mortality was recorded after 24 h exposure on the bottom of plastic Petri dishes, treated with different dilutions of the 240 g/L emulsifiable concentrate Klartan^®. The results showed three categories of mite populations: i) susceptible with a LC50 lower than 2 ng/cm²; ii) populations, with a LC50 ranging from 2 to 20 ng/cm², that included some resistant mites; and iii) resistant with a LC50 higher than 20 ng/cm². For field surveys of resistance, a 10 ng/cm² fluvalinate concentration threshold would allow early resistance detection.

Key words: Apis mellifera / Varroa jacobsoni / acaricide resistance / fluvalinate susceptibility / resistance survey / France