TY  - JOUR
JF  - Acarologia
T1  - The effect of Amitraz on non-pest mites and other arthropods in beehives
VL  - 66
IS  - Suppl
SP  - 230
EP  - 230
PY  - 2026
SN  - 0044-586X
SN  - 2107-7207
PB  - Les Amis d'Acarologia
AU  - Hodaya, Madhala
AU  - Sharon, Warburg
AU  - Ruti, Yonah
AU  - Efrat, Gavish-Regev
UR  - https://doi.org/10.24349/tazg-eoz6
DO  - 10.24349/tazg-eoz6
DA  - 2026-07-20
ET  - 2026-07-20
KW  - Varroa destructor
KW  - Apis mellifera
KW  - Amitraz
KW  - Acaricide
KW  - Arthropod assemblage
AB  - Honeybee hives provide a habitat for a diverse assemblage of arthropods living alongside the honeybees. While major apicultural pests such as the Varroa mite and the wax moth have been extensively studied, there is a lack of research on the abundance and species richness of other arthropods inhabiting the hives. The Varroa mite (Varroa destructor Anderson & Trueman, 2000), a primary economic pest of the European honeybee (Apis mellifera Linnaeus 1758), causes direct physical damage to bees and serves as a vector for several lethal viruses. The acaricide Amitraz is applied intensively to reduce Varroa infestations. Recently, awareness of possible resistance of the Varroa mite to Amitraz has grown, yet the effect of this acaricide on other arthropods, including beneficial arthropods and non-pest mites, is unknown. The objectives of this study were to survey arthropods in beehives and characterize the effect of Amitraz on non-target arthropods in hives. A survey of hive-associated arthropods was conducted in four geographically proximate apiaries. At each locality, six hives were sampled by visually searching each roof for five minutes and each top feeder for seven and a half minutes. The collected samples were taxonomically sorted to order; species -level identification of collected mites is currently underway. Statistical analysis: Log-transformed linear regression was performed to evaluate the effect of the number of days post-Amitraz application on total arthropod abundance, non-mite arthropod abundance, and mites- only abundance. In addition, a multivariate analysis (RDA) was performed to test the effect of environmental variables (temperature, relative humidity, geographical location, and number of days since Amitraz application) on assemblage composition. Regression results show a significant effect of days post-Amitraz application on arthropod abundance. The fewer the days elapsed between Amitraz application and the sampling date, the lower the arthropod abundance, and vice versa. In addition, multivariate analysis (RDA) revealed a significant effect of temperature at the onset of sampling on arthropod assemblage composition within the hives. Together, these two effects explain 85% of the 22% variance of the model, including all explanatory variables. Our survey will be continued in the same hives at four additional sampling dates to complete a full-year seasonal sampling and evaluate the temporal effect of Amitraz. A future laboratory experiment will test the direct effect of Amitraz on beneficial mites and other arthropods found in the hives.
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