Efficiency of laboratory diagnostic methods for varroosis in honey bees

Melnychuk, V. V.; Yevstafieva, V. O.; Мельничук, Віталій Васильович; Євстаф’єва, Валентина Олександрівна

Публікація:
Efficiency of laboratory diagnostic methods for varroosis in honey bees

dc.contributor.author	Melnychuk, V. V.
dc.contributor.author	Yevstafieva, V. O.
dc.contributor.author	Мельничук, Віталій Васильович
dc.contributor.author	Євстаф’єва, Валентина Олександрівна
dc.date.issued	2026
dc.description.abstract	Beekeeping plays an important role in human activity and is an integral part of agricultural development. The benefits of the honey bee are not limited to the production of beekeeping products. These insects also play a crucial role in the pollination of entomophilous plants, whose yields cannot be achieved without pollination processes. One of the major challenges in beekeeping is parasitic diseases, which cause significant economic losses and reduce the number of bee colonies. The most widespread and harmful disease of the honey bee is varroosis, which has become common in apiaries worldwide. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of known laboratory diagnostic methods for detecting varroosis in honey bees. Under laboratory conditions, methods for examining dead bees (bee debris) and live honey bees for the presence of the mite Varroa destructor were compared using sunflower oil, boiling water, powdered sugar, and visual inspection. The number of positive samples determined the methods' sensitivity, and their efficiency was evaluated based on the number of Varroa destructor mites detected. Studies of dead bees revealed a high sensitivity of the boiling-water and sunflower-oil method (100.0 %). The visual detection method for mites in bee debris had lower sensitivity (85.7 %). Among the methods based on the number of detected mites in dead bees, the most effective were boiling water (5.6 ± 0.6 specimens) and sunflower oil (5.9 ± 0.5 specimens). A smaller number of mites was detected using the visual detection method (3.1 ± 0.6 specimens). High sensitivity and efficiency in the examination of live bees were observed with the powderedsugar method (100.0 % and 13.1 ± 1.5 specimens). Lower sensitivity and efficiency were observed with the visual inspection method (75.0 % and 9.5 ± 1.2 specimens, respectively). The obtained research results allow recommending the most effective methods to improve the accuracy of diagnosing varroosis in honey bees
dc.identifier.citation	Melnychuk V., Yevstafieva V. Efficiency of laboratory diagnostic methods for varroosis in honey bees. Ukrainian Journal of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences. 2026. № 9 (1). Р. 47–51. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32718/ujvas9-1.08
dc.identifier.uri	https://dspace.pdau.edu.ua/handle/123456789/20948
dc.language.iso	uk
dc.subject	honey bees
dc.subject	Varroa destructor
dc.subject	varroosis
dc.subject	laboratory diagnostics
dc.subject	efficiency
dc.title	Efficiency of laboratory diagnostic methods for varroosis in honey bees
dc.type	Article
dspace.entity.type	Publication