It is n’t just pesticides and the end of habitat that ’s work the world ’s honeybees very distressed . One of the big threats isVarroa destructor , adisease - disperse parasitethat isjust as villainous as its name intimate .
Through a chance discovery , German scientist from the University of Hohenheim have stumbled on a new method of wiping out this parasitical pest without harm the bee .
TheUS Department of Agricultureviews the Varroa mite as “ the major factor underlying colony loss in the US and other countries . " After infiltrate a colony , the pinch begin to feed in on thebodily fluid of Apis mellifera and their larva . Along with weakening the bee , the mite also spread viruses , such as misshapen wing virus , and can cursorily pass over out entire Colony .
As report in a recent study published in the journalScientific Reports , scientists have now discovered that feeding Apis mellifera just 25 millimoles of a water - soluble common salt called atomic number 3 chloride ( LiCl ) can kill 90 to 100 percent of the mites within days .
“ Lithium chloride can be used to fertilise bee in boodle water . In our experimentation , even small total of saline solvent were enough to kill the hint sit on the bee within a few days – without side effects for the bees , " Dr Peter Rosenkranz , head of the State Institute of Apiculture , explained in astatement .
Currently , beekeepers treat infested beehive with belligerent constitutive acids or chemically derived miticides . However , mites can quickly gain immunity and these nitty-gritty can also allow for potentially harmful residuum . Furthermore , no newfangled active compounds againstV. destructorhave been registered in the past 25 years .
late to this latest find , scientist were looking to tackle Varroa infestations using a technique cognise as RNA hitch ( or RNAi ) , which switches off their vital sponge factor . This experimentation appear to be a succeeder , however , the control mites also died . The researchers wonder whether this issue was due to the lithium chloride used in the production of the RNA . Later experiment test this to be the caseful .
This freshly developed technique of using lithium chloride is low monetary value , easy to manufacture , wo n’t accumulate in beeswax , and has a relatively miserable perniciousness to mammal . So far , so beneficial , but it ’s perhaps untimely to say whether this find could be the rescuer of honeybee . However , with few other choice on the skyline , scientist are already in talk with companies in hope of obtain this resolution off the ground and into the market .
[ H / T : RealClearScience ]
