1INRA, Laboratoire de Biologie et de la santé de l'abeille, Unité de Zoologie - Apidologie, site Agroparc, 84914 Avignon Cedex 9, France.
2CNRS, Laboratoire de Neurobiologie, Communication chimique, 31 rue Joseph Aiguier, 13402 Marseille Cedex 20, France.
3Université d'Aix-Marseille III, Laboratoire de Biomathématiques, Service 462, 13397 Marseille, France.
4INRA, Unité de Biométrie, site Agroparc, 84914 Avignon Cedex 9, France.
The gamaside mite Varroa jacobsoni is an ectoparasite of Apis mellifera bee. The asiatic bee, Apis cerana, original host of the acari is able to recognize and eliminate it from the colony. The aim of our study was to determinate if A. mellifera, recently parasitized, could detect the Varroamite and control its population level. In effect, when colonies were observed in apiary, mite population levels were different between them. On the one hand, comparative behavioral studies were realized between the two kinds of colonies using tests in Petri dishes and in natural conditions. They show that some bees were able to discriminate the parasite. On the other hand, it was interesting to research if chemical substances were implicated in the Varroa mite recognition by bees, expressed by infested brood hygienic behavior and parasitized bees grooming behavior. The sensitivity of the two categories of bees to the Varroa mite cuticular hydrocarbons extracts in different solvents, has been tested using electroantennographic recordings. The obtained results will be discussed in an alternative struggle against Varroa mite.