COMPARATIVE DYNAMICS OF VAROOSIS OF HONEY BEES IN UKRAINE FOR THE PERIOD 2008-2011 AND 2018-2021
Authors: Lytvynenko V. , Chechet O. , Lіtvіnenko O. , Miroshnichenko O. , Moroz D. , Baranov V. , Yermolenko O. , Lytvynenko S. 
Published: November 2022

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are prone to various diseases that cause significant economic damage, the most common disease in Ukraine among bees is varroasis. The Varroa destructor mite is currently considered a major biotic threat to A. mellifera of European origin. Since infection, the tick population is growing and may lead to the loss of the bee colony in the first year of parasitism. Within the apiary varroosis leads to the manifestation of viral diseases, contributes to susceptibility to insecticide poisoning, increases material and labor costs for anti-varroa measures.

The aim of the work was to study the dynamics of the epizootic process of Varroa infestation by comparing the invasiveness of the lesion over the decades in terms of 2008-2011 and 2018-2021 in the regions of Ukraine.

Reference materials and methods. The material for statistical analysis was the annual reporting forms № 2-Vet "Report on the Work of State Laboratories of Veterinary Medicine" which based on generally accepted methods of diagnosing bee Varroa infestation in Ukraine.

Analysis of epizootic indicators to determine the dynamics of the epizootic process of varroosis was conducted in 2008-2011 and 2018-2021. Thus, during 2008-2011, 503,241 studies were conducted, of which a positive result was obtained in 19,857 cases, the average invasiveness of bee varroosis in the period from 2008 to 2011 was 3.8 %. The level of invasiveness for this period ranged from 1.2 to 5.1 %.

During the period 2018-2021, 503,166 studies were conducted, of which a positive result was obtained in 11,988 cases, the average invasiveness of bees with Varroa infestation in Ukraine for the period from 2018 to 2021 was 2.4 %.

The invasiveness decrease of varroosis from 3.8 to 2.4 % is observed due to the improvement of the epizootic situation in the north and center of Ukraine such as in Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Chernihiv, Sumy, Chernivtsi, Odessa, Vinnytsia, Cherkasy, Poltava and Kharkiv regions, however, over the years the situation has deteriorated in southern Ukraine in Kherson, Zaporizhia and Donetsk regions.

The laboratories of State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer protection conducted planned studies of selected material taken from 182,740 bee colonies. A wide range of therapeutic and prophylactic drugs allows developing more effective schemes and techniques of anti-varroosis treatments of bee colonies in apiaries. However, a certain chaos and diversity of scientific and industrial research does not reduce the invasiveness of V. destructor throughout Ukraine.

According to the level of invasiveness, the most affected regions of Ukraine in 2018-2021 were Volyn, Rivne, Kirovohrad, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, Kherson regions, the level of invasiveness in which is more than 4,5 %. Zakarpattia and Lviv regions remain stable in the temporarily prosperous risk zone over the years of research, where spring anti-varroosis treatments of bee colonies are carried out in order to sell bee packages.

The results of research in 2018-2021 indicate a more careful attitude of beekeepers to the needs of controlling the invasiveness of bee colonies with the mite V. destructor, as well as the need for wider introduction of spring anti-varroosis treatments. The ability of SSUFSCP laboratories to conduct a huge amount of research, both at public expense and at the expense of individuals, makes a significant contribution to improving the epizootic situation with varroosis.