Behavioral responses of the small hive beetle, Aethina tumida, to odors of three meliponine bee species and honey bees, Apis mellifera scutellata. Issue 7 (8th August 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bobadoye, Bridget O.; Fombong, Ayuka T.; Kiatoko, Nkoba; Suresh, Raina; Teal, Peter E. A.; Salifu, Daisy; Torto, Baldwyn
• Is Part Of: Entomologia experimentalis et applicata. Volume 166:Issue 7(2018:Jul.)
• Page Start: 528
• Page End: 534
• Publication Date: 2018-08-08
• Subjects: Nitidulidae -- Apidae -- Coleoptera -- Hymenoptera -- olfactometer assays -- attraction -- olfaction -- honey bee pest -- meliponiculture; Entomology -- Periodicals; 595.7
• DOI: 10.1111/eea.12700
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0013-8703

Abstract

Abstract: Recent studies have shown that honey bees, bumble bees, and some meliponine bee species of the genera Trigona, Meliponula, and Dactylurina are hosts of the small hive beetle (SHB) Aethina tumida Murray (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae), a pest of honey bee colonies in various regions of the world. Olfaction has been implicated in SHB infestations of honey bee and bumble bee colonies. We used olfactometer bioassays to investigate responses of adult male and female SHBs to odors from intact colonies and separate hive components (pot honey, pot pollen, cerumen, and propolis) of three African meliponine bee species, Meliponula ferruginea (Lepeletier) (black morphospecies), M. ferruginea (reddish brown morphospecies), and Meliponula bocandei (Spinola) (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Although both sexes of the beetle strongly preferred intact colony, pot honey, and pot pollen odors, there was no evidence of attraction to propolis and cerumen odors from the three meliponine bee species. Both sexes of SHB also strongly preferred odors from honey bees, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), over odors from the three meliponine bee species. Our results provide substantial evidence of the host potential of African meliponine bees for the SHB, and we discuss this complex association of the SHB with species within the Apidae family. Abstract : This study highlights how olfaction plays a key role in the attraction of small hive beetle (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae), a pest of honey bee, to African meliponine bee species, Meliponula ferruginea (two morphospecies) and Meliponula bocandei (Hymenoptera: Apidae), and the beetle's potential to expand its host range to include various Meliponula species.