First survey on prevalence and infestation rates of Varrroa mite in Gabon

Varroa mites cause considerable damage to Apis mellifera Linnaeus colonies in North America, Europe and Asia. To control this parasite, beekeepers in these parts of world have to use chemical acaricides. In Africa, this pest has been identified, and survey of Varroa infestation rates showed a lot of variation across honey bee sub-species. Generally, African colonies seemed to be resistant or tolerant to the presence of Varroa mite. The objective of our study is to explore the presence, prevalence and infestation rates of Varroa mite in Gabon. The presence and quantitative assessment of Varroa mites were performed in 55 wild colonies of Apis mellifera adansonii Latreille in two locations. Our results showed that: (1) 70% and 48% of the wild colonies studied were infested with Varroa destructor according to locations, (2) Varroa infestation rate was lower than 0.5 mite per 100 bees regardless location. The infestation rates obtained were still very low compared to those observed in various other regions in Africa. In perspective, it would be interesting to explore the reasons that could explain the low infestation rates which were observed.