Diagnostic survey on varroa mite (Varroa distractor) prevalence in South-Western Ethiopia

Varroa mite is one of the pests parasitizing on honey bees inflicting substantial effects on beekeeping subsector worldwide. Since its first report in Ethiopia in 2015, the mite has got distributed to various locations of the country. The purpose of the study was to determine the prevalence, infestation levels and risk factors of varroa mites in South-western Region, Ethiopia. A total of five districts purposively selected based on their potentialities for beekeeping and accessibilities for data collection. Data collection was undertaken during wet and dry seasons from 384 colonies, mite prevalence and infestation data on adult bees and in brood collected following standard protocols. The overall prevalence rate of mite in the area was recorded as 73.81% and 48.44% with higher prevalence rates, 83.33% (p < 0.01) and 54.95% (p < 0.001) during wet seasons for apiary and colony levels respectively. The infestation level (Mean +/- SE) of colonies on adults and broods were recorded as 1.367 +/- 0.080 versus 1.819 +/- 0.095 during dry season, and 2.481 +/- 0.151 versus 3.299 +/- 0.194 during wet seasons. The Multivariate logistic analysis indicated that agro ecology, season, hive placement sites, and colony status were determinants for its prevalence. Similarly, agro ecology, season, colony management and colony status were determinants for the infestation levels of varroa mites. Detailed investigation on its effect on honey yield, impacts of possible colony management options in minimizing its prevalence and infestation level needs follow up studies.