SEASONAL PREVALENCE OF HONEYBEE DISEASES AND PESTS IN SELECTED DISTRICTS OF AMHARA REGION

Abstract

The study was conducted to determine the major honeybee diseases and pests in selected districts of Amhara Region in harvesting, dearth, and rainy seasons from November 2017 to August 2018. In total, 276 (201 adult bees and 75 brood) samples were diagnosed for honeybee diseases and pests. The prevalence rate, basic risk factors, and the severity of honeybee diseases and pests were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square and univariate logistic regression with the aid of SPSS version 20 software program. The finding showed that the major spotted honeybee pests in harvesting, dry and rainy seasons were ants (56.7, 47.8, and 57.2%), wax moths (44.8, 41.8, and 51.2%), small hive beetles (35.3, 31.8, and 41.8%), dearth’s head hawks moth (12.4, 15.9, and 16.4%), spider (12.4, 18.4, and 18.9%), eating birds (12.9, 12.9, and 16.1%), honey badger (6.5, 9.6, and 9.6%), and wasp (12.9% only harvesting season) respectively. With these consecutive seasons, 92.5, 70.1, and 73.6% of varroa mites were recovered in adult bees. The mite also detected 84.4, 77.3, 77.1 and 76.3% in Dembecha, Burie, Awabel, and Hulet-ejuenesie districts respectively. Besides, harvesting, dry, and rainy seasons were affected by bee lice with the prevalence rate of 24.9, 18.4, and 14.9%, respectively. The prevalence rate of bee lice in Dembecha, Awabel, Burie and Hulet-ejuenesie districts were 21.5, 21.3, 21.2, and 12.5%, respectively. Moreover, 70.1% in harvesting, 85.1% in dry, and 92.5% in rainy seasons were recognized for the prevalence of amoeba disease. Its prevalence rate in Burie, Awabel, Hulet-ejuenesie, and Dembecha districts were 87.9, 84.0, 83.3, and 83.0%, respectively. Furthermore, 47.8, 55.7, and 85.6% of nosema disease were recovered in harvesting, dry, and rainy seasons respectively. Similarly, Burie, Dembecha, Awabel, and Hulet-ejuenesie districts were detected with 68.2, 63.0, 59.3, and 59.2% of nosema disease. Finally, the prevalence rate of chalk brood disease were 17.9% in harvesting and 9.5% in dearth seasons. Also, the prevalence rate of this disease in the study districts were 17.4, 15.6, 16.0, and 2.5% in Burie, Dembecha, Awabel, and Hulet-ejuenesie respectively. Generally, the current study found that the prevalence rate of varroa mite, bee lice, and chalk brood were higher during harvesting season, while amoeba and nosema diseases were more frequent during the rainy season. Traditional hives, new combs, and weak colonies were more likely to be infested by varroa mites, whereas old combs were more vulnerable to chalk brood infestation. To minimize the prevalence of these honeybee maladies, rearing of strong honeybee colonies and proper honeybee management could be recommended.