Management Practices to Prevent Wax Moth, a Pest of Honeybees in Ethiopia
Alemayehu Gela1,Taye Negera1,Amssalu Bezabh1, Deselegn Begna1
Citation :Alemayehu Gela,et.al, Management Practices to Prevent Wax Moth, a Pest of Honeybees in Ethiopia International Journal of Research Studies in Biosciences 2017,5(7) : 56-59
The study was designed to identify effective wax moth preventive and/ or control management practice(s) to minimize the damage inflected by this pest. The management preventive practices: strengthening honeybee colonies via feeding, reducing the suppers and un occupied combs, the combination of these practices and trapping wax moths that are intended to enter beehives were evaluated for their effectiveness to prevent wax moth infestation for three years and compared with control (group of colonies that did not receive treatment). Statistical significant variation was observed among the treatments (p< 0.05). Significantly low wax moth infestation level and high honey yield were recorded when all management packages (feeding, reducing super and unoccupied frames) were applied compared to control (P< 0.05). Wax moth infestation level was reduced by 82.3% using this package. The prevalence of wax moth is higher during dearth period (Decmber to March) in the study period.