Levent Aydin

Geographical distribution of ticks in Turkey

Turkey’s tick fauna is composed of about 32 species in two families and ten genera in mammals, reptiles, and birds. The ticks of veterinary significance in the family Ixodidae comprise seven genera with 28 different species. Ixodes spp. are mostly seen in northern Turkey. It is likely that the high rainfall and the intensive forest in this area may contribute to this observation. To date, the following species have been found to be sporadically present: Amblyomma variegatum in Hatay province (border to Syria), Boophilus kohlsi in southeastern Turkey (border of Syria), Ornithodorus in Central and East Anatolia, and Otobius megnini in East Anatolia (Malatya Province). Ticks of the genera Haemaphysalis, Hyalomma, Boophilus, Dermacentor, Rhipicephalus, and Argas are widespread throughout Anatolia. Thus, their role in the epidemiology of important human and livestock diseases such as Crimean–Congo hemorrhagic fever, Lyme disease, and diseases caused by hemoparasites needs to be examined in greater detail.

Acaricidal activity of Satureja thymbra L. essential oil and its major components, carvacrol and γ-terpinene against adult Hyalomma marginatum (Acari: Ixodidae)

The acaricidal activity of a volatile essential oil hydrodistillate of Satureja thymbra L. (Lamiaceae) and its major constituents, carvacrol and gamma-terpinene, were evaluated against field-collected unfed adult Hyalomma marginatum. The distillate was tested against this tick species at 5, 10, 20, and 40 microL/L while the two major components were each tested at 10 microL/L. Generally, tick mortality to the S. thymbra distillate increased with concentration and exposure time. Ticks exposed to vapors from cotton wicks containing at least 40 microL/L resulted in complete (100%) mortality at 3h. The lower concentrations provided >or=90% mortality at 3h post treatment with complete mortality at 24h. Knockdown was observed only in the carvacrol and gamma-terpinene treatments. Ticks exposed to carvacrol-treated wicks produced >93% knockdown at 3h but at 24h approximately 57% were dead. The gamma-terpinene treatment produced >or=90% knockdown at 105 min through 3h but at 24h only about 87% of the ticks were dead.

Acaricidal effects of the essential oil of Origanum minutiflorum (Lamiaceae) against Rhipicephalus turanicus (Acari: Ixodidae)

The acaricidal effects of the volatile essential oil Origanum minutiflorum O. Schwarz & P.H. Davis (Lamiaceae) against adult Rhipicephalus turanicus was evaluated at a variety of concentrations and exposure times. Generally tick mortality increased with concentration and exposure. Ticks exposed to vapors from cotton wicks containing at least 10mul/L resulted in complete (100%) mortality at 120min. The major constituent of essential oil obtained from the plant material of O. minutiflorum was carvacrol.

Varroa (Varroa destructor) and tracheal mite (Acarapis woodi) incidence in the Republic of Turkey

SUMMARY This is the first extensive study of the incidence of varroa (Varroa destructor) and tracheal mites (Acarapis woodi) in Turkish honey bees (Apis mellifera). Samples were taken from 204 colonies in 39 apiaries spread over five regions of Turkey. Fifty bees from each colony were dissected in the laboratory and examined under stereo and compound microscopes using four different techniques to detect the presence of A. woodi. Presence of varroa was determined from samples of approximately 200 workers from each of the sampled colonies. Neither A. woodi nor other Acarapis spp. were found in any of the 10 200 bees examined. Conversely, varroa was found in 84 of the 204 colonies sampled. Varroa incidence per apiary was approximately Poisson distributed with a mean of 2.17 infested colonies per five sampled. The data suggest that for unknown reasons tracheal mites appear to be very rare in Turkey, but not varroa, which has endemic rather than epidemic disease distribution properties.

Acaricidal activity of Origanum bilgeri P.H. Davis (Lamiaceae) essential oil and its major component, carvacrol against adults Rhipicephalus turanicus (Acari: Ixodidae)

The acaricidal activity of an essential oil obtained from aerial parts of Origanum bilgeri P.H. Davis (Lamiaceae), an endemic species in Turkey, and its major constituents, carvacrol was evaluated against unfed adults Rhipicephalus turanicus Pomerantzev (Acari: Ixodidae) collected from Kepez, Antalya. The composition of the essential oil was analyzed by GC/MS. The major compound identified in the oil was carvacrol (93.02%). Generally, tick mortalities to the O. bilgeri distillate and carvacrol increased with concentrations. O. bilgeri oil produced >83% mortality at 48h at a concentration of 0.8% and mortality was higher than 63% at a carvacrol concentration of 0.4%. Our results have shown that O. bilgeri essential oil and its major component, carvacrol, may have potential as acaricidal agents against R. turanicus.

Comparative efficacy of spinosad with conventional acaricides against hard and soft tick populations from Antalya, Turkey.

The acaricidal efficacy of ceramic tiles treated at field application rates with either spinosad (Mozkill 120 SC, 0.01 g ai/m(2)), deltamethrin (Impotek Deltamethrin EW, 0.01 g ai/m(2)), permethrin+esbiothrin (Chrysamed, 0.1 g ai/m(2)), chlorpyrifos-methyl (Chlortoks EC 50, 0.2 g ai/m(2)) or a mixture of alpha-cypermethrin/tetramethrin/piperonyl butoxide (Ecorex Alfa SE, 0.01 g ai/m(2)), against larval Rhipicephalus turanicus and Argas persicus ticks was determined in laboratory bioassays. All ticks were initially exposed to treated tiles for 15 min then removed to non-treated containers and mortality evaluated for 15 min, 1 h, 6 h, and 24 h postexposure. Generally, A. persicus proved to be the most susceptible of the two species to all treatments. The alpha-cypermethrin/tetramethrin/piperonyl butoxide mixture was the quickest acting acaricide against larval A. persicus where 100% mortality was observed 15 min postexposure. For the rest of the treatments complete mortality was obtained at 1 h except for permethrin/esbiothrin which occurred at 6 h postexposure. Complete mortality of larval R. turanicus occurred to deltamethrin and spinosad at 1 h postexposure with all acaricides providing 100% control at 6 h except permethrin/esbiothrin which only achieved 92% control through the end of the study (i.e. 24 h). Our results showed that spinosad would be a useful addition in a tick control program as an alternative for pyrethroids and organic phosphorus acaricides against both tick species.

Erythromycin residue in honey from the Southern Marmara region of Turkey

Honey samples, collected from the Southern Marmara region of Turkey, were analysed for erythromycin residues by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry using electrospray ionization in the positive ion mode (LC–ESI–MS). Fifty samples, comprising chestnut, pine, linden and multi-flower honeys, were collected directly from hives and analyzed. The limit of detection and quantification were 6 and 20 ng g−1, respectively, and recovery ranged from 85 to 89%. Four of the honey samples (8%) were found to be contaminated with erythromycin residues at concentrations ranging from 50 to 1776 ng g−1. An erythromycin-fortified cake feeding assay was also performed in a defined hive to test the transfer of erythromycin residue to the honey matrix. In this test hive, the residue level in the honey, 3 months after dosing, was approximately 28 ng g−1.

Determination of Acute Oral Toxicity of Flumethrin in Honey Bees

ABSTBACT Flumethrin is one of many pesticides used for the control and treatment of varroatosis in honey bees and for the control of mosquitoes and ticks in the environment. For the control of varroatosis, flumethrin is applied to hives formulated as a plastic strip for several weeks. During this time, honey bees are treated topically with flumethrin, and hive products may accumulate the pesticide. Honey bees may indirectly ingest flumethrin through hygienic behaviors during the application period and receive low doses of flumethrin through comb wax remodeling after the application period. The goal of our study was to determine the acute oral toxicity of flumethrin and observe the acute effects on motor coordination in honey bees (Apis mellifera anatoliaca). Six doses (between 0.125 and 4.000 µg per bee) in a geometric series were studied. The acute oral LD50 of flumethrin was determined to be 0.527 and 0.178 µg per bee (n = 210, 95% CI) for 24 and 48 h, respectively. Orally administered flumethrin is highly toxic to honey bees. Oral flumethrin disrupted the motor coordination of honey bees. Honey bees that ingested flumethrin exhibited convulsions in the antennae, legs, and wings at low doses. At higher doses, partial and total paralysis in the antennae, legs, wings, proboscises, bodies, and twitches in the antennae and legs were observed.

Molecular detection of Nosema ceranae and Nosema apis infections in Turkish apiaries with collapsed colonies

Extensive losses of honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) have been reported from many countries worldwide in Europe, the USA, and the Middle East, with losses ranging from 1.8% – 85% (Neumann and Carreck, 2010). Similarly, beekeepers in Turkey have experienced extensive colony losses (Giray et al., 2010; Muz, 2008). From the early spring of 2007 to the autumn of 2009, 85 colonies were examined from 21 apiaries in the Hatay wintering region of Turkey where extensive colony losses had occurred, together with 11 samples from the southern Marmara region. All samples that proved positive for Nosema spp. by light microscopy were classified according to their region of origin. Extraction of DNA was then performed as described by Williams et al. (2008) and PCR conditions with specific primers were used as described by Chen et al. (2008). Hungarian Nosema samples were used as a positive control, and water was used as a negative control. The results showed that N. ceranae was the prevalent microsporidian infection compared with N. apis in collapsed colonies of Turkey. Colonies from the Hatay wintering region were found to show infections of 89% N. cerana and 11% N. apis, whilst samples from the southeastern Marmara region were found to show infections of 84% N. cerana and 16% N. apis. Previously, Nosema infections have been reported, this is the first instance where differential molecular diagnosis has been carried out in apiaries showing colony collapse in Turkey. The detection of both Nosema infections has demonstrated the importance of contagious infections in wintering regions as well as those used for honey production. Significantly, the Hatay wintering region borders Syria, so intensive surveys are urgently needed to determine the distribution and prevalence of Nosema species throughout the whole of Turkey. Acknowledgements We are very grateful to Prof. Dr Nowotny and Dr. Bakonyi for help in providing the positive isolates of Nosema spp. from Szent Istvan University, Hungary.

Honey bee nosema disease in the Republic of Turkey

infects the epithelium of the digestive system of adult honey bees. Originally thought to be benign this is now known not to be true. Nosema disease has very latent symptoms and so its presence goes largely unnoticed by beekeepers (Fries, 1988; Aydın, 1994). In developing nations such as Turkey, this translates into beekeepers not spending limited resources to treat a disease that at least appears not to be present (personal communications). In terms of a model system for the study of disease prevalence and spread, this is ideal, albeit not for the beekeeping industries of these nations.