Post on 24-Apr-2020
27 October 2010
Felix WäckersYann JacquesKurt PutVeerle MommaertsGuy Smagghe
Bumble bees as dispersal agents for Biocontrol products
Dispenser applications
Vectors
- Honeybees (Peng et al., 1992)- Bumblebees (Yu and Sutton, 1997)- Mason Bees (Maccagnani et al., 2006)
Microbial Products
- Antagonistic fungi
- Bacterial products
- Insect Viruses
Targets
- DiseasesPests
- DiseasesPests
- Pests
Advantages bee dispenser technology
• Targeted application to flowers• Minimizes use of product• Continuous application• Low labour requirements
27 October 2010
Possible Bottlenecks
Impact on bumblebee flight/pollination activityInsufficient loads of outgoing bumble bees due to- dispenser design- product formulations Insufficient deposition of product at targetBrood contamination with MCA (compatibility)
Insufficient flight activity
Solution
Biobest designed a new dispenser from scratch to address- Flight activity- Bumble bee load- Problem of brood contamination
A B
Available dispenser designs often reduced bumblebee flight activity relatively to standard hive
10
- Two chamber dispenser- Valves to ensure ‘one-way traffic’- Can be fully integrated into
standard hive
The new biobest dispenser (patent pending)
27 October 2010
Foraging activity
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Foraging activity Mean Nr. Bublebees/30 min
WITHOUTDISPENSERBIOBESTDISPENSEROTHERDISPENSER
New BIOBEST dispenser does not inhibit foraging
27 October 2010
Bottlenecks
Impact on bumblebee flight/pollination activityInsufficient loads of outgoing bumble bees due to- dispenser design- product formulations Insufficient deposition of product at targetBrood contamination with MCA (compatibility)
Bumblebee loading
Average product load (upon exit)3.7 * 10 5 CFU
Head: 2%Thorax: 56%Abdomen: 36%Legs: 6%
Use of carriers
Addition of carrier dramatically increases adhesion and deposition of active ingredient
0
50
100
150
200
250
flower 1 flower 2 flower 3
with carrier
without carrier
Initial load (upon exit)• Without carrier: 3.7 * 10 5 CFU• With carrier: 4.1 * 10 5 CFU
body load after third flower
0200400600800
1000
with carrier without carrier
Application: Botrytis control in strawberries
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
Control withoutbumblebees
Control withbumblebees
Prestop Mix
undamaged fruit
minor damage
severe damage
Dispenser
Other applications: Dispersal of MCA’s for pest control
DEFRA Project in bell pepper (with FERA/STC, UK)
• Comparison of 5 MCA’s for aphid/whitefly control• Assess impact of products on pests in lab trials• Assess impact of products on bumblebees• Based on above select two products for field trials
27 October 2010
Other applications: improving pollination
Example Kiwi berries• Both male and female plants• Three strategies to achieve pollination:
• Grow male as well as female plants• Manually dust or spray pollen• Use commercially available pollen in
dispenser hive
27 October 2010
Orchard divided in three sections:
• dusting of pollen • spraying of pollen suspension• Biobest bumblebee dispenser
Bumblebees introduced at first flowering
27 October 2010
Improving pollination kiwiberry