SCORCHED EARTH: Italy and Small Hive Beetles

摘要

Italian beekeepers are in despair with the discovery that small hive beetle ('SHB', Aethina tumida) has arrived on their shores. On 5 September 201412, Prof Vincent Palmeri3 found adult small hive beetles in a bait hive at the Department of Agriculture, the Universita Mediterranea, Calabria, near the port of Gioia Tauro in Southern Italy. On 11 September4' 5, the outbreak was officially confirmed by the team lead by Dr Franco Mutinelli of the National Reference Centre for beekeeping of the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie (IZSVe). On 7 November5,6, beetles were found in Sicily. These outbreaks are not the first assault made on Europe by SHB which previously was found in Portugal in 2004. That time it was successfully and speedilyeradicated. This time the situation is not so hopeful.