A scientific note on a new pest for European honeybees: first report of small hive beetle Aethina tumida, (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) in Italy

• DOI: 10.1007/s13592-014-0343-9
• Publication Date: 2014-12-23T09:17:03Z
• Authors: Vincenzo Palmeri; Giuseppe Scirtò; Antonino Malacrinò; Francesca Laudani; Orlando Campolo
• Keywords: symbiont; 0301 basic medicine; 03 medical and health sciences; [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio]; honeybee; invasion; small hive beetle; biological

The small hive beetle (SHB), Aethina tumida Murray (Coleoptera Nitidulidae), is an important pest of honeybees in many parts of the world. The beetle is native to sub-Saharan Africa and was unintentionally introduced into USA (1996), Australia (2001) and in Canada (2002) (Ellis and Munn, 2005; Neumann and Ellis 2008). In Europe the SHB was discovered in 2005 in a consignment of queens imported from Texas (USA) into Portugal and destroyed by the Portuguese National Veterinarian Services (Murilhas, 2005). Since then, Europe remained free from this pest.