Thymol

thymolbehandlung_20170128

In the 1990s, the Bee Research Centre took part in a screening programme testing the potential effectiveness of over 100 essential oils and essential oil components against the varroa mite. Although sage, hyssop and thyme oils proved interesting, only thymol has been used in acaricide products. Thymol treatments require little effort, and there are a variety of preparations on the market. The advantages and drawbacks of thymol use are listed in the articles "Apilife VAR: A new varroacide with thymol as the main ingredient" and "THYMOVAR for Varroa control".

Use of essential oils for the control of Varroa jacobsoni (Oud.) in honey bee colonies (PDF, 1 MB, 20.01.2017)
A. Imdorf, S. Bogdanov, R. Ibáñez Ochoa, N. W. Calderone (1999)

Publication List

Publication List

Publications Florian Gschwend

Manoni M., Gschwend F., Amelchanka S., Terranova M., Pinotti L., Widmer F., Silacci P., Tretola M.
Gallic and ellagic acids differentially affect microbial community structures and methane emission when using a rumen simulation technique.
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 72, (49), 2024, 27163-27176.

Roetschi A., Baumeyer Brahier A., Berthoud-dit-Gallon Marchand H., Braillard L., Gschwend F., Guisolan A., Haldemann J., Hummerjohann J., Joller C., Loosli F., Meola M., Naskova J., Oberhänsli S., Shani N., von Ah U. and others
Antilisterial properties of selected strains from the autochthonous microbiota of a Swiss artisan soft smear cheese.
Foods, 13, (21), 2024, Article 3473.

Roetschi A., Gschwend F., Arias E.
Leuconostoc spp. in the rind of soft smear cheese: A contribution to food safety.
In: 14th International Symposium on Lactic Acid Bacteria. 29 August, Publ. Royal Netherlands Society for Microbiology, Egmond aan Zee (NL). 2023, 1.

Schmidt R., Somerville V., Berthoud-dit-Gallon Marchand H., Guggenbühl B., Gschwend F., Arias E.
The sensory and microbial diversity of Bernese Alp Cheese.
In: 13th FACEnetwork Meeting. 11. October, Grangeneuve (CH). 2023.

Mayerhofer J., Frey B., Gschwend F., Meuli R. G., Widmer F.
Verborgene Biodiversität – die Vielfalt der Mikroorganismen in unseren Böden.
In: Forum für Wissen - Waldböden intakt und funktional. Publ. WSL. 2022, 27-31.

Pelludat C., Gschwend F., Widmer F.
Nouvelles perspectives de la lutte biologique contre le feu bacterien.
Vignes et Vergers, 5, 2022, 14-16.

Gschwend F., Hartmann M., Mayerhofer J., Hug A.-S., Enkerli J., Gubler A., Meuli R. G., Frey B., Widmer F.
Site and land-use associations of soil bacteria and fungi define core and indicative taxa.
FEMS Microbiology Ecology, 97, (12), 2021, 1-14.

Gschwend F., Hartmann M., Hug A.-S., Enkerli J., Gubler A., Frey B., Meuli R. G., Widmer F.
Long-term stability of soil bacterial and fungal community structures revealed in their abundant and rare fractions.
Molecular Ecology, 30, (17), 2021, 4305-4320.

Pelludat C., Gschwend F., Widmer F.
Neue Perspektiven der biologischen Feuerbrandbekämpfung.
Schweizer Zeitschrift für Obst- und Weinbau, 17, 2021, 10-12.

Gschwend F., Braun-Kiewnick A., Widmer F., Pelludat C.
Apple Blossoms from a Swiss Orchard with Low-Input Plant Protection Regime Reveal High Abundance of Potential Fire Blight Antagonists.
Phytobiomes Journal, 5, (2), 2021, 145-155.

Fernandez Bravo M. d. C., Gschwend F., Mayerhofer J., Hug A.-S., Widmer F., Enkerli J.
Land-use type drives soil population structures of the entomopathogenic fungal genus Metarhizium.
Microorganisms, 9, (7), 2021, 1-19.

Gschwend F., Aregger K., Gramlich A., Walter T., Widmer F.
Periodic waterlogging shapes agricultural soil microbiomes by promoting specific taxa.
Applied Soil Ecology, 155, 2020.

Widmer F., Mayerhofer J., Gschwend F., Fernandez Bravo M. d. C., Enkerli J.
Der verborgenen Biodiversität im Boden auf der Spur.
Hotspot, 42, 2020, 26-27.

Mayerhofer J., Rauch H., Hartmann M., Widmer F., Gschwend F., Strasser H., Leuchtmann A., Enkerli J.
Response of soil microbial communities to the application of a formulated Metarhizium brunneum biocontrol strain.
Biocontrol Science and Technology, online, (13 January), 2019.

Hug A.-S., Gschwend F., Widmer F., Gubler A.
Implementing metabarcoding of soil microbial communities into a long-term soil monitoring network.
In: Ecology of Soil Microorganisms 2018 Helsinki. 17.06., Finland. 2018, 1.

Hug A.-S., Gubler A., Gschwend F., Widmer F., Oberholzer, H.R., Frey, B., Meuli R. G.
NABObio - Bodenbiologie in der Nationalen Bodenbeobachtung. Ergebnisse 2012-2016, Handlungsempfehlungen und Indikatoren.
Agroscope Science, 63, 2018.

Apilife VAR: A new varroacide with thymol as the main ingredient (PDF, 103 kB, 20.01.2017)
A. Imdorf, S. Bogdanov, V. Kilchenmann, C. Maquelin (1994)

"THYMOVAR" for Varroa control (PDF, 75 kB, 27.01.2017)
F. Bollhalder (1998)


Although the use of thymol leads to residues in the wax and honey, these are negligible from a toxicological viewpoint. Since about 2008 the use of thymol-based products has been declining in Switzerland, and beekeepers making use of these products have tended to experience greater winter losses than those using e.g. formic acid.

Thymol residues in wax and honey after Apilife VAR treatment (PDF, 757 kB, 14.09.2016)
S. Bogdanov, A. Imdorf, V. Kilchenmann (1998) 

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