The Use of Some Herbal Essential Oils Against Galleria mellonella Larvae and Testing of Bacillus thuringiensis Bacterium Isolated from Galleria mellonella Under Laboratory Conditions

Larvae of wax moths cause great damage in honey bee hives and especially in stored honeycombs. Biological control methods are especially important in the control of wax moth in warehouses, as they do not harm the bee, the product and the environment. This study was carried out to determine the effect of 5%, 10%, 25%, 45% and 55% of peppermint, thyme, nettle seed, and walnut herbal oils and GB1 Bacillus sp. (OR227363) against wax moth larvae (Galleria mellonella) (L1-L3) under laboratory conditions. For each group of fifteen larvae, four herbal oil and one bacterial trials were conducted and two control groups were formed. The trials were conducted in glass jars and the larvae were kept in an oven at 25°C temperature/75% relative humidity. Each jar was checked every day for two weeks and dead/viable larvae were recorded and the dead ones were removed from the jar. As a result of the dose trials, it was determined that the best dose was 2.835x109 cfu/mL for bacteria and 5% concentration of thyme and walnut oil for herbal oil. According to the data obtained, it is thought that GB1 Bacillus sp. isolate can be used as an alternative control method against wax moth larvae.