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''Varroa destructor'', the ''Varroa'' mite is an external parasitic
mite Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods). Mites span two large orders of arachnids, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari, but genetic analysis does not show clear e ...
that attacks and feeds on the
honey bee A honey bee (also spelled honeybee) is a eusocial flying insect within the genus ''Apis'' of the bee clade, all native to Afro-Eurasia. After bees spread naturally throughout Africa and Eurasia, humans became responsible for the current cosm ...
s '' Apis cerana'' and ''
Apis mellifera The western honey bee or European honey bee (''Apis mellifera'') is the most common of the 7–12 species of honey bees worldwide. The genus name ''Apis'' is Latin for "bee", and ''mellifera'' is the Latin for "honey-bearing" or "honey carrying", ...
''. The disease caused by the mites is called varroosis. The ''Varroa'' mite can reproduce only in a honey bee colony. It attaches to the body of the bee and weakens the bee by sucking fat bodies. The species is a vector for at least five debilitating bee viruses, including
RNA virus An RNA virus is a virusother than a retrovirusthat has ribonucleic acid ( RNA) as its genetic material. The nucleic acid is usually single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) but it may be double-stranded (dsRNA). Notable human diseases caused by RNA virus ...
es such as the
deformed wing virus ''Deformed wing virus'' (DWV) is an RNA virus, one of 22 known viruses affecting honey bees. While most commonly infecting the honey bee, ''Apis mellifera'', it has also been documented in other bee species, like '' Bombus terrestris'', thus, i ...
(DWV). A significant mite infestation leads to the death of a honey bee colony, usually in the late autumn through early spring. The ''Varroa'' mite is the parasite with possibly the most pronounced economic impact on the
beekeeping Beekeeping (or apiculture) is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in man-made beehives. Honey bees in the genus ''Apis (insect), Apis'' are the most-commonly-kept species but other honey-producing bees such as ''Melipona'' stingless bees ar ...
industry. ''Varroa'' is considered to be one of multiple stress factors contributing to the higher levels of bee losses around the world.


Physical description

File:Varroa destructor protonymph (5048063601).jpg, ''V. destructor'' protonymph File:Varroa destructor deutonymph.jpg, Deutonymph of ''V. destructor'' File:Varroa destructor (Adult Male) (5048079279).jpg, ''V. destructor'' adult male File:Female Varroa destructor on the head of a bee nymph (5048103407).jpg, Adult female in lateral view The adult female mite is reddish-brown in color, while the male is white. ''Varroa'' mites are flat, having a button shape. They are 1–1.8 mm long and 1.5–2 mm wide, and have eight legs. ''Varroa'' mites lack eyes. One mite weighs approximately 0.453 mg.


Reproduction, feeding, infection, and hive mortality

Mites reproduce on a 10-day cycle. The female mite enters a honey bee brood cell. As soon as the cell is capped, the ''Varroa'' mite lays eggs on the larva. The young mites, typically several females and one male, hatch in about the same time as the young bee develops and leave the cell with the host. When the young bee emerges from the cell after pupation, the ''Varroa'' mites also leave and spread to other bees and larvae. The mite preferentially infest
drone Drone most commonly refers to: * Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg * Unmanned aerial vehicle * Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft * Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to: ...
cells, allowing the mite to reproduce one more time with the extra three days it takes a drone to emerge compared to a
worker bee A worker bee is any female (eusocial) bee that lacks the full reproductive capacity of the colony's queen bee; under most circumstances, this is correlated to an increase in certain non-reproductive activities relative to a queen. While worker be ...
. This can cause genetic defects such as useless wings or viruses and fungi in the bee. Adult mites suck on the
fat body 300px, Stained cells of an insect fat body Fat body is a highly dynamic insect tissue composed primarily of storage cells. It is distributed throughout the insect's internal body cavity; the haemocoel, in close proximity to the epidermis, dig ...
of both adult bees and bee larvae for sustenance. As the fat body is crucial for many bodily functions such as hormone and energy regulation, immunity, and pesticide detoxification, the bee is left in a severely weakened state. Adult mites live and feed under the abdominal plates of adult bees primarily on the underside of the metasoma region on the left side of the bee. Adult mites are more often identified as present in the hive when on top of the adult bee on the mesosoma region, but research suggests that mites in this location are not feeding, but rather attempting to transfer to another bee. Open wounds left by the feeding become sites for disease and virus infections. The mites are vectors for at least five and possibly up to 18 debilitating bee viruses, including
RNA virus An RNA virus is a virusother than a retrovirusthat has ribonucleic acid ( RNA) as its genetic material. The nucleic acid is usually single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) but it may be double-stranded (dsRNA). Notable human diseases caused by RNA virus ...
es such as the
deformed wing virus ''Deformed wing virus'' (DWV) is an RNA virus, one of 22 known viruses affecting honey bees. While most commonly infecting the honey bee, ''Apis mellifera'', it has also been documented in other bee species, like '' Bombus terrestris'', thus, i ...
. With the exception of some resistance in the Russian strains and bees that have ''Varroa''-sensitive hygiene (about 10% of colonies naturally have it), European ''
Apis mellifera The western honey bee or European honey bee (''Apis mellifera'') is the most common of the 7–12 species of honey bees worldwide. The genus name ''Apis'' is Latin for "bee", and ''mellifera'' is the Latin for "honey-bearing" or "honey carrying", ...
'' bees are almost completely defenseless against these parasites. ( Russian honey bees are one-third to one-half less susceptible to mite reproduction). The model for the
population dynamics Population dynamics is the type of mathematics used to model and study the size and age composition of populations as dynamical systems. History Population dynamics has traditionally been the dominant branch of mathematical biology, which has a ...
is
exponential growth Exponential growth is a process that increases quantity over time. It occurs when the instantaneous rate of change (that is, the derivative) of a quantity with respect to time is proportional to the quantity itself. Described as a function, a ...
when bee broods are available, and exponential decline when no brood is available. In 12 weeks, the number of mites in a
western honey bee The western honey bee or European honey bee (''Apis mellifera'') is the most common of the 7–12 species of honey bees worldwide. The genus name ''Apis'' is Latin for "bee", and ''mellifera'' is the Latin for "honey-bearing" or "honey carrying" ...
hive can multiply by (roughly) 12. Mites often invade colonies in the summer, leading to high mite populations in autumn. High mite populations in the autumn can cause a crisis when drone rearing ceases and the mites switch to worker larvae, causing a quick population crash and often hive death. Once infected with a ''V. destructor'' mite, the honey bee may be damaged two ways. Firstly, the mite's consumption of the fat body weakens both the adult bee and the larva; in particular, it significantly decreases the weight of both the hatching and adult bee. Additionally, infected adult worker bees have a shorter lifespan than ordinary worker bees, and they furthermore tend to be absent from the colony far more than ordinary bees, which could be due to their reduced ability to navigate or regulate their energy for flight. Secondly, the mites are vectors of various viruses, in particular the deformed wing virus. After the initial developmental stages, when the young bee matures, it leaves the brood cell and takes the mite with it. ''V. destructor'' then leaves the young bee for an older one, preferably for a nurse bee, because nurse bees spend more time near the brood, giving the mite more ample opportunity to reproduce. In fact, because the nurse bee spends more time around the drone brood rather than the worker brood, many more drones are infected with the mites. ''Varroa'' mites have been found on tricial larvae of some wasp species, such as ''
Vespula vulgaris ''Vespula vulgaris'', known as the Common wasp, is a species found in regions that include the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, India, China, New Zealand and Australia. It is sometimes known in English as the European wasp, but the same name is ...
'', and flower-feeding insects such as the
bumblebee A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only Extant taxon, extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct r ...
, ''
Bombus pensylvanicus ''Bombus pensylvanicus'', the American bumblebee, is a threatened species of bumblebee native to North America. It occurs in eastern Canada, throughout much of the Eastern United States, and much of Mexico.Hatfield, R., et al. 2015''Bombus pensyl ...
'', the scarab beetle, ''
Phanaeus vindex ''Phanaeus vindex'', the rainbow scarab, is a North American dung beetle, found from the eastern US to Arizona and Mexico. The head is a metallic yellow color, and males have a black horn which curves backward toward the thorax. Both sexes have ...
'', and the
flower-fly Hover flies, also called flower flies or syrphid flies, make up the insect family Syrphidae. As their common name suggests, they are often seen hovering or nectaring at flowers; the adults of many species feed mainly on nectar and pollen, wh ...
, ''Palpada vinetorum''. It parasitizes the young larvae and feeds on the internal organs of the hosts. Although the ''Varroa'' mite cannot reproduce on these insects, its presence on them may be a means by which it spreads short distances (
phoresy Phoresis or phoresy is a non-permanent, commensalistic interaction in which one organism (a phoront or phoretic) attaches itself to another (the host) solely for the purpose of travel. Phoresis has been observed directly in ticks and mites s ...
).


Introduction around the world

''Varroa'' mites originally only occurred in Asia, on the Asian honeybee, '' Apis cerana'', but this species has been introduced to many other countries on several continents, resulting in disastrous infestations of European honeybees. * 1909–1958 Japan (first on ''A. cerana'', then on ''A. mellifera'') * Prior to 1965
USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nati ...
(European Russia) * 1967 Bulgaria * 1975 Romania * 1977
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...
* 1970s Brazil * Late 1970s
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...
* 1980 Poland * 1982 France * 1984 Switzerland, Spain, Italy * 1987 Portugal * 1987 United States * 1989 Canada * 1992 United Kingdom * 1992 Malta * 1998 Ireland * 2000 New Zealand (
North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-larges ...
) * 2006 New Zealand (
South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...
) * 2007 Hawaii (
Oahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O ...
,
Hawaii Island Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii ) is the largest island in the United States, located in the state of Hawaii. It is the southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of volcanic islands in the North Pacific Ocean. With an area of , it has 63% of t ...
) * 2008 Hawaii (Big Island) * 2022 Australia In early 2010, an isolated subspecies of honey bee was discovered in the oasis of
Kufra Kufra () is a basinBertarelli (1929), p. 514. and oasis group in the Kufra District of southeastern Cyrenaica in Libya. At the end of nineteenth century Kufra became the centre and holy place of the Senussi order. It also played a minor role ...
(southeastern Libya), this newly discovered bee is the only known subspecies that is Varroa free. The Hawaiian islands of Maui and Kauai are free of the mite.


Identification

Until recently, ''V. destructor'' was thought to be a closely related mite species called ''
Varroa jacobsoni ''Varroa jacobsoni'' is a species of mite that parasitises ''Apis cerana'' (Asian honey bees). The more damaging ''Varroa destructor'' was previously included under the name ''V. jacobsoni'', but the two species can be separated on the bas ...
''. Both species parasitize the Asian honey bee, ''A. cerana''. However, the species originally described as ''V. jacobsoni'' by
Anthonie Cornelis Oudemans Anthonie (Antoon) Cornelis Oudemans Jzn (November 12, 1858 – January 14, 1943) was a Dutch zoologist. Although he was a specialist in acarology, the study of the ticks and mites, he was often best known for his books on sea monsters and the do ...
in 1904 is not the same species that also attacks ''A. mellifera''. The jump to ''A. mellifera'' probably first took place in the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
in the early 1960s, where imported ''A. mellifera'' came into close contact with infected ''A. cerana''. Until 2000, scientists had not identified ''V. destructor'' as a separate species. This late identification in 2000 by Anderson and Trueman corrected some previous confusion and mislabeling in the scientific literature.


Varroosis

The infestation and subsequent
parasitic disease A parasitic disease, also known as parasitosis, is an infectious disease caused by parasites. Parasites are organisms which derive sustenance from its host while causing it harm. The study of parasites and parasitic diseases is known as parasitolo ...
caused by ''Varroa'' mites is called varroosis. Sometimes, the incorrect names varroatosis or varroasis are used. A parasitic disease name must be formed from the taxonomic name of the parasite and the suffix -osis as provided in the Standardised Nomenclature by the World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology. For example, the
World Organisation for Animal Health The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), formerly the (OIE), is an intergovernmental organization coordinating, supporting and promoting animal disease control. Mission and status The main objective of the WOAH is to control epizo ...
(OIE) uses the name varroosis in the OIE Terrestrial Manual. Treatments have met with limited success. First, the bees were medicated with
fluvalinate Fluvalinate is a synthetic pyrethroid chemical compound contained as an active agent in the products Apistan, Klartan, and Minadox, that is an acaricide (specifically, a miticide), commonly used to control ''Varroa'' mites in honey bee colonie ...
, a synthetic
pyrethroid A pyrethroid is an organic compound similar to the natural pyrethrins, which are produced by the flowers of pyrethrums ('' Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium'' and '' C. coccineum''). Pyrethroids are used as commercial and household insecticides. ...
, which had about 95% mite falls. However, the last 5% became resistant to it, and later, almost immune. Fluvalinate was followed by
coumaphos Coumaphos is a nonvolatile, fat-soluble phosphorothioate with ectoparasiticide properties: it kills insects and mites. It is well known by a variety of brand names as a dip or wash, used on farm and domestic animals to control ticks, mites, flies ...
, which mites also have developed resistance to.


Control or preventive measures and treatment


Monitoring

Several methods exist for monitoring levels of ''Varroa'' mites in a colony. For a powdered sugar roll, the sampler collects about 300 bees using a 1/2-cup measuring cup and places them in a jar with a wire mesh screen lid (1/8") along with 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar. They then gently swirl the bees for about a minute before turning the jar upside down and shaking for two minutes over a tray to capture the mites as they fall. Those mites are then counted, and the count is divided by three to find the number of mites per 100 bees. The sugar roll is typically done with the intent to prevent killing the sampled bees, but whether the vigorous shaking causes damage is not known. For an alcohol wash, which is the most effective method, the sampler collects about 300 bees using the same cup. The bees are submerged in alcohol with a concentration of 70% or higher. A lid is placed over the jar to seal it, and the mixture is shaken vigorously for two minutes before it is poured over a 1/8" wire mesh screen into a tray. The mites are then counted, and the resulting number is also divided by three. This method kills all sampled bees. The sticky board method does not kill any bees. For this method, a sticky board with a thick coating of petroleum jelly is placed under the brood chamber under a screened bottom board (or similar 1/8" wire mesh screen). The board is retrieved after three days, and the beekeeper takes a count of the mites on the board. This number is divided by three to find the average 24-hour mite drop. This method does not kill any bees, but takes longer for results.


Chemical measures

''Varroa'' mites can be treated with commercially available
acaricide Acaricides are pesticides that kill members of the arachnid subclass ''Acari'', which includes ticks and mites. Acaricides are used both in medicine and agriculture, although the desired selective toxicity differs between the two fields. Termino ...
s. Acaricides must be applied carefully to minimize the contamination of
honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...
that might be consumed by humans. Proper use of miticides also slows the development of resistance by the mites.


Synthetic chemicals

*
Pyrethroid A pyrethroid is an organic compound similar to the natural pyrethrins, which are produced by the flowers of pyrethrums ('' Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium'' and '' C. coccineum''). Pyrethroids are used as commercial and household insecticides. ...
insecticide Insecticides are substances used to kill insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against insect eggs and larvae, respectively. Insecticides are used in agriculture, medicine, industry and by consumers. Insecticides are claimed t ...
(
fluvalinate Fluvalinate is a synthetic pyrethroid chemical compound contained as an active agent in the products Apistan, Klartan, and Minadox, that is an acaricide (specifically, a miticide), commonly used to control ''Varroa'' mites in honey bee colonie ...
) as strips *
Amitraz Amitraz (development code BTS27419) is a non-systemic acaricide and insecticideCorta, E., Bakkali, A., Berrueta, L. A., Gallo, B., & Vicente, F. (1999). Kinetics and mechanism of amitraz hydrolysis in aqueous media by HPLC and GC-MS. Talanta, 48(1 ...
, as strips *
Organophosphate In organic chemistry, organophosphates (also known as phosphate esters, or OPEs) are a class of organophosphorus compounds with the general structure , a central phosphate molecule with alkyl or aromatic substituents. They can be considered ...
insecticide (Coumaphos or Check-mite) as strips * Manley's Thymol Crystal and surgical spirit recipe with sugar as food * StopVarroa, made with
oxalic acid Oxalic acid is an organic acid with the systematic name ethanedioic acid and formula . It is the simplest dicarboxylic acid. It is a white crystalline solid that forms a colorless solution in water. Its name comes from the fact that early invest ...


Naturally occurring chemicals

*
Formic acid Formic acid (), systematically named methanoic acid, is the simplest carboxylic acid, and has the chemical formula HCOOH and structure . It is an important intermediate in chemical synthesis and occurs naturally, most notably in some ants. Est ...
as vapor or pads (Mite-Away) *Powdered
sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or do ...
(Dowda method), talc, or other "safe" powders with a grain size between can be sprinkled on the bees. *
Essential oil An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the o ...
s, especially lemon, mint, and thyme oil * Sugar esters (Sucrocide) in spray application *
Oxalic acid Oxalic acid is an organic acid with the systematic name ethanedioic acid and formula . It is the simplest dicarboxylic acid. It is a white crystalline solid that forms a colorless solution in water. Its name comes from the fact that early invest ...
trickling method or applied as vapor *
Mineral oil Mineral oil is any of various colorless, odorless, light mixtures of higher alkanes from a mineral source, particularly a distillate of petroleum, as distinct from usually edible vegetable oils. The name 'mineral oil' by itself is imprecise ...
(food grade) as vapor and in direct application on paper or cords *Beta acid found in
hops Hops are the flowers (also called seed cones or strobiles) of the hop plant '' Humulus lupulus'', a member of the Cannabaceae family of flowering plants. They are used primarily as a bittering, flavouring, and stability agent in beer, to w ...
in strip application (Hopguard) However, the most effective long-term way of protecting bees against ''V. destructor'' is by breeding bees that are resistant to these mites.


Physical, mechanical, behavioral methods

''Varroa'' mites can also be controlled through nonchemical means. Most of these controls are intended to reduce the mite population to a manageable level, not to eliminate the mites completely. *Perforated bottom board method is used by many beekeepers on their hives. When mites occasionally fall off a bee, they must climb back up to parasitize another bee. If the beehive has a screened floor with mesh the right size, the mite falls through and cannot return to the beehive. The screened bottom board is also being credited with increased circulation of air, which reduces condensation in a hive during the winter. Studies at
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
done over two years found that screened bottoms have no measurable effect at all. Screened bottom boards with sticky boards (glue traps) separate mites that fall through the screen and the sticky board prevents them from crawling back up. *Heating method, first used by beekeepers in Eastern Europe in the 1970s, later became a global method. In this method, hive frames are heated to at least 104 °F (40 °C) for several hours at a time, which causes the mites to drop from the bees. When combined with the perforated bottom board method, this can control mites sufficiently to aid colony survival. In Germany, anti-varroa heaters are manufactured for use by professional beekeepers. A thermosolar hive has been patented and manufactured in the Czech Republic. *Limited drone brood cell method limits the brood space cell for ''Varroa'' mites to inhabit (4.9 mm across—about 0.5 mm smaller than standard), and also enhances the difference in size between worker and drone brood, with the intention of making the drone comb traps more effective in trapping ''Varroa'' mites. Small cell foundations have staunch advocates, though controlled studies have been generally inconclusive. *Comb trapping method (also known as the swarming method) is based on interrupting the honey bee brood cycle. It is an advanced method that removes capped brood from the hive, where the ''Varroa'' mites breed. The queen is confined to a comb using a comb cage. At 9-day intervals, the queen is confined to a new comb, and the brood in the old comb is left to be reared. The brood in the previous comb, now capped and infested with ''Varroa'' mites, is removed. The cycle is repeated. This complex method can remove up to 80% of ''Varroa'' mites in the hive. *Freezing drone brood method takes advantage of the ''Varroa'' mites' preference for longer living
drone Drone most commonly refers to: * Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg * Unmanned aerial vehicle * Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft * Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to: ...
brood Brood may refer to: Nature * Brood, a collective term for offspring * Brooding, the incubation of bird eggs by their parents * Bee brood, the young of a beehive * Individual broods of North American Periodical Cicadas: ** Brood X, the largest b ...
. The beekeeper puts a frame in the hive that is sized to encourage the queen to lay primarily drone brood. Once the brood is capped, the beekeeper removes the frame and puts it in the freezer. This kills the ''Varroa'' mites feeding on those bees. It also kills the drone brood, but most hives produce an excess of drone bees, so it is not generally considered a loss. After freezing, the frame can be returned to the hive. The nurse bees clean out the dead brood (and dead mites) and the cycle continues. *Drone brood excision method is a variation applicable to
top bar hive A top-bar hive is a single-story frameless beehive in which the comb hangs from removable bars. The bars form a continuous roof over the comb, whereas the frames in most current hives allow space for bees to move up or down between boxes. Hives t ...
s. Honey bees tend to place combs suitable for drone brood along the bottom and outer margins of the comb. Cutting this off at a late stage of development ("purple eye stage") and discarding it reduces the mite load on the colony. It also allows for inspection and counting of mites on the brood.


Genetic engineering

Researchers have been able to use
RNA interference RNA interference (RNAi) is a biological process in which RNA molecules are involved in sequence-specific suppression of gene expression by double-stranded RNA, through translational or transcriptional repression. Historically, RNAi was known by ...
to
knock out A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...
genes in the ''Varroa'' mite. Efforts also have been made to breed for changes in the honey bees. Two strains have been developed in the United States that can detect damaged pupae under cappings and remove them before the infestation spreads further. The “IN”/Indiana strain is under development at
Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and ...
to develop lines that groom off and bite
phoretic Phoresis or phoresy is a non-permanent, commensalistic interaction in which one organism (a phoront or phoretic) attaches itself to another (the host) solely for the purpose of travel. Phoresis has been observed directly in ticks and mites s ...
''Varroa'' to kill the mites.


See also

*
Colony collapse disorder Colony collapse disorder (CCD) is an abnormal phenomenon that occurs when the majority of worker bees in a honey bee colony disappear, leaving behind a queen, plenty of food, and a few nurse bees to care for the remaining immature bees. While s ...


References


Further reading

* * *
Varroa Mite Controls
Apiculture Factsheet #221, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Government of
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...
; April 2004
Oils for Varroa Control
Botanicals For Mite Control, Canadian Honey Council, 3/16/2003


External links



on the
University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
/
Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) is a teaching, research and Extension scientific organization focused on agriculture and natural resources. It is a partnership of federal, state, and county governmen ...
''Featured Creatures'' website
The ectoparasite mite Varroa destructor Anderson and Trueman in southeastern Brazil apiaries
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q48564 Mesostigmata Arachnids of Asia Beekeeping Western honey bee pests Parasites of bees Parasitic acari Agricultural pest mites Animals described in 2000