scholarly journals Why do Varroa mites invade worker brood cells of the honey bee despite lower reproductive success?

1995 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 283-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Willem J. Boot ◽  
Minus van Baalen ◽  
Maurice W. Sabelis
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Varroa Mites ◽  
Worker Brood

scholarly journals Why do Varroa mites invade worker brood cells of the honey bee despite lower reproductive success?

1995 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 283-289
Author(s):  
Willem J. Boot ◽  
Minus van Baalen ◽  
Maurice W. Sabelis
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Varroa Mites ◽  
Worker Brood

scholarly journals Reduced Postcapping Period in Honey Bees Surviving Varroa destructor by Means of Natural Selection

Insects ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Oddie ◽  
Bjørn Dahle ◽  
Peter Neumann
Keyword(s):  
Natural Selection ◽  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Varroa Destructor ◽  
Common Garden ◽  
Colony Losses ◽  
Susceptible Population ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Worker Brood ◽  
Colony Survival

The ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor is a key factor for colony losses in European honey bee subspecies (Apis mellifera), but it is also known that some host populations have adapted to the mite by means of natural selection. The role of a shorter host brood postcapping period in reducing mite reproductive success has been investigated in other surviving subspecies, however its role in the adaptation of European honey bee populations has not been addressed. Here, we use a common garden approach to compare the length of the worker brood postcapping period in a Norwegian surviving honey bee population with the postcapping period of a local susceptible population. The data show a significantly shorter postcapping period in the surviving population for ~10% of the brood. Since even small differences in postcapping period can significantly reduce mite reproductive success, this mechanism may well contribute to natural colony survival. It appears most likely that several mechanisms acting together produce the full mite-surviving colony phenotype.

scholarly journals Reproduction of Distinct Varroa destructor Genotypes on Honey Bee Worker Brood

Insects ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenfeng Li ◽  
Cheng Wang ◽  
Zachary Y. Huang ◽  
Yanping Chen ◽  
Richou Han
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Varroa Destructor ◽  
Southern China ◽  
Reproductive Rate ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
New Host ◽  
Varroa Mites ◽  
Worker Brood

Honey bees play important roles in pollination for many crops and wild plants, but have been facing great threats posed by various pathogens and parasites. Among them, Varroa destructor, an obligate ectoparasite of honey bees, is considered the most damaging. Within the last century, V. destructor shifted from the original host, the Asian honey bee Apis cerana to the new host, the European honey bee A. mellifera. However, the reproduction of Varroa mites, especially of different haplotypes in the two hosts, is still largely unknown. In this study, we first investigated the existing Varroa haplotypes in local colonies in southern China, and then compared the reproduction of different haplotypes on the worker brood of both the original and new hosts by artificial inoculation. We confirmed that there are two haplotypes of V. destructor in southern China, one is the Korea haplotype and the other is the China haplotype, and the two types parasitized different honey bee species. Although Varroa females from A. mellifera (Korea haplotype) are able to reproduce on the worker brood of both honey bee species, they showed better reproductive performance in the new host A. mellifera with significantly higher fecundity (number of offspring per mother mite) and reproductive rate (number of adult daughters per mother mite), suggesting that this parasite gains higher fitness after host shift. The data further showed that a short stay of Varroa females inside the A. cerana worker cells decreased their fecundity and especially the reproductive rate in a time-dependent manner, suggesting that the A. cerana worker cells may inhibit Varroa reproduction. In contrast, Varroa mites derived from A. cerana colonies (China haplotype) were entirely sterile in A. mellifera worker cells during two sequential inoculations, while the control mites from A. mellifera colonies (Korea haplotype) reproduced normally. In addition, all the infertile mites were found to defecate on the abdomen of bee pupae. We have revealed that two haplotypes of V. destructor exhibit differential reproduction on the worker brood of the original and new host honey bees, providing novel insights into the diversity and complexity of the reproduction of V. destructor.

scholarly journals Low fertility, fecundity and numbers of mated female offspring explain the lower reproductive success of the parasitic mite Varroa destructor in African honeybees

Parasitology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 145 (12) ◽  
pp. 1633-1639 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatrice T. Nganso ◽  
Ayuka T. Fombong ◽  
Abdullahi A. Yusuf ◽  
Christian W. W. Pirk ◽  
Charles Stuhl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Varroa Destructor ◽  
Female Offspring ◽  
Low Fertility ◽  
Mite Infestation ◽  
Unmated Female ◽  
Mite Reproduction ◽  
Worker Brood ◽  
Honeybee Subspecies

AbstractAlthough Varroa destructor is the most serious ecto-parasite to the honeybee, Apis mellifera L., some honeybee populations such as Apis mellifera scutellata in Kenya can survive mite infestations without treatment. Previously, we reported that grooming behaviour could be a potential tolerant mechanism expressed by this honeybee subspecies towards mite infestation. However, both hygienic and grooming behaviours could not explain the lower mite-infestation levels recorded in these colonies. Here, we investigated the involvement of other potential resistant mechanisms including suppression of mite reproduction in worker brood cells of A. m. scutellata to explain the low mite numbers in their colonies. High infertility rates (26–27%) and percentages of unmated female offspring (39–58%) as well as low fecundity (1.7–2.2, average offspring produced) were identified as key parameters that seem to interact with one another during different seasons to suppress mite reproduction in A. m. scutellata colonies. We also identified offspring mortality in both sexes and absence of male offspring as key factors accounting for the low numbers of mated daughter mites produced in A. m. scutellata colonies. These results suggest that reduced mite reproductive success could explain the slow mite population growth in A. m. scutellata colonies.

Damaged Varroa mites in the debris of different honey bee subspecies under semiarid mediterranean conditions

2001 ◽  
Vol 106 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-198
Author(s):  
Abdul-Majed Ahmed Al-Ghzawi ◽  
Shahera-Talat Zaitoun ◽  
Hail-K. Shannag
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Varroa Mites ◽  
Mediterranean Conditions

scholarly journals Varroa mites do not suppress honey bee immunity

2014 ◽  
Vol 217 (10) ◽  
pp. 1638-1638
Author(s):  
K. Knight
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Varroa Mites

scholarly journals Does time spent on adult bees affect reproductive success of Varroa mites?

1995 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Willem J. Boot ◽  
Johan N. M. Calis ◽  
Joop Beetsma
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Varroa Mites
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