Honey bees are important as honey producers and as pollinators of agricultural crops. They are estimated to provide "value added" pollination worth approximately $14 billion per year in the USA. Varroa mites threaten agricultural pollination directly by weakening and destroying bee colonies. They also mandate more regular management of hives that is both labor intensive and expensive.

The first varroa species, Varroa jacobsoni, was described from Indonesia in 1904 parasitizing the local bees (Apis cerana). New research studies by Drs. D. L. Anderson and J. W. H. Trueman, (CSIRO, Australia) indicated that V. jacobsoni is a species complex containing 18 different genetic variants that belong to 2, possibly 5 different species of varroa mites. Anderson and Trueman indicated that they were unable to find morphological differences to distinguish the genetic types. The varroa associated with the European honey bee (Apis mellifera) was described as a new species, Varroa destructor by Anderson & Trueman, 2000.

The Systematic Entomology Laboratory, Bee Research Laboratory and the Electron Microscopy Unit in the Soybean Genomics and Improvement Laboratory are examining the morphology of varroa mites. They expect that some morphological differences will be found to distinguish the newly discovered species of Varroa. If this is the case, this research will facilitate the scientific community's ability to study the ecology, biology, and control of these important pest mites.

 

Parasitized honey bee pupa

 

Ventral view of female

 

LTSEM image of Varroa destructor on a honey bee host

 

LTSEM image of female venter

 

Ventral view of the gnathosoma

 

SELECTED REFERENCES

Anderson, D.L. and J.W.H. Trueman. 2000. Varroa jacobsoni (Acari: Varroidae) is more than one species. Experimental and Applied Acarology. 24:1-25.