Varroa sensitive hygiene

About: Varroa sensitive hygiene is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 714 publications have been published within this topic receiving 24928 citations. The topic is also known as: VSH.

The Biology of the Honey Bee

Abstract: 1. Introduction 2. The Origins and Evolutionary History of Bees 3. Form and Function: Honey Bee Anatomy 4. Development and Nutrition 5. Nest Architecture 6. The Age-Related Activities of Worker Bees 7. Other Worker Activities 8. The Chemical World of Honey Bees 9. Communication and Orientation 10. The Collection of Food 11. Reproduction: Swarming and Supersedure 12. Drones, Queens, and Mating 13. The Biology of Temperate and Tropical Honey Bees Reference Author Index Subject Index

Varroa jacobsoni (Acari: Varroidae) is more than one species

Abstract: Varroa jacobsoni was first described as a natural ectoparasitic mite of the Eastern honeybee (Apis cerana) throughout Asia. It later switched host to the Western honeybee (A. mellifera) and has now become a serious pest of that bee worldwide. The studies reported here on genotypic, phenotypic and reproductive variation among V. jacobsoni infesting A. cerana throughout Asia demonstrate that V. jacobsoni is a complex of at least two different species. In a new classification V. jacobsoni is here redefined as encompassing nine haplotypes (mites with distinct mtDNA CO-I gene sequences) that infest A. cerana in the Malaysia–Indonesia region. Included is a Java haplotype, specimens of which were used to first describe V. jacobsoni at the beginning of this century. A new name, V. destructor n. sp., is given to six haplotypes that infest A. cerana on mainland Asia. Adult females of V. destructor are significantly larger and less spherical in shape than females of V. jacobsoni and they are also reproductively isolated from females of V. jacobsoni. The taxonomic positions of a further three unique haplotypes that infest A. cerana in the Philippines is uncertain and requires further study. Other studies reported here also show that only two of the 18 different haplotypes concealed within the complex of mites infesting A. cerana have become pests of A. mellifera worldwide. Both belong to V. destructor, and they are not V. jacobsoni. The most common is a Korea haplotype, so-called because it was also found parasitizing A. cerana in South Korea. It was identified on A. mellifera in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Less common is a Japan/Thailand haplotype, so-called because it was also found parasitizing A. cerana in Japan and Thailand. It was identified on A. mellifera in Japan, Thailand and the Americas. Our results imply that the findings of past research on V. jacobsoni are applicable mostly to V. destructor. Our results will also influence quarantine protocols for bee mites, and may present new strategies for mite control.

Pesticides and honey bee toxicity – USA

Abstract: Until 1985 discussions of pesticides and honey bee toxicity in the USA were focused on pesticides applied to crops and the unintentional exposure of foraging bees to them. The recent introduction of arthropod pests of honey bees, Acarapis woodi (1984), Varroa destructor (1987), and Aethina tumida (1997), to the USA have resulted in the intentional introduction of pesticides into beehives to suppress these pests. Both the unintentional and the intentional exposure of honey bees to pesticides have resulted in residues in hive products, especially beeswax. This review examines pesticides applied to crops, pesticides used in apiculture and pesticide residues in hive products. We discuss the role that pesticides and their residues in hive products may play in colony collapse disorder and other colony problems. Although no single pesticide has been shown to cause colony collapse disorder, the additive and synergistic effects of multiple pesticide exposures may contribute to declining honey bee health.

Varroa mites and honey bee health: can Varroa explain part of the colony losses?

Abstract: Since 2006, disastrous colony losses have been reported in Europe and North America. The causes of the losses were not readily apparent and have been attributed to overwintering mortalities and to a new phenomenon called Colony Collapse Disorder. Most scientists agree that there is no single explanation for the extensive colony losses but that interactions between different stresses are involved. As the presence of Varroa in each colony places an important pressure on bee health, we here address the question of how Varroa contributes to the recent surge in honey bee colony losses.