Varroa is a genus of parasitic associated with , placed in its own family, Varroidae.
Varroa mites, specifically the species Varroa destructor, are recognised as the biggest pest to honeybees worldwide due to their ability to transmit diseases such as deformed wing virus (or DWV) to larval or pupating bees, resulting in death or severe deformity of the pupae.
History and behavior
Varroa mites feed off the fat body tissue of adult,
, and
honey bees,
and may carry
that are particularly damaging to the bees (e.g., deformed wings, and IAPV), and accordingly they have been implicated in colony collapse disorder. Research has indicated that alone, neither
Varroa mites nor deformed wing virus are particularly deadly, yet together they can pose an incredible risk to colonies.
Varroa mites were first discovered in Java about 1904,
They were discovered in the United States in 1987, in New Zealand in 2000,
Australia was free of the mites until a routine inspection at the Port of Newcastle on 22 June 2022 detected an infestation.
Bee-breeding efforts to develop resistance against Varroa are ongoing. The USDA has developed a line of bees that uses Varroa-sensitive hygiene to remove reproductive mites. This line is now being distributed to beekeepers to be used as part of their integrated pest management programs.
Varroosis
The infestation and subsequent parasitic disease caused by mites in the genus
Varroa 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 (OIE) uses the name varroosis in the OIE Terrestrial Manual.
Treatments
The chemical treatment of
Varroa mites in common beehives typically uses an alcohol wash which causes significant consequential damage to the honey bee population or the use of organic acids such as oxalic acid which is harmful to the mite but not the honey bee.
Best results are obtained during periods of low or no brooding given the difficulty of applying medication to the brood and is often dispersed through a small vaporiser to distribute the acid within the hive. Commercial treatments such as Apistan and Apivar are commonly used as well.
Species
The genus
Varroa contains these species:
-
Varroa destructor Anderson & Trueman, 2000
-
Varroa jacobsoni Oudemans, 1904
-
Varroa rindereri de Guzman & Delfinado-Baker, 1996
-
Varroa underwoodi Delfinado-Baker and Aggarwal, 1987
Resistance
Some honey bees strains have been bred to be resistant to
Varroa,
through Varroa sensitive hygiene (VSH) behavior, enabling them to detect reproducing varroa mites and diseased pupae within capped cells, which are then uncapped and the pupae removed.
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