Abstract
▪ Abstract The hive of the honey bee is a suitable habitat for diverse mites (Acari), including nonparasitic, omnivorous, and pollen-feeding species, and parasites. The biology and damage of the three main pest species Acarapis woodi, Varroa jacobsoni, and Tropilaelaps clareae is reviewed, along with detection and control methods. The hypothesis that Acarapis woodi is a recently evolved species is rejected. Mite-associated bee pathologies (mostly viral) also cause increasing losses to apiaries. Future studies on bee mites are beset by three main problems: (a) The recent discovery of several new honey bee species and new bee-parasitizing mite species (along with the probability that several species are masquerading under the name Varroa jacobsoni) may bring about new bee-mite associations and increase damage to beekeeping; (b) methods for studying bee pathologies caused by viruses are still largely lacking; (c) few bee- and consumer-friendly methods for controlling bee mites in large apiaries are available.
Keywords
Varroa jacobsoniVarroa sensitive hygieneBiologyApiaryBeekeepingVarroaHoney beeMiteZoologyVarroa destructorAcariEcologyApidaeHymenoptera
Affiliated Institutions
Related Publications
Complementary Aspects of Strawberry Pollination by Honey and IndigenQus Bees (Hymenoptera)
The relative efficiency of two groups of insects that pollinate strawberries, Fragaria × ananassa Duch., was established by comparing the relative influence of the number and le...
Regional, Annual, and Seasonal Variation in Pollinator Guilds: Intrinsic Traits of Bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) Underlie Their Patterns of Abundance at Vaccinium ashei (Ericaceae)
We studied the numerical importance of bees as pollinators of rabbiteye blueberry, Vaccinium ashei Reade, in the southeastern United States. Most of the 27 bee species were rare...
Publication Info
- Year
- 2000
- Type
- review
- Volume
- 45
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 519-548
- Citations
- 416
- Access
- Closed
External Links
Social Impact
Altmetric
PlumX Metrics
Social media, news, blog, policy document mentions
Citation Metrics
416
OpenAlex
Cite This
Diana Sammataro,
U. Gerson,
Glen R. Needham
(2000).
Parasitic Mites of Honey Bees: Life History, Implications, and Impact.
Annual Review of Entomology
, 45
(1)
, 519-548.
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ento.45.1.519
Identifiers
- DOI
- 10.1146/annurev.ento.45.1.519