MITE PESTS OF HONEY BEES

Abstract

Mites that affect honey bees or are found in bee hives may be divided into three groups: parasites, phoretic mites, and house guests. The number of species of parasitic mites are few, but some are the causes of serious diseases of bees. The primary problem mites are Varroa jacobsoni, Acarapis woodi, and Tropi/ae/aps clareae. Phoretic mites are fl ower or leaf-feeding mites that use honey bees for transport from one plant to another and arrive accidentally in a beehive. Among the many house guests are species that feed on old provisions and a few species that feed on other mites. Mites rarely feed on stored pollen in active hives, although large numbers of pollen-feeding mites are often found in stored combs. There are four species of honey bees on earth. Apis melli/era is native to Europe and Africa; A. cerana, A. dorsata, and A. florea are native to Asia. Apis melli/era has been transported to all areas where men reside. They have been successfully established everywhere except in tropical Asia where mites that prey on some of the three Asian species are apparently responsi­ ble for their demise. In the past few decades one species of mite native to Europe and one native to Asia have been spread by men to other continents and pose a threat to the beekeeping industry. The only major honey-producing areas unin­ fested by one or both at present are the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Beekeepers in these four countries are alert to the dan­ gers these mites pose; however, given the rate at which people move around earth and the laxity of customs officials in most countries, these mites will eventually be as ubiquitous as their hosts.