Varroa
{{Short description|Genus of mites}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = Varroa
| image = Varroa destructor, 1 2019-09-06-19.12.07 ZS PMax UDR (48697155713).jpg
| image_caption =
| image2 = Varroa destructor2 2019-09-06-19.10.23 ZS PMax UDR (48697673082).jpg
| image2_caption = Varroa destructor in dorsal (top) and ventral (lower) views
| display_parents = 2
| parent_authority = Delfinado & Baker, 1974
| taxon = Varroa
| authority = Oudemans, 1904
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = Varroa destructor
Varroa jacobsoni
Varroa rindereri
Varroa underwoodi
}}
Varroa is a genus of parasitic mesostigmatan mites associated with honey bees, placed in its own family, Varroidae.{{cite web |url=http://bug.tamu.edu/research/collection/hallan/Acari/Family/Varroidae.txt |title=Varroidae Delfinado & Baker, 1974 |author=Joel Hallan |publisher=Texas A&M University |access-date=June 13, 2010 |archive-date=October 25, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025112710/http://bug.tamu.edu/research/collection/hallan/Acari/Family/Varroidae.txt |url-status=bot: unknown }} The genus was named for Marcus Terentius Varro, a Roman scholar and beekeeper. The condition of a honeybee colony being infested with Varroa mites is called varroosis (also, incorrectly, varroatosis).
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, pupal, and larval honey bees,{{Cite journal|last1=Ramsey|first1=Samuel D.|last2=Ochoa|first2=Ronald|last3=Bauchan|first3=Gary|last4=Gulbronson|first4=Connor|last5=Mowery|first5=Joseph D.|last6=Cohen|first6=Allen|last7=Lim|first7=David|last8=Joklik|first8=Judith|last9=Cicero|first9=Joseph M.|date=2019-01-29|title=Varroa destructor feeds primarily on honey bee fat body tissue and not hemolymph|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|language=en|volume=116|issue=5|pages=1792–1801|doi=10.1073/pnas.1818371116|issn=0027-8424|pmc=6358713|pmid=30647116|doi-access=free|bibcode=2019PNAS..116.1792R }} and may carry viruses 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.livescience.com/20815-honeybee-collapse-mite-virus.html|title=Mites, Viruses Sicken Bee Hives - Colony Collapse Disorder - Hawaiian Honeybee Infection|work=LiveScience.com|date=7 June 2012}}{{cite web|url=http://www.livescience.com/271-bees-wiped-cascade-deadly-events.html|title=Bees Wiped Out by Cascade of Deadly Events|work=LiveScience.com|date=17 May 2005}}
Varroa mites were first discovered in Java about 1904,{{cite journal |author=D. L. Anderson & J. W. H. Trueman |year=2000 |title=Varroa jacobsoni (Acari: Varroidae) is more than one species |journal=Experimental and Applied Acarology |volume=24 |issue=3 |pages=165–189 |doi=10.1023/A:1006456720416 |pmid=11108385|s2cid=12271915 }} but are now present in all honey bee populations except the Isle of Man and Isle of Colonsay. Because of the lack of varroa in Isle of Man, on February 16, 2015, the EU made a decision that allowed the Isle of Man to block the importation of all bee-related supplies.{{Cite web|title=Isle of Man Government - Bees|url=https://www.gov.im/categories/business-and-industries/agriculture/bees/|access-date=2022-02-17|website=www.gov.im}}
They were discovered in the United States in 1987, in New Zealand in 2000,{{cite journal |author=Zhi-Qian Zhang |year=2000 |title=Notes on Varroa destructor (Acari: Varroidae) parasitic on honeybees in New Zealand |journal=Systematic & Applied Acarology |series=Special Publications |volume=5 |pages=9–14 |url=http://www.nhm.ac.uk/hosted-sites/acarology/saas/saasp/pdf10/saasp05b.pdf }} and in the United Kingdom in 1992.{{citation needed|date=January 2019}}
Australia was free of the mites until a routine inspection at the Port of Newcastle on 22 June 2022 detected an infestation.{{cite web | date=2022-07-04 | access-date=2022-07-07 | website=Newcastle Weekly | url=http://newcastleweekly.com.au/new-varroa-mite-detection-linked-to-newcastle/ | title=New Varroa mite detection linked to Newcastle}} Eradication is unlikely because no other introduction elsewhere in the world has been eradicated.{{cite web | date=2022-07-04 | access-date=2022-07-07 | website=Australian National University | url=http://www.anu.edu.au/news/all-news/here%E2%80%99s-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-varroa-mite | title=Here's what you need to know about the Varroa mite}} On 9 November 2023, ABC News reported that researchers have predicted the extinction of feral bees in Australia within three years because of the spreading Varroa mite infestation.{{Cite news |date=2023-11-08 |title=Researcher says feral bees face extinction as deadly mite spreads in swarms |language=en-AU |work=ABC News |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2023-11-09/deadly-parasite-varroa-mite-behind-predicted-feral-bee-die-off/102905408 |access-date=2023-11-09}}
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.{{cn|date=March 2025}}
Varroosis
The infestation and subsequent parasitic disease caused by mites in the genus Varroa is called varroosis.{{cite book |title=OIE Terrestrial Health Manual |publisher=World Organisation for Animal Health |url=https://www.woah.org/fileadmin/Home/fr/Health_standards/tahm/3.02.07_VARROOSIS.pdf |year=2021| chapter=Varroosis of honey bees (infestation of honey bees with Varroa spp.)}} 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{{cite journal |last1=Kassai |first1=Tibor |title=Nomenclature for parasitic diseases: cohabitation with inconsistency for how long and why? |journal=Veterinary Parasitology |date=June 2006 |volume=138 |issue=3–4 |pages=169–178 |doi=10.1016/j.vetpar.2006.02.019 |pmid=16569483 }} as provided in the Standardised Nomenclature by the World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology.{{Cite web |url=http://www.waavp.org/node/43 |title=Standardised Nomenclature of Animal Parasitic Diseases |access-date=2014-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140304192757/http://www.waavp.org/node/43 |archive-date=2014-03-04 |url-status=dead }} For example, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) uses the name varroosis in the OIE Terrestrial Manual.{{Cite web |url=http://www.oie.int/fileadmin/Home/eng/Health_standards/tahm/2.02.07_VARROOSIS.pdf |title=Varroosis in honey bees |access-date=2014-03-04 |archive-date=2014-08-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813014356/http://www.oie.int/fileadmin/Home/eng/Health_standards/tahm/2.02.07_VARROOSIS.pdf |url-status=dead }}
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.{{Cite web |last=Cambray |first=Dr Garth A. |date=2021-12-14 |title=When and How to Treat Bees for Mites: Guide for Beekeepers |url=https://beekeepertips.com/when-should-i-treat-my-bees-for-mites/ |access-date=2024-10-02 |language=en-US}} 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 – a virulent parasite that infests its natural host, Apis cerana (Asian honey bees), in mainland Asia and Apis mellifera (western honey bee) worldwide.
- Varroa jacobsoni Oudemans, 1904 – a relatively benign parasite of Apis cerana.
- Varroa rindereri de Guzman & Delfinado-Baker, 1996{{cite journal |last1=de Guzman |first1=Lilia I. |last2=Rinderer |first2=Thomas E. |title=Identification and comparison of Varroa species infesting honey bees |journal=Apidologie |date=1999 |volume=30 |issue=2–3 |pages=85–95 |doi=10.1051/apido:19990201|doi-access=free }}
- Varroa underwoodi Delfinado-Baker and Aggarwal, 1987
Resistance
Some honey bees strains have been bred to be resistant to Varroa,{{cite web|url=http://aristabeeresearch.org/|title=Arista Bee Research - Foundation for breeding varroa resistant honey bees|work=aristabeeresearch.org}}{{cite web|url=http://agresearchmag.ars.usda.gov/1999/aug/bees|title=USDA ARS Online Magazine Vol. 47, No. 8|work=usda.gov}} 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.
References
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External links
- {{Commons category-inline|Varroa|Varroa}}
{{Acari}}
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