The Parasitic Mite Varroa destructor

The arrival of the parasitic mite Varroa destructor to the world of beekeeping radically altered the relationship between beekeepers and their bees. These parasites cause little harm to their original host, the eastern honey bee, but a few behavioral changes have allowed them to devastate western honey bee populations. By alternately feeding on adult bees and then on young pupating bees in the brood comb, the mites transmit an array of harmful viruses throughout the colony. Unchecked, mite populations will grow exponentially and threaten the survival of any untreated colony. The myriad chemical treatments and non-chemical techniques to control mite populations offer some help to beekeepers, but the evolution of miticide resistance means that the management of V. destructor in honey bee colonies is far from resolved. Treatment-free beekeepers hope to defeat the parasite by breeding mite-resistant bees, but without a detailed understanding of how the mites live and reproduce, and how they spread between bee colonies, these efforts are likely to be stymied.