New tools for Varroa mite management in beekeeping

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Honey bees are among the most important ecological service providers in modern agricultural landscapes: they are responsible for approximately 90% of pollination needed to produce seeds and/or high quality fruit and produce. Due to intensification of beekeeping and agriculture, bees suffer from deadly parasites and diseases that can lead to sudden collapse of bee colonies. Varroa destructor, a honey bee-specific external parasitic mite, is among the most serious disease agents of honey bees, because the mites transmit crippling viral diseases to bees. These mites reproduce within bee brood cells, and the offspring emerge with the new bees. These adult mites then parasitize adult worker bees until they find new bee brood for their reproduction. The adult mites selectively infect 'nurse' bees - bees that care for the developing offspring - thereby ensuring that they have access to the upcoming generation of bees. Mites detect their adult hosts and the brood by their unique chemical signatures.