A study on different kinds of damage to Varroa jacobsoni in Apis mellifera ligustica colonies
Author(s)
Marco Lodesani; Maria Adelaide Vecchi; Stefano Tommasini; Marco Bigliardi
Abstract
The kinds of damage found on Varroa jacobsoni located in worker brood, on adult honey bees, on the bottom board (floorboard) traps and in Gary traps, were investigated in Apis mellifera ligustica colonies. Light-coloured adult mites with damage to the cuticle of the idiosoma were found in the brood cells: 2.8% from undamaged mother mites and 17.9% from damaged mother mites. No mites with leg damage were found on adult honey bees. Mites in Gary traps showed more damage (45.9%) than those collected on the bottom boards (26.1%).