Association of Varroa jacobsoni with organisms other than honeybees and implications for its dispersal
Author(s)
Peter G Kevan, Terence M Laverty And Harold A Denmark
Abstract
Varroa jacobsoni is among the worst pests of the European honeybee (Apis mellifera). Its natural host is Apis cerana, the Asian hive bee, on which it is primarily a parasite of drone brood. In colonies of A. mellifera, the Varroa mites attack all castes and eventually destroy the colony. V. jacobsoni spread through Europe in the early 1980s and had reached the USA by September 1987. Although chemical control measures for V. jacobsoni are known, they are expensive, troublesome, and many are not yet registered for use in some countries.
Keywords
Varroa jacobsoni, Apis mellifera, European honeybee, Apis Cerana, Asian Honey bee
