Adult honey bees (Apis mellifera) with deformed wings discovered in confirmed varroa-free colonies
Author(s)
Eva Forsgren, Ingemar Fries and Joachim R. de Miranda
Abstract
Notes and Comments
Wing deformities in infested colonies are probably due to excessive DWV titers at a critical stage during pupal development, a state most commonly established by parasitism by V. destructor mites transmitting considerable amounts of viable (replicating) DWV. Nevertheless, there have been rare reports of adult wing deformities prior to the establishment of V. destructor in A. mellifera populations including cases in Britain and South Africa associated with colony mortality and the presence of DWV.
