Investigation of the parasitic status of Melittiphis alvearius (Berlese) on honeybees, Apis mellifera l., by immunoassay
Author(s)
B. L. Gibbins and R. F. Van Toor
Abstract
The potential parasitism of Apis mellifera L. (Honeybee) by the colony co-habitant Melittiphis alvearius (Berlese) was investigated by analysing homogenates of the mite for bee-derived antigens with a sensitive indirect immuno-dot procedure. This method revealed that the mite contained pollen and bee-derived antigens, but the latter were bee salivary antigens. These findings show that the mite is not parasitic on bees but rather is a scavenger of pollen within bee colonies.
