Ruary
House Bee
Just to start the thread.any chance you could start a thread regards Varroa jacobonsi and Varroa destructor ?
I have tried to read up on the net but most Science papers get a bit to much to wade through,could you simplify it for us?
Varroa jacobsoni are naural parasites of the East indian bee Apis cerana. Apis cerana and Varroa co-exist because they have evolved over a long time. Apis melifera were imported into Asia and these bees were pasasitised by the mites. These bees also seemed to be able to co-exist with the Varroa mite. As the spread of apis melifera into other parts of Asia occurred it was found that the european honeybee no longer was able to exist with the Varroa mite which was infecting them. This mite was then spread throughout the world by scientists and beekeepers and everywhere where the mite went the honeybee colonies died. Everyone was calling the mite Varroa jacobsoni althought its appearance was subtly different from that of type specimen of jacobsoni.
Eventuall Anderson checking the mite which was doing the damge found that what the world had thought was Varroa jacobsoni was a new species which did not co-exist with Apis melifera. He named the new species Varroa destructor.
Points to notice are:
- That there are more than one species of Varroa.
- That Varroa jacobsoni still exists
- That there are several strains of Varroa destructor, some of which are more virulent than others.