If you keep bees, sooner rather than later you will become
aware of a particularly nasty character known as Varroa destructor. This parasitic mite is aptly named, and varroa
is the bane of many a beekeeper’s life, as well as being a real problem for
honey bee colonies. It is one of THE drivers of global honey bee health
decline, and so cannot be ignored. Alongside being vigilant for various
diseases, beekeepers need to monitor mite levels within their hives at regular
intervals in order to manage and control mite infestation.
The varroa is a crab-like mite that pierces the skin of
adult and pupating bees. It was thought to feed on the haemolymph (roughly the
equivalent of blood in an insect), but recent research, led by Samuel Ramsey, PhD,
is now leading scientists to believe it is the fatty body of a bee, similar to the
liver in mammals, that the mites are seeking. This breakthrough in
understanding more about the mites is key to working out ways to combat them
and much research is underway around the globe to perhaps find something that
makes that fatty tissue taste terrible and help the bees!
