The viral levels and immune responses of Italian honey bees (IHB), Russian honey bees (RHB) and an outcross of Varroa Sensitive Hygienic bees (POL) deliberately infested with one or two foundress Varroa were compared. We found that the Deformed wing virus (DWV) level in IHB inoculated with one or two foundress Varroa increased to about 10(3) or 10(5) fold the levels of their uninfested brood. I...

Varroa destructor continues to threaten colonies of European honey bees. General hygiene, and more specific Varroa Sensitive Hygiene (VSH), provide resistance towards the Varroa mite in a number of stocks. In this study, 32 Russian (RHB) and 14 Italian honey bee colonies were assessed for the VSH trait using two different assays. Firstly, colonies were assessed using the standard VSH behavioura...

The Varroa mite, Varroa destructor, is an acarine ecto-parasite on Apis mellifera. It is the worst pest of Apis mellifera, yet its reproductive biology on the host is not well understood. In particular, the significance of the phoretic stage, when mites feed on adult bees for a few days, is not clear. In addition, it is not clear whether the preference of mites for nurses observed in the labora...

Quantified amounts of Ascosphaera apis spores, causative organism ofchalkbrood disease, were cultured in vitro after being treated withtricloroisocianuric acid (TCA) (Yukoluck 93% a.i) inside honeybee colonies.This gaseous substance is registered in several countries for the control ofchalkbrood, a invasive mycosis affecting honeybee larvae. TCA acts, on thespores that are p...

The Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV) is a significant marker of honeybee colony collapse disorder (CCD). In the present work, we provide the first evidence that Varroa destructor is IAPV replication-competent and capable of vectoring IAPV in honeybees. The honeybees became infected with IAPV after exposure to Varroa mites that carried the virus. The copy number of IAPV in bees was positivel...

Varroa destructor, an ectoparasitic mite of honey bees (Apis mellifera), is the most serious pest threatening the apiculture industry. In our honey bee breeding programme, two honey bee colonies showing extreme phenotypes for varroa tolerance/resistance (S88) and susceptibility (G4) were identified by natural selection from a large gene pool over a 6-year period. To investigate potential defenc...

“TRED-NOTä DEERFLY PATCHES” (6.4 ́ 14.2 cm adhesive strips) affixed to the back and front of nylon mesh solid black and solid white “baseball” caps were evaluated for their ability to trap host-seeking Chrysops celatus Pechuman, C. vittatus Weidemann, and Diachlorus ferrugatus (F.). Trials were conducted in a commercial pine bottomland forest habitat in northwestern Florida during peak seasonal ...