Number and position of wounds on honey bee (Apis mellifera) pupae infested with a single Varroa mite

The wounds inflicted on pupae in capped brood cells of the honey bee, Apis mellifera, infested with a single female of the ectoparasitic mite, Varroa destructor, were investigated after visualisation by vital staining with trypan blue. On average the mites made two integumental perforations for feed...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ghazwan KANBAR, Wolf ENGELS
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Science 2004-06-01
Series:European Journal of Entomology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.eje.cz/artkey/eje-200402-0017_Number_and_position_of_wounds_on_honey_bee_Apis_mellifera_pupae_infested_with_a_single_Varroa_mite.php
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Summary:The wounds inflicted on pupae in capped brood cells of the honey bee, Apis mellifera, infested with a single female of the ectoparasitic mite, Varroa destructor, were investigated after visualisation by vital staining with trypan blue. On average the mites made two integumental perforations for feeding on prepupae and one on pupae. Most of the punctures were on particular ventral sites on the abdomen. Possible reasons for this pronounced preference and the evolutionary aspects of this highly specialised parasite-host relationship are discussed.
ISSN:1210-5759
1802-8829