Review of Bee Health

CATCH THE BUZZ – Australia Varroa find is jacobsoni, NOT destructor

July 18, 2016

From: Bee Culture | The Magazine of American Beekeeping

From Coloss
The four species of Varroa: a. V. jacobsoni dorsal view; b. V. jacobsoni ventral view; c. V. destructor dorsal view; d. V. destructor ventral view; e. V. rindereri; f. V. underwoodi. Photo: Denis Anderson. 

***

Confirmation from the federal and Queensland governments and industry sources that the two mites in a feral Asian honey bee hive in Townsville, 830 miles north of Brisbane, were jacobsoni means Australia has again dodged the Varroa bullet.

Varroa jacobsoni parasitizes Asian honey bees (Apis cerana). The more damaging Varroa destructor, only identified as a separate species in 2000, is a parasitic mite that attacks both Apis cerana and Apis mellifera.

Read Complete Article