Devastating mites jump nimbly from flowers to honeybees
December 16, 2016
Editor’s Note: The PLOS One study is available here and a video of a varroa destructor mite jumping from a flower to a bee is available here.
From: Cornell Chronicle
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A study, published Dec. 12 in PLOS One, describes for the first time – and documents with video footage – how Varroa mites can nimbly jump from flowers onto bees.
The finding is important because Varroa mites are linked with massive honeybee colony deaths, as they infest nursery cells in honeybee nests and feed on developing bees while also transferring deadly viruses.
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