Title: High Humidity in the Honey Bee (Apis mellifera L.) Brood Nest Limits Reproduction of the Parasitic Mite Varroa jacobsoni Oud.
Abstract: Factors influencing reproduction of
the parasitic mite Varroa jacobsoni
have become a central theme of honey
bee pathology. In large parts of the
world the mite has made it impossible
for colonies of the honey bee Apis
mellifera to survive if no measures of
treatment are applied [1]. Originally a
parasite of the Eastern honey bee A.
cerana, the mite was detected in colonies
of A. mellifera only less than 4
decades ago [2]. A. cerana colonies
are not damaged by V. jacobsoni because
several factors prevent the
build-up of a large mite population
[3]. The most important factor is that
in colonies of A. cerana the parasite,
which can reproduce only in capped
brood cells, reproduces exclusively in
drone brood cells while in colonies of
A. mellifera it reproduces in worker
brood cells as well [4]. In cold, temperate,
and Mediterranean climates
the mite population grows exponentially
until the colony collapses, due
mainly to a high percentage of bees
damaged by V. jacobsoni during their
pupal development [5].