Report
Navigating the mite spectrum in honey bee colonies: from harmful Tropilaelaps to harmless counterparts
Washington State University Extension fact sheet, 399E, Washington State University Extension
05/2025
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000007298
Abstract
There are over 290 species of mites associated with honey bees (Apis mellifera Linnaeus) but only a few are considered harmful, such as tracheal mites, Varroa destructor, and Tropilaelaps spp.. Another parasitic mite that threatens honey bees and has not spread to North America yet belongs to the genus Tropilaelaps. While Tropilaelaps causes less harm to the giant honey bees, T. mercedesae is considered a major pest of western honey bees managed by beekeepers in Asia, since this honey bee species lacks evolved defenses to combat Tropilaelaps infestations. In recent years, Tropilaelaps range has expanded, and there is a growing concern about their potential arrival to North America. Many other non-predatory and predatory mites are known to inhabit honey bee hives, and they mainly feed on pollen, detritus, or other mites. Beekeepers may notice these harmless mites and suspect them to be the harmful Tropilaelaps spp. This Extension publication thus aims to educate beekeepers about Tropilaelaps’ spp. current known distribution, life history, and damage to honey bee colonies, while comparing two other harmful mites, Varroa and tracheal mites. In addition, this publication will provide a short overview of examples of harmless mites that have been found through recent surveys and describe how to report suspicious mites to the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) or to the Washington State University Honey Bee Program.
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Details
- Title
- Navigating the mite spectrum in honey bee colonies
- Creators
- Briana E. Price (Author)Katie Buckley (Author)Brandon Kingsley Hopkins (Author) - Washington State University, Department of EntomologyPriya Chakrabarti Basu (Author) - Washington State University, Department of Entomology
- Academic Unit
- Publications, WSU Extension
- Series
- Washington State University Extension fact sheet; 399E
- Publisher
- Washington State University Extension; Pullman, Washington
- Number of pages
- 9
- Identifiers
- 99901216454301842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Report