Varroa Mite, Varroa jacobsoni Oudemans

The varroa mite, an ectoparasite of honey bees, was described by Oudemans (1904) from Java on Apis cerana. In 1951, the varroa mite was found in Singapore. In 1962-63 varroa was found on Apis m. mellifera in Hong Kong and the Philippines (Delfinado, 1963) and spread rapidly from there. Adaption to a new host (Apis m. mellifera), the importation of queen bees from infested areas, and the movement of infested colonies of bees for pollination led to the rapid spread of this mite. Following the find of a single varroa mite in Maryland in 1979. the Division of Plant Industry and H.L. Cromroy. University of Florida, made an inspection of Florida bees in 1984. The varroa mite was not found at that time, but in 1987 the varroa mite was detected in Wisconsin and Florida. Several thousand colonies of migratory bees are moved in and out of Florida each year. It is not known where or when varroa mite was introduced into the continental U.S.A. In Florida, the varroa mite has been found on flower feeding insects (Bombus pennsylvanicus (Hymenoptera: Apidae) and Palpada vinetorum (Diptera: Syrphidae)). It has also been found on Phanaeus vindex (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) (Kevan et al., 1990). Although the varroa mite can not reproduce on other insects, it is a means of spreading the mite short distances.