Centro de Investigaciones Apícolas Tropicales, Universidad Nacional, Heredia, Costa Rica.
Exp Appl Acarol. 2012 Apr;56(4):297-307. doi: 10.1007/s10493-012-9518-0. Epub 2012 Jan 24.
Varroa destructor is known to be the most serious parasite of Apis mellifera worldwide. In order to reproduce varroa females enter worker or drone brood shortly before the cell is sealed. From March to December 2008, the reproductive rate and offspring mortality (mature and immature stages), focusing on male absence and male mortality of V. destructor, was investigated in naturally infested worker and drone brood of Africanized honey bees (AHB) in Costa Rica. Data were obtained from 388 to 403 single infested worker and drone brood cells, respectively. Mite fertility in worker and drone brood cells was 88.9 and 93.1%, respectively. There was no difference between the groups (X(2) = 3.6, P = 0.06). However, one of the most significant differences in mite reproduction was the higher percentage of mites producing viable offspring in drone cells (64.8%) compared to worker cells (37.6%) (X(2) = 57.2, P < 0.05). A greater proportion of mites in worker brood cells produced non-viable female offspring. Mite offspring mortality in both worker and drone cells was high in the protonymph stage (mobile and immobile). A significant finding was the high rate of male mortality. The worker and drone brood revealed that 23.9 and 6.9%, respectively, of the adult male offspring was found dead. If the absence (missing) of the male and adult male mortality are taken together the percentage of cells increased to 40.0 and 21.3% in worker and drone cells, respectively (X(2) = 28.8, P < 0.05). The absence of the male or male mortality in a considerable number of worker cells naturally infested with varroa is the major factor in our study which reduces the production of viable daughters in AHB colonies in Costa Rica.
瓦螨是全世界蜜蜂最严重的寄生虫。为了繁殖，雌性瓦螨在巢房即将封盖前进入工蜂或雄蜂幼虫体内。2008 年 3 月至 12 月，在哥斯达黎加，对非洲化蜜蜂（AHB）自然感染的工蜂和雄蜂幼虫中的瓦螨繁殖率和后代死亡率（成熟和未成熟阶段），特别是雄性缺失和雄性死亡率进行了研究。分别从 388 到 403 个单个受感染的工蜂和雄蜂幼虫巢房中获得数据。工蜂和雄蜂幼虫巢房中瓦螨的生育力分别为 88.9%和 93.1%。两组之间没有差异（X²=3.6，P=0.06）。然而，瓦螨繁殖的一个最显著差异是，在雄蜂巢房中产生有活力后代的螨虫比例较高（64.8%），而在工蜂巢房中比例较低（37.6%）（X²=57.2，P<0.05）。在工蜂幼虫巢房中，更多的螨虫产生无活力的雌性后代。在工蜂和雄蜂幼虫巢房中，若虫阶段（移动和不动）的螨虫后代死亡率很高。一个显著的发现是雄性死亡率很高。工蜂和雄蜂幼虫分别有 23.9%和 6.9%的成年雄性后代死亡。如果将雄性缺失（缺失）和成年雄性死亡率加在一起，工蜂和雄蜂巢房中的比例分别增加到 40.0%和 21.3%（X²=28.8，P<0.05）。在大量自然感染瓦螨的工蜂巢房中，雄性的缺失或死亡是导致哥斯达黎加 AHB 群体中可育女儿数量减少的主要因素。
