Do Varroa destructor (Acari: Varroidae) mite flows between Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) colonies bias colony infestation evaluation for resistance selection?

ABSTRACT: Since the global invasion of the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor (Anderson and Trueman), selection of mite-resistant honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) colonies appears challenging and has to date not broadly reduced colony mortality. The low published estimated heritability values for mite infestation levels could explain the limited genetic progresses obtained so far. We hypothesize that intercolonial horizontal mite transmission could differentially affect the single colonies located in a given apiary and therefore invisibly bias colony infestation phenotypes. This bias may be lower in regions with lower colony density, providing suitable conditions to set up evaluation apiaries. To verify these hypotheses, we monitored mite infestation and reinvasion in experimental colonies, as well a

SUBMITTER: Guichard M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11237995 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature