Feeding by Tropilaelaps mercedesae on pre- and post-capped brood increases damage to Apis mellifera colonies.

ABSTRACT: Tropilaelaps mercedesae parasitism can cause Apis mellifera colony mortality in Asia. Here, we report for the first time that tropilaelaps mites feed on both pre- and post-capped stages of honey bees. Feeding on pre-capped brood may extend their survival outside capped brood cells, especially in areas where brood production is year-round. In this study, we examined the types of injury inflicted by tropilaelaps mites on different stages of honey bees, the survival of adult honey bees, and level of honey bee viruses in 4^th instar larvae and prepupae. The injuries inflicted on different developing honey bee stages were visualised by staining with trypan blue. Among pre-capped stages, 4^th instar larvae sustained the highest number of wounds (4.6 ± 0.5/larva) while 2ⁿ

SUBMITTER: Phokasem P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6737106 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature