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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Chelicerates (Chelicerata) » Arachnids (Arachnida) » Mites and Ticks (Acari) » Parasitiformes » Mesostigs (Mesostigmata) » Dermanyssina » Dermanyssoidea » Varroidae » Varroa » Varroa destructor

Species Varroa destructor

Classification · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Food · Remarks · Internet References · Works Cited
Varroa - Varroa destructor - female Varroa Mite? - Varroa destructor Varroa Mite - Varroa destructor - female Varroa destructor Mite, dorsal rear margin - Varroa destructor - female Mite, anterior - Varroa destructor - female Varroa destructor Unidentified - Varroa destructor
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Chelicerata (Chelicerates)
Class Arachnida (Arachnids)
Subclass Acari (Mites and Ticks)
Superorder Parasitiformes
Order Mesostigmata (Mesostigs)
Suborder Dermanyssina
Superfamily Dermanyssoidea
Family Varroidae
Genus Varroa
Species destructor (Varroa destructor)
Size
Females: 1.00 to 1.77 mm long, 1.50 to 1.99 mm wide. Males: 0.75 to 0.98 mm long and 0.70 to 0.88 wide
Identification
Adult females reddish-brown to dark brown, oval in shape. Adult males yellowish with lightly tanned legs, spherical body shape
Range
Worldwide, except Australia, parts of Africa, and the Antarctic.
Habitat
Beehives.
Food
Feeds on fat of honey bees through external digestion. Previously thought to feed on the hemolymph.(1)
Remarks
Introduced throughout the world (except Australia) from its original place in Southeast Asia and its original host Apis cerana. It arrived in the US in the 1980s and had a profound impact on beehives.
At first, there was no certainty whether the introduced species was this or the closely related Varroa jacobsoni or both. Now we know that it is the only species in the US.
In addition to feeding on honey bees, it transmits several viruses to them.
Internet References
Encyclopedia of Life
University of Florida
Wikipedia
higher classification and list of world species (The Acari Project, Texas A&M U.)
Varroa destructor
Works Cited
1.Varroa destructor feeds primarily on honey bee fat body tissue and not hemolymph
Contributed by Beatriz Moisset on 21 April, 2014 - 11:12am
Additional contributions by Nathaniel Green
Last updated 20 May, 2023 - 7:07pm

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