Experimental and Applied Acarology (2006) 39, 273-280

John B. McMullan and Mark J.F. Brown (2006)
Brood-cell size does not influence the susceptibility of honey bees (Apis mellifera) to infestation by tracheal mites (Acarapis woodi)
Experimental and Applied Acarology 39 (3-4), 273-280
Abstract: Tracheal mites have been associated with the condition in honey bees that devastated colonies in Britain and Ireland in the early 1900s. The first outbreak of this condition, that became known as the 'Isle of Wight' disease, coincided with the period when brood-cell size was increased from about 5.0 mm to about 5.5 mm in width. We undertook an inoculation experiment over a 7-day period to establish if the act of increasing the brood-cell size could have triggered the onset of tracheal mites in honey bees. The standard-sized cells used had a cell width of 5.44 mm and the small-sized cells a width of 5.07 mm. Using callow (newly emerged) bees, from three colonies that had mixed cell sizes, we compared the susceptibility of bees reared in standard-sized cells with that of those raised in small-sized cells. The results indicated similar levels of female mite abundance (0.49 vs. 0.52 mites per bee) and mean fecundity (4.33 vs. 4.22 offspring per female mite), and produced no evidence of any difference in the overall susceptibility between the bees raised in the standard-sized cells versus small-sized brood cells.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Mark J.F. Brown

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution
environment - cropping system/rotation

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Acarapis woodi		Ireland
	Acarapis woodi		United Kingdom