Apidologie (2020) 51, 342-355

Claudia Katharina Häußermann, Agostina Giacobino, Rosalie Munz, Bettina Ziegelmann, María Alejandra Palacio and Peter Rosenkranz (2020)
Reproductive parameters of female Varroa destructor and the impact of mating in worker brood of Apis mellifera
Apidologie 51 (3), 342-355
Abstract: During a reproductive cycle, not all daughter mites of Varroa destructor mate and thus leave the brood cells as virgins. Here, we show that virgin mites are present within both the phoretic (10%) and reproductive (8%) mite population. Most (n = 29 of n = 33) of these encountered virgins laid unfertilized (= male) eggs, and some (n = 10) mated later on with their own son. These findings were verified by tests with artificially reared virgin mites. Obviously, mating is not a prerequisite for Varroa reproduction. However, due to the small number of reproductive cycles, the contribution of virgins to the Varroa population is regarded as low. This study also confirms conclusively that sex of V. destructor is determined via arrhenotokous parthenogenesis and not—as previously assumed—via pseudo-arrhenotoky. Furthermore, reproductive parameters of naturally invaded and artificially introduced Varroa females were compared, and artificial infestation was reconfirmed as a suitable method.
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Link to article at publishers website

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

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Varroa destructor