Phoretic bee mites and honeybee grooming behavior

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Abstract
The phoretic behavior of Varroa jacobsoni, Tropilaelaps clareae, Acarapis woodi, and deutonymphs of a uropodid mite is reviewed and new information is given on attachment pattern of V. jacobsoni. Specific attachment sites chosen by the mites to evade the honeybee grooming behavior were noted. Of the attached female Varroa, 79.4% were in the lateral intertergites III and IV of Apis cerana and A. mellifera. The mites prefered the left side locations of the bee abdomen, with 96% selectivity. When compared with A. cerana, a native bee to Asia, Apis mellifera has a much lower capacity to remove V. jacobsoni. Phoresy and continuous parasitism on adult bees allow dispersal of V. jacobsoni worldwide on A. mellifera. The observed frequent cleaning of the wing base, petiole, and dorsum of abdomen indicates that grooming behavior is partly responsible for the high numbers of mites found in debris collections of honeybee colonies. We suppose that grooming limits the distribution of phoretic attachments and reduces the number of phoretic mites undergoing dispersal.