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Varroa mite on Queen

4K views 6 replies 6 participants last post by  Michael Bush 
#1 ·
While I don’t see heavy infestation of mites, (I just do visual check of drone brood and bees), there is a very large mite on the thorax of one of my queens. I had treated with powdered sugar earlier, and have just installed Apistan for the first time last week. ´Disappointed´ with my bees for not attending to their queen better! Did not want to injure her by an attempt at removal.

Is she likely to die as a result? Do mites migrate frequently from bee to bee?
 
#2 ·
Is she likely to die as a result? Do mites migrate frequently from bee to bee?
She isn't likely to die. Varroa mites migrate from bee to bee. The term for this is: phoresey. Look around the net and you'll find planty of pages that document the varroa mite's lifecycle.

I've seen Varroa adult mites on queens, but not too often. I'd assume you have a heavy infestation in a small hive.

Adam Finkelstein
adamf7@gmail.com
 
#4 ·
I've often wondered if anyone had seen a varroa mite on a queen before. I was sure that it happens, but had never seen it myself. One thing I have not seen here is a post on finding varroa inside sealed queen cells...I suppose this happens too...hopefully very infrequently...
 
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