Want to learn about honey bees? The Varroa destructor mite is a key factor in causing colonies to collapse. These mites lower bee immune responses, act as biological vectors for pathogens, and replicate viruses, increasing the risk of colonies failing. This graphic shows how Varroa move within a colony.
Nurse bees are caretakers for upcoming generations. Nurses and the brood anatomically have larger fat bodies (an organ critical for immune system function). Varroa will climb off the adult nurse bees, into the brood cells, where they will parasitize them, vector viruses all while female mites reproduce within the cells. With mites carrying high viral infection levels, they are likely to carry a variant of Deformed Wing Virus which can have obvious and deadly symptoms.