#varroa destructor

[reanimateobjects]

[despertarsabiendo]

Cada ser vivo tiene su propósito en la vida. Conoce mejor a las abejas y descubre su importancia en el mundo.

[usgsbiml]

Varroa destructor, the leading cause of beekeeper angst.  

This relatively large mite parasitizes honeybees from adults to larvae.  Crab-like aren't they?  Specimen provided by Krisztina Christmon from the University of Maryland where she studies the life history of these tricky beings. Oh, that is the tip of an insect pin you see in the picture.  

[sciencenewsforstudents]

U.S. honeybees had the worst winter die-off in more than a decade

Colonies suffered from parasitic, disease-spreading Varroa mites. Floods and fire didn’t help.

U.S. honeybees just weathered an unusually bad winter.

About 38 percent of beekeepers’ colonies died between October 1, 2018, and April 1, 2019, the Bee Informed Partnership estimates.  While it wasn’t the worst recent year overall for honeybee losses — that was 2012–2013 — preliminary results released June 19 show it is the worst winter die-off recorded over the University of Maryland–based nonprofit’s 13 years of surveying bee populations.

Beekeepers should be able to rebuild those numbers this year, but such ongoing winter losses raise deep worries about the future of crop pollination. On average over the 13 years, about 29 percent of colonies have died each winter. The 2018–2019 numbers came from nearly 4,700 beekeepers, representing about 12 percent of the estimated 2.69 million U.S. hives.

Bee gone: Beekeepers say they could accept some percentage of loss in colonies during winter (gray bars), but actual winter losses (yellow) estimated over the past 13 years have been higher, according to an annual survey by the nonprofit Bee Informed Partnership. Colonies die in summer too, so starting in 2010, the survey included estimated colony losses during a whole year (orange).

Annual estimated U.S. honeybee colony losses, 2006–2019

CREDIT: THE BEE INFORMED PARTNERSHIP

Some floods and fires this year destroyed colonies, but “the take-home worry for me is Varroa [mites],” says the Partnership’s Dennis vanEngelsdorp, a bee-health entomologist at the University of Maryland in College Park. The invasive mite species Varroa destructor clamps its tiny pimple-shaped body onto bees just as they’re turning into adults (SN: 2/16/19, p. 32). Mites sap bee strength and spread disease, yet remedies against the pests seem to be losing their power. “Ideally in the long-term, we would have a bee that was resistant,” vanEngelsdorp says.

While winter bee colony die-offs are worrisome, beekeepers can split surviving bee colonies and add new queens. Replacing winter-killed colonies this way, however, takes labor, time and money.

Only 5 percent or so of U.S. beekeepers work at the commercial scale that supplies 90 percent of bees pollinating the nation’s crops, vanEngelsdorp says. If the relentless drain of replacing winter losses drives them out of business, “it’s very hard to replace that group of beekeepers.”

[doctorbuggs]

Hey there friend, Have you ever wondered what your old pal Doctor Buggs has been researching for his thesis? What’s that? You say you only have 3 minutes? Well have I got the video for you! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dq52ug3HTxY After winning the regional rounds, I'm representing the good 'ole US of A in an International science competition in which we are judged on the impact of our thesis research and how well we're able to explain it in just 3 minutes. Part of the of it involves a popular vote. Mine is called "The Curious Case of the Bee Mite's Bite". I hope you'll give it a watch and make your way over to this page to vote! Vote now at www.u213mt.com.

[doctorbuggs]

After my research project on honey bee parasites started getting so much attention, UMD asked if they could put me in their advertising 😅😅 soooo Check out the new face of "Fearless Research"  at the University of Maryland! Its definitely premature for them to say that my work “Saves The Bees” but I am holding out hope that it will be the breakthrough that gets us to that answer! 

[nerves-nebula]

Varroa destructor is such a badass name for an insect. RIP honey bees lmao

[gwydionmisha]

A new survey says America's honeybee hives just staggered through the second highest death rate on record, with beekeepers losing nearly hal