Experimental and Applied Acarology

, Volume 50, Issue 3, pp 269–279 | Cite as

Brood cell size of Apis mellifera modifies the reproductive behavior of Varroa destructor

  • Matías Maggi
  • Natalia Damiani
  • Sergio Ruffinengo
  • David De Jong
  • Judith Principal
  • Martín Eguaras
Article
First Online:
Received:
Accepted:

Abstract

We undertook a field study to determine whether comb cell size affects the reproductive behavior of Varroa destructor under natural conditions. We examined the effect of brood cell width on the reproductive behavior of V. destructor in honey bee colonies, under natural conditions. Drone and worker brood combs were sampled from 11 colonies of Apis mellifera. A Pearson correlation test and a Tukey test were used to determine whether mite reproduction rate varied with brood cell width. Generalized additive model analysis showed that infestation rate increased positively and linearly with the width of worker and drone cells. The reproduction rate for viable mother mites was 0.96 viable female descendants per original invading female. No significant correlation was observed between brood cell width and number of offspring of V. destructor. Infertile mother mites were more frequent in narrower brood cells.

Keywords

Varroa destructor Apis mellifera Brood cell width Reproductive behavior Foundress mother mites Reproduction rate 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the UNMDP and CONICET for financial support. This research was supported by an ANPCyT, Pict 07 grant to M. E. We thank Dr. Norma Sardella for her criticisms and suggestions and to Dr. Elena Ieno for her help in the statistical analysis.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009

Authors and Affiliations

  • Matías Maggi
    • 1
    • 2
  • Natalia Damiani
    • 1
    • 2
  • Sergio Ruffinengo
    • 3
  • David De Jong
    • 4
  • Judith Principal
    • 5
  • Martín Eguaras
    • 1
    • 2
  1. 1.Laboratorio de Artrópodos, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y NaturalesUniversidad Nacional de Mar del PlataMar del PlataArgentina
  2. 2.CONICET, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y TécnicasBuenos AiresArgentina
  3. 3.Cátedra de Apicultura, Facultad de Ciencias AgrariasUniversidad Nacional de Mar del PlataBalcarceArgentina
  4. 4.Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de MedicinaUniversidade de São Paulo (USP)Ribeirão PretoBrazil
  5. 5.Estación de Apicultura. Decanato de VeterinariaUniversidad Centroccidental “Lisandro Alvarado”LaraVenezuela

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