Varroa destructor reproduction during the winter in Apis mellifera colonies in UK

Abstract

The reproductive behaviour of female Varroa destructor mites invading worker brood cells during the winter months (January to mid-March) was investigated in four Apis mellifera colonies in UK. The number of viable offspring produced during a reproductive cycle, per mite, was only 0.5 during winter compared with 1.0 during the summer. This was mainly due to a large increase in the population of non-reproductive mites (winter 20%, summer 8%). This increase can be explained by the high level of male offspring mortality observed in winter (42% vs. 18% in summer), which results in nearly half of the newly reared female mites being unfertilised. Since mites that do reproduce lay a similar number of eggs in winter ($\overline X = 4.7$) as in summer ($\overline X = 4.9$), and the level of mortality suffered by the first female offspring is similar in winter (7%) as in summer (6%), it is probably not the internal physiological state of the host which causes the high level of winter non-reproduction, as has been previously suspected.