,VARROA DESTRUCTOR IS THE PARASITIC MITE THAT ENDED THE ERA OF EASY BEEKEEPING A PINHEAD-SIZED REDDISH CRAB THAT LIVES ON HONEY BEES1 BREEDS IN THEIR BROOD CELLS1 AND CARRIES THE VIRUSES THAT NOW DEFINE COLONY HEALTH4 ,IT IS ALSO THE ENGINE UNDER MUCH OF THE PATHOGEN SPILLOVER REACHING WILD BEES3 WHAT VARROA AMPLIFIES INSIDE THE HIVE1 THE HIVE'S FORAGERS CARRY OUT ONTO SHARED FLOWERS4 ,A PARASITE THAT CHANGED HOSTS ,THE MITE'S NATURAL HOST IS THE "9,ASIAN HONEY BEE ,APIS CERANA"9"91 WHICH HAS LIVED WITH IT LONG ENOUGH TO EVOLVE COUNTERMEASURES GROOMING BEHAVIOR1 HYGIENIC UNCAPPING OF INFESTED BROOD THAT KEEP POPULATIONS IN CHECK4 ,APIS MELLIFERA MET ,VARROA"9 ONLY IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY1 AS BEEKEEPING AND TRANSPORT PUSHED WESTERN HONEY BEES INTO CONTACT WITH ,ASIAN BEE POPULATIONS2 THE MITE SWITCHED HOSTS1 FOUND A BEE WITH NO EVOLVED DEFENSES1 AND SPREAD WORLDWIDE THROUGH COMMERCE IN BEES AND QUEENS4 ,IT REACHED THE ,UNITED ,STATES IN #AIHG AND WAS CONTINENT-WIDE WITHIN A DECADE WITH AN IMMEDIATE1 DEVASTATING EFFECT ON THE FERAL COLONIES THAT HAD SPREAD ACROSS ,NORTH ,AMERICA SINCE #AFBB4 ,UNMANAGED AND UNTREATED1 MOST WILD COLONIES DIED WITHIN A FEW YEARS2 THE FERAL POPULATION THAT ,THOMAS ,JEFFERSON'S INFORMANTS HAD WATCHED COLONIZE A CONTINENT COLLAPSED ALMOST IN A SINGLE BEE GENERATION4 ,THE LIFE CYCLE ,VARROA'S BIOLOGY IS ELEGANT AND BRUTAL3 #A4 ,A FEMALE MITE RIDES PHORETICALLY ON AN ADULT BEE1 FEEDING ON ITS FAT BODY4 #B4 ,SHE DROPS INTO A BROOD CELL JUST BEFORE WORKERS CAP IT PREFERRING DRONE BROOD1 WHICH STAYS CAPPED LONGEST4 #C4 ,UNDER THE CAP SHE FEEDS ON THE DEVELOPING BEE AND PRODUCES A REPRODUCTIVE SERIES OF OFFSPRING4 #D4 ,MATURE DAUGHTERS AND THE MOTHER EMERGE WITH THE NEW ADULT BEE AND REPEAT4 ,THE #BJAI CORRECTION FROM ,RAMSEY AND COLLEAGUES MATTERED3 VARROA FEEDS PRIMARILY ON FAT-BODY TISSUE1 NOT HEMOLYMPH AS LONG BELIEVED A DISTINCTION THAT REFRAMED WHAT THE PARASITE ACTUALLY COSTS A BEE " AND WHY RELATIVELY LOW MITE COUNTS STILL CRIPPLE COLONIES4 ,THE VIRUS MULTIPLIER ,VARROA'S DEEPEST DAMAGE IS INDIRECT4 ,FEEDING THROUGH THE CUTICLE INJECTS DEFORMED WING VIRUS DIRECTLY INTO BEE TISSUE BYPASSING THE DEFENSES A VIRUS WOULD MEET ARRIVING ON A FLOWER AND SIMULTANEOUSLY SELECTS THE VIRUS'S MOST VIRULENT STRAINS4 ,MARTIN ET AL4'S ,HAWAII STUDY CAUGHT THIS SELECTION IN ACTION3 AS VARROA INVADED NAIVE COLONIES1 THE ,,DWV POPULATION COLLAPSED INTO A FEW VIRULENT VARIANTS AND COLONY HEALTH CRASHED4 ,UNTREATED ,A4 MELLIFERA COLONIES WITH ESTABLISHED VARROA TYPICALLY DIE IN ONE TO THREE YEARS4 ,THE TREATMENT TREADMILL ,BECAUSE THE MITE CANNOT BE ELIMINATED1 BEEKEEPING BECAME PHARMACOLOGY3 "9 ,SYNTHETIC MITICIDES FLUVALINATE1 COUMAPHOS1 AMITRAZ EACH MET WITH EVOLVED RESISTANCE WITHIN YEARS "9 ,ORGANIC ACIDS FORMIC AND OXALIC ACIDS2 EFFECTIVE1 WEATHER-SENSITIVE1 LABOR-INTENSIVE "9 ,THYMOL AND ESSENTIAL OILS GENTLER1 VARIABLE "9 ,CULTURAL CONTROLS DRONE-BROOD TRAPPING1 SCREENED BOTTOMS1 BROOD BREAKS "9 ,RESISTANT STOCK ,RUSSIAN BEES1 ,,VSH " LINES1 8ANKLE-BITER0 GROOMING STRAINS1 AND SURVIVOR STOCK BRED FROM UNTREATED COLONIES THE DIRECTION THE INDUSTRY IS SLOWLY MOVING ,THE TREADMILL IS THE HONEST SUMMARY3 TREATMENTS SUPPRESS RATHER THAN SOLVE1 AND A TREATED HIVE IS STILL A VIRAL RESERVOIR FOR THE LANDSCAPE AROUND IT4 ,VARROA AND THE WILD ,THE MITE'S REACH EXTENDS PAST MANAGED APIARIES3 IT DRIVES THE VIRULENT-VIRUS RESERVOIR THAT SPILLS TO WILD BEES1 IT DESTROYED THE NAIVE FERAL POPULATION IN A DECADE1 AND ITS PRESSURE SHAPED WHICH FERAL COLONIES SURVIVED ,SEELEY'S ,ARNOT ,FOREST BEES PERSIST TODAY IN PART BECAUSE NATURAL SELECTION DID THERE WHAT BEEKEEPERS DO ARTIFICIALLY ELSEWHERE4 ,VARROA DID NOT CREATE THE CASE AGAINST TREATING HONEY BEES AS WILDLIFE1 BUT IT LOADED IT4 ,REFERENCES - ,RAMSEY ET AL4 8,VARROA DESTRUCTOR FEEDS PRIMARILY ON HONEY BEE FAT BODY TISSUE10 ,,PNAS "<#BJAI"> - ,MARTIN ET AL4 VARROA SELECTS VIRULENT ,,DWV1 ,SCIENCE "<#BJAB"> - ,SEELEY ,FOLLOWING THE ,WILD ,BEES2 ,ARNOT ,FOREST STUDIES - ;,FRST ET AL4 ,,DWV SPILLOVER1 ,NATURE "<#BJAD"> ,SEE ALSO "9 ,PATHOGEN SPILLOVER IN BEES WHAT LEAVES THE HIVE "9 ,FERAL HONEY BEE THE POPULATION IT NEARLY ERASED1 AND THE SURVIVORS "9 ,HONEY BEES IN ,NORTH ,AMERICA ,AFRICANIZED HONEY BEE "9 ,NATIVE BEES OF ,NORTH ,AMERICA ,SAVE THE BEES