The Varroa destructor, a parasitic mite that threatens populations of honey bees worldwide, has long been thought to feed on blood like many of its mite and tick cousins. Findings of new research, ...

The drastic decline in global honeybee populations is no secret. The phenomenon has been named “colony collapse syndrome,” and though it’s not clear what factors led up to it, entomologist Samuel ...

The world's worst honey bee parasite is genetically mutating, making it resistant to common treatments used to save hives.

Every year, up to half the honeybee colonies in the U.S. die. Varroa mites, the bees’ ghastly parasites, are one of the main culprits. After hitching a ride into a hive, a mite mom hides in a ...

Scientists believe massive honey bee die-offs were caused by alarmingly high levels of viral infections from parasitic Varroa mites — the tiny arachnids had genetic resistance to the most common ...

Controlling for Varroa mites, the parasitic mites that feed on honey bees and serve as vectors for viral diseases like deformed wing virus, can help with improving honeybee populations and make bees ...

FEW PESTS are more feared by apiarists than the aptly named Varroa destructor. This mite, originally a parasite of Apis cerana, the Asian honey bee, has plagued Apis mellifera, cerana’s western cousin ...

Pol-line honey bees, a type of Varroa mite resistant honey bee developed by the Agricultural Research Service, are more than twice as likely to survive through the winter than standard honey bees, ...

A new breed of honey bees, named “Pol-line”, has been selectively bred to identify and remove the Varroa mite from their colonies, which has been a major threat to honey bees for half a century. This ...

Patrick O'Connor receives funding from the Australian Research Council, Agrifutures Australia and State Governments. A tiny parasitic mite that lives on the European honeybee (Apis mellifera) has ...

A new breed of honey bees provides a major advance in the global fight against the parasitic Varroa mite, new research shows. A new breed of honey bees provides a major advance in the global fight ...

Among the many threats to honey bee colonies around the world, one stands alone: the parasitic mite, Varroa destructor. For decades, researchers assumed that varroa mites feed on blood, like many of ...