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🧬 Biological Classification (Kingdom to Species)Varroa destructor

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Arachnida

Order

Mesostigmata

Family

Varroidae

Genus

Varroa

Species

Varroa destructor

Arachnida🥩 Carnivore

Varroa mite

Varroa destructor (Varroa mite · ミツバチヘギイタダニ)

🛡️ Conservation Status (IUCN Red List)NE (Not Evaluated)

Not Evaluated (NE) on the IUCN Red List yet.

Geological Era

Extant

Diet

Carnivore

Length · Height

1~1.8mm · No data

Mass · Top Speed

No data · No data

Habitat & Fossil Locality

Inside western honey bee colonies (on adult bee bodies and inside capped brood cells); worldwide

💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed

💡 A female's maximum length of 1.77 mm is about 1/3 the length of a grain of rice (about 5 mm) (Comparison). Females have a flattened oval shape that is wider (up to 1.99 mm) than it is long.
💡 UF/IFAS describes this mite as the most destructive pest of the western honey bee. Western honey bee hives kept for honey production suffer the greatest damage from this mite.

Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.

#꿀벌응애#Varroa destructor

📖 1. Overview

The varroa mite is an external parasitic mite living on western honey bees and is considered the most damaging pest to western honey bees.

🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology

Adult females are reddish-brown to dark brown and oval-shaped, measuring 1.00–1.77 mm in length and 1.50–1.99 mm in width. Males are yellowish, spherical, and smaller at 0.75–0.98 mm in length.

🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior

Females pierce the soft membrane between body segments of adult honey bees to feed on fat bodies, and reproduce only inside capped bee brood cells. Originally parasitic on the eastern honey bee (Apis cerana) in Asia, the mite spread worldwide after shifting hosts to the western honey bee.