The occurrence of ecto-parasitic Leptus sp. mites on Africanised honey bees

Martin, SJ; Correia-Oliveira, E

Abstract

Honey bee-mite-pathogen associations have led to the widespread collapse of Apis mellifera colonies in various parts of the world. The global trade in bees continues to expose honey bees to new pests and pathogens. Here we highlight to the beekeeping community a potential new mite-pathogen association. In South America ecto-parasitic Leptus mite larvae have been recorded parasitising adult honey bees and these mites are known to transmit Spiroplasma bacteria the causative agent of 'Mays disease' in bees. Here we provide new data and review past studies on Leptus mites and discuss the potential risk to A. mellifera this mite may pose in the future.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 20, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Sep 12, 2016
• Publication Date: Sep 12, 2016
• Deposit Date: Sep 1, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 12, 2017
• Journal: Journal of Apicultural Research
• Print ISSN: 0021-8839
• Electronic ISSN: 2078-6913
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• Volume: 55
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 243-246
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00218839.2016.1228214
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00218839.2016.1228214
• Related Public URLs: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tjar20/current
• Additional Information: Funders : Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico;Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior; Grant Number: 400425/2014-9