Occurrence Of Honey Bee (Apis mellifera L.) Parasites Acarapis woodi (Rennie) and Varroa destructor Q. In The Region of Muğla, Turkey Msc. Duygu Şimşek*, Prof. Dr. Nevin KESKİN* *Hacettepe University, Department of Biology, Applied Biology Section, Ankara-TURKEY e-mail:
[email protected] INTRODUCTION Another mite which causes a disease in adult honeybees is Acarapis woodi. According to the some studies carried in different periods between the years 1988-2003, there is no evidence for A. woodi which has This study was carried out to determine the occurrence of honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) parasites Acarapis been spread out in Balkans in recent years (3, 7). However, this parasite was detected in a country- woodi (Rennie) and Varroa destructor in the province of Muğla which has 17% of the hives and governs %80- wide study which was carried out with molecular techniques by Hacettepe University Bee Health Laboratory in 2005 (12). In this study, there is no evidence for A. woodi existence in samples according to the 85 of the honey export of our country. microscopic(Figure 3) and molecular assays. Varroa destructor Q (Acari, Varroidae) is a haemolymph-sucking parasite of European honey bees (9). The parasite may directly (haemolymph-sucking) and indirectly (as a vector of bacterial, fungal and viral diseases) affect the type and prevalence of honey bee pathogens causing mortality in infested colonies (2). It can be found on adult bees, on the brood and in hive debris. Adult females are a reddish colored oval-flat bodied and measured 1.1 mm long x 1.5 mm wide.