Varroa (Varroa destructor) and tracheal mite (Acarapis woodi) incidence in the Republic of Turkey

Abstract

This is the first extensive study of the incidence of varroa (Varroa destructor) and tracheal mites (Acarapis woodi) in Turkish honey bees (Apis mellifera). Samples were taken from 204 colonies in 39 apiaries spread over five regions of Turkey. Fifty bees from each colony were dissected in the laboratory and examined under stereo and compound microscopes using four different techniques to detect the presence of A. woodi. Presence of varroa was determined from samples of approximately 200 workers from each of the sampled colonies. Neither A. woodi nor other Acarapis spp. were found in any of the 10 200 bees examined. Conversely, varroa was found in 84 of the 204 colonies sampled. Varroa incidence per apiary was approximately Poisson distributed with a mean of 2.17 infested colonies per five sampled. The data suggest that for unknown reasons tracheal mites appear to be very rare in Turkey, but not varroa, which has endemic rather than epidemic disease distribution properties.