-----Original Message----- From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Monday, April 02, 2001 3:21 PM To: undisclosed-recipients Subject: Catch The Buzz Article How a Varroa parts its hair may be one of the answers in control. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Varroa Discoveries! A state-of-the-art scanning electron microscope mounting technique that uses low temperature (LT-SEM) may help researchers better understand how parasitic mites like Varroa interact with their bee hosts. Varroa mites feed on the blood of adult and developing young bees. Parasitized bees may have deformed wings and abdomens and a shorter life span than their unparasitized hivemates. Because the LT-SEM freezes and captures the Varroa mites on bees at the moment they are parasitizing them, a team of ARS scientists has discovered some intriguing behavioral and morphological patterns. The technique has shown that Varroa mites may be camouflaging themselves by aligning their setae (their tiny hairs) with the hairs on the bee's body. By doing this, they may escape detection when the bee grooms itself or is groomed by another. If this hypothesis is correct, it may be possible to breed bees that more easily detect mites and aid their removal from their bodies. LT-SEM technology prov! ides an exciting new tool that will be used to reveal the exact types and behavior of mites. It is already providing valuable new information that could be used to control mites as agricultural pests or to enhance their efficacy as biological control agents. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Kim Flottum Editor, Bee Culture Magazine http://www.airoot.com/beeculture/index.htm For an archive Catch the Buzz postings, visit: http://bee.airoot.com/beeculture/buzz/index.html To unsubscribe to this emailing, simply goto: http://bee.airoot.com/beeculture/buzz/unsubscribe.html * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *