<Do varroa mites feed on the fat body of the honey bee larvea ?
Is there anyway a "fat body" in a bee larva , or does it grow later in
the pupa stage ?>
I'm not sure about Ramsey hypothesis but you find the location of predation on the nymph (not larvae) explained in : Behavioral attributes and parental care of Varroa mites parasitizing honeybee brood, from Gérard Donzé, Patrick M. Guérin
Received: 23 August 1993 / Accepted after revision: 28 February 1994
Before Samuel Ramsey explanation, I had understood that predation was reducing 25% of the surface of fat body of the nymph, meaning a 15% weight reduction of the nymph.
see : https://www.unine.ch/files/live/sites/labpar/files/shared/documents/publi%20AMcM%201990s/Donz%c3%a9_Guerin%201994%20Varroa%20parenting%20Behav%20Ecol%20Sociobiol.pdf
Best regards
Georges
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