Bee vampire picks the right host to suck
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/06/160615111710.htm

The paper (open)
Why do *Varroa* mites prefer nurse bees?
http://www.nature.com/articles/srep28228

Abstract

The *Varroa* mite, *Varroa destructor,* is an acarine ecto-parasite on *Apis
mellifera.* It is the worst pest of *Apis mellifera*, yet its reproductive
biology on the host is not well understood. In particular, the significance
of the phoretic stage, when mites feed on adult bees for a few days, is not
clear. In addition, it is not clear whether the preference of mites for
nurses observed in the laboratory also happens inside real colonies. We
show that *Varroa* mites prefer nurses over both newly emerged bees and
forgers in a colony setting. We then determined the mechanism behind this
preference. We show that this preference maximizes *Varroa* fitness,
although due to the fact that each mite must find a second host (a pupa) to
reproduce, the fitness benefit to the mites is not immediate but delayed.
Our results suggest that the Varroa mite is a highly adapted parasite for
honey bees.

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html