Hi Natalee,

It is not "normal" behavior for an adult mite to "feed" on open brood.  A
female mite is attracted to propupae about to be capped over, and the
female may take a meal from the end of that larva before burying herself in
the jelly.

I rarely see mites feeding on diseased open larvae, as shown in the photo.
However, there was an observation published some years ago as to the
ability of adult female mites to survive for some time on dead
brood--sorry, don't have a citation.

In any case, the ability of female mites to feed on dead brood has little
to do with the rate of reproduction of the mite, which is our main concern.

-- 
Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com

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