I am puzzled.  The following is an extract from "Varroasis disease of
honey bees - diagnosis and control", a MAFF (British agriculture
ministry) publication:-
 
"A mated female mite enters the brood cell a few hours before it is
capped. ... She begins to lay single eggs at intervals of about 30 hours.
... The first egg develops into a male, the remainder become females with
which the male eventually mates, inside the capped cell. ... Male mites
never feed or leave the cell and presumably die after the bee emerges."
 
I get the same story from other publications.  "Living with Varroa
jacobsoni", by the Devon Apicultural Research Group, agrees in most
respects although it says "either the first or second egg will develop
into a male; all others develop into females".  It confirms that the
mites mate in the sealed cell and the male (and any unmated females)
die when the bee emerges.  I have read the same thing elsewhere and
heard it in lectures I have attended.
 
It would appear that the female mite _always_ mates with her brother.
Is this true?  If so, does it only apply when Apis mellifera is
parasitized or is it the same with A. cerana, its traditional host?
If it is true, then there is no efficient mechanism for spreading
advantageous mutations, the 'reason' for sexual reproduction.  So why
is there concern about the acquisition of drug immunity?  None of the
publications I have read have quoted sources for the assertion.  I
suppose it is possible that they have all obtained their information
from the same, incorrect, source.
 
I apologise if this has been discussed here before - I have only been
subscribed to BEE-L for a short time - but I would still be interested
in some answers.
 
--
Malcolm Roe                            Phone  :  +44 442 230000 ext 4104
Crosfield Electronics Ltd              Fax    :  +44 442 232301
Hemel Hempstead, Herts. HP2 7RH, UK    E-mail :  [log in to unmask]
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