The original host for varroa was (and is) Apis cerana, a species native
to subtropical and tropical Asia. The mite has been found in phoretic
associations with other insect species (Diptera, other hymenopterans).
Peter Kevan, of the University of Guelph, published a paper in Bee World a
few years ago on varroa's hitchhiking rides on insects other than Apis spp.
 
Tom Culliney
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