Varroa-Tolerant Bees Keep Hives Buzzing

An eight-legged, blood-sucking parasite known as thc varroa mite ranks as one of thc worst enemics of honey bees worldwide. About one-sixteenth inch in s i x , Vurrou jucobsoni mites have attacked in nearly every statc, ki l l ing bees needed for making honcy and for pollinating an estimated $8 to $10 billion worth of crops. Varroa mites feed on the blood of adult bees and developing young bces that are still soft, white pupae. Parasitized bees may have dcformed wings and abdomens and a shorter life span than their unparasitized hivcmates. What's more, varroa mites are thought to transmil at least a half-dozen bee viruses. But honey bees that can tolerate attack by the mite may hold an important key to stopping today's devastating losses to this parasite.