Current status of Acarapis woodi mite infestation in Africanized honey bee Apis mellifera in Brazil
Abstract
Acarapis woodi Rennie (Acari: Tarsonemidae) is an endoparasitic mite, which can affect the respiratory system in the honey bee Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae) causing mortality. This mite was first recorded in Brazil in the 1970s, but its current presence is unclear. Therefore, we evaluated the presence of A. woodi in the Africanized honey bee A. mellifera in Brazil, to update the occurrence data of this parasite, 47 yr after its detection. We examined a total of 153 honey bee colonies, from 15 different states using dissection and molecular techniques. This is the first study of the detection of A. woodi in Brazil using molecular techniques. The results were negative for both methods employed, and we can conclude that A. woodi is not present in Africanized honey bee colonies in Brazil.
Sumario
Acarapis woodi Rennie (Acari: Tarsonemidae) é um ácaro endoparasita que pode afetar o sistema respiratório em abelhas Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae) causando mortalidade. Esse ácaro foi registrado pela primeira vez no Brasil na década de 1970, mas atualmente não existem registros da presença desse ácaro no país. Portanto, foi avaliada a presença A. woodi em abelhas africanizadas A. mellifera no Brasil, visando atualizar os dados de ocorrência desse parasita, 47 anos após a sua detecção. Foram examinadas 153 colônias de A. mellifera, em 15 diferentes estados, usando dissecação e análise molecular. Este é o primeiro estudo de detecção de A. woodi no Brasil utilizando análise molecular. Os resultados foram negativos para ambos os métodos empregados e podemos concluir que A. woodi não está presente nas colônias de abelhas africanizadas do Brasil.
Keywords: Africanized honey bee; tracheal mite; bee health; endoparasite; honey bee disease
View this article in BioOne
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright for any article published in Florida Entomologist is held by the author(s) of the article. Florida Entomologist is an open access journal. Florida Entomologist follows terms of the Creative Commons, Attribution Non-Commercial License (cc by-nc). By submitting and publishing articles in Florida Entomologist, authors grant the FOJ and Florida Entomologist's host institutions permission to make the article available through Internet posting and electronic dissemination, and to otherwise archive the information contained both electronically and in a hard printed version. When used, information and images obtained from articles must be referenced and cited appropriately. Articles may be reproduced for personal, educational, or archival purposes, or any non-commercial use. Permission should be sought from the author(s) for multiple, non-commercial reproduction. Written permission from the author(s) is required for any commercial reproduction.
