Does the genotype of honeybee brood influence the attractiveness for Varroa jacobsoni and/or the reproduction of this parasite?

Colony infestation by Varroa jacobsoni is the most serious problem for beek eeping worldwide. To study whether different genotypes of the host influenc e attractiveness for Varroa-mites or the reproduction of this parasite, a h oneybee queen (Apis mellifera carnica) was inseminated with sperm from 4 dr ones from different Carnica-stocks. Shortly after egg laying, the brood com bs were transferred to a colony which was infested with V. jacobsoni. After capping of cells, the brood was transferred From the foster colony to an i ncubator and was examined for infestation and reproduction by mites. The pa ternal descent of the bee brood (n = 400) was ascertained by DNA-analysis. No significant differences were found between the single bee patrilines acc ording to their attractiveness (average infestation/cell) for the parasites . Out of the 99 brood cells which were infested with one mother-mite, 13% o f the parasites proved to be infertile. There were no significant differenc es between bee patrilines in any of the reproduction parameters of Varroa. The use of these characters in breeding programmes should be critically exa mined.