INTERCELLULAR CONNECTION BETWEEN THE LYRATE ORGAN AND THE GROWING OOCYTE IN VARROA-JACOBSONI AS REVEALED BY LUCIFER YELLOW DYE-COUPLING

Micro-injected Lucifer Yellow CH (LY) was used to study cytoplasmic co ntinuity and transport between the lyrate organ and the developing ooc yte in the ovary of the mite, Varroa jacobsoni, an ectoparasite of hon ey bees. When LY was micro-injected into the lyrate organ of young fem ale mites in their phoretic phase, movement of the dye towards the lat e stage 2 oocyte did not occur. Further oocyte development was initiat ed by transfer of young female mites into brood cells of Apis mellifer a shortly after operculation ('reproductive phase' of mites). Uptake o f haemolymph from an L5 (feeding phase) bee larva coincided with the m igration of LY both from one lobe of the lyrate organ to the other as well as from the lyrate organ towards the oocyte. Since translocation of LY in vitro reflects the alimentation of oocytes (nutrimentary ooge nesis), we highlight the temporal pattern of intercellular transport d uring oogenesis.