Af. Janmaat et Ml. Winston, Removal of Varroa jacobsoni infested brood in honey bee colonies with differing pollen stores, APIDOLOGIE, 31(3), 2000, pp. 377-385
The effects of high or low pollen storage on Apis mellifera L. brood remova
l behavior and Varuoa jacobsoni reproduction were examined. High pollen sto
rage colonies removed 49% of the infested larvae compared to 33% removal by
the low pollen storage colonies. No difference was found in the proportion
of fertile mites between those reared in high or low pollen storage coloni
es, although mite fertility appeared to decrease from mid to late summer in
British Columbia, Canada. These findings indicate that the presence of pol
len stores increases the rate of cell removal, and warrants further investi
gation into colony management as a potential means of V. jacobsoni infestat
ion control.