Grooming behaviour of Apis mellifera syriaca towards Varroa jacobsoni in Jordan

Eight Apis mellifera syriaca colonies at the Jordan University of Science a nd Technology campus in Jordan were used in the experiments to detect defen ce behaviour of worker bees against Varroa jacobsoni. This defence mechanis ms was determined by the degree of damaged mites that dropped from naturall y infested colonies on insects placed under the brood nest from June to Oct ober 1998. The average percentage of all dropping mites that were injured w as 22.8%. A total of 86.56% of amputated mites were pigmented and 13.5% wer e less pigmented. Amputation to the first pair of legs was more often seen. Most of the phoretic mites were concealed between sclerites laterally on t he abdomen, with distinct preference between second and third tergites. The grooming activity of A. mellifera syriaca provides evidence of active mech anisms of resistance toward the parasitic Varroa-mite.