Photo 7. Views from different development phases of varroa
Reproduction and development In honey bee colonies, reproduction of Varroa. J is limited to the activity of colony. Reproduction begins in spring with offspring raising and lasts until the breeding activity ends in fall. There females which are not inseminated in winter. Varroas select especially cells of male bees for reproduction. There are opinions that this situation is caused by the period of bee larvae’s staying in closed cell to be longer, and eyes of male bees to be located mainly in the bottom and sides of bee hive. Inseminated female parasites, spending winter on the adult bees, enter the place of 5-6 – day developing larvae in spring before the cells are sealed. Female varroa passes to the larva and starts to be fed with blood of larvae. Female larvae fed with blood of adult bees have not egg laying ability. In order for the parasite to lay egg, hemolymph of larvae (blood liquid) is definitely necessary. The ovaries of the female varroa receiving Juvenile hormone during feeding, which is present in hemolymph, are developed and get ready for laying egg. Note: Juvenile hormone is low in Apiscerana bees, high in Apismellifer bees. Varroa, the ovaries of which develops by taking adequate juvenile hormone, lays egg 60 hours after the cells are sealed. According to the last studies, it is observed that female varroas become adult in 6.2 days, male ones in 6.9 days, if the first egg is not inseminated (n=7 chromosome), and then the next one is inseminated (2n=14 chromosome), the eggs come out. In this situation, the first egg develops as male and the other as varroa. In worker bee cells and male bee cells, 3 and 5 female varroas
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