Review of the orientation behaviour in the bee parasitic mite Varroa destructor: Sensory equipment and cell invasion behaviour

Abstract

Cell invasion behaviour is a crucial phase in Varroa destructor (Anderson & Trueman, 2000) life history. This review gives a survey of what is known about the sensory equipment of Varroa suited for its orientation. Most attractive for Varroa females are nurse bees and drone larvae just before the capping by the nurse bees. In search of cues to determine the sex and age of the brood, the whole spectrum of approaches from direct observation of the invasion behaviour in observation hives to electrophysiological recordings of the sensilla was used. There was no single key factor identified to be responsible for the host recognition, but rather a complex mixture of chemical compounds from the brood and physical parameters of the comb. In consideration of our limited understanding of host parasite interaction there is no solution in sight for a biological Varroa treatment regime based on interference with Varroa orientation during the brood invasion phase.