Geographical distribution, levels of infestation and population density of the mite Euvarroa sinhai Delfinado and Baker (Acarina: Mesostigmata) in Apis florea F colonies in Iran

Abstract - The geographical distribution, levels of infestation and population density of the parasitic mite, Euvarroa sinhai Delfinado and Baker, were investigated for the first time in Iran. Euvarroa sinhai was recorded from all the A florea colonies that were collected as a whole colony or sampled. The mite was found up to an elevation of 1 270 m. The mite population is generally rather low in the bee colonies. The number of live Euvarroa females per 1 000 worker bees was found to be 3.28 in the period from April-June when drone brood rearing is at its peak; from June-April this number increased to 5.7. The number of mites on drones at the time of emergence was 1-8, with a mean of 4.30 ± 1.66. Percentage of infested drone cells in newly constructed combs with first drone generation emerged from these cells varied from 3.15-30.43%, with a mean of 8.38%. The female mites were phoretic from 4-10.5 months, with an average of 6.4 months on adult worker bees before entering drone cells.