Infestation of queen cells by the mite Varroa jacobsoni

Abstract - Infestation of queen cells of the honey bee (Apis mellifera macedonica) by the mite Varroa jacobsoni was studied. A total of 1 500 larvae were grafted into queenless cell builders: first, when they contained worker brood of all ages; second, when they had only sealed brood; and third, when they had no brood. Ten days after grafting, the sealed queen cells were opened and examined for Varroa mites. The percent acceptance of the grafted larvae was not related to the degree of colony infestation, when rearing conditions were otherwise kept similar. No mites entered queen cells in lightly infested colonies. More mites entered queen cells in heavily infested colonies that contained no worker or drone brood.