Prevalence of parasitization by Diptera in Apis mellifera L in southern Spain

Abstract - Two hundred and two samples of bees from 35 beehives distributed among 12 apiaries were analysed. They were collected between October 1990 and October 1992 in southern Spain. The thoraxes of 25 bees taken from each sample were examined individually (5 050 in total) to look for diptera larvae (myiasis). Twenty-four fly larvae were discovered in the anterior dorsal part of the bees' thoraxes. The flies were widely distributed throughout southern Spain although honeybee infestations reached a low rate of incidence (0.48%), mainly in July.