Apidologie 34 (2003) 535-541
DOI: 10.1051/apido:2003041

Temporal changes in Varroa destructor fertility and haplotype in Brazil

Claudia Garrido^a, Peter Rosenkranz^a, Robert J. Paxton^b and Lionel S. Gonçalves<sup>c

a</sup>  State Institute of Apiculture, University of Hohenheim (730), 70593 Stuttgart, Germany
^b  Zoological Institute, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 28, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
^c  Departement of Biology, University of São Paulo, FFCLRP-Ribeirão Preto-SP, Brazil

(Received 29 October 2002; revised 2 March 2003; accepted 10 March 2003)

Abstract
The relationship between fertility and haplotype was studied in Varroa destructor mites sampled from colonies of A. mellifera carnica and Africanized Honeybees (Apis mellifera) in Germany and Brazil respectively. Both in Germany and in Brazil, only the V. destructor Korea haplotype was found, though the Japan-Thailand haplotype was formerly thought to have been more abundant in Brazil. The fertility of Varroa mites in Brazil has increased since 1998 and is currently (2001) at European levels. Temporal changes in mite fertility and haplotype are not fully congruent.

Key words: Varroa destructor / Apis mellifera / host-parasite relationship / reproduction / COI gene / RFLP

Correspondence and reprints: Claudia Garrido garrido@uni-hohenheim.de

© INRA, EDP Sciences, DIB, AGIB 2003