Mite and Termite PITOC, M.T.R.

SAN PEDRO, S.M.S.

Varroa destructor

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Arthropoda

Class Arachnida

Subclass Acari

Order Parasitiformes

Suborder Mesostigmata

Family Varroidae

Genus Varroa

V. destructor

Image retrieved from http://beelog.petherick.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/VarroaMite.jpg

Varroa Mite

Morphology

world's most devastating pest of Western honey bees, Apis mellifera look very similar to another bee commensal, the bee louse, (Braula coeca)

the bee louse is a wingless fly with six legs, while varroa is a mite with eight legs.

eggs are oval in shape and white in color laid singly on a cell wall.

approximately 0.30 mm long and 0.23 mm wide

Protonymphs have eight legs, pointed chelicerae (mouthparts) and are a transparent white color.

Male and female protonymphs are undistinguishable without dissection.

The body appears circular

the mite becomes a deuteronymph which resembles the adults with a reduction in setae

Image retrieved from

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/Varroa_destructor_pr

otonymph_(5048063601).jpg Image retrieved from

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Varroa_destructor_deu

tonymph.jpg

Morphology

The adult female mites are reddish-brown to dark brown and oval in shape,

curved bodies fit into the abdominal folds of the adult bee and are held there by the shape and arrangement of ventral setae.

Adult males are yellowish with lightly tanned legs and spherical body shape

chelicerae are modified for transferring sperm. Have claws, ventral setae Cuticle similar to bees and highly sclerotized

Image retrieved from

http://pds84.cafe.daum.net/image/14/cafe/2008/08/01/12/20/4892801616fa5

Image retrieved from http://www.chdphd.com/PhD/images/fig1_4.jpg

Lifestyle

Varroa mites are ectoparasites that feed on the hemolymph of immature and adult honey bees (Apis

mellifera).

Adult female varroa mites can be found either on adult or immature honey bees.

Immature varroa can be found only on capped brood Male varroa mites will never leave brood cells.

Habitat

Varroa have spread throughout much of the world: Africa, Asia including Japan, Korea, China, Malaysia

and Indonesia, United Kingdom, United States, South

America, Canada, Europe, Russia, the Middle East, and

New Zealand.

Current varroa mite distribution - 2010.

Life Cycle:

Image retrieved from

http://www.extension.org/pages/

65450/varroa-mite-reproductive-

biology#.VVm_pfmqqko

Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Arthropoda

Class Insecta

Order Blattodea

Infraorder Isoptera

Family Rhinotermitidae

Genus Coptotermes

C. formosanus

Image retrieved from http://tolweb.org/tree/ToLimages/Coptotermes_formosanus.jpg

Formosan subterranean termite

Morphology

Formosan subterranean termite is a subterranean termite species characterized by large populations

share interconnected foraging galleries in soil colonies of FST contain three primary castes:

reproductives (e.g. king, queen, alates or swarmers, and immature alates or nymphs)

soldiers workers

Morphology

Alates are yellowish-brown and 12 to 15 mm long (0.5 to 0.6 inch). numerous small hairs on the wings of these comparatively large

swarmers

Soldiers of FST have an orange-brown, oval-shaped head, curved mandibles and a whitish body

readily attack any approaching objects may secrete a white gluey fluid (called defensive secretion)

from a large opening (called fontanel) in the head

Image retrieved from http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/urban/termites/havilandi.htm

Image retrieved

fromhttp://images.harc.edu/Sites/GalvBayInvasives/Species/Photos/COFO_0014113-LGPT.jpg

Image retrieved from

http://www.lsuagcenter.com/en/environment/insects/Termites/biology/Colony-Members-and-

Life-Cycle.htm

Lifestyle

feeds on wood and other cellulose-containing materials such as paper and cardboard

known to chew through foam insulation boards, thin lead and copper sheeting, plaster, asphalt, and some

plastics

Habitat

found in forests and urban areas. exists in large, underground populations that share

interconnected galleries, tunnels and foraging tubes

Any wood-to-ground contact is an inviting entrance for FST infestations.

can form colonies that are not connected to ground, called aerial colonies.

can initiate a colony with no ground connection. flat roofs of high rise buildings are ideal places for the FST to

initiate aerial infestations if portals of entry are found.

Life Cycle:

Image retrieved from

http://www.extension.org/pages/

65450/varroa-mite-reproductive-

biology#.VVm_pfmqqko

Image retrieved from http://www.responsibleservices.com/Termite_Treatments/

REFERENCES:

Dunaway, C. 2012. Colony Members and Life Cycle. Retrieved May 19, 2015 from

http://www.lsuagcenter.com/en/environment/insects/Termites/biology/Colony-

Members-and-Life-Cycle.htm

Ellis, J.D. & Nalen, Z. 2013. Varroa destructor. Retrieved May 18, 2015 from http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/misc/bees/varroa_mite.htm

Su, N.Y. & Scheffrahn, R.H. 2000. Coptotermes gestroi. Retrieved May 19, 2015 from http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/urban/termites/havilandi.htm

Su, N.Y. & Scheffrahn, R.H. 2013. Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki. Retrived May 18, 2015 from

http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/urban/termites/formosan_termite.htm