Text Transcript with Description of Visuals
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| [Music] Welcome to the third module of ABEJAS. | ABEJAS Logo in front of red mite on honey bee pupae Title: Module 3.1 Varroa destructor |
| This module will teach you about honey bee parasites, pests, predators, and pathogens that can be detrimental to honey bee colonies. | Beekeeper in an apiary talking to camera |
| Knowing these enemies is essential to protecting the health and productivity of your colonies. Let’s get started. First, we will cover the most significant parasite, enemy number one: Varroa destructor. We will call this mite Varroa for short. | Two red mites on honey bee pupae. Text on screen: Varroa destructor |
| This video will introduce you to the Varroa lifecycle, behavior, and available management options.Varroa is a highly problematic parasitic mite that is a significant threat to honey bee populations worldwide. | Beekeeper in an apiary talking to camera Graphic appears Title: Arthropods Text: Crustaceans; picture of a crab and shrimp Text: Arachnids; picture of a scorpion and mite [highlighted in brighter red] Text: Insects; picture of a a ladybird beetle and bee |
| This mite attaches to the honey bee and feeds on their bodily fluids, weakening the bees and transmitting harmful viruses. The impact on bee colonies can be severe, leading to weakened colonies, reduced honey production, and even colony death. | Red mite on adult bee Red mite on fuzzy bee on frame Honey bees crawling on frame |
| The lifecycle of Varroa involves a dispersal, sometimes called the phoretic stage, and a reproductive stage. | Beekeeper in an apiary talking to camera. Graphic of life cycle of Varroa appears |
| In the dispersal phase, the adult female mite attaches and feeds on adult bees. Adult female mites are highly mobile and can move from bee to bee. | Mite crawling on developing honey bee larva, bee walks by and mite jumps onto bee. Red circle appears to show that mite moved onto bee |
| A female adult mite in the dispersal stage changes to the reproductive stage when she finds and enters a brood cell right before it is capped over with wax. After the cell is capped and the developing bee larva stretches out belly up, the mother mite starts to lay eggs. She lays a male egg first, then all subsequent eggs are female. The eggs hatch into nymphs which go through several developmental stages. The mother mite opens a feeding hole on the belly of the developing bee, where all the mites feed. The mites defecate on the ceiling above the developing bee. | Beekeeper in an apiary talking to camera. Graphic of life cycle of Varroa appears Zooms into life stage where mite enters cell with larva inside Zooms into life stage where mite is on developing pupae inside cell Zooms into life stage where mite is feeding on developing pupae inside and icons appear indicating pathogens are being passed along |
| Once the nymphs mature into adult mites, they mate with each other. | Close up of hexagonal cell with many small mites inside. Text on screen: A family of Varroa mites in brood cell |
| When the bee emerges as an adult, the adult female mites emerge and disperse to infect other bees and brood cells. The male and immature females do not survive. This cycle repeats rapidly, with each female mite producing 1 to 2 offspring per reproductive cycle in worker brood and about two mites in drone brood. | Beekeeper in an apiary talking to camera. Graphic of life cycle of Varroa appears Zooms into life stage where bee is emerging with mites clinging to bee body Zooms into graphic with arrow indicating mite with move from one bee to another |
| This leads to quick population growth and increased infestation in the colony. | Mites on honey bee pupae inside hexagonal cells, 4 circles appear to show locations of mites |
| When the mites feed on adult bees and developing brood, they transfer viruses such as deformed wing virus (DWV). | Bee with malformed wings crawls on hive frame. Red circle appears around malformed bee |
| The feeding and transmission of these viruses can lead to various health issues within the colony, including compromised bee immune systems, reduced bee lifespans, and ultimately colony collapse. | Bee with malformed wings crawling on grass Whole hive frame, cells have small sporadic clusters of capped brood and many open cells. |
| While inspecting honey bee colonies, be on the lookout for visual signs of mites. | Beekeeper in an apiary talking to camera |
| There are two signs that you may see on adult bees. One is a mite on a bee walking around in the colony. More than 90% of mites on adult bees are found on the bee’s underside, so you will likely see mites only when levels are very high. | Mite on bee, red circle appears around mite |
| You may also see bees with shriveled, misshapen wings. This is caused by high levels of deformed wing virus that mites spread from bee to bee. Check the underside of bees with deformed wings; these bees will often have a mite on their underside. | New bee emerging from cell with shriveled, malformed wings, red circle appears around mite on underside of bee |
| Another sign of Varroa infestation is mites in the brood. | Capped honey bee brood cell being opened with tweezers, mite appears |
| Look for capped brood cells opened by worker bees, meaning you can see a developing pupa instead of the wax cell cap. | Whole hive frame, capped brood have been uncapped revealing white brood, 4 circles appears around uncapped brood |
| Inspect the cell for small white spots on the ceiling of the cell—this is likely mite feces. | Close up of hexagonal cell with many small mites inside. Red circle appears around mite feces. Text on screen: Varroa nymphs and feces in a brood cell |
| In the spring and summer, look for mites in drone brood. | Mite crawling on male (drone) bee |
| Mites are about 12 times more attracted to drone brood than worker brood. This isn’t a good way to estimate the mite population, but the absence of mites on drone brood is a good indicator that the infestation isn’t at super high levels. | Capped drone brood cell being opened with tweezers, tweezers remove drone pupa, red circle showing mite in cell appears. Text on screen: Varroa mites in drone brood |
| When mite levels get high, you may see brood damage, most common in late summer into fall. | Beekeeper in an apiary talking to camera |
| Look for spotty brood patterns, numerous uncapped cells, pupae being removed from their cells, and melted white brood. It is difficult to save a colony that has reached this level of Varroa infestation. | Beekeeper inspecting hive frame Whole hive frame, sporadic empty cells amongst capped cells, some capped cells have been uncapped revealing white brood, circles appears around uncapped brood. Text on screen: Irregular brood pattern, Numerous open brood cells, melted white brood |
| To find out how many mites are present in a hive, you’ll need to test for mites. Mite signs are only readily seen when levels are already high, which is why it is important to quantify the mite infestation instead of relying on visual signs. | Bees crawling on a hive frame, 3-5 circles appear around bees Bee with malformed wings crawls on hive frame |
| Testing for mites will help you check if your mite management strategy is working to control mite populations. | Beekeeper in an apiary talking to camera |
| Monitor mite levels on a regular basis to build confidence that you are keeping mite levels low year round. | Three beekeepers standing next to a honey bee hive having a conversation. Text on screen: Monitor mite levels on a regular basis |
| The most common method of testing in use by commercial beekeepers is sampling adult bees and removing the mites using alcohol or a detergent solution. This method is called an alcohol wash. | Person pouring alcohol into container, shaking bees into a large container, person swirling container containing bees and alcohol, then close up mites at bottom of container. Text on screen: Alcohol wash |
| Other methods include using a sticky board under a mesh bottom board, or using powdered sugar to dislodge mites from adult bees. | Person taking out a large white piece of cardboard out from bottom of hive space. Text on screen: Sticky boards Black grid lines on large white piece of cardboard with speckles of brown, white, and yellow debris. Two mites are highlighted with red circles. [Credited image: Project apis m.] Text on screen: Varroa mites on sticky board |
| Some operations outsource mite counts by sending samples of bees to nearby diagnostic institutions or university bee labs. | Beekeeper in an apiary talking to camera. Image of an August 29, 2025 Inspection Report appears |
| Researchers have found that if an alcohol wash sample contains three or more mites per 100 bees or nine mites in a 300 bee sample, the levels are already at a level where the colony can suffer serious damage and should be treated for mites as soon as possible. Be sure to use your regional mite thresholds. | Mites inside clear liquid sitting in bottom of container. Text on screen: 3 mites per 100 bees is high. Keep mite levels as low as possible throughout the year |
| Manage mite levels to keep populations low throughout the year to maintain healthy and productive colonies. Depending on the time of year, your operation should employ a variety of management practices called integrated pest management, or IPM for short to keep mite populations low. | Beekeeper reading off piece of paper, then putting on gloves and glasses |
| One tool used by beekeepers are miticides that include the chemicals amitraz, oxalic acid, thymol, and formic acid. Time treatments to avoid disrupting bee activities, prevent honey contamination and align with brood cycles. | Miticide products sitting on top of hive lid. Beekeeper applying rectangular strips in between or on hive frames |
| Some chemicals cannot be used when honey supers are on the colony, or if outside temperatures are hot. | Person reading a pesticide label brochure. Text on screen: Read and follow instructions when applying any miticides |
| Treating varroa mites can be labor intensive, and overuse of treatments can lead to pesticide resistance, which lowers the efficacy of approved treatment methods. | Beekeeper in an apiary talking to camera. Graphic indicating three successive generations of mites and pesticide applications in between. Text on screen: Overuse of treatments can lead to pesticide resistance. |
| Before applying to treatment, test colonies to estimate the number of mites present. Test after treatments to confirm your treatments sufficiently controlled mites. | Person dragging a cup down a honey bee frame to collect bees, putting lid on cup, swirling it around, and looking at it from the bottom |
| Varroa can be incredibly detrimental to honey bees. | Bee crawling on yellow flower |
| Managing varroa populations is vital to reducing the spread of parasites and pathogens and supporting overall colony health. Next, we will expand on other parasites, pests and predators that honey bees deal with. | Beekeeper in an apiary talking to camera ABEJAS logo, list of two upcoming videos, and @wsubeeprogram YouTube Logo appears |
| [Music] | Mites inside hexagonal cells on frame Overlay of WSU Bee Program, Washington State University, Wonderstone Films, United States Department of Agriculture, Project Apis m, Miller Honey Farms, and University of Minnesota Extension logos appear Scrolling list of people involved in development of videos appears |
| If you’ve enjoyed this video, please subscribe to the channel and leave us a comment below to let us know what additional topics you would like us to cover in future videos. | A beekeeper closing a clapperboard that says “WSU ABEJAS English” Beekeeper in an apiary talking to camera |