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Is Tropilaelaps clareae here, in the southern USA

Posted: December 26th, 2011, 7:08 pm
by buzz1356
Note from forum owner:
This rumour seems to be just one of those things that circulates from time to time. All efforts to confirm the news have been fruitless. Until proof is found, please consider this NOT TRUE)


Nonetheless, thanks for posting this here. It got everyone excited for a little while :)

---- begin unedited original post --

Katharina DavittKlamath Basin Beekeepers Association Facebook (KBBAFB)
Tropilaelaps clareae: another scary creature for bees

Although it is believed to be confined to the tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, the Asian parasitic brood mite, Tropilaelaps clareae, is a pest that has many beekeepers on edge. It is one of the parasites specifically mentioned in the Honeybee Act of 1922 and it is considered to be more menacing than Varroa destructor.

The mite is native to Asia and its natural host is the large Asian honey bee, Apis dorsata. However, in some regions such as Pakistan, it is found on many Apis species, including Apis mellifera. It is particularly prominent in warm areas where brood is raised throughout the year.

In many ways the Asian parasitic brood mite is similar to the Varroa mite. It is large and reddish brown and can be seen adhering to brood. In contrast to Varroa, however, this mite is longer than it is wide and runs quickly across the comb.

The female foundress mite enters a brood cell at the larval stage just before it is capped. There she lays about four eggs. These hatch and feed on the honey bee pupa, which causes malformations and/or death of the host. Complete development of the mite takes only about a week. It is this short development time that has beekeepers worried: populations can build up much more quickly than can populations of Varroa mites.

Evidence of Asian parasitic brood mites includes an irregular brood pattern and young bees with misshapen abdomens, irregular wings, and distorted or missing legs. The hapless newborn bees are frequently seen crawling at the entrance or along the top bars.

For the moment, control of Tropilaelaps is similar to control of Varroa. But considering our limited success at controlling Varroa, we should definitely be worried. At present Tropilaelaps does not thrive in regions that have periods of depressed brood rearing such as occurs in northern climates, but creatures with short life cycles evolve quickly, so we must consider Tropilaelaps to be a potential threat.

This mite has made it to the southern regions of the USA. It is only a question of time until it spreads. Migratory beekeepers moving from Califonia to Maine, to Florida, and back to California will be the biggest carrier.
November 22

Re: Is Tropilaelaps clareae here,in the southern USA

Posted: December 26th, 2011, 7:21 pm
by buzz1356
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Re: Is Tropilaelaps clareae here,in the southern USA

Posted: December 29th, 2011, 1:38 pm
by Allen Dick
We have all been watching for any indication that this pest has come to the Americas. So far, there have never been any reports.

I wrote to the source and asked for details. So far, this is all I have received.
Interesting. I posted this to our beekeeping facebook page and someone reposted it to the honeybeeworld. Just another mite that infested honey bees. It is present in some southern states, but has not made it up to Oregon yet. The potential is there. Varroa made its way around the world too.
Katharina
Here is what I wrote back.
Do you know which states? Can you point me to some sources of this information?

I checked around and could not confirm this.

If it true, it is very big news and I would have expected to see it widely published.

allen
Until the rumour is confirmed, and details are known, I would be skeptical and not repeat it.

Nonetheless, someday T.c. is bound to show up here. Hopefully it will not be soon.

Re: Is Tropilaelaps clareae here,in the southern USA

Posted: December 29th, 2011, 2:05 pm
by Allen Dick
I wrote the source of the rumour again and here is here reply:
I did not write the original article, I just forwarded the link to our face book page. The pity is the link disappeared while the text is still there, and I can find the link anymore. I stumbled onto it when there was a small discussion about it on the http://www.beesource.com forum, and someone there actually posted an image. Anyway it does not seem to be a big problem in the US or it would have made the big news. Some beekeepers who may have it may not even be aware of it, because it does look like varroa and is treated the same way. There was already some scientific writing about it back in 2004 written by Diana Sammataro. The reason why I post it was to put awareness out that there may be another mite coming around. I post a lot of stuff daily to our group from various news sources. A lot of it is interesting, but may not effect us. At this point I'm not even concerned at all. It does not seem like there is an issue in this country as of now yet. The article did not state what states, which makes me wonder if it has really taken hold of in the US. I will ask someone I know at the Oregon State Bee Lab. They will know for sure.
Katharina

Re: Is Tropilaelaps clareae here, in the southern USA

Posted: December 29th, 2011, 3:28 pm
by Allen Dick
And more yet...
Got an answer back. It's not in the US yet, some bee labs have some specimen, but that is about it. Perhaps that is why the article said is was in the US. It is however in central America and the Government expect it to make it to the USA in unforeseeable future. They have been doing that since 2005.
Katharina
I don't know about South America either, for that matter. Am checking it out.

Re: Is Tropilaelaps clareae here, in the southern USA

Posted: November 11th, 2012, 11:54 pm
by rockymark092
Ir is a very nice post.I have got a lot of information about the different races of bees