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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Baton Rouge, Louisiana » Honey Bee Lab » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #368372
Research Project: Genetics and Breeding in Support of Honey Bee Health

Location: Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics, and Physiology Research

Title: Tropilaelaps species identification and viral load evaluation of Tropilaelaps and Varroa mites and their Apis mellifera hosts in Palawan, Philippines

Author
item De Guzman, Lilia
item Simone-Finstrom, Michael
item CERVANCIA, CLEOFAS - University Of The Philippines Los Banos
item Tokarz, Philip
item Frake, Amanda

Submitted to: Journal of Invertebrate Pathology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/8/2020
Publication Date: 1/9/2020
Citation: De Guzman, L.I., Simone-Finstrom, M., Cervancia, C., Tokarz, P.G., Frake, A.M. 2020. Tropilaelaps species identification and viral load evaluation of Tropilaelaps and Varroa mites and their Apis mellifera hosts in Palawan, Philippines. Journal of Invertebrate Pathology. 170:1-3.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jip.2020.107324

Interpretive Summary: Tropilaelaps mites are serious parasites of Apis mellifera colonies in Asia. While Tropilaelaps mercedesae is commonly found in much of Asia, T. clareae is only observed in the Philippines (except Palawan) and Sulawesi, Indonesia where Apis breviligula is also found. In 2007, T. mercedesae was found infesting A. dorsata in Palawan. Here we found T. mercedesae also infesting A. mellifera in Palawan. Viral analyses showed that both Tropilaelaps and Varroa mites and their corresponding hosts collected from the island were infected with Deformed wing virus (DWV) with DWV-B variant being more abundant than DWV-A. DWV-B is considered to be more virulent than the DWV-A variant. Feeding injuries from mixed species infestations and DWV infections may have caused the collapse of colonies in the island. Hence, interisland movement of colonies should be regulated to prevent the spread of T. mercedesae and DWV variants outside Palawan, and T. clareae into Palawan islands.

Technical Abstract: Pairs of pupae and their infesting Tropilaelaps or Varroa destructor were collected from Palawan, Philippines for species identification of the Tropilaelaps and viral analyses. Genetic analysis identified Tropilaelaps mercedesae infesting Apis mellifera in the island. Viral analyses showed that all pupae and their infesting Tropilaelaps or Varroa shared the same Deformed wing virus (DWV) variant infection with DWV-B being more abundant than DWV-A. Pupae infested with either Varroa or Tropilaelaps had higher levels of both DWV variants than uninfested pupae. Vigilance is needed to prevent the spread of T. mercedesae and DWV variants outside Palawan, and T. clareae into Palawan islands.