Length of Successive Stages in the Development of the Mite<i>Tropilaelaps Clareae in</i>Relation to Honeybee Brood Age

Abstract

SummaryCombs of sealed honeybee worker brood (Apis mellifera ligustica hybrid) were taken from colonies infested by Tropilaelaps clareae and the numbers of mites in different developmental stages recorded. The duration of successive stages was estimated from the times at which the first and last individuals in each stage appeared and also from the relative frequency of occurrence of the different stages in the mite population of infested cells. Altogether 22 eggs, 42 larvae, 187 protonymphs, 251 deutonymphs and 659 young or old imagos were detected. The first individuals of successive stages in the development of the mite were found on honeybee brood of the following stages: eggs and larvae on spinning larvae, protonymphs on prepupae, deutonymphs on day-old pupae and young imagos on pupae 4 days old. The most advanced age of a developing bee (calculated from the time of egg-laying) with which each stage of mite was associated was: egg, 14 days; larvae, 15 days; protonymphs, 16 days and deutonymphs, 19 days. The calculated lengths of successive T. clareae stages were: eggs, 0·3–0·4 days; larvae, 0·3–0·6 days; protonymphs, 1·7–2·0 days and deutonymphs, 3·-3·8 days. Length of the total developmental period was 6 days. All mites completed their development before the honeybees emerged, a factor that probably contributes to the faster population build-up of T. clareae than of Varroa jacobsoni.