Varroa Jacobsoni - Life Cycle

Life Cycle

The life cycle of V. jacobsoni in A. mellifera begins with a mature mated female entering a larval cell of a honey bee. Once the cell is capped, the mother mite hides for five days inside the larval food near the bottom of the cell. After about five hours, the mite is released from the food, where it then begins feeding on the host's haemolymph. After sixty hours, the mother lays its first egg on the wall of the cell. The eggs that are laid either unfertilised eggs, which result in male and fertilized eggs hatches, the unfertilized male offspring is able to mate with the female offspring. The adult mated female then emerges from the cell with emerging bee. Once mites are released to external environment, the mites are then transfer through close contact with another bee. The adult female mites then feed through inner segmental membrane on honeybee haemolymph. The cycle is then completed.