| Re: Bee with ticks
Hi
A couple of things relating to ticks/mites etc and bees.
Bumblebees are often found carrying various mites around (in fact solitary bees are too). These are hitch-hikers (phoretic), and glean stray pollen from the bee.
Honeybees are hosts to a number of mites, and the one in the news is Varroa. Varroa is closely linked with declining honeybees because it kills the bees directly AND also acts as a vector of a cocktail of pathogenic viruses. Varroa is restricted to honeybees.
Many bee species are in decline, and the causal agents of decline are numerous and varied, and not necessarily the same between species (or even groups of species). However, it looks like effective Varroa control should be at the top of every beekeepers list of things to do. |