Bee with ticks

[pammosley]

Hello everyone. I took this photo of this bee yeserday. I think it`s Bombus lapidarius. On closer inspection it appears to have some kind of tick or mites on her neck. Does anyone have any ideas on this Is it this bug thats killing off our bees?
Thanks for your time, Pam

[Geoff F]

I suspect that they are Phoretic Mites (if that is the correct spelling); if so they aren't parasitic but just attach themselves to the animal for a time while they get carried around. Although they can obviously make things a bit difficult for the host to carry out it's normal operations.

I saw a hoverfly similarly affected last year.



We had a bit of a discussion about these mites then, last October I think, so perhaps some of the experts can shed a bit more light on this subject once again.

[pammosley]

Thanks for the reply Geoff, I`ll search the old forums & see if I can find the thread. Thanks again for your time

[eucera]

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.

[pammosley]

Thanks for the info eucera, much appreciated