Abstract:
We tested a population dynamics model that predicts that swarming of
honey bees, Apis mellifera L., is a regulatory process of tracheal mites, Acarapis woodi
(Rennie), parasitism. If the model is correct, then feral colonies that are free to swarm
should have fewer numbers of infested worker bees, infested workers should have fewer
numbers of mites, and fewer feral colonies should be infested than colonies in beeyards
that are prevented from swarming by beekeeping techniques. We found that this situation
occurred in the Willamette Valley, OR.
