Varroa

Granma (which, now that I've said it a few times, is a really bad name for any magazine except the house organ of the American Association of Retired People) had "compelling" "evidence" of the U.S. attack, claiming that if the parasite, which is known as varroa, had infiltrated the island naturally, it would've spread from east to west. ❋ Unknown (2007)

FLATOW: This was a really interesting story because I don't think many people realized how many bees were being killed by something called the varroa mite, really a tiny vampire which literally sucks the life out of a bee colony. ❋ Unknown (2005)

Experts have said possible culprits are a pest called varroa, pesticides, climate change and loss of habitat. ❋ Unknown (2010)

The suspected culprits include a blood-sucking mite called varroa, a single-celled fungal parasite called Nosema cerenae that causes bee dysentery and pesticides used in fields that are pollinated by bees. ❋ Unknown (2010)

Parasitic mites called varroa, agricultural pesticides and the effects of climate change have all been implicated in what has been dubbed "colony collapse disorder" (CCD). ❋ Unknown (2010)

One type is highly resistant to the parasitic mite Varroa destructor, commonly known as the varroa mite.

Scientists think something called the varroa mite is partly responsible for the bee emergency. ❋ Unknown (2009)

Scientists say pesticides, disappearing habitat, wet weather and a parasite called the varroa mite are among the culprits.

The problem is that they are struggling to overcome a far more intractable crisis than two miserable summers in the form of a small mite called varroa that attaches itself to honey bees and progressively makes them susceptible to lethal viruses. ❋ Unknown (2008)

"Bee colonies across the world have been declining as a result of a combination of problems including pests and diseases such as varroa, a parasitic mite which is now endemic in the UK, foul brood and small hive beetle," she said. ❋ Unknown (2010)

Diseases, pests such as varroa, wetter weather and suboptimal bee keeping are contributing significantly to this decline. ❋ Unknown (2009)

[Alison Benjamin, Urban Bees]: "They have a parasite called the varroa mite that lives on the bees and sucks its blood and spreads disease. ❋ Unknown (2010)

They are being attacked by a parasite called the varroa mite (see panel right (, but also affected by a mysterious syndrome called collapsed colony disorder (CCD).

“Picorna-like” viruses are known to attack the ribosomes of bees, hijacking them to produce viruses instead of proteins, and U.S. bees are heavily infected, possibly due in part to the fact that the varroa mite, accidentally introduced to the country in 1986, carries these viruses. ❋ Ewillett (2009)