Survey for Parasitic Honey Bee Mites in Hawaii (Acariformes: Tarsonemidae; Parasitiformes: Laelapidae, Varroidae)

Abstract

A survey was conducted in Hawaii to determine the presence of three mite pests of honey bees (Apis mellifera L.): Acarapis woodi (Rennie), Tropilaelaps clareae Delfinado & Baker, and Varroa destructor Anderson & Trueman. A total of 837 random samples were taken from managed and feral bee colonies on the islands of Kauai, Oahu, Maui, and Hawaii. No mites were found in any of the samples. Data were analyzed employing the binomial distribution as a likelihood function. Results showed that there was a 99% probability that the unknown prevalence of mite infestation within the Hawaii honey bee population would be no greater than 0.55%. Thus, Hawaii can be considered to be free of parasitic honey bee mites at the present time.