UNDERSTANDING THE FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE ABSENCE OF VARROA DESTRUCTOR MITES IN AFRICANIZED HONEYBEES IN DEMING, NEW MEXICO

Abstract

The honeybee industry is an essential component of agriculture, providing pollination services to many crops. However, the Western honeybee population has been continuously declining due to Colony Collapse Disorder and Varroa destructor mites, which have become major threats to honeybee colonies. Africanized honeybees (AHB) were introduced to the United States in 1990 and have since been spreading throughout the southern states. They are a hybrid of the African honeybee and two Western honeybees and have replaced Western honeybees in Luna County, New Mexico. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of Wolbachia pipientis and Varroa destructor mites in AHB in the Deming, New Mexico area. The study found that AHB had a significantly lower infection rate of both W. pipientis and V. destructor mites compared to Western honeybees. None of the AHB were infected with V. destructor mites, which is in contrast to an estimated 80% of Western honeybees infected in the United States. The low infection rates of AHB may be attributed to hybrid vigor or heterosis, which increases disease resistance and decreases the expression of undesirable traits. The study sheds light on the resilience of AHB to the environmental and parasitic stresses currently affecting Western honeybees.