<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>The species of genus <italic>Varroa</italic> mites parasitize on the honey bees of genus <italic>Apis</italic>. Unlike the well-studied <italic>V. destructor</italic> and <italic>V. jacobsoni</italic> mites, <italic>V. underwoodi</italic> remain less known. According to English language publications, the proven <italic>V. underwoodi</italic> distribution area of <italic>A. cerana</italic> colonies covers Nepal, South Korea, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Vietnam and China, but not Russia even though it had been described morphometrically in Russian language publications in Russia's Primorsky Territory. According to Vavilov's law (1920) of a homologous series, all the species of <italic>V. underwoodi, V. destructor</italic> and <italic>V. jacobsoni</italic> have the ability to spill over onto new hosts. Thus, <italic>V. underwoodi</italic> is a potential parasite of <italic>A. mellifera</italic> that should be carefully studied. In this study, <italic>V. underwoodi</italic> mites in colonies of honey bee subspecies <italic>A. c. ussuriensis</italic> native to Russia's Primorsky Territory are first proven using both morphometry and mitochondrial <italic>COX1</italic> gene sequencing. The genetic divergence and p-distances between <italic>V. underwoodi</italic> and other <italic>Varroa</italic> species ranged from 7 to 10% and from 0.072 to 0.099, respectively, which matched the intraspecific level of differences. Two identical northernmost <italic>V. underwoodi</italic> samples from Russia's Primorsky Territory and China's Jilin province with GenBank accession number MH205176 were assigned as <italic>COX1</italic> haplotype China 1 MH205176. The first discovery of <italic>V. underwoodi</italic> in the Primorsky Territory in northern Asia outlined the northern border of its range.</p>
</abstract>

The species of genus Varroa mites parasitize on the honey bees of genus Apis. Unlike the well-studied V. destructor and V. jacobsoni mites, V. underwoodi remain less known. According to English language publications, the proven V. underwoodi distribution area of A. cerana colonies covers Nepal, South Korea, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Vietnam and China, but not Russia even though it had been described morphometrically in Russian language publications in Russia's Primorsky Territory. According to Vavilov's law (1920) of a homologous series, all the species of V. underwoodi, V. destructor and V. jacobsoni have the ability to spill over onto new hosts. Thus, V. underwoodi is a potential parasite of A. mellifera that should be carefully studied. In this study, V. underwoodi mites in colonies of honey bee subspecies A. c. ussuriensis native to Russia's Primorsky Territory are first proven using both morphometry and mitochondrial COX1 gene sequencing. The genetic divergence and p-distances between V. underwoodi and other Varroa species ranged from 7 to 10% and from 0.072 to 0.099, respectively, which matched the intraspecific level of differences. Two identical northernmost V. underwoodi samples from Russia's Primorsky Territory and China's Jilin province with GenBank accession number MH205176 were assigned as COX1 haplotype China 1 MH205176. The first discovery of V. underwoodi in the Primorsky Territory in northern Asia outlined the northern border of its range.

First Evidence of Presence of <italic>Varroa underwoodi</italic> Mites on Native <italic>Apis cerana</italic> Colonies in Primorsky Territory of Russia Based on <italic>COX1</italic> Gene

Journal of Apicultural Science

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

First Evidence of Presence of  Mites on Native  Colonies in Primorsky Territory of Russia Based on  Gene

The species of genus Varroa mites parasitize on the honey bees of genus Apis. Unlike the well-studied V. destructor and V. jacobsoni mites, V. underwoodi...

First Evidence of Presence of Varroa underwoodi Mites on Native Apis cerana Colonies in Primorsky Territory of Russia Based on COX1 Gene

Article Category: Original Article

Publié en ligne: 24 juin 2021

Pages: 177 - 187

Reçu: 04 févr. 2021

Accepté: 29 avr. 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jas-2021-0014

Mots clés
gene, haplotype, Primorsky Territory of Russia, range,

© 2021 Rustem A. Ilyasov et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

First Evidence of Presence of Varroa underwoodi Mites on Native Apis cerana Colonies in Primorsky Territory of Russia Based on COX1 Gene

Article Category: Original Article

Publié en ligne: 24 juin 2021

Pages: 177 - 187

Reçu: 04 févr. 2021

Accepté: 29 avr. 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jas-2021-0014

Mots clésgene, haplotype, Primorsky Territory of Russia, range,

© 2021 Rustem A. Ilyasov et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Mots clés
gene, haplotype, Primorsky Territory of Russia, range,