The Varroa mite is an external parasite of honey bee larvae, pupae and adults. The life cycle of the mite generally takes 11 days to complete, with female mite longevity of four to eight weeks. The infestation starts when a pregnant female mite enters the colony, attached to a returning bee. The adult female mite is oval (ca 1.2 X 1.6 mm), brown, with eight legs and is about the size of a pin-head. She searches for a larva with preference for drones>workers>queens, and crawls into the cell in the comb containing the larva. The cell is then capped over by workers. The female mite lays eggs that hatch and begin to feed on the bee larva. The mites literally suck the life out of the host bee by penetrating its internal membranes with their mouthparts and withdrawing fluids. The puncture wounds can become the entry points for disease organisms.

-John Skinner, University of Tennessee

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