The tracheal mite, Acarapis woodi is considered an economically important parasite of the honey bee, Apis mellifera in some areas of the world. However, some of the symptoms of infestation attributed to the mite resemble those caused by chronic paralysis virus infection. The two occur together more frequently than expected by chance, but not because the mite is a virus vector; both the mite and the virus are contagiously transmitted and both increase in bee populations under the same circumstances.
Over recent decades the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor has become a pest of global significance. Initial colonisation by the mite is associated with viruses that infect both brood and adult bees by injection into the haemolymph and are rapidly fatal. The possible role of the mite as an activator of latent virus replication is considered.
Over time, these quick acting viruses decline because either infected individuals are removed from the population at a faster rate than transmission by the mite takes place and the colony recovers, or the bee population is so depleted that the colony dies. Viruses that are not rapidly fatal eventually predominate because infected adult bees form a persistent reservoir of virus for mites to acquire and transmit. The recent documented changes in the incidence and prevalence of honey bee viruses in infested colonies in Britain provide a valuable insight into the impact of the mite and are explained in terms of the known epidemiology and pathology of the individual viruses.
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