Varroa destructor detected in an Apis mellifera colony (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in Southern Guam

Varroa mite, Varroa destructor, was identified on honey bees, Apis mellifera, collected from a single feral hive located in a tree on an abandoned farm in Southern Guam.  The honey bees were collected as part of the USDA sponsored National Honey Bee Survey Guam had previously been thought to be varroa mite free, and with the exception of this single colony, surveys of domestic and feral hives throughout the island have revealed no varroa or Tropilaelaps mites.  Similarly, recent surveys of honeybees on the neighboring islands of Saipan and Tinian have revealed no varroa or Tropilaelaps mites.