Varroa destructor infestation impairs the improvement of landing performance in foraging honeybees

Abstract

The parasitic mite Varroa destructor is an important contributor to the high losses of western honeybees. Forager bees from Varroa -infested colonies show reduced homing and flight capacity; it is not known whether flight manoeuvrability and related learning capability are also affected. Here, we test how honeybees from Varroa -infested and control colonies fly in an environment that is unfamiliar at the beginning of each experimental day. Using stereoscopic high-speed videography, we analysed 555 landing manoeuvres recorded during 12 days of approximately 5 h in length. From this, we quantified landing success as percentage of successful landings, and assessed how this changed over time. We found that the forager workforce of Varroa -infested colonies did not improve their landing success over time, while for control bees landing success improved with approximately 10% each hour. Analysis of the landing trajectories showed that control bees improved landing success by increasing the ratio between in-flight aerodynamic braking and braking at impact on the landing platform; bees from Varroa -infested colonies did not increase this ratio over time. The Varroa -induced detriment to this landing skill-learning capability might limit forager bees from Varroa -infested colonies to adapt to new or challenging conditions; this might consequently contribute to Varroa -induced mortality of honeybee colonies.

Bumblebees land rapidly and robustly using a sophisticated modular flight control strategy

“…The fact that these rapid consecutive takeoff and landing maneuvers are performed much more commonly by the foraging bumblebees could explain these differences as bumblebees might have learned to perform such frequent landings both rapidly and safely. A similar type of learning has been described in foraging honeybees, where honeybees that forage in an unfamiliar environment improve their in-flight aerodynamic braking in time to increase their landing success ( Muijres et al, 2020 ).…”

Effective pest management approaches can mitigate honey bee (Apis mellifera) colony winter loss across a range of weather conditions in small-scale, stationary apiaries

“…Mite infestations may also alter the way bees are experiencing their environment. Varroa parasitization impacts foraging ability in honey bees by impeding learning ( Kralj et al 2007 ), flight duration and homing ability ( Kralj and Fuchs 2006 ), landing ability ( Muijres et al 2020 ), and waggle dance communication ( Pusceddu et al 2021 ), thus reducing honey bees’ ability to take advantage of the available forage in their landscape. Varroa also increases bees’ vulnerability to temperature ( Aldea-Sánchez et al 2021 ) and water stress ( Annoscia et al 2012 ).…”

GC-MS Analysis and Evaluation of Essential Oils as Volatile Biopesticides: Assessing Their Acaricidal Potential against Varroa destructor

“…Additionally, Varroa mites indirectly harm honey bees by lowering the number of bees in the colony, affecting their ability to forage and pollinate, reducing honey production as a result of fewer foraging trips and the poor health of worker bees, and making colonies weaker and more vulnerable to other environmental pressures. These mites multiply fast and can take over a bee colony in roughly half a year [13][14][15].…”