Acarapis woodi is an internal parasite of Apis mellifera. Surveys conducted by the Michigan Department of Agriculture in years 1986-1990 produced first county records for A. woodi in 63 of the 83 counties of Michigan

Anzaldua, Sharon Pratt

Hanna, Murray

English

Valparaiso University

The Great Lakes Entomologist Volume 28 Numbers 3 & 4 -- Fall/Winter 1995 Numbers 3 & 4 -- Fall/Winter 1995 Article 11 January 1995 First County Records for Acarapis Woodi (Acari: Tarsonemidae) in Michigan Murray Hanna Michigan Department of Agriculture Sharon Pratt Anzaldua Michigan Department of Public Health Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle Part of the Entomology Commons Recommended Citation Hanna, Murray and Anzaldua, Sharon Pratt 1995. "First County Records for Acarapis Woodi (Acari: Tarsonemidae) in Michigan," The Great Lakes Entomologist, vol 28 (3) Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol28/iss3/11 This Peer-Review Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Biology at ValpoScholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Great Lakes Entomologist by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. For more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staff member at scholar@valpo.edu. 1995 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST 237 FIRST COUNTY RECORDS FOR ACARAPIS WOODI (ACARI: TARSONEMIDAEl IN MICHIGAN Murray Hanna 1 and Sharon Pratt Anzaldua2 ABSTRACT Acarapis woodi is an internal parasite of Apis mellifera. Surveys con­ducted by the Michigan Department of Agriculture in years 1986-1990 pro­duced first county records for A. woodi in 63 of the 83 counties of Michigan. Acarapis woodi (Rennie),the honey bee tracheal mite, is an exotic, inter­nal, obligate parasite of the honey bee, Apis mellifera Linn. (Calderone and Shimanuki, 1993). The distribution ofA. woodi, therefore, is that of its host. The host, A. mellifera, is an exotic, domesticated, social insect of particular value to agriculture in Michigan. Cook (1876) observed that cross-fertiliza­tion of flowers, which can only be accomplished early in the season by the honey bee, is often necessary to a full yield f fruit and vegetables. Cowan (1903) published a treatise on the culture of the honey bee for British beekeepers which stated that dysentery and foulbrood were the two most important diseases o the h ney bee. Rennie et al.(1921) investigated the cause of Isle of Wight disease of the honey bee which derived its popular name from the island from which it was first recognized in 1904. The disease assumed epidemic proportions in honey bee colonies on Isle of Wight in 1905, and was reported from mainland England in 1909. Diagnosis of Isle of Wight disease from symptoms had been an unsatisfactory procedure. The most usual features of Isle of Wight disease recognizable by the beeke per were in­ability ofhoney bees to fly and continuous mortality of adult honey bees. Dur­ing the course of investigation it was discovered that a mite in all stag s of de­velopment occurred in prothoracic tracheae of honey bees exhibiting symptoms of Isle of Wight disease. Cumulative evidence indicated an invari­able and clear association of the mite with diseased honey bees, and that there was a definite pathology in relati n to infection in the ind vidual honey bee. Rennie (1921) in a companion publication described trach al mite, A. woodi. Bailey (1958) d:scussed the epidemiology of the infection f the ho ey bee by A. woodi and concluded that mortality of infected honey bees is only sligh ly greater than that of non-infected honey bees. He produced evidence to sug­gest that Isle of Wight disease was due to factors other than, or supplemen­tary to, infection with A. woodi. Jaycox (1958) cited the need for a plan to protect the apiary industry in the event A. woodi were to be discovered in the United States. He proposed a method of survey which employed dissection of adult honey bees to determine presence or absence ofA. woodi. lMichigan Department of Agriculture, Lansing, MI 48909. 2Michigan Department of Public Health, Lansing, MI 48909. 1Hanna and Anzaldua: First County Records for Acarapis Woodi (Acari: TarsonemidPublished by ValpoScholar, 1995238 THE GREAT lAKES ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 28, No.3 & 4 The fIrst occurrence of Acarapis woodi in the United States was reported from specimens ofA. woodi identifIed from adult honey bees collected in Texas (DelfInado-Baker [1984]). DelfInado-Baker stated that because of frequent movement of honey bee colonies throughout much of the United States, it could be expected that A. woodi would spread inexorably. Calderone and Shi­manuki (1993) state thatA. woodi has caused a signifIcant reduction in both number and quality of honey bee colonies in the United States. The M" Apiary Law (Act No. 412, Public Acts of 1976, as amended 1985) enabl authorized representatives of the Michigan Department of Agriculture to conduct surveys on the premises of any property, private or public, to ascertain the existence of serious honey bee disease. In the years 1985-1989 A. meUifera specim ns were collected at Michigan apiaries by Michigan Department of Agriculture apiary inspectors for dissection at the Michigan Department of Agriculture, Entomology Laboratory, to determine presence or absence ofA. woodi (Figure 1). No survey was undertaken in ei­ther Keweenaw or Schoolcraft counties. In 1990 arrangement was made for Michigan beekeepers voluntarily to collect A. mellifera specimens for dissec­tion to determine presence or absence of A. woodi by Michigan State Univer­sity, Department of Entomology, under contract to the Michigan Department of Agriculture. Results obtained by dissection of 16,700 honey bees collected in 54 coun­ties in 1985 indicate, but provide no assurance, that A. woodi did not then occur in Michigan. The fIrst record of the occurrence of A. woodi in Michigan was obtained by dissection ofA. meUifera specimens collected on 19 May 1986 in Van Buren County by apiary inspector Jane Winkler. Results obtained by dissection of A. mellifera specimens collected in 81 of the 83 counties of Michi­gan in years 1985-1990 indicate, but provide no assurance, that within a span of 5 years A. woodi had become distributed to 63 counties of Michigan (Table 1, Fig. 2). With the A. woodi population now apparently so widespread throughout the state, future surveys for the presence of A. woodi should focus on the role that the mites have played on the apparent decline in healthy feral honey bee populations, as well as the domesticated colonies. The lack of such numerous and effective pollinators would bring about signifIcant economic and ecologi­cal repercussions in the agriculture industry. Table 1. Chronology of first county records for Acarapis woodi in Michigan. YEAR 	 COUNTIES 1986 	 Chippewa, Hillsdale, Jackson, Lenawee, Menominee, Oakla d, VanBuren 1987 	 Alcona, Berrien, Branch, Genesee, Gratiot, Isabella, Kalkaska, Liv­ingston, Mecosta, Monroe, Montcalm, Newaygo, Ogemaw, Ottawa, Tuscola 1988 Cass, Huron, Lapeer, Muskegon, Saginaw, Shiawassee, aw 1989 	 Alpena, Antrim, Barry, Bay, Benzie, Calhoun, Charlevoix, Clare, Clinton, Eaton, Ingham, losco, Iron, Kalamazoo, Kent, Leelanau, Macomb, Mason, Midland, Oceana, Osceola, St. Joseph, Sanilac, Wexford 1990 	 Cheboygan, Emmet, Gladwin, Ionia, Lake, Mackinac, Manistee, Ot­sego, St. Clair 2The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 28, No. 3 [1995], Art. 11https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol28/iss3/111995 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST 239 Figure 1. Photomicrograph of pro thoracic trachea dissected from A. mellifera infected with A. woodi. Positive image produced by Michigan State Univer­sity, Instructional Media Center. 3Hanna and Anzaldua: First County Records for Acarapis Woodi (Acari: TarsonemidPublished by ValpoScholar, 1995240 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 28, No.3 & 4 Figure 2. Map indicating distribution of first county records for A. woodi in Michigan. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We thank reviewers and the editor for recommendations incorpoY'l.Lted into the manuscript; Howard Russell, Michigan State University, DepaI tment uf Entomology, for his involvement i 1990 laboratory operations; Rajagopal Sitaraman, Michigan Department of Agriculture. for access to survey records; and Robert W. Husband, Adrian College, Biology Departmer for encourage­ment. LITERATURE CITED Bailey, L. 1958. The epidemiology f the infestation of the honeybee, Apis mellifera L., by the mite Acarapis woodi Rennk and the mortality of infested bees.Parasitology 48:493-506. Calderone, N. W. and H. Shimanuki. 1993. Distribution of l;le tracheal mite, Arvapis woodi, among mesothoracic trunks ofthe honey bee, Apis meltifera. Exp. AppL :\earol. 17:663-672. Cook, A. J. 1876. The apiary. Fourteenth Ann. Rept. Mich.State Board Agric. 1375. pp. 315-357. 4The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 28, No. 3 [1995], Art. 11https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol28/iss3/111995 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST 241 Cowan, T. W. 1903. British Bee-keeper's Guide Book. Houlston and Sons, London. 180 pp. Delfinado-Baker, M. 1984. Acarapis woodi in the United States. Am. Bee J. 124. 805-806. Jaycox, E. R. 1958. Acarine disease of honey bees. Calif.Dept. Agric. Bull. 47:215-22l. Rennie, J. 1921. Isle of Wight disease in hive bees -Acarine disease: The organism as­sociated with the disease - Tarsonemus woodi, n. sp. Trans. Roy. Soc. Edin. 52, pt. 4:768-779. Rennie, J., P. B. White, and E. J. Harvey. 1921. Isle of Wight disease in hive bees - The etiology f the disease. Trans.Roy. Soc. Edin. 52, pt 1: 737-754. 5Hanna and Anzaldua: First County Records for Acarapis Woodi (Acari: TarsonemidPublished by ValpoScholar, 1995

First County Records for \u3ci\u3eAcarapis Woodi\u3c/i\u3e (Acari: Tarsonemidae) in Michigan

ValpoScholar

The Great Lakes Entomologist 
Volume 28 
Numbers 3 & 4 -- Fall/Winter 1995 Numbers 3 & 
4 -- Fall/Winter 1995 
Article 11 
January 1995 
First County Records for Acarapis Woodi (Acari: Tarsonemidae) in 
Michigan 
Murray Hanna 
Michigan Department of Agriculture 
Sharon Pratt Anzaldua 
Michigan Department of Public Health 
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle 
 Part of the Entomology Commons 
Recommended Citation 
Hanna, Murray and Anzaldua, Sharon Pratt 1995. "First County Records for Acarapis Woodi (Acari: 
Tarsonemidae) in Michigan," The Great Lakes Entomologist, vol 28 (3) 
Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol28/iss3/11 
This Peer-Review Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Biology at ValpoScholar. 
It has been accepted for inclusion in The Great Lakes Entomologist by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. 
For more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staff member at scholar@valpo.edu. 
1995 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST 237 
FIRST COUNTY RECORDS FOR ACARAPIS WOODI 
(ACARI: TARSONEMIDAEl IN MICHIGAN 
Murray Hanna 1 and Sharon Pratt Anzaldua2 
ABSTRACT 
Acarapis woodi is an internal parasite of Apis mellifera. Surveys con­
ducted by the 
Michigan 
Department of Agriculture in years 1986-1990 pro­
duced first county 
records for 
A. woodi in 63 of the 83 counties of Michigan. 
Acarapis woodi (Rennie),the honey bee tracheal mite, is an exotic, inter­
nal, 
obligate 
parasite of the honey bee, Apis mellifera Linn. (Calderone and 
Shimanuki, 
1993). 
The distribution ofA. woodi, therefore, is that of its host. 
The host, A. mellifera, is an exotic, domesticated, social insect of particular 
value to agriculture in 
Michigan. Cook (1876) observed 
that cross-fertiliza­
tion of 
flowers, 
which can only be accomplished early in the season by the 
honey 
bee, 
is often necessary to a full yield f fruit and vegetables. 
Cowan 
(1903) 
published a treatise on the culture of the honey bee for 
British beekeepers which stated that dysentery and 
foulbrood 
were the two 
most important diseases o the h ney 
bee. 
Rennie et al.(1921) investigated 
the cause of Isle of Wight disease of the honey bee which derived its popular 
name 
from 
the island from which it was first recognized in 1904. The disease 
assumed 
epidemic 
proportions in honey bee colonies on Isle of Wight in 1905, 
and was reported 
from 
mainland England in 1909. Diagnosis of Isle of Wight 
disease 
from 
symptoms had been an unsatisfactory procedure. The most 
usual features of 
Isle 
of Wight disease recognizable by the beeke per were in­
ability ofhoney 
bees to fly 
and continuous mortality of adult honey bees. Dur­
ing the 
course 
of investigation it was discovered that a mite in all stag s of de­
velopment occurred in prothoracic tracheae of honey bees exhibiting 
symptoms of Isle of Wight 
disease. 
Cumulative evidence indicated an invari­
able and clear association of the mite with diseased honey 
bees, 
and that there 
was a definite pathology in relati n to infection in the ind vidual honey bee. 
Rennie 
(1921) 
in a companion publication described trach al mite, A. woodi. 
Bailey (1958) d:scussed the epidemiology of the infection f the ho ey bee by 
A. woodi and concluded that mortality of infected honey bees is only sligh ly 
greater than that of 
non-infected 
honey bees. He produced evidence to sug­
gest that 
Isle 
of Wight disease was due to factors other than, or supplemen­
tary 
to, infection 
with A. woodi. 
Jaycox (1958) cited the need for a plan to protect the apiary industry in 
the event A. woodi were to be discovered in the United States. He proposed a 
method of survey which 
employed dissection 
of adult honey bees to determine 
presence or absence ofA. woodi. 
lMichigan Department of Agriculture, Lansing, MI 48909. 

2Michigan Department of Public Health, Lansing, MI 48909. 

1
Hanna and Anzaldua: First County Records for Acarapis Woodi (Acari: Tarsonemid
Published by ValpoScholar, 1995
238 THE GREAT lAKES ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 28, No.3 & 4 
The fIrst occurrence of Acarapis woodi in the United States was reported 
from specimens ofA. woodi identifIed from adult honey bees collected in Texas 
(DelfInado-Baker [1984]). DelfInado-Baker stated that because of frequent 
movement of honey bee colonies throughout much of the United States, it 
could be expected that A. woodi would spread inexorably. Calderone and Shi­
manuki (1993) state thatA. woodi has caused a signifIcant reduction in both 
number and 
quality of honey bee colonies 
in the United States. 
The M" 
Apiary Law (Act No. 
412, Public Acts of 1976, as amended 
1985) enabl authorized representatives of the Michigan Department of 
Agriculture to conduct surveys on the premises of any property, private or 
public, to ascertain the existence of serious honey bee disease. In the years 
1985-1989 A. meUifera specim ns were collected at Michigan apiaries by 
Michigan Department of Agriculture apiary inspectors for dissection at the 
Michigan Department of Agriculture, Entomology Laboratory, to determine 
presence or absence ofA. woodi (Figure 1). No survey was undertaken in ei­
ther 
Keweenaw or Schoolcraft counties. 
In 1990 arrangement was made for 
Michigan beekeepers voluntarily to collect A. mellifera specimens for dissec­
tion to determine presence or absence of A. woodi by Michigan State Univer­
sity, Department of Entomology, under contract to the Michigan Department 
of Agriculture. 
Results obtained by dissection of 16,700 honey bees collected in 54 coun­
ties in 1985 indicate, but provide no assurance, that A. woodi did not then 
occur in Michigan. The fIrst record of the occurrence of A. woodi in Michigan 
was obtained by dissection ofA. meUifera specimens collected on 19 May 1986 
in Van Buren County by apiary inspector Jane Winkler. Results obtained by 
dissection of A. mellifera specimens collected in 81 of the 83 counties of Michi­
gan in years 1985-1990 indicate, but provide no assurance, that within a span 
of 5 years A. woodi had become distributed to 63 counties of Michigan (Table 
1, Fig. 2). 
With the A. woodi population now apparently so widespread throughout 
the state, 
future surveys for 
the presence of A. woodi should focus on the role 
that the 
mites 
have played on the apparent decline in healthy feral honey bee 
populations, as well as the domesticated colonies. The lack of such numerous 
and 
effective pollinators would bring about signifIcant economic 
and ecologi­
cal repercussions in the agriculture industry. 
Table 1. Chronology of first county records for Acarapis woodi in Michigan. 
YEAR 	 COUNTIES 
1986 	 Chippewa, Hillsdale, Jackson, Lenawee, Menominee, Oakla d, 
VanBuren 
1987 	 Alcona, Berrien, Branch, Genesee, Gratiot, Isabella, Kalkaska, Liv­
ingston, Mecosta, Monroe, Montcalm, Newaygo, Ogemaw, Ottawa, 
Tuscola 
1988 Cass, Huron, Lapeer, Muskegon, Saginaw, Shiawassee, 
aw 
1989 	 Alpena, Antrim, Barry, Bay, Benzie, Calhoun, Charlevoix, Clare, 
Clinton, Eaton, Ingham, losco, Iron, Kalamazoo, Kent, Leelanau, 
Macomb, Mason, Midland, Oceana, Osceola, St. Joseph, Sanilac, 
Wexford 
1990 	 Cheboygan, Emmet, Gladwin, Ionia, Lake, Mackinac, Manistee, Ot­
sego, St. Clair 
2
The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 28, No. 3 [1995], Art. 11
https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol28/iss3/11
1995 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST 239 
Figure 1. Photomicrograph of pro thoracic trachea dissected from A. mellifera 
infected with A. woodi. Positive image produced by Michigan State Univer­
sity, Instructional Media Center. 
3
Hanna and Anzaldua: First County Records for Acarapis Woodi (Acari: Tarsonemid
Published by ValpoScholar, 1995
240 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 28, No.3 & 4 
Figure 2. Map indicating distribution of first county records for A. woodi in 
Michigan. 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 
We thank 
reviewers 
and the editor for recommendations incorpoY'l.Lted into 
the 
manuscript; 
Howard Russell, Michigan State University, DepaI tment uf 
Entomology, for his involvement i 1990 laboratory operations; Rajagopal 
Sitaraman, 
Michigan 
Department of Agriculture. for access to survey records; 
and 
Robert 
W. Husband, Adrian College, Biology Departmer for encourage­
ment. 
LITERATURE CITED 
Bailey, L. 1958. The epidemiology f the infestation of the honeybee, Apis mellifera L., 
by the mite Acarapis woodi Rennk and the mortality of infested bees.Parasitology 
48:493-506. 
Calderone, N. W. and H. Shimanuki. 1993. Distribution of l;le tracheal mite, Arvapis 
woodi, among mesothoracic trunks ofthe honey bee, Apis meltifera. Exp. AppL :\earol. 
17:663-672. 
Cook, A. J. 1876. The apiary. Fourteenth Ann. Rept. Mich.State Board Agric. 1375. pp. 
315-357. 
4
The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 28, No. 3 [1995], Art. 11
https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol28/iss3/11
1995 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST 241 
Cowan, T. W. 1903. British Bee-keeper's Guide Book. Houlston and Sons, London. 180 
pp. 
Delfinado-Baker, M. 1984. Acarapis woodi in the United States. Am. Bee J. 124. 
805-806. 
Jaycox, E. R. 1958. Acarine disease of honey bees. Calif.Dept. Agric. Bull. 47:215-22l. 
Rennie, J. 1921. Isle of Wight disease in hive bees -Acarine disease: The organism as­
sociated with the disease - Tarsonemus woodi, n. sp. Trans. Roy. Soc. Edin. 52, pt. 
4:768-779. 
Rennie, J., P. B. White, and E. J. Harvey. 1921. Isle of Wight disease in hive bees - The 
etiology f the disease. Trans.Roy. Soc. Edin. 52, pt 1: 737-754. 
5
Hanna and Anzaldua: First County Records for Acarapis Woodi (Acari: Tarsonemid
Published by ValpoScholar, 1995

https://scholar.valpo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1891&amp;context=tgle

First County Records for \u3ci\u3eAcarapis Woodi\u3c/i\u3e (Acari: Tarsonemidae) in Michigan

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