Selection for varroatosis resistance in honeybees

The parasitic mite Varroa jacobsoni is a major problem for beekeeping worldwide. It can be controlled efficiently with a variety of ocaracides. However, Robin F.A. Moritz argues that, owing to the risk of honey contamination and the costs involved with continuous treatment of honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) colonies, there is a pressing need to find alternative ways of varroatosis control. A variety of physiological and behavioural traits of the honeybee are known to control efficiently the development and spread of V. jacobsoni infestation. Breeding of a varroatosis-resistant honeybee seems possible and selection could offer swift results if one capitalizes on the male haploid population structure of the honeybee.