INFESTATION OF TRACHEAL MITES (ACARI, TARSONEMIDAE) IN FERAL AND MANAGED COLONIES OF HONEY-BEES (HYMENOPTERA, APIDAE)

We tested a population dynamics model that predicts that swarming of honey bees, Apis mellifera L., is a regulatory process of tracheal mites, Acarapis woodi (Rennie), parasitism. If the model is correct, then feral colonies that are free to swarm should have fewer numbers of infested worker bees, infested workers should have fewer numbers of mites, and fewer feral colonies should be infested than colonies in beeyards that are prevented from swarming by beekeeping techniques. We found that this situation occurred in the Willamette Valley, OR.