How to Dissect Honey Bees (Apis mellifera L.) to Detect Tracheal Mites (Acarapis woodi Rennie)

Figure 10. Five tracheal mites visible in a dissected honey bee trachea

Tracheal mites are parasites of the western honey bee and negatively impact the health and productivity of an infested colony. This 6-page fact sheet details the method of dissecting honey bees in order to diagnose tracheal mites. Written by John Bonkowski, Ashley N. Mortensen, and James D Ellis, and published by the UF Department of Entomology and Nematology, January 2015.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in1072

Published by

Sam Grenrock

Sam is originally from California and has her BA in linguistics and MFA in poetry. She loves art, animals, culture, and learning about science.