Varroa destructor: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the varroa destructor lives – recorded in 2 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Varroa destructor
Group	Spiders, scorpions & other arachnids
Found in	2 countries
Continents	Europe
Length	1.1 mm (female organism); 0.8 mm (male organism)
Class	Arachnid
Order	Mesostigmata
Family	Laelapidae

Where does the varroa destructor live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the varroa destructor in 2 countries and territories across Europe. In Romania it is listed as introduced (GRIIS checklists via GBIF).

Poland
Romania (introduced)

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

How big is a varroa destructor?

Wikidata records the following for the varroa destructor: length 1.1 mm (female organism); 0.8 mm (male organism).

What kind of animal is the varroa destructor?

The varroa destructor (Varroa destructor) is an arachnid in the order Mesostigmata and the family Laelapidae, genus Varroa. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the varroa destructor

Varroa destructor, the Varroa mite, is an external parasitic mite that attacks and feeds on honey bees and is one of the most damaging honey bee pests in the world. A significant mite infestation leads to the death of a honey bee colony, usually in the late autumn through early spring. Without management for Varroa mite, honey bee colonies typically collapse within 2 to 3 years in temperate climates. These mites can infest Apis mellifera, the western honey bee, and Apis cerana, the Asian honey bee. Since it is very similar physically to the closely related Varroa jacobsoni, these species were thought to be one prior to 2000, but they were found to be two separate species by DNA analysis.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Varroa destructor (revision 1380710590), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q48564 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).