mite and termite
DESCRIPTION
Phylum ArthropodaTRANSCRIPT
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Mite and Termite PITOC, M.T.R.
SAN PEDRO, S.M.S.
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Varroa destructor
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Class Arachnida
Subclass Acari
Order Parasitiformes
Suborder Mesostigmata
Family Varroidae
Genus Varroa
V. destructor
Image retrieved from http://beelog.petherick.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/VarroaMite.jpg
Varroa Mite
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Morphology
world's most devastating pest of Western honey bees, Apis mellifera look very similar to another bee commensal, the bee louse, (Braula coeca)
the bee louse is a wingless fly with six legs, while varroa is a mite with eight legs.
eggs are oval in shape and white in color laid singly on a cell wall.
approximately 0.30 mm long and 0.23 mm wide
Protonymphs have eight legs, pointed chelicerae (mouthparts) and are a transparent white color.
Male and female protonymphs are undistinguishable without dissection.
The body appears circular
the mite becomes a deuteronymph which resembles the adults with a reduction in setae
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Image retrieved from
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/Varroa_destructor_pr
otonymph_(5048063601).jpg Image retrieved from
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Varroa_destructor_deu
tonymph.jpg
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Morphology
The adult female mites are reddish-brown to dark brown and oval in shape,
curved bodies fit into the abdominal folds of the adult bee and are held there by the shape and arrangement of ventral setae.
Adult males are yellowish with lightly tanned legs and spherical body shape
chelicerae are modified for transferring sperm. Have claws, ventral setae Cuticle similar to bees and highly sclerotized
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Image retrieved from
http://pds84.cafe.daum.net/image/14/cafe/2008/08/01/12/20/4892801616fa5
Image retrieved from http://www.chdphd.com/PhD/images/fig1_4.jpg
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Lifestyle
Varroa mites are ectoparasites that feed on the hemolymph of immature and adult honey bees (Apis
mellifera).
Adult female varroa mites can be found either on adult or immature honey bees.
Immature varroa can be found only on capped brood Male varroa mites will never leave brood cells.
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Habitat
Varroa have spread throughout much of the world: Africa, Asia including Japan, Korea, China, Malaysia
and Indonesia, United Kingdom, United States, South
America, Canada, Europe, Russia, the Middle East, and
New Zealand.
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Current varroa mite distribution - 2010.
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Life Cycle:
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Image retrieved from
http://www.extension.org/pages/
65450/varroa-mite-reproductive-
biology#.VVm_pfmqqko
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Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Class Insecta
Order Blattodea
Infraorder Isoptera
Family Rhinotermitidae
Genus Coptotermes
C. formosanus
Image retrieved from http://tolweb.org/tree/ToLimages/Coptotermes_formosanus.jpg
Formosan subterranean termite
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Morphology
Formosan subterranean termite is a subterranean termite species characterized by large populations
share interconnected foraging galleries in soil colonies of FST contain three primary castes:
reproductives (e.g. king, queen, alates or swarmers, and immature alates or nymphs)
soldiers workers
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Morphology
Alates are yellowish-brown and 12 to 15 mm long (0.5 to 0.6 inch). numerous small hairs on the wings of these comparatively large
swarmers
Soldiers of FST have an orange-brown, oval-shaped head, curved mandibles and a whitish body
readily attack any approaching objects may secrete a white gluey fluid (called defensive secretion)
from a large opening (called fontanel) in the head
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Image retrieved from http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/urban/termites/havilandi.htm
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Image retrieved
fromhttp://images.harc.edu/Sites/GalvBayInvasives/Species/Photos/COFO_0014113-LGPT.jpg
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Image retrieved from
http://www.lsuagcenter.com/en/environment/insects/Termites/biology/Colony-Members-and-
Life-Cycle.htm
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Lifestyle
feeds on wood and other cellulose-containing materials such as paper and cardboard
known to chew through foam insulation boards, thin lead and copper sheeting, plaster, asphalt, and some
plastics
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Habitat
found in forests and urban areas. exists in large, underground populations that share
interconnected galleries, tunnels and foraging tubes
Any wood-to-ground contact is an inviting entrance for FST infestations.
can form colonies that are not connected to ground, called aerial colonies.
can initiate a colony with no ground connection. flat roofs of high rise buildings are ideal places for the FST to
initiate aerial infestations if portals of entry are found.
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Life Cycle:
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Image retrieved from
http://www.extension.org/pages/
65450/varroa-mite-reproductive-
biology#.VVm_pfmqqko
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Image retrieved from http://www.responsibleservices.com/Termite_Treatments/
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REFERENCES:
Dunaway, C. 2012. Colony Members and Life Cycle. Retrieved May 19, 2015 from
http://www.lsuagcenter.com/en/environment/insects/Termites/biology/Colony-
Members-and-Life-Cycle.htm
Ellis, J.D. & Nalen, Z. 2013. Varroa destructor. Retrieved May 18, 2015 from http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/misc/bees/varroa_mite.htm
Su, N.Y. & Scheffrahn, R.H. 2000. Coptotermes gestroi. Retrieved May 19, 2015 from http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/urban/termites/havilandi.htm
Su, N.Y. & Scheffrahn, R.H. 2013. Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki. Retrived May 18, 2015 from
http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/urban/termites/formosan_termite.htm