Editing Varroa destructor (section)

==Description and taxonomy==
The adult female mite is reddish-brown in color, while the male is white. Varroa mites are flat, having a button shape. They are 1–1.8&nbsp;mm long and 1.5–2&nbsp;mm wide, and have eight legs.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Varroa destructor : USDA ARS|url=https://www.ars.usda.gov/northeast-area/beltsville-md-barc/beltsville-agricultural-research-center/bee-research-laboratory/docs/varroa-destructor/|access-date=2021-03-25|website=www.ars.usda.gov|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230628112243/https://www.ars.usda.gov/northeast-area/beltsville-md-barc/beltsville-agricultural-research-center/bee-research-laboratory/docs/varroa-destructor/|archive-date=June 28, 2023}}</ref> Varroa mites lack eyes.<ref>{{cite web |title=Varroa mites {{!}} ontario.ca |url=https://www.ontario.ca/page/varroa-mites |website=www.ontario.ca |access-date=27 October 2023 |language=en}}</ref> These mites have curved bodies that allow them to fit between the abdominal segments of adult bees.<ref name="FloridaIFAS">{{cite web |url=https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/misc/bees/varroa_mite.htm|title=Featured creatures: common name: varroa mite|publisher=University of Florida Entomology & Nematology Department|first1=James D.|last1=Ellis|first2=C.M.|last2=Zettel Nalen|date=October 2022|access-date=31 October 2023}}</ref>

Host bee species can help differentiate mite species in the genus ''[[Varroa]]''; both ''V. destructor'' and ''[[Varroa jacobsoni]]'' parasitize ''[[Apis cerana]]'', the Asian honey bee, but the closely related mite species originally described as ''V. jacobsoni'' by [[Anthonie Cornelis Oudemans]] in 1904 does not attack ''[[Apis mellifera]]'', the western honey bee, unlike ''V. destructor''. Until 2000, ''V. destructor'' was thought to be ''V. jacobsoni'' and resulted in some mislabeling in the scientific literature.<ref name="Anderson and Trueman 2000">{{cite journal |last1=Anderson |first1=D.L. |last2=Trueman |first2=J.W.H. |title=Varroa jacobsoni (Acari: Varroidae) is more than one species |journal=[[Experimental and Applied Acarology]] |date=2000 |volume=24 |issue=3 |pages=165–189 |doi=10.1023/a:1006456720416|pmid=11108385 |s2cid=12271915 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Delaplane |first1=Keith S |title=Varroa destructor: revolution in the making |journal=Bee World |date=January 2001 |volume=82 |issue=4 |pages=157–159 |doi=10.1080/0005772X.2001.11099522|s2cid=84549251 }}</ref> The two species cannot be easily distinguished with physical traits and have 99.7% similar genomes,<ref name="Reams">{{cite journal |last1=Reams |first1=Taylor |last2=Rangel |first2=Juliana |title=Understanding the Enemy: A Review of the Genetics, Behavior and Chemical Ecology of Varroa destructor , the Parasitic Mite of Apis mellifera |journal=Journal of Insect Science |date=1 January 2022 |volume=22 |issue=1 |doi=10.1093/jisesa/ieab101|pmid=35137134 |pmc=8825774 |doi-access=free }}</ref> so DNA analysis is required instead.<ref name="Anderson and Trueman 2000"/><ref>{{cite book |editor1=Maurice Sabelis |editor2=Jan Bruin |year=2010 |title=Trends in Acarology. Proceedings of the 12th International Congress |publisher=[[Springer Science+Business Media|Springer]] |isbn=978-90-481-9836-8 |chapter=Tracking the colonisation history of the invasive species ''Varroa destructor'' |first=Maria J.|last=Navajas |pages=375–378 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BBGkhCHzyfkC&pg=PA376 |doi=10.1007/978-90-481-9837-5_61}}</ref> Because the more virulent and damaging species ''V. destructor'' could not be distinguished at the time, most pre-2000 research on western honey bees that refers to ''V. jacobsoni'' was actually research on ''V. destructor''.<ref name="Rosenkranz"/>

Other Varroa species ''[[Varroa underwoodi|V. underwoodi]]'' and ''[[Varroa rindereri|V. rindereri]]'' can also parasitize [[honey bee]] species and can be distinguished from ''V. destructor'' and ''V. jacobsoni'' with slight differences in body size and [[setae]] characteristics, though each of the four species within the Varroa genus have similar physical characteristics.<ref name="VarroainAsia">{{cite journal |last1=Chantawannakul |first1=Panuwan |last2=de Guzman |first2=Lilia I. |last3=Li |first3=Jilian |last4=Williams |first4=Geoffrey R. |title=Parasites, pathogens, and pests of honeybees in Asia |journal=Apidologie |date=May 2016 |volume=47 |issue=3 |pages=301–324 |doi=10.1007/s13592-015-0407-5|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Guzman1999">{{cite journal |last1=de Guzman |first1=Lilia I. |last2=Rinderer |first2=Thomas E. |title=Identification and comparison of Varroa species infesting honey bees |journal=Apidologie |date=1999 |volume=30 |issue=2–3 |pages=85–95 |doi=10.1051/apido:19990201|doi-access=free }}</ref> If a Varroa species is found on a western honey bee, it will typically be ''V. destructor'' except where ''V. underwoodi'' is present, such as in Papua New Guinea.<ref name="Guzman1999"/>

The name "Varroa mite" is typically used as the [[common name]] for ''V. destructor'' after the species was considered separate from ''V. jacobsoni''.<ref name="FloridaIFAS"/>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Bee hosts of ''[[Varroa]]'' species<ref name="VarroainAsia"/>
|-
! Mite species !! Bee host 
|-
| ''Varroa destructor'' || [[western honey bee]], [[Asian honey bee]]
|-
| ''[[Varroa jacobsoni]]'' || [[Asian honey bee]]
|-
| ''[[Varroa rindereri]]'' || ''[[Apis koschevnikovi]]''
|-
| ''[[Varroa underwoodi]]'' || [[western honey bee]], [[Asian honey bee]], ''[[Apis nigrocincta]]'', ''[[Apis nuluensis]]''
|}

Varroa mite has two distinct genetic strains from when it switched hosts from the Asian honey bee to the western honey bee: Korean and Japanese. The Korean strain that occurred in 1952 is now found worldwide in high frequencies, while the Japanese strain that started around 1957 occurs in similar areas at much lower frequencies.<ref name="Reams"/> Varroa mite has low genetic diversity, which is typical for an invasive species undergoing a range or host expansion.<ref name="Evans">{{cite journal |last1=Evans |first1=Jay D |last2=Cook |first2=Steven C |title=Genetics and physiology of Varroa mites |journal=Current Opinion in Insect Science |date=1 April 2018 |volume=26 |pages=130–135 |doi=10.1016/j.cois.2018.02.005|pmid=29764652 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2018COIS...26..130E }}</ref>