Epidemiology of honey bee parasites.

The epidemiology of honey bee parasites has been somewhat neglected, but Lynn Royce and Philippe Rossignol describe their unique characteristics. Indeed, it appears that a parasite of social insects has in essence to adapt to two hosts: first, the individual worker within a colony, the numbers of which grow linearly and second, to the colony itself, the actual reproductive 'organism'. Transmission also has vertical and horizontal components. Analysis of tracheal mite populations in particular suggests that intracolony parasite levels are regulated by the swarming behavior of their hosts. Ironically, current and highly productive methods of honey bee management with movable hives curb swarming and may contribute to increasing the spread and the impact of some parasites. This insight may result in changing management practices to reduce the detrimental effects of bee parasites.