ABSTRACT
Newly capped worker brood cells were numbered on a sheet of transparent plastic, temporarily attached to the top bar using two thumbtacks. Into each cell a female Varroa mite was introduced. After ten days the cells were opened and the content studied. Those females still present and alive were introduced into newly capped brood cells and so on. Varroa mites are capable of reproducing up to seven times this way. The maximum number of eggs layed was 30 eggs per female. Females that produce male offspring only, keep doing so in subsequent brood cycles. Though in contact with adult males several times, no successful mating had occurred. Probably only young females mate successfully.
