ABSTRACT
The tracheal mite, Acarapis woodi (Actinedida or Prostigmata: Tarsonemidae), is the only internal mite attacking honey bees. The tracheal mite was …rst found in the tracheae of A. mellifera in 1919 after many bees and colonies died in Europe from what was called the Isle of Wight disease (De Jong et al. 1982, Needham et al. 1988, Eickwort 1994, Sammataro et al. 2000). This mite now is found throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, and North America and can be found affecting A. mellifera, A. cerana, and A. dorsata. Despite a quarantine to prevent its entry into the United States, this mite was discovered in this country by 1984. In addition to A. woodi, two other Acarapis species (A. dorsalis and A. externus) feed on honey bee hemolymph, but these are external parasites. These species also have moved out of Europe and, in 1960, were discovered in North America, Australia, New Zealand, and New Guinea.
