PCR-based detection of Acarapis mites in Iranian honey bee Apis mellifera meda (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

Acarapis mites are one of the world’s most important honey bee pests. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene to investigate the infestation of Iranian honey bee Apis mellifera meda populations with Acarapis species. From ۲۰۲۰ to ۲۰۲۲, bee workers were collected from apiaries across nine country provinces. The PCR assays were performed with four primer sets, and Acarapis-positive samples were sequenced to identify species. Acarapis woodi showed the highest infection rate, while A. dorsalis was less, and no infection with A. externus was observed. Different sets of primers were used in this investigation. Two primer sets showed different results: the prevalence of A. woodi ranged from ۵۸.۳۳ to ۷۵% with primer set ACR۲ and ۲۵ to ۵۰% with primer set ACR۱. This is the first report on the existence of Acarapis mites in Iranian A. mellifera based on molecular techniques.

Keywords:

Tracheal mites , Honey Bee , COI , Primer