Data from: Varroa destructor changes cuticular hydrocarbons to mimic its new host.

Varroa destructor (Vd) is a honeybee ectoparasite. Its original host is
the Asian honeybee, Apis cerana, but it has also become a severe, global
threat to the European honeybee, Apis mellifera. Previous studies have
shown that Varroa can mimic a host's cuticular hydrocarbons (HC),
enabling the parasite to escape the hygienic behaviour of the host
honeybees. By transferring mites between the two honeybee species, we
further demonstrate that Vd is able to mimic the cuticular HC of a novel
host species when artificially transferred to this new host. Mites
originally from A. cerana are more efficient than mites from A. mellifera
in mimicking HC of both A. cerana and A. mellifera. This remarkable
adaptability may explain their relatively recent host-shift from A. cerana
to A. mellifera.