First observation of Tropilaelaps mercedesae (Mesostigmata: Laelapidae) on Western honey bees (Apis mellifera) exiting colonies

Tropilaelaps mercedesae (Delfinado and Baker) is an emerging parasitic mite that can severely impact the Western honey bee (Apis mellifera L.). While T. mercedesae appears to have been detected in a larger geographical range, the routes of inter-colony dispersal between A. mellifera colonies are still largely unknown. In this study, we used funnel traps to collect foraging honey bees exiting their colonies before performing an alcohol wash to collect any phoretic T. mercedesae mites. We found T. mercedesae on exiting adult bees but only when colonies had elevated T. mercedesae infestations. We show for the first time that T. mercedesae can exit colonies through phoresy on adult A. mellifera which demonstrates the potential of these mites to be spread through movement of honey bees among colonies.

Methods
The data was collected during the field experiment sessions. Data was collected on paper and entered as a .csv file on Excel. Tables to display the data were created in Excel.