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.

狄斯瓦螨（Varroa destructor, Vd）是一种蜜蜂体外寄生虫。其原始宿主为东方蜜蜂（Apis cerana），但如今已对西方蜜蜂（Apis mellifera）构成全球性的严重威胁。既往研究表明，狄斯瓦螨可模拟宿主的表皮碳氢化合物（cuticular hydrocarbons, HC），借此逃避宿主蜜蜂的卫生行为。本研究通过在两种蜜蜂间转接螨类，进一步证实：当狄斯瓦螨被人工转接至新宿主时，其能够模拟新宿主的表皮碳氢化合物。源自东方蜜蜂的螨类，在模拟东方蜜蜂与西方蜜蜂的表皮碳氢化合物方面，均比源自西方蜜蜂的螨类更为高效。这种卓越的适应性或可解释狄斯瓦螨为何能在较近的时间内完成从东方蜜蜂到西方蜜蜂的宿主转换。