A lecture given by Jeff Pettis at the 2022 National Honey Show entitled “Bee that survive Varroa”. The National Honey Show gratefully acknowledge the Worshipful Company of Wax Chandlers for their support and Bucks County BKA for their sponsorship.

Varroa mites are a major threat to bees and beekeeping but not all bees are damaged by these mites. Why is this? Some bees evolved with the mite such as the Asian honey bee Apis cerana and they have unique defence mechanisms not found in European honey bees Apis mellifera. I will report on one of these populations, from Brittany France, and discuss possible resistance mechanisms that honey bees use to fight varroa.

I grew up in a farm community in rural Georgia in the US and fell in love with bees and beekeeping as a student at the University of Georgia. After completing my studies at Georgia in 1985 and Texas A&M in 1991, I joined the USDAAgricultural Research Service as a scientist and worked in that role for over 20 years. I published on bee biology, varroa control, the effects of pesticides on bees and CCD. I left USDA in 2016 and now run a consulting business on bee health and manage around 100 colonies of bees with my son Kevin in Salisbury, MD USA where I live. In my spare time I serve as President of Apimondia and enjoy birding and kayaking.