---
title: "Varroa Mite"
description: "Varroa destructor — Insects & spiders. Varroa destructor, the Varroa mite, is an external parasitic mite that attacks and feeds on honey bees and is one of the most damaging honey bee pests in the world."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/varroa-mite
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Varroa Mite

> Varroa destructor — Insects & spiders. Varroa destructor, the Varroa mite, is an external parasitic mite that attacks and feeds on honey bees and is one of the most damaging honey bee pests in the world.

- Scientific name: *Varroa destructor*
- Category: `insects` (Insects & spiders)
- Habitats: `farm` (Farm)
- iNaturalist observations: 367
- Wikidata: [Q48564](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q48564)
- iNaturalist taxon: [194693](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/194693)

## Names

- en: Varroa Mite
- de: Varroamilbe
- es: Garrapata de la abeja europea
- nl: Varroamijt

## Countries with the most observations

US (133), DE (15), AU (12), MX (12), NZ (11), CA (10), AT (9), ES (8), IT (8), GB (7), BE (6), NL (4)

## Summary

Varroa destructor, the Varroa mite, is an external parasitic mite that attacks and feeds on honey bees and is one of the most damaging honey bee pests in the world. A significant mite infestation leads to the death of a honey bee colony, usually in the late autumn through early spring. Without management for Varroa mite, honey bee colonies typically collapse within 2 to 3 years in temperate climates.  These mites can infest Apis mellifera, the western honey bee, and Apis cerana, the Asian honey bee. Since it is very similar physically to the closely related Varroa jacobsoni, these species were thought to be one prior…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varroa_destructor

## Photo

![Varroa Mite](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/varroa-mite/medium.jpg)

Photo: Mirko Ubović · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/321184470

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/varroa-mite?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).