Tropilaelaps mite: New and emerging threat to our honeybees
19 Nov 2026
The Studio
Beekeepers in UK and Europe have been battling a parasitic mite called Varroa for 30 years. Now a new threat from a different mite called Tropilaelaps is spreading across Europe from the Far East. Tropilaelaps mite is much more pathogenic than Varroa in that it can cause a honeybee colony of 50,000 bees to collapse in three to six months as opposed to eighteen to twenty four months for Varroa. The natural history of Tropilaelaps is poorly understood especially with regard to spread. Very few of the treatments that are commonly used against Varroa work against Tropilaelaps..It is inevitable that this pathogen will reach the uK in the next five to ten years.Beekeeping practices will have to change as they have done in the Far East.
- Tropilaelaps is a highly pathogenic mite affecting Honey Bees.
- Very small and hard to see making diagnosis difficult.
- The Western Honey Bee has no defences against it at present.Few treatments used against Varroa mites, work against Tropilaelaps.
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