TY - JOUR AU - Page, Robert E. TI - Blessing or curse? Varroa mite impacts Africanized bee spread and beekeeping JF - California Agriculture JO - Calif Agr Y1 - 1998/03/01 VL - 52 IS - 2 SP - 9 EP - 13 PB - University of California Agriculture and Nature Resources SN - 0008-0845 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.3733/ca.v052n02p9 L3 - 10.3733/ca.v052n02p9 AB - Africanized honey bees were first detected in California in October 1994. Since then, they have established a foothold in the Imperial Valley and have spread toward San Diego and into Palm Springs. However, their spread has been much slower than originally expected. What has slowed them? The best guess is Varroa jacobsoni, an exotic ectoparasite of honey bees recently introduced into North America. The effects of varroa on Africanized honey bees may be both a blessing and a curse; the latter is especially true if Africanized bees become resistant to varroa and commercial honey bees do not.