Varroa mite on drone brood

Varroa mites were not something beekeepers had to deal with prior to the early 1990s. It is another pest that humans have bought into our continent that are detrimental to honeybees. In fact, varroa mites are what pretty much ended the casual backyard beekeeper in every neighborhood. So many people remember growing up and have a neighbor who had a bee hive or two. Since colony collapse disorder and the news coverage it has received, Many more people have become casual beekeepers in an effort to "help the bees".

You can see the maroon varroa mite on a drone larvae that was in the process of pupating. You can also notice how the larvae is not white and healthy as the other larvae.