Identification of Varroa Mite Species of Honeybee, Apis mellifera in Khyber Pukhtunkhawa Peshawar, Pakistan

The study was conducted in the University of Agriculture, Peshawar Pakistan during the year 2014-15. Mite specimens were collected from the honeybee colonies from different regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa i.e. Peshawar, Mardan, Kohat and Chitral to discovered Varroa mite species. Identification was done by using key developed byDe-Guzman and Fernandez and Coineau, (2007), i.e. body size (length and width), location of seta, shape, size (i.e. bristle hair, stiff) on dorsal shield, chaetotaxy and structure of the sternal, metapodal, anal, and epigynal shields, periterme, morphology of setae on the legs and palps and its arrangement and number were observed. Results of the present study showed that the studied specimens were Varroa destructor, however, no Varrova jacobsoni were recorded during chaetotaxy and morphological studied. The study also confirms that V. jacobsoni population is not present in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region of Pakistan.