Olfaction as well as gustation, are essential for animal survival, allowing behavioral modulation according to environmental input. We focused our study on an obligate ecto-parasitic mite of honey bees, the Varroa destructor Anderson and Trueman (Parasitiformes, Mesostigmata, Varroidae). By mechanically blocking the main olfactory organ on Varroa forelegs by varnishing with nail polish, we were able to show that other sensory organs cannot significantly compensate chemosensory abilities required for mite’s host selection, identification as well as reproduction. In fact, we found that mites with blocked forelegs had a significantly lower ability to reach a host bee than those with varnished idiosoma and unvarnished control. Furthermore, fewer foreleg blocked mites were feeding on the nurse bees and their reproduction in the brood cells was significantly impaired. The inhibition of reproduction was also reflected in altered expression levels of vitellogenin and vitellogenin receptor genes in foreleg-blocked mites.

中文翻译：

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Varroa螨的功能性坑器官有多重要？

嗅觉和味觉对于动物的生存至关重要，可以根据环境输入进行行为调节。我们将研究的重点放在蜜蜂的专性外寄生螨虫，Varroa破坏者安德森和特鲁曼（Parasitiformes，Mesostigmata，Varroidae）上。通过机械阻塞Varroa上的主要嗅觉器官通过用指甲油上光，我们的前肢能够证明其他感觉器官不能显着补偿螨的寄主选择，鉴定和繁殖所需的化学感觉能力。实际上，我们发现，前肢受阻的螨虫的成虫能力要比涂有特异肌瘤和未涂漆的对照的螨虫低得多。此外，较少的前肢被阻塞的螨虫以哺养的蜜蜂为食，并且它们在育雏细胞中的繁殖显着受损。繁殖的抑制还反映在前肢阻断的螨虫中卵黄蛋白原和卵黄蛋白原受体基因表达水平的改变。