Braula Coeca (Bee Louse) by mickuk50

Photography • Insects • posted on May 18, 2009

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Description

Evening all :o) At first I thought this was the Varroa Mite which is affecting Bees at an alaming rate ,so I did some investigating and I believe this is the Bee Louse (Braula).Braula is a six legged insect or more precisely a wingless fly .It is remarkably similar to the Varroa mite (an arachnid with eight legs) at first glance due to its colouration, size and form, but on closer inspection the similarities disappear . Thanks for taking a look and take care :o).. Mick

Comments (18)

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texboy

3:14PM | Mon, 18 May 2009

scary and wonderful, Mick; allow me to quote the British mathematician Augustus de Morgan: “Great fleas have little fleas upon their backs to bite ‘em, And little fleas have lesser fleas, and so ad infinitum."

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emmecielle

3:15PM | Mon, 18 May 2009

fantastic macro, Mick! :)

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durleybeachbum

3:17PM | Mon, 18 May 2009

A brilliant shot, Mick! My Mum used to spend ages with tweezers ridding bumbles of these pests! This is a super pic, the clearest I've ever seen them. SUPERB!

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flora-crassella

3:21PM | Mon, 18 May 2009

great macro! I saw these or similar "animals" also on bumblebees....

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Dreamingbee

3:25PM | Mon, 18 May 2009

boah .. amazing !!!!!!!!!

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CavalierLady

3:39PM | Mon, 18 May 2009

I had no idea that bees were plagued with mites... fascinating macro, Mick!

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flavia49

4:09PM | Mon, 18 May 2009

scary macro!!

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GBCalls

6:02PM | Mon, 18 May 2009

What we never see until the camera reveals. Excellent

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timtripp

6:13PM | Mon, 18 May 2009

excellent macro mick

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MrsRatbag

7:29PM | Mon, 18 May 2009

Wow! Incredible macro shot! I never knew they had these, is there anything that can be done to rid them of the pests, other than picking them off with tweezers?

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beachzz

12:59AM | Tue, 19 May 2009

Wow, what a macro--I've never heard of these things, they sound pretty nasty.

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Bossie_Boots

2:04AM | Tue, 19 May 2009

Fantastic close up superb capture and interesting have a gooda day hugs lou x

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JeffG7BRJ

3:44AM | Tue, 19 May 2009

I have heard that the honey bee is in great danger in the UK Mick, I'm not sure it is this pest that threatens them or the other, but a lot of bee keepers are loosing their bees to some pest. Fantastic macro, you are getting better and better at these sort of shots mate. Bravo!!!!! Fav

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