The parasitic mite, Varroa destructor has posed a threat to the health and survival of European honey bees, Apis mellifera worldwide. There is a prevailing belief that small comb cells could provide a management tool against Varroa mites. However, the hypothesis that smaller cells can impede Varroa reproduction has not been fully tested. Here, we tested this hypothesis under laboratory conditions by using two distinct Varroa in vitro rearing systems: one involved gelatin capsules of different sizes, specifically size 00 (0.95 mL) versus size 1 (0.48 mL), and the second consisted of brood comb cells drawn on 3D printed foundations with varying cell sizes, ranging from 5.0 mm to 7.0 mm at 0.5 mm intervals.

中文翻译：

---

大细胞抑制瓦螨的繁殖


寄生螨瓦螨对全世界欧洲蜜蜂（Apis mellifera）的健康和生存构成了威胁。人们普遍认为，小型梳状细胞可以提供针对瓦螨的管理工具。然而，较小的细胞会阻碍瓦螨繁殖的假设尚未得到充分检验。在这里，我们在实验室条件下通过使用两种不同的瓦螨体外饲养系统测试了这一假设：一个涉及不同尺寸的明胶胶囊，特别是尺寸 00 (0.95 mL) 与尺寸 1 (0.48 mL)，第二个由巢梳细胞组成在具有不同单元尺寸的 3D 打印基础上绘制，单元尺寸范围从 5.0 毫米到 7.0 毫米，间隔为 0.5 毫米。