Non-honey bees

There are many mites associated with bees. When we see some on the bee’s body, we often assume that they are harmful. But actually, they might be not harmful or even benficial for them. Many species of mites live in bee nests and they might forage on the pollen or larvae (thus being harmful), on leftovers (being neutral – or beneficial as they are cleaning the nest) or hunting other, harmful mites (being certainly beneficial). The individuals which we see on bees, are usually dispersing life stages, which aren’t parasites sucking bee haemolymph or don’t hurt it in any way – unless they are in so large number that they make flight difficult.

In some bees, the connection with mites is so tight that they even have special places on their bodies where mites are transported.