Skip to main content
Back to Show
Deep Look

Varroa Mites Are a Honeybee's 8-Legged Nightmare

Season 10 Episode 14

Every year, up to half the honeybee colonies in the U.S. die. Varroa mites, the bees’ ghastly parasites, are one of the main culprits. After hitching a ride into a hive, a mite mom hides in a honeycomb cell, where she and her offspring feed on a growing bee. But beekeepers and scientists are helping honeybees fight back.

Support Provided By
Season
Watch Barn Owls Swallow Rodents Whole
4:55
Barn owls turn mice, gophers and voles into balls of fur and bones known as pellets.
Stop! Thief! Carpenter Bees are Notorious Nectar Robbers
4:02
It’s called nectar robbing: Bees get nectar, but don’t pollinate the plants in exchange.
Don't Go Chasing Water Bugs
3:49
Giant water bugs pack one of the most painful bites of any insect, but they're great dads.
This Freaky Fruit Fly Lays Eggs in Your Strawberries
4:33
The spotted wing drosophila may look like a common fruit fly, but it’s so much worse.
Silkworms Spin Cocoons That Spell Their Own Doom
5:13
Those precious silk garments in your closet were made by the caterpillars of a fuzzy moth.
Barnacles Go To Unbelievable Lengths to Hook Up
3:58
Barnacles might look like jagged little rocks, but they have a surprisingly wild sex life.
Honeypot Ants Turn Their Biggest Sisters Into Jugs of Nectar
4:36
Honeypot ants stuff members of their own colony until they look like tiny water balloons.
The Vinegaroon Sprays Acid to Foil Its Foes
4:25
What animal sprays acid that reeks of vinegar from its rear end? A vinegaroon, of course.
This Mushroom Fakes Its Own Death To Trick Flies
4:31
The cage fungus looks and smells like decaying meat — on purpose.
Flying Termites Take a Dangerous Journey to a New Life
5:12
Subterranean termites fly off in swarms, and then drop their wings to start new colonies.
Australian Walking Stick Insects Are Three Times Weirder Than You Think
4:59
A twig is actually just one of many disguises for the Australian walking stick insect.
Deep Look Season 8
4:46
They might look like harmless grasshoppers, but locusts have an appetite for destruction.
Active loading indicator