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The ectoparasitic mite  Varroa destructor  is one of the main plagues of honey bees  Apis mellifera . Grooming behavior is a resistance mechanism through which parasitized bees can dislodge mites by themselves (autogrooming) or by the action of other bees (allogrooming). The objective of this study was to evaluate grooming behavior in Italian ( A. m. ligustica)  and Africanized (hybrids of  A. m. scutellata ) bees at the individual, group, and colony levels. Firstly, five behaviors were recorded observing bees individually placed on a Petri dish and after placing a mite on their thorax. Secondly, 30 bees of each colony were placed in a Petri dish along with 20 mites and 24 h later fallen mites were counted. Lastly, the proportion of injured mites collected in the hive floor was determined. At the individual level, Africanized bees showed a higher total number of reaction behaviors to  V. destructor  than did Italian bees ( U  = 182.5;  p  = 0.02). Groups of Italian bees could dislodge 60.8 ± 20.0% of mites and Africanized bees dislodged 65.9 ± 15.6% of mites, without showing significant differences ( t  = 0.735;  p  = 0.47). Colonies of Africanized bees showed a higher proportion of injured mites (29.0 ± 8.6%) than colonies of Italian bees did (17.7 ± 9.8%) ( t  = 2.92;  p  = 0.009). Africanized bees are characterized by presenting higher resistance to  V. destructor  than European bees. This study shows that such difference can be, partly due to grooming behavior. The importance of auto and allogrooming regarding resistance to  V. destructor  is discussed.

Multilevel assessment of grooming behavior against Varroa destructor in Italian and Africanized honey bees