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Summary
The potential parasitism of Apis mellifera L. (Honeybee) by the colony co-habitant Melittiphis alvearius (Berlese) was investigated by analysing homogenates of the mite for bee-derived antigens with a sensitive indirect immuno-dot procedure. This method revealed that the mite contained pollen and bee-derived antigens, but the latter were bee salivary antigens. These findings show that the mite is not parasitic on bees but rather is a scavenger of pollen within bee colonies.