Saw this last night and I can’t figure out what’s going on. It look so to me as some sort of grooming but I have never seen this before.
What is it?
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It looks like some kind of grooming taking place. Keep in mind there are 170 kinds of mites that live with bees and many are too small to see with the naked eye. There are four common ones that are microscopic and that live on and in the bee.
Acarapis dorsalis = Mite that lives on honey bees that is indistinguishable from Tracheal mites (Acarapis woodi). It is classified differently simply based on the location where it is found, on the back.
Acarapis externus = Mite that lives on honey bees that is indistinguishable from Tracheal mites (Acarapis woodi). It is classified differently simply based on the location where it is found, on the neck.
Acarapis vagans = Mite that lives on honey bees that is indistinguishable from Tracheal mites (Acarapis woodi). It is classified differently simply based on the location where it is found, usually on the wings.
Acarapis woodi = Tracheal Mite, which infests the bees’ trachea; sometimes called Acarine Disease or Isle of Wight disease.
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Wow, fantastic work, catching this video!! Wonderful to see, thank you 
I love your bee videos, thank you for all of the effort.