It lies motionless in the liquid and waits for the cell to be capped. After the cell has been capped, the mite attaches itself to the developing bee larva and begins to feed on the larval haemolymph. In severe infestations, several mites may enter a single cell. Mating takes place within the cell and four days after the cell has been capped, the mite begins to lay single eggs at thirty hour intervals. The Varroa mite matures to an adult within eight days and the female mites emerge with the eclosing adult bee.
Male mites die within the brood cells.
The adult female mite is about 1.1mm long, 1.5mm wide, and reddish-brown in color. It is important to note that the bee louse, Braula coeca, resembles Varroa jacobsoni in size and color, but Braula coeca has six legs rather than eight. The Varroa mite causes reduced life expectancy of bees, due to microbial invasions, and causes bees to emerge as adults with shortened abdomens, misshapen wings, deformed legs and weighing less than healthy bees. Varroa mites can easily be seen on pupae after removal of cell cappings. With a sharp knife remove cappings and dislodge the pupae onto a clean white surface.