# Life-history stage determines the diet of ectoparasitic mites on their honey bee hosts

*PRI Rank #5 · Topics and Trends in Most Cited Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior Papers, Class of 2026*

*Canonical URL: https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/insect-and-arachnid-ecology-and-behavior/2026/rank-5*

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Rank | #5 |
| 18m citations | 47 |
| Journal | Nature Communications |
| Year | 2024 |
| DOI | 10.1038/s41467-024-44915-x |
| Corresponding authors | Olav Rueppell, Shufa Xu |
| Institution | Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China |

**Ranking page:** [Topics and Trends in Most Cited Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior Papers, Class of 2026](https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/insect-and-arachnid-ecology-and-behavior/2026)

**Paper link:** [10.1038/s41467-024-44915-x](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-44915-x)

## Topics

Varroa destructor · Tropilaelaps mercedesae · ectoparasitic mites · honey bee hosts · life-history stage specialization · dispersal stage · reproductive stage · fat body feeding · hemolymph feeding · adult bee hosts · honey bee pupae · biostaining · proteomic comparison · wound analysis · Metabolomic profiling · amino acid metabolism · protein synthesis · lipid metabolism · within-host dietary specialization · Parasite-host interactions

## Cite this ranking

```
Pepkio Research Index (PRI). Topics and Trends in Most Cited Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior Papers, Class of 2026. https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/insect-and-arachnid-ecology-and-behavior/2026. Accessed 2026-07-21.

Zheng Su, Tinsley Li, Thematic Shifts in Early-High-Impact Cancer Genomics and Diagnostics Research: A Bibliometric and Semantic Analysis. bioRxiv 2026.07.04.736459; doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.07.04.736459
```