Tropilaelapsosis affects honeybee larvae and pupae. It is caused by mites of the genus Tropilaelaps. The parasites feed on bee larvae and pupae, and cause malformation, death and subsequent swarming or colony decline. Tropilaelaps mites are common natural parasites of the giant honeybees distributed throughout Asia. Although Tropilaelaps spp. have not spread all around the world as have other bee pathogens, it represents a potential pathogen for the western honeybee Apis mellifera spp.