There are three known variants of Deformed Wing Virus, DWV-A, DWV-B, and DWV-C, of which the first two are vectored by the Varroa Destructor mite.

[7] The genome is 10140 nucleotides in length excluding the poly(A) tail and contains a single large open reading frame encoding a 328-kilo Dalton (kDA) polyprotein.

It may be involved in the inhibition of host cap-dependent mRNA translation and stimulation of viral internal ribosome entry site activity.

The virion is a 30-nm icosahedral particle consisting of the single positive-stranded RNA genome and three major structural proteins.

[5] The virus is concentrated in the heads and abdomens of infected adult bees with significantly reduced titres in the thorax.

The genome is detectable by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction in the head, thorax, abdomen and wings of infected bees.

[9] In the absence of mites the virus is thought to persist in the bee populations as a covert infection, transmitted orally between adults (nurse bees) since the virus can be detected in hypopharyngeal secretions (royal jelly) and broodfood and also vertically through the queen's ovaries and through drone sperm.

Thus V. destructor may not only be a concentrating vector of the virus but may also act as a replicating incubator, magnifying and increasing its effects on the bees and on the hive.

[12] In temperate regions, adult honey bee workers remain in the hive surrounding the queen until the following spring.

[13] The virus may also be transmitted from queen to egg and in regurgitated food sources, but in the absence of V. destructor this does not typically result in large numbers of deformed bees.

Furthermore, infected bees show impairment in an associative learning paradigm during acquisition and in the test for memory retention 2h and 24 hours after the training.