scholarly journals Introduction of Varroa destructor has not altered honey bee queen mating success in the Hawaiian archipelago

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren M. Rusert ◽  
Jeffrey S. Pettis ◽  
David R. Tarpy
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Mating Success ◽  
Varroa Destructor ◽  
Hawaiian Islands ◽  
Mating Frequency ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Varroa Mites ◽  
Queen Bees ◽  
Honey Bee Queen ◽  
Honey Bee Queens

AbstractBeekeepers struggle to minimize the mortality of their colonies as a consequence of the parasitic mite Varroa destructor in order to maintain a sustainable managed pollinator population. However, little is known about how varroa mites might diminish local populations of honey bee males (drones) that might affect the mating success of queens. As one of the world’s last localities invaded by varroa mites, the Hawaiian Islands offer a unique opportunity to examine this question by comparing queens mated on mite-infested and mite-free islands. We raised queen bees on four Hawaiian Islands (Kaua‘i, O‘ahu, Maui, and Hawai‘i) and subsequently collected their offspring to determine queen mating frequency and insemination success. No significant difference for mating success was found between the islands with and without varroa mites, and relatively high levels of polyandry was detected overall. We also found a significant association between the number of sperm stored in the queens’ spermathecae and the number of managed colonies within the localities of the queens mated. Our findings suggest that varroa mites, as they currently occur in Hawai‘i, may not significantly reduce mating success of honey bee queens, which provides insight for both the reproductive biology of honey bees as well as the apiculture industry in Hawai‘i.

Honey Bee Queens Do Not Count Mates to Assess their Mating Success

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 200-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Simone-Finstrom ◽  
David R. Tarpy
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Mating Success ◽  
Honey Bee Queens

scholarly journals Honey Bee Queens and Virus Infections

Viruses ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esmaeil Amiri ◽  
Micheline K. Strand ◽  
David R. Tarpy ◽  
Olav Rueppell
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Sublethal Effects ◽  
Reproductive Period ◽  
Virus Infections ◽  
Apparent Lack ◽  
Honey Bee Queen ◽  
Honey Bee Queens ◽  
Methodological Considerations ◽  
New Research ◽  
Paralysis Virus

The honey bee queen is the central hub of a colony to produce eggs and release pheromones to maintain social cohesion. Among many environmental stresses, viruses are a major concern to compromise the queen’s health and reproductive vigor. Viruses have evolved numerous strategies to infect queens either via vertical transmission from the queens’ parents or horizontally through the worker and drones with which she is in contact during development, while mating, and in the reproductive period in the colony. Over 30 viruses have been discovered from honey bees but only few studies exist on the pathogenicity and direct impact of viruses on the queen’s phenotype. An apparent lack of virus symptoms and practical problems are partly to blame for the lack of studies, and we hope to stimulate new research and methodological approaches. To illustrate the problems, we describe a study on sublethal effects of Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV) that led to inconclusive results. We conclude by discussing the most crucial methodological considerations and novel approaches for studying the interactions between honey bee viruses and their interactions with queen health.

Gene expression in honey bee (Apis mellifera) larvae exposed to pesticides and Varroa mites (Varroa destructor)

2012 ◽  
Vol 58 (8) ◽  
pp. 1042-1049 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleš Gregorc ◽  
Jay D. Evans ◽  
Mike Scharf ◽  
James D. Ellis
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Varroa Destructor ◽  
Varroa Mites

scholarly journals Brood removal or queen caging combined with oxalic acid treatment to control varroa mites (Varroa destructor) in honey bee colonies (Apis mellifera)

Apidologie ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 48 (6) ◽  
pp. 821-832 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleš Gregorc ◽  
Mohamed Alburaki ◽  
Chris Werle ◽  
Patricia R. Knight ◽  
John Adamczyk
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Oxalic Acid ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Varroa Destructor ◽  
Acid Treatment ◽  
Varroa Mites ◽  
Bee Colonies

scholarly journals Virus Status, Varroa Levels, and Survival of 20 Managed Honey Bee Colonies Monitored in Luxembourg Between the Summer of 2011 and the Spring of 2013

2015 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoine Clermont ◽  
Matias Pasquali ◽  
Michael Eickermann ◽  
François Kraus ◽  
Lucien Hoffmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Varroa Destructor ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Deformed Wing Virus ◽  
Sacbrood Virus ◽  
Queen Cell ◽  
Varroa Mites ◽  
Kashmir Bee Virus ◽  
Bee Colonies ◽  
Paralysis Virus

Abstract Twenty managed honey bee colonies, split between 5 apiaries with 4 hives each, were monitored between the summer of 2011 and spring of 2013. Living bees were sampled in July 2011, July 2012, and August 2012. Twenty-five, medium-aged bees, free of varroa mites, were pooled per colony and date, to form one sample. Unlike in France and Belgium, Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus (CBPV) has not been found in Luxembourg. Slow Bee Paralysis Virus (SBPV) and Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV) levels were below detection limits. Traces of Kashmir Bee Virus (KBV) were amplified. Black Queen Cell Virus (BQCV), Varroa destructor Virus-1 (VDV-1), and SacBrood Virus (SBV) were detected in all samples and are reported from Luxembourg for the first time. Varroa destructor Macula- Like Virus (VdMLV), Deformed Wing Virus (DWV), and Acute Bee Paralysis Virus (ABPV) were detected at all locations, and in most but not all samples. There was a significant increase in VDV-1 and DWV levels within the observation period. A principal component analysis was unable to separate the bees of colonies that survived the following winter from bees that died, based on their virus contents in summer. The number of dead varroa mites found below colonies was elevated in colonies that died in the following winter. Significant positive relationships were found between the log-transformed virus levels of the bees and the log-transformed number of mites found below the colonies per week, for VDV-1 and DWV. Sacbrood virus levels were independent of varroa levels, suggesting a neutral or competitive relationship between this virus and varroa.

scholarly journals Genomic signatures of honey bee association in an acetic acid symbiont

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric A. Smith ◽  
Irene L. G. Newton
Keyword(s):  
Acetic Acid ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Acetic Acid Bacterium ◽  
Genomic Changes ◽  
Genomic Signatures ◽  
Us Economy ◽  
Honey Bee Queen ◽  
Honey Bee Queens

AbstractHoney bee queens are central to the success and productivity of their colonies; queens are the only reproductive members of the colony, and therefore queen longevity and fecundity can directly impact overall colony health. Recent declines in the health of the honey bee have startled researchers and lay people alike as honey bees are agriculture’s most important pollinator. Honey bees are important pollinators of many major crops and add billions of dollars annually to the US economy through their services. One factor that may influence queen and colony health is the microbial community. Although honey bee worker guts have a characteristic community of bee-specific microbes, the honey bee queen digestive tracts are colonized by a few bacteria, notably an acetic acid bacterium not seen in worker guts: Bombella apis. This bacterium is related to flower-associated microbes such as Saccharibacter floricola and other species in the genus Saccharibacter, and initial phylogenetic analyses placed it as sister to these environmental bacteria. We used comparative genomics of multiple honey bee-associated strains and the nectar-associated Saccharibacter to identify genomic changes associated with the ecological transition to bee association. We identified several genomic differences in the honey bee-associated strains, including a complete CRISPR/Cas system. Many of the changes we note here are predicted to confer upon them the ability to survive in royal jelly and defend themselves against mobile elements, including phages. Our results are a first step towards identifying potential benefits provided by the honey bee queen microbiota to the colony’s matriarch.

scholarly journals The effect of thyme (Thymus caucasicus) ethanol extract on Varroa mite (Varroa destructor), an ectoparasite mite of Apis mellifera meda (Hym: Apidae)

Biologija ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ataollah Rahimi ◽  
Yaser Khoram Del ◽  
Farzad Moradpour
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bees ◽  
Varroa Destructor ◽  
Ethanol Extract ◽  
Control Treatment ◽  
Varroa Mite ◽  
Brood Chamber ◽  
Synthetic Chemicals ◽  
Risk Of Mortality ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Varroa Mites

Chemical control of the Varroa mite (Varroa destructor), which is one of the most important pests of honey bees, is practiced on a worldwide scale. However, because of abundant use of different acaricides, the mites have become resistant to many of them. We chose to apply non-synthetic chemicals for control of Varroa mites by using thyme (Thymus caucasicus) ethanol extract on honey bees. In September-October 2013, we collected wild thyme growing in Kurdistan mountains, ground it, and its ethanol extract was made by using 95% ethylic alcohol. We used a randomized complete design with ten treatments of different concentrations of ethanol extract of thyme as a statistical model and one control with pure 95% ethanol with four replications. The interior temperature of the brood chamber was measured to be 30 ± 1°C, and the ambient temperature surrounding them was 33 ± 2°C. We sprayed the extracted thyme solution on honey bees and counted the number of dead mites by picking them out from the bottom board of each hive at every 12 h, 24 h, and 48 h intervals after spraying. The results showed that the use of the thyme extract influenced significantly the percentage of mortality of dead mites in the extract-sprayed treatment and the control treatment. The percentage of mortality of the honey bees in control hives and the honey bees treated by thyme ethanol extract did not have a significant difference. Results of our experiment using ethanol extract of thyme showed that its use in hives was safe without a high risk of mortality for honey bees.

scholarly journals Evaluating toxicity of Varroa mite (Varroa destructor)-active dsRNA to monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) larvae

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. e0251884
Author(s):  
Niranjana Krishnan ◽  
Maura J. Hall ◽  
Richard L. Hellmich ◽  
Joel R. Coats ◽  
Steven P. Bradbury
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Base Pair ◽  
Varroa Destructor ◽  
Sublethal Effects ◽  
Larval Mortality ◽  
Danaus Plexippus ◽  
Monarch Butterfly ◽  
Varroa Mite ◽  
Colony Losses ◽  
Varroa Mites

Varroa mites (Varroa destructor) are parasitic mites that, combined with other factors, are contributing to high levels of honey bee (Apis mellifera) colony losses. A Varroa-active dsRNA was recently developed to control Varroa mites within honey bee brood cells. This dsRNA has 372 base pairs that are homologous to a sequence region within the Varroa mite calmodulin gene (cam). The Varroa-active dsRNA also shares a 21-base pair match with monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) calmodulin mRNA, raising the possibility of non-target effects if there is environmental exposure. We chronically exposed the entire monarch larval stage to common (Asclepias syriaca) and tropical (Asclepias curassavica) milkweed leaves treated with concentrations of Varroa-active dsRNA that are one- and ten-fold higher than those used to treat honey bee hives. This corresponded to concentrations of 0.025–0.041 and 0.211–0.282 mg/g leaf, respectively. Potassium arsenate and a previously designed monarch-active dsRNA with a 100% base pair match to the monarch v-ATPase A mRNA (leaf concentration was 0.020–0.034 mg/g) were used as positive controls. The Varroa mite and monarch-active dsRNA’s did not cause significant differences in larval mortality, larval or pupal development, pupal weights, or adult eclosion rates when compared to negative controls. Irrespective of control or dsRNA treatment, larvae that consumed approximately 7500 to 10,500-mg milkweed leaf within 10 to 12 days had the highest pupal weights. The lack of mortality and sublethal effects following dietary exposure to dsRNA with 21-base pair and 100% base pair match to mRNAs that correspond to regulatory genes suggest monarch mRNA may be refractory to silencing by dsRNA or monarch dsRNase may degrade dsRNA to a concentration that is insufficient to silence mRNA signaling.

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