scholarly journals Hydroxymethylfurfural Affects Caged Honey Bees (Apis mellifera carnica)

Diversity ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleš Gregorc ◽  
Snežana Jurišić ◽  
Blair Sampson
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Immunohistochemical Analysis ◽  
Cellular Level ◽  
High Concentration ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Apis Mellifera Carnica ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Bee Health

A high concentration of hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) (e.g., 15 mg HMF per kg honey) indicates quality deterioration for a wide range of foods. In honey bee colonies, HMF in stored honey can negatively affect bee health and survival. Therefore, in the laboratory, we experimentally determined the effects of HMF on the longevity and midgut integrity of worker Apis mellifera carnica by feeding bees standard diets containing five concentrations of HMF (100, 500, 1000, and 1500 ppm). Simultaneously, we also examined HMF’s effect on Nosema ceranae spore counts within infected honey bees. We performed an immunohistochemical analysis of the honey bee midgut to determine possible changes at the cellular level. No correlation was established between HMF concentration and N. ceranae spore counts. Negative effects of HMF on bees were not observed in the first 15 days of exposure. However, after 15 to 30 days of exposure, HMF caused midgut cells to die and an increased mortality of honey bee workers across treatment groups.

scholarly journals Deformed Wing Virus Infection in Honey Bees (Apis mellifera L.)

2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 636-641 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roman V. Koziy ◽  
Sarah C. Wood ◽  
Ivanna V. Kozii ◽  
Claire Janse van Rensburg ◽  
Igor Moshynskyy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Rna Virus ◽  
Mandibular Glands ◽  
Deformed Wing Virus ◽  
Clinically Normal ◽  
Bee Health ◽  
Honey Bee Health ◽  
Honey Bee Workers

Deformed wing virus (DWV) is a single-stranded RNA virus of honey bees ( Apis mellifera L.) transmitted by the parasitic mite Varroa destructor. Although DWV represents a major threat to honey bee health worldwide, the pathological basis of DWV infection is not well documented. The objective of this study was to investigate clinicopathological and histological aspects of natural DWV infection in honey bee workers. Emergence of worker honey bees was observed in 5 colonies that were clinically affected with DWV and the newly emerged bees were collected for histopathology. DWV-affected bees were 2 times slower to emerge and had 30% higher mortality compared to clinically normal bees. Hypopharyngeal glands in bees with DWV were hypoplastic, with fewer intracytoplasmic secretory vesicles; cells affected by apoptosis were observed more frequently. Mandibular glands were hypoplastic and were lined by cuboidal epithelium in severely affected bees compared to tall columnar epithelium in nonaffected bees. The DWV load was on average 1.7 × 106 times higher ( P < .001) in the severely affected workers compared to aged-matched sister honey bee workers that were not affected by deformed wing disease based on gross examination. Thus, DWV infection is associated with prolonged emergence, increased mortality during emergence, and hypoplasia of hypopharyngeal and mandibular glands in newly emerged worker honey bees in addition to previously reported deformed wing abnormalities.

scholarly journals Characterisation of the UK honey bee (Apis mellifera) metagenome

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Regan ◽  
Mark W. Barnett ◽  
Dominik R. Laetsch ◽  
Stephen J. Bush ◽  
David Wragg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Molecular Ecology ◽  
Emerging Pathogens ◽  
Complex Product ◽  
Bee Health ◽  
Honey Bee Health ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Bee Colonies

AbstractThe European honey bee (Apis mellifera) plays a major role in pollination and food production, but is under threat from emerging pathogens and agro-environmental insults. As with other organisms, honey bee health is a complex product of environment, host genetics and associated microbes (commensal, opportunistic and pathogenic). Improved understanding of bee genetics and their molecular ecology can help manage modern challenges to bee health and production. Sampling bee and cobiont genomes, we characterised the metagenome of 19 honey bee colonies across Britain. Low heterozygosity was observed in bees from many Scottish colonies, sharing high similarity to the native dark bee, A. mellifera mellifera. Apiaries exhibited high diversity in the composition and relative abundance of individual microbiome taxa. Most non-bee sequences derived from known honey bee commensal bacteria or known pathogens, e.g. Lotmaria passim (Trypanosomatidae), and Nosema spp. (Microsporidia). However, DNA was also detected from numerous additional bacterial, plant (food source), protozoan and metazoan organisms. To classify sequences from cobionts lacking genomic information, we developed a novel network analysis approach clustering orphan contigs, allowing the identification of a pathogenic gregarine. Our analyses demonstrate the power of high-throughput, directed metagenomics in agroecosystems identifying potential threats to honey bees present in their microbiota.

scholarly journals Perspectives on hygienic behavior in Apis mellifera and other social insects

Apidologie ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marla Spivak ◽  
Robert G. Danka
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Social Insects ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Hygienic Behavior ◽  
Bee Health ◽  
Honey Bee Health ◽  
Behavioral Mechanisms ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractHygienic behavior in honey bees, Apis mellifera, has been studied for over 80 years with the aim of understanding mechanisms of pathogen and parasite resistance and colony health. This review emphasizes the underlying behavioral mechanisms of hygienic behavior in honey bees and when known, in other social insects. We explore the relationship between honey bee hygienic behavior toward diseased brood and Varroa-parasitized brood (Varroa-sensitive hygiene, VSH); the timing of hygienic removal of diseased, Varroa-infested, and virus-infected brood relative to risk of transmission that can affect colony fitness; and the methods, utility, and odorants associated with different assays used to select colonies for resistance to diseases and Varroa. We also provide avenues for future research that would benefit honey bee health and survivorship.

scholarly journals The Gut Microbiota Can Provide Viral Tolerance in the Honey Bee

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 871
Author(s):  
Christopher Dosch ◽  
Anja Manigk ◽  
Tabea Streicher ◽  
Anja Tehel ◽  
Robert J. Paxton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Positive Role ◽  
Viral Pathogen ◽  
Deformed Wing Virus ◽  
Bee Health ◽  
Honey Bee Health

Adult honey bees host a remarkably consistent gut microbial community that is thought to benefit host health and provide protection against parasites and pathogens. Currently, however, we lack experimental evidence for the causal role of the gut microbiota in protecting the Western honey bees (Apis mellifera) against their viral pathogens. Here we set out to fill this knowledge gap by investigating how the gut microbiota modulates the virulence of a major honey bee viral pathogen, deformed wing virus (DWV). We found that, upon oral virus exposure, honey bee survival was significantly increased in bees with an experimentally established normal gut microbiota compared to control bees with a perturbed (dysbiotic) gut microbiota. Interestingly, viral titers were similar in bees with normal gut microbiota and dysbiotic bees, pointing to higher viral tolerance in bees with normal gut microbiota. Taken together, our results provide evidence for a positive role of the gut microbiota for honey bee fitness upon viral infection. We hypothesize that environmental stressors altering honey bee gut microbiota composition, e.g., antibiotics in beekeeping or pesticides in modern agriculture, could interact synergistically with pathogens, leading to negative effects on honey bee health and the epidemiology and impact of their viruses.

scholarly journals Prevalence and distribution of Nosema ceranae in Croatian honeybee colonies

2010 ◽  
Vol 55 (No. 9) ◽  
pp. 457-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Tlak Gajger ◽  
O. Vugrek ◽  
D. Grilec ◽  
Z. Petrinec
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Microscopic Examination ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Nosema Ceranae ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Microsporidian Parasite ◽  
Nosema Species ◽  
Nosema Disease ◽  
Bee Colonies

Nosema disease of European honey bees afflicts bees worldwide. Nosema ceranae is a recently described microsporidian parasite of the honey bee (Apis mellifera) and its geographical distribution is not well known. The disease may have many negative effects on bee colonies and cause high losses for apiculture and consequently in agriculture. With this in mind, a total of 204 samples of dead bees from different localities in Croatia were selected and investigated for distribution, prevalence and diversity of N. ceranae infection, using light microscopic examination and multiplex PCR. Our results show that N. ceranae is the only nosema species found to infect honeybees in our geographically varied collection. The nucleotide sequences of amplicons from Nosema-infested honeybee samples were 100% identical with the N. ceranae sequence deposited in the GenBank database. N. ceranae infected bees were found in samples collected from each of 21 districts, and in all three climatic areas, i.e., mediterranean, mountain, and continental parts regions of Croatia.

scholarly journals Pathogens Spillover from Honey Bees to Other Arthropods

Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 1044 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Nanetti ◽  
Laura Bortolotti ◽  
Giovanni Cilia
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Host Species ◽  
Close Contact ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Geographic Area ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Final Host ◽  
Wide Range

Honey bees, and pollinators in general, play a major role in the health of ecosystems. There is a consensus about the steady decrease in pollinator populations, which raises global ecological concern. Several drivers are implicated in this threat. Among them, honey bee pathogens are transmitted to other arthropods populations, including wild and managed pollinators. The western honey bee, Apis mellifera, is quasi-globally spread. This successful species acted as and, in some cases, became a maintenance host for pathogens. This systematic review collects and summarizes spillover cases having in common Apis mellifera as the mainteinance host and some of its pathogens. The reports are grouped by final host species and condition, year, and geographic area of detection and the co-occurrence in the same host. A total of eighty-one articles in the time frame 1960–2021 were included. The reported spillover cases cover a wide range of hymenopteran host species, generally living in close contact with or sharing the same environmental resources as the honey bees. They also involve non-hymenopteran arthropods, like spiders and roaches, which are either likely or unlikely to live in close proximity to honey bees. Specific studies should consider host-dependent pathogen modifications and effects on involved host species. Both the plasticity of bee pathogens and the ecological consequences of spillover suggest a holistic approach to bee health and the implementation of a One Health approach.

Survey of feral honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies for Nosema apis in Western Australia

2007 ◽  
Vol 47 (7) ◽  
pp. 883 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rob Manning ◽  
Kate Lancaster ◽  
April Rutkay ◽  
Linda Eaton
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Nosema Apis ◽  
The South ◽  
South West ◽  
Feral Populations ◽  
Significant Difference

The parasite, Nosema apis, was found to be widespread among feral populations of honey bees (Apis mellifera) in the south-west of Western Australia. The location, month of collection and whether the feral colony was enclosed in an object or exposed to the environment, all affected the presence and severity of infection. There was no significant difference in the probability of infection between managed and feral bees. However, when infected by N. apis, managed bees appeared to have a greater severity of the infection.

scholarly journals Exploring Two Honey Bee Traits for Improving Resistance Against Varroa destructor: Development and Genetic Evaluation

Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 216
Author(s):  
Matthieu Guichard ◽  
Benoît Droz ◽  
Evert W. Brascamp ◽  
Adrien von Virag ◽  
Markus Neuditschko ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Varroa Destructor ◽  
Field Trial ◽  
Genetic Evaluation ◽  
Phenotypic Correlation ◽  
Apis Mellifera Mellifera ◽  
Novel Traits ◽  
Resistance Traits

For the development of novel selection traits in honey bees, applicability under field conditions is crucial. We thus evaluated two novel traits intended to provide resistance against the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor and to allow for their straightforward implementation in honey bee selection. These traits are new field estimates of already-described colony traits: brood recapping rate (‘Recapping’) and solidness (‘Solidness’). ‘Recapping’ refers to a specific worker characteristic wherein they reseal a capped and partly opened cell containing a pupa, whilst ‘Solidness’ assesses the percentage of capped brood in a predefined area. According to the literature and beekeepers’ experiences, a higher recapping rate and higher solidness could be related to resistance to V. destructor. During a four-year field trial in Switzerland, the two resistance traits were assessed in a total of 121 colonies of Apis mellifera mellifera. We estimated the repeatability and the heritability of the two traits and determined their phenotypic correlations with commonly applied selection traits, including other putative resistance traits. Both traits showed low repeatability between different measurements within each year. ‘Recapping’ had a low heritability (h2 = 0.04 to 0.05, depending on the selected model) and a negative phenotypic correlation to non-removal of pin-killed brood (r = −0.23). The heritability of ‘Solidness’ was moderate (h2 = 0.24 to 0.25) and did not significantly correlate with resistance traits. The two traits did not show an association with V. destructor infestation levels. Further research is needed to confirm the results, as only a small number of colonies was evaluated.

scholarly journals Comparing Survival of Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus Infection among Stocks of U.S. Honey Bees

Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 60
Author(s):  
Shilpi Bhatia ◽  
Saman S. Baral ◽  
Carlos Vega Melendez ◽  
Esmaeil Amiri ◽  
Olav Rueppell
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Virus Infections ◽  
Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus ◽  
Immune Genes ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Bee Health ◽  
Honey Bee Health ◽  
Survival Differences ◽  
Paralysis Virus

Among numerous viruses that infect honey bees (Apis mellifera), Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV) can be linked to severe honey bee health problems. Breeding for virus resistance may improve honey bee health. To evaluate the potential for this approach, we compared the survival of IAPV infection among stocks from the U.S. We complemented the survival analysis with a survey of existing viruses in these stocks and assessing constitutive and induced expression of immune genes. Worker offspring from selected queens in a common apiary were inoculated with IAPV by topical applications after emergence to assess subsequent survival. Differences among stocks were small compared to variation within stocks, indicating the potential for improving honey bee survival of virus infections in all stocks. A positive relation between worker survival and virus load among stocks further suggested that honey bees may be able to adapt to better cope with viruses, while our molecular studies indicate that toll-6 may be related to survival differences among virus-infected worker bees. Together, these findings highlight the importance of viruses in queen breeding operations and provide a promising starting point for the quest to improve honey bee health by selectively breeding stock to be better able to survive virus infections.

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