In Italy a nation-wide monitoring network was established in 2009 in response to significant honey bee colony mortality reported during 2008. The network comprised of approximately 100 apiaries located across Italy. Colonies were sampled four times per year, in order to assess the health status and to collect samples for pathogen, chemical and pollen analyses. The prevalence of Nosema ceranae r...

Nutrition is an important component of social insect colony health especially in the face stressors such as parasitism and viral infections. Honey bees are known to preferentially select nectar pollen based on macronutrient phytochemical contents response pathogen loads. However, given that honey live colonies, collective foraging decisions may be impacted directly by forager infection status b...

The honey bee ectoparasitic mite, Varroa destructor, has a world-wide distribution and inflicts more damage than all other known apicultural diseases. However, Varroa-induced colony mortality is more accurately a result of secondary virus infections vectored by the mite. This means that honey bee resistance to Varroa may include resistance or tolerance to virus infections. The aim of this study...

The worldwide decline in honeybee colonies during the past 50 years has often been linked to the spread of the parasitic mite Varroa destructor and its interaction with certain honeybee viruses. Recently in the United States, dramatic honeybee losses (colony collapse disorder) have been reported; however, there remains no clear explanation for these colony losses, with parasitic mites, viruses,...

Honey bee virus prevalence data are an essential prerequisite for managing epidemic events in a population. A survey study was carried out for seven viruses in colonies representing a healthy Danish honey bee population. In addition, colonies from apiaries with high level Varroa infestation or high level of winter mortality were also surveyed. Results from RT-qPCR showed a considerable differen...

The complete nucleotide sequence of a novel virus is presented here together with serological evidence that it belongs to Kashmir bee virus (KBV). Analysis reveals that KBV is a cricket paralysis-like virus (family Dicistroviridae: genus Cripavirus), with a non-structural polyprotein open reading frame in the 5' portion of the genome separated by an intergenic region from a structural polyprote...

Abstract Varroa destructor parasitism is associated with extreme honey bee ( Apis mellifera ) colony losses in the northern hemisphere. causes severe damage, including a decrease longevity and immunosuppression, acts as vector for viruses, such Deformed wing virus (DWV-A). The surveillance of viral pathogens V. samples essential to assess risks emerging virulent variants (such VDV-1) evaluate t...

High annual losses of honey bees, as well as range reductions and local extinctions of wild and native pollinator species, are concerning because bees are important plant pollinators [1]. Approximately one-third of the typical Western diet requires bee pollination, and honey bees (Apis mellifera) are the primary pollinators of numerous food crops, including fruits, nuts, vegetables, and oilseed...

Emerging diseases are among the greatest threats to honey bees. Unfortunately, where and when an emerging disease will appear are almost impossible to predict. The arrival of the parasitic Varroa mite into the Hawaiian honey bee population allowed us to investigate changes in the prevalence, load, and strain diversity of honey bee viruses. The mite increased the prevalence of a single viral spe...

  Among the viruses infecting honey bees, chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV) is known to induce significant losses in honey bee colonies. CBPV is an unclassified polymorphic single stranded RNA virus. Using RT-PCR, the virus infections in honey bees can be detected in a rapid and accurate manner. Bee samples were collected from 23 provinces of Iran, between July-September 2011 and 2012. A tota...