A study was conducted on the mitochondrial DNA genetic diversity of feral colonies and swarms of Apis mellifera from ten counties in Utah by sequencing the intergenic region of the cytochrome oxidase (COI-COII) gene region. A total of 20 haplotypes were found from 174 honey bee colony samples collected from 2008 to 2017. Samples belonged to the A (African) (48%); C (Eastern Europe) (43%); M (Western Europe) (4%); and O (Oriental) lineages (5%). Ten African A lineage haplotypes were observed with two unique to Utah among A lineage haplotypes recorded in the US. Haplotypes belonging to the A lineage were observed from six Utah counties located in the southern portion of the State, from elevations as high as 1357 m. All five C lineage haplotypes that were found have been observed from queen breeders in the US. Three haplotypes of the M lineage (n=7) and two of the O lineage (n=9) were also observed. This study provides evidence that honey bees of African descent are both common and diverse in wild populations of honey bees in southern Utah. The high levels of genetic diversity of A lineage honey bee colonies in Utah provide evidence that the lineage may have been established in Utah before the introduction of A lineage honey bees from Brazil to Texas in 1990.

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BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.

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Managed honey bee populations have fluctuated over the past several decades in the U.S. While a single factor has not been identified for these losses, the interaction between multiple biotic and abiotic stressors have been suggested to be responsible. Of major concern are several invasive parasite and pathogen species as well as colony management. A single honey bee colony often suffers from multiple harmful agents, that may act synergistically and cause greater declines in bee health. We conducted a survey to detect known and lesser-known honey bee parasites and pathogens. While previous research has primarily focused on commercially managed colonies, research is limited to pertaining parasite and pathogen prevalence in hobbyist managed colonies. Molecular diagnostics were used to screen 541 Arkansas (AR) honey bee colonies from 107 hobbyist beekeepers for eight A. mellifera parasite and pathogen species. Colony samples were obtained between 2015–2016 and represented forty-seven of the seventy-five AR counties. Vairimorpha ceranae (11.6% occurrence) and parasite Varroa destructor (49.4% occurrence) were relatively common in AR hobbyist colonies. Interestingly, the lesser-studied pathogenic trypanosome species, Lotmaria passim, was detected in 11.3% of the colonies and widespread in twenty of the forty-seven counties sampled. None of the honey bee pathogens Vairimorpha apis, Spiroplasma apis, S. melliferum, Crithidia mellificae, or the parasitic phorid fly, Apocephalus borealis, were detected in the colonies sampled. This study provides an extensive assessment of the parasite and pathogen species occurring at the AR state-level in hobbyist-managed honey bee colonies.

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