Larvae act as a transient transmission hub for the prevalent bumblebee parasite Crithidia bombi

Folly, Arran J.; Koch, Hauke; Stevenson, Philip C.; Brown, Mark J. F.

doi:10.1016/j.jip.2017.06.001

Cited by 33 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 35 publications

(47 reference statements)

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“…Infections of C. bombi and N. bombi spread horizontally between nest mates consuming contaminated nectar and pollen from stores in wax pots within nests, via contact between individuals or shared contact with larvae, (Otti and Schmid-Hempel 2008;Erler et al, 2012;Folly et al 2017) or between foragers visiting flowers which have recently been contaminated by an infected bumblebee (Durrer and Schmid-Hempel, 1994;Rutrecht et al, 2007;Graystock et al 2015). In broad accordance with earlier studies, C. bombi was found to be the most common of the three parasites, followed by N. bombi at low prevalence and with A. bombi being very scarce.…”

Section: Effects Of Internal Parasitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impacts of predators and parasites on wild bumblebee colonies

Goulson

O’Connor

Park

2017

Ecological Entomology

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1. The study of wild bumblebee nests has been hindered by the difficulty in locating and observing them. Here, wild nests were located using a sniffer dog and volunteers. The entrances to 32 nests were filmed continuously to identify successful nests (those which produced gynes) and observe vertebrate species interactions. 2. Of the 47 nests, 71% and 21% produced gynes in 2010 and 2011, respectively. 3. A total of 39 vertebrate species were filmed at entrances but the majority did not interact with the nests. Great tits (Parus major) depredated or attempted to depredate bees on 32 occasions at the entrances to ten nests, something which has not previously been described. Small mammals were very often recorded accessing entrances to bumblebee nests, but whether they depredated bees was not known, and frequentlyvisited nests were no less likely to produce gynes. Eight nests were entered by adult wax moths, Aphomia sociella. 4. The faeces of 1,179 workers from 29 Bombus terrestris nests were screened microscopically for parasites. Crithidia bombi infections were apparent in 49% of worker bees, while Nosema bombi and Apicystis bombi were present in 5.5% and 0.68% of bees, respectively. Nests with a high prevalence of C. bombi infection were less likely to produce gynes, the first evidence for a direct impact of this common parasite on bumblebee colony reproduction in wild nests. 5. Overall, our data indicate that bumblebee nests are at the heart of a rich web of interactions between many different predator and parasite species.

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Section: Effects Of Internal Parasitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impacts of predators and parasites on wild bumblebee colonies

Goulson

O’Connor

Park

2017

Ecological Entomology

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“…A larval N. bombi inoculant was prepared by combining inverted sugar water and pollen to create an artificial worker feed as outlined in Folly et al (2017). This was then combined with the N. bombi inoculum to create an experimental inoculant.…”

Section: Materials and Methods Biochanin A And Bumblebee Colony Provementioning

confidence: 99%

Age-related pharmacodynamics in a bumblebee-microsporidian system mirror similar patterns in vertebrates

Folly

Stevenson

Brown

2020

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Immune systems provide a key defence against diseases. However, they are not a panacea and so both vertebrates and invertebrates coopt naturally occurring bioactive compounds to treat themselves against parasites and pathogens. In vertebrates, this co-option is complex, with pharmacodynamics leading to differential effects of treatment at different life stages, which may reflect age-linked differences in the immune system. However, our understanding of pharmacodynamics in invertebrates is almost non-existent. Critically, this knowledge may elucidate broad parallels across animals in regard to the requirement for the co-option of bioactive compounds to ameliorate disease. Here, we used biochanin A, an isoflavone found in the pollen of red clover (Trifolium pratense), to therapeutically treat Nosema bombi (Microsporidia) infection in bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) larvae and adults, and thus examine age-linked pharmacodynamics in an invertebrate. Therapeutic treatment of larvae with biochanin A did not reduce the infection intensity of N. bombi in adults. In contrast, therapeutic treatment of adults did reduce the infection intensity of N. bombi. This transition in parasite resistance to bioactive compounds mirrors the age-linked pharmacodynamics of vertebrates. Understanding how different lifehistory stages respond to therapeutic compounds will provide novel insights into the evolution of foraging and self-medication behaviour in natural systems more broadly.

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“…Crithidia bombi is primarily transmitted among individuals from the same colony through contact with contaminated materials within the nest (e.g., feces), but parasite cells may also pass from infected members to healthy ones, and eventually to future queens (Imhoof and Schmid‐Hempel , Folly et al. ). Transmission may also occur via flowers (Durrer and Schmid‐Hempel ) among individuals from the same species but also across bumble bee species (Ruiz‐González et al.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bumble bee parasite prevalence but not genetic diversity impacted by the invasive plantImpatiens glandulifera

et al. 2019

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While many bee species are experiencing population declines, some host plant generalist bees remain common in Europe, partly because they seem able to shift to new resources. However, foraging on a new alternative plant, such as an invasive species, can modify diet quality and have a potentially detrimental effect on bee health. Herein, we investigated whether the spread of the invasive plant Impatiens glandulifera affects Bombus pascuorum population regarding parasite prevalence, genetic structure, and nest density in Belgium. While no difference in bumble bee genetic structure was detected between invaded and uninvaded sites, we show that I. glandulifera occurrence was significantly correlated with a decrease in the prevalence of Apicystis bombi but not the prevalence of three other parasite species (i.e., Crithidia bombi, Nosema bombi, Nosema ceranae, and Nosema sp.). Regarding our investigations, this effect was likely not due to variation in local bumble bee population fitness before I. glandulifera flowering, nor to the relative abundance of other pollinators such as Apis mellifera, but the unique chemical composition (i.e., polyphenol rich) of the pollen of I. glandulifera remained as an interesting hypothesis. Whereas B. pascuorum queens probably colonize all the potential nesting sites in an area, invaded by I. glandulifera or not, the abundance of polyphenol ampelopsin in pollen from I. glandulifera pollen might reduce local parasite prevalence. Our field study confirms that bumble bee parasite prevalence is potentially related to the particular chemical composition of collected pollen. Plant traits such as secondary metabolite occurrence could play a key role in the health and conservation of bumble bees.

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Larvae act as a transient transmission hub for the prevalent bumblebee parasite Crithidia bombi

Abstract: Graphical abstract

Cited by 33 publications

References 35 publications

The impacts of predators and parasites on wild bumblebee colonies

The impacts of predators and parasites on wild bumblebee colonies

Age-related pharmacodynamics in a bumblebee-microsporidian system mirror similar patterns in vertebrates

Bumble bee parasite prevalence but not genetic diversity impacted by the invasive plantImpatiens glandulifera

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