Comparative Flight Activities and Pathogen Load of Two Stocks of Honey Bees Reared in Gamma-Irradiated Combs

Guzman, Lilia I. de; Frake, Amanda M.; Simone-Finstrom, Michael

doi:10.3390/insects8040127

Cited by 15 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 56 publications

(71 reference statements)

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“…During each spring of 2015 and 2016, 40 packages (1.4 kg) were established near Baton Rouge, Louisiana using the large package technique [37] obtained by shaking bees from untreated colonies of pure Russian and several hybrids of Italian and Russian colonies from an earlier experiment. This mixture of bees allowed the establishment of colonies with uniform bees and mites at the beginning of each experiment.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Irradiated combs and beekeeping equipment were exposed to 25 Kgy using a cobalt-60 gamma irradiator (2015 at Food Technology Service, Inc., Mulberry, FL, USA; 2016 at Gateway America, Gulfport, MS, USA). For both years of experiment, the naturally-mated Italian queens used were purchased from the same commercial queen breeder in California, while the Russian queens were naturally mated locally [37]. Colonies that had a queen change during the course of the experiment were excluded from analyses.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Total RNA from wax, mites and bees was extracted and analyzed following previously established and adaptations of standard protocols [34,37] (see Table S1 for specific primers used). In brief, RNA extractions were completed using the Maxwell ® 16 LEV simplyRNA system (Promega, Madison, WI, USA).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most recent studies on gamma irradiation have focused on its effect on the growth and infectivity of these pathogens in the laboratory or on reducing pathogens in pollen [35,36]. Recently, it has been shown that worker bees reared in irradiated combs had lower levels of DWV, but its effect diminished through the summer season [37]. Nonetheless, the same study showed that honey bee stock, but not comb-irradiation influences foraging activities of workers suggesting that any effects of irradiation on viral levels may not translate to colony level effects on productivity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Comb Irradiation Has Limited, Interactive Effects on Colony Performance or Pathogens in Bees, Varroa destructor and Wax Based on Two Honey Bee Stocks

Guzman

Simone-Finstrom

Frake

et al. 2019

Insects

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Parasitic mites and pathogens compromise honey bee health. Development of sustainable and integrative methods of managing these problems will minimize their detrimental impact on honey bees. Here, we aimed to determine if the combination of using mite-resistant stocks along with gamma-irradiated combs influences colony health and productivity. The major finding concerned honey bee genotype confirming that Russian honey bees are more resistant to Varroa destructor than Italian honey bees. The effect of comb irradiation was inconsistent showing a significant increase in adult bee population and amount of stored pollen in 2015, but not in 2016. The increased amount of stored pollen was probably associated with larger adult population in colonies with irradiated combs in September 2015 regardless of honey bee stock. Nevertheless, the ability of bees to collect and store more pollen in the irradiated group does not appear to compensate the negative impacts of mite parasitism on honey bees especially in the Italian bees, which consistently suffered significant colony losses during both years. Results of viral analyses of wax, newly emerged bees, and Varroa and their pupal hosts showed common detections of Deformed wing virus (DWV), Varroa destructor virus (VDV-1), Chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV), and Black queen cell virus (BQCV). Wax samples had on average ~4 viruses or pathogens detected in both irradiated and non-irradiated combs. Although pathogen levels varied by month, some interesting effects of honey bee stock and irradiation treatment were notable, indicating how traits of mite resistance and alternative treatments may have additive effects. Further, this study indicates that wax may be a transmission route of viral infection. In addition, pupae and their infesting mites from Italian colonies exhibited higher levels of DWV than those from Russian colonies suggesting potential DWV resistance by Russian honey bees. CBPV levels were also reduced in mites from Russian colonies in general and in mites, mite-infested pupae, and newly emerged bees that were collected from irradiated combs. However, BQCV levels were not reduced by comb irradiation. Overall, the contribution of irradiating comb in improving honey bee health and colony survival appears to be subtle, but may be useful as part of an integrated pest management strategy with the addition of using mite-resistant stocks.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Comb Irradiation Has Limited, Interactive Effects on Colony Performance or Pathogens in Bees, Varroa destructor and Wax Based on Two Honey Bee Stocks

Guzman

Simone-Finstrom

Frake

et al. 2019

Insects

Self Cite

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“…Viral titers were determined using standard curves generated from plasmid standards containing the sequence listed above (generated by GeneArt, Invitrogen). Linearized plasmid standards containing 10 5 to 10 12 copies per reaction were used as templates to assess primer efficiency and quantify the amount of virus following standard practices [34-36]. Linear standard equations were generated using the log 10 of the initial plasmid copy number.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Esterase Activity is Affected by Genetics, Age, Insecticide Exposure, and Viral Infection in the Honey Bee, Apis mellifera

Rinkevich

Margotta

Simone-Finstrom

et al. 2018

Preprint

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16Non-target impacts of insecticide treatments are a major public and 17 environmental concern, particularly in contemporary beekeeping. Therefore, it is 18 important to understand the physiological mechanisms contributing to 19 insecticide sensitivity in honey bees. In the present studies, we sought to evaluate 20 the role of esterases as the source of variation in insecticide sensitivity. To address 21 this question, the following objectives were completed: 1) Evaluated esterase 22 activity among honey bee stocks, 2) Assessed the correlation of esterase activity 23 with changes in insecticide sensitivity with honey bee age, 3) Established if 24 esterases can be used as a biomarker of insecticide exposure, and 4) Examined 25 the effects of Varroa mite infestation and viral infection on esterase activity. 26 Results indicated that honey bees have a dynamic esterase capacity that 27 is influenced by genetic stock and age. However, there was no consistent 28 connection of esterase activity with insecticide sensitivity across genetic stocks or 29 with age, suggests other factors are more critical for determining insecticide 30 sensitivity. The trend of increased esterase activity with age in honey bees 31 suggests this physiological transition is consistent with enhanced metabolic rate 32 with age. The esterase inhibition with naled but not phenothrin or clothianidin 33 indicates that reduced esterase activity levels may only be reliable for sublethal 34 doses of organophosphate insecticides. The observation that viral infection, but 35 not Varroa mite infestation, reduced esterase activity shows viruses have 36 extensive physiological impacts. Taken together, these data suggest that honey 37 bee esterase activity toward these model substrates may not correlate well with 38 insecticide sensitivity. Future studies include identification of esterase substrates 39 and inhibitors that are better surrogates of insecticide detoxification in honey 40 bees as well as investigation on the usefulness of esterase activity as a biomarker 41 of pesticide exposure, and viral infection. 42 Introduction 43 The history of honey bee kills upon contact with insecticides has been 44 documented since the advent of modern insecticides [1]. Beekeeper surveys 45 report that pesticide exposure significantly increases annual colony losses [2]. 46 Considering that a number of insecticides used in agriculture and vector control 47 exhibit high toxicity to honey bees and that honey bees regularly encounter 48 numerous of pesticides within the colony [3], potential synergistic interactions 49 among these pesticides [4] may contribute to poor colony health. 50 Insects possess an array of metabolic mechanisms such as esterases, 51 cytochrome P450s, and glutathione-S-transferases to detoxify pesticides, plant 52 allelochemicals, and other xenobiotics [5]. Esterases are a type of hydrolase that 53 metabolizes compounds by cleaving the ester bonds of a substrate resulting in 54 separate acid and alcohol products [6]. Quantitative increases [7] as wel...

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Evaluating the foraging performance of individual honey bees in different environments with automated field RFID systems

et al. 2022

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Measuring individual foraging performance of pollinators is crucial to guide environmental policies that aim at enhancing pollinator health and pollination services. Automated systems have been developed to track the activity of individual honey bees, but their deployment is extremely challenging. This has limited the assessment of individual foraging performance in full‐strength bee colonies in the field. Most studies available to date have been constrained to use downsized bee colonies located in urban and suburban areas. Environmental policy‐making, on the other hand, needs a more comprehensive assessment of honey bee performance in a broader range of environments, including in remote agricultural and wild areas. Here, we detail a new autonomous field method to record high‐quality data on the flight ontogeny and foraging performance of honey bees, using radio frequency identification (RFID). We separate bee traffic into returning and exiting tunnels to improve data quality solving many previous limitations of RFID systems caused by traffic jams and the parasitic coupling of RFID antennae. With this method, we assembled a large RFID dataset made of control bee colonies from experiments conducted in different locations and seasons. We hope our results will be a starting point to understand how ontogenetic and environmental factors affect the individual performance of honey bees and that our method will enable large‐scale replication of individual pollinator performance studies.

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Comparative Flight Activities and Pathogen Load of Two Stocks of Honey Bees Reared in Gamma-Irradiated Combs

Cited by 15 publications

References 56 publications

Comb Irradiation Has Limited, Interactive Effects on Colony Performance or Pathogens in Bees, Varroa destructor and Wax Based on Two Honey Bee Stocks

Comb Irradiation Has Limited, Interactive Effects on Colony Performance or Pathogens in Bees, Varroa destructor and Wax Based on Two Honey Bee Stocks

Esterase Activity is Affected by Genetics, Age, Insecticide Exposure, and Viral Infection in the Honey Bee, Apis mellifera

Evaluating the foraging performance of individual honey bees in different environments with automated field RFID systems

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