Host-Parasite Co-Evolution in Real-Time: Changes in Honey Bee Resistance Mechanisms and Mite Reproductive Strategies

Moro, Arrigo; Blacquière, T.; Panziera, Delphine; Dietemann, Vincent; Neumann, Peter

doi:10.3390/insects12020120

Cited by 22 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…Similarly, other traits such as brood suppression of mite reproduction [48], or DWV tolerance [49,50] may complement those within the framework. There is also likely to be a mite element to resistance which could be illuminated by further studies into the coevolution of A. mellifera and Varroa [51,52]. As resistance is a population level trait rather than a single colony trait, a resistant colony becomes vulnerable if moved out of its population and could collapse if a sudden influx of mites occurs due to excessive (40-60%) brood removal (electronic supplementary material, figure royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rspb Proc.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A substantial issue when it comes to measuring resistance traits is the inherent variability within colonies and thus across populations. Within a colony, traits themselves are not static and fluctuate with the changing season along with the associated availability of worker and drone brood and the infestation level [52,[117][118][119][120][121][122][123]. Variability is also likely due to temporal changes in the composition of the different hygienic workers.…”

Section: (F ) Variability Of Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Parallel evolution ofVarroaresistance in honey bees: a common mechanism across continents?

Grindrod

Martin

2021

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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The near-globally distributed ecto-parasitic mite of the Apis mellifera honeybee, Varroa destructor, has formed a lethal association with Deformed wing virus, a once rare and benign RNA virus. In concert, the two have killed millions of wild and managed colonies, particularly across the Northern Hemisphere, forcing the need for regular acaricide application to ensure colony survival. However, despite the short association (in evolutionary terms), a small but increasing number of A. mellifera populations across the globe have been surviving many years without any mite control methods. This long-term survival, or Varroa resistance, is consistently associated with the same suite of traits (recapping, brood removal and reduced mite reproduction) irrespective of location. Here we conduct an analysis of data extracted from 60 papers to illustrate how these traits connect together to explain decades of mite resistance data. We have potentially a unified understanding of natural Varroa resistance that will help the global industry achieve widespread miticide-free beekeeping and indicate how different honeybee populations across four continents have resolved a recent threat using the same suite of behaviours.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: (F ) Variability Of Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Parallel evolution ofVarroaresistance in honey bees: a common mechanism across continents?

Grindrod

Martin

2021

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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“…The data also suggest that some of these honey bee colonies may have reached a stable equilibrium with V. destructor, as the majority of respondents reported an annual colony replacement rate <25% (Figure 5). This indicates adaptations of both the honey bee host to the selection pressure imposed by the parasite [23,43] and the local mites to its host [52]. Yet, despite the promising data obtained, these potential novel cases need to be confirmed via thorough investigation and long-term monitoring before they can be considered as surviving mite infestations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Citizen Science to Scout Honey Bee Colonies That Naturally Survive Varroa destructor Infestations

Moro

Beaurepaire

Dall’Olio

et al. 2021

Insects

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Citizen Science contributes significantly to the conservation of biodiversity, but its application to honey bee research has remained minimal. Even though certain European honey bee (Apis mellifera) populations are known to naturally survive Varroa destructor infestations, it is unclear how widespread or common such populations are. Such colonies are highly valuable for investigating the mechanisms enabling colony survival, as well as for tracking the conservation status of free-living honey bees. Here, we use targeted Citizen Science to identify potentially new cases of managed or free-living A. mellifera populations that survive V. destructor without mite control strategies. In 2018, a survey containing 20 questions was developed, translated into 13 languages, and promoted at beekeeping conferences and online. After three years, 305 reports were collected from 28 countries: 241 from managed colonies and 64 from free-living colonies. The collected data suggest that there could be twice as many naturally surviving colonies worldwide than are currently known. Further, online and personal promotion seem to be key for successful recruitment of participants. Although the survivor status of these colonies still needs to be confirmed, the volume of reports and responses already illustrate how effectively Citizen Science can contribute to bee research by massively increasing generated data, broadening opportunities for comparative research, and fostering collaboration between scientists, beekeepers, and citizens. The success of this survey spurred the development of a more advanced Citizen Science platform, Honey Bee Watch, that will enable a more accurate reporting, confirmation, and monitoring of surviving colonies, and strengthen the ties between science, stakeholders, and citizens to foster the protection of both free-living and managed honey bees.

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“…This could impede the recession of honeybee colonies, and active beekeepers, in many Western countries [17,31,56]. Measures to reduce economic losses from colony losses include enhancement of extension capacities for beekeeper education and spreading good apicultural practice [28,36,57,58], raising awareness for the use of native or locally adapted honeybee stock [59][60][61], encouraging honeybee breeding initiatives and programs for genetic improvement by considering the relevance of local adaptation [62], considering colony vitality and varroa resistance as imperative breeding goals [63][64][65], and propagating best-practice varroa treatments that are tailored for the local conditions [66,67]. Though these actions and practices are also costly [68], subsidies could be used to facilitate these, and revenue would strengthen the apicultural sector.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Direct Economic Impact Assessment of Winter Honeybee Colony Losses in Three European Countries

et al. 2021

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Honeybees are of great importance because of their role in pollination as well as for hive products. The population of managed colonies fluctuates over time, and recent monitoring reports show different levels of colony losses in many regions and countries. The cause of this kind of loss is a combination of various factors, such as the parasitic mite Varroa destructor, viruses, pesticides, management practices, climate change, and other stress factors. Having in mind that the economic aspect of honeybee colony losses has not been estimated, a pioneer effort was made for developing a methodology that estimates the economic impact of honeybee colony losses. Winter loss data was based on 2993 answers of the COLOSS standard questionnaire survey of honeybee winter colony losses for 2016/2017. In addition, market and financial data were used for each country. In a comparative analysis, an assessment on the economic impact of colony losses in Austria, Czechia, and Macedonia was made. The estimation considered the value of the colonies and the potential production losses of the lost colonies and of surviving but weak colonies. The direct economic impact of winter honeybee colony losses in 2016/2017 in Austria was estimated to be about 32 Mio €; in Czechia, 21 Mio €; and in Macedonia, 3 Mio €. Economic impact reflects the different value levels in the three countries, national colony populations, and the magnitude of colony losses. This study also suggests that economic losses are much higher than the subsidies, which underlines the economic importance of honeybees for the agricultural sector.

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Host-Parasite Co-Evolution in Real-Time: Changes in Honey Bee Resistance Mechanisms and Mite Reproductive Strategies

Cited by 22 publications

References 55 publications

Parallel evolution ofVarroaresistance in honey bees: a common mechanism across continents?

Parallel evolution ofVarroaresistance in honey bees: a common mechanism across continents?

Using Citizen Science to Scout Honey Bee Colonies That Naturally Survive Varroa destructor Infestations

Direct Economic Impact Assessment of Winter Honeybee Colony Losses in Three European Countries

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