World Honey Bee Health: The Global Distribution of Western Honey Bee (<i>Apis mellifera</i> L.) Pests and Pathogens

Honey bees, and pollinators in general, play a major role in the health of ecosystems. There is a consensus about the steady decrease in pollinator populations, which raises global ecological concern. Several drivers are implicated in this threat. Among them, honey bee pathogens are transmitted to other arthropods populations, including wild and managed pollinators. The western honey bee, Apis mellifera, is quasi-globally spread. This successful species acted as and, in some cases, became a maintenance host for pathogens. This systematic review collects and summarizes spillover cases having in common Apis mellifera as the mainteinance host and some of its pathogens. The reports are grouped by final host species and condition, year, and geographic area of detection and the co-occurrence in the same host. A total of eighty-one articles in the time frame 1960–2021 were included. The reported spillover cases cover a wide range of hymenopteran host species, generally living in close contact with or sharing the same environmental resources as the honey bees. They also involve non-hymenopteran arthropods, like spiders and roaches, which are either likely or unlikely to live in close proximity to honey bees. Specific studies should consider host-dependent pathogen modifications and effects on involved host species. Both the plasticity of bee pathogens and the ecological consequences of spillover suggest a holistic approach to bee health and the implementation of a One Health approach.

show abstract

“…L. passim is spread worldwide. The colonization implied the replacing of the other honey bee trypanosomatids Crithidia mellificae [ 190 , 191 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pathogens Spillover from Honey Bees to Other Arthropods

2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The articulate interactions above and active flying behavior [ 8 ] may bring together adult SHBs of different origins that congregate in the same host colony, generating the detected diversity in the pathogen load. On the other hand, the horizontal transmission may occur bi-directionally, as both SHB adults and larvae might defecate inside the hive [ 77 ], potentially spreading infected feces that could transmit and perpetuate infective agents within the colony.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Native to Sub-Saharan Africa [ 2 ], it is a destructive, invasive pest of Apis mellifera (western honey bee) colonies [ 3 ], and it causes significant damage to brood, pollen, and honey stores [ 4 ]. Presently, the SHB is recorded in all continents except Antarctica [ 3 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ], having reached North America in 1996; Australia in 2000; and, more recently, countries in Europe, South America, and Asia [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ]. The SHB is an ecological generalist [ 4 ] and creates persistent populations in colonies in areas in which it has been introduced [ 13 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Detection of Lotmaria passim, Crithidia mellificae and Replicative Forms of Deformed Wing Virus and Kashmir Bee Virus in the Small Hive Beetle (Aethina tumida)

2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Knowledge regarding the honey bee pathogens borne by invasive bee pests remains scarce. This investigation aimed to assess the presence in Aethina tumida (small hive beetle, SHB) adults of honey bee pathogens belonging to the following groups: (i) bacteria (Paenibacillus larvae and Melissococcus plutonius), (ii) trypanosomatids (Lotmaria passim and Crithidia mellificae), and (iii) viruses (black queen cell virus, Kashmir bee virus, deformed wing virus, slow paralysis virus, sacbrood virus, Israeli acute paralysis virus, acute bee paralysis virus, chronic bee paralysis virus). Specimens were collected from free-flying colonies in Gainesville (Florida, U.S.A.) in summer 2017. The results of the molecular analysis show the presence of L. passim, C. mellificae, and replicative forms of deformed wing virus (DWV) and Kashmir bee virus (KBV). Replicative forms of KBV have not previously been reported. These results support the hypothesis of pathogen spillover between managed honey bees and the SHB, and these dynamics require further investigation.

show abstract

“…AFB typically results in a brownish semi-fluid “ropy-mass” [ 6 ], while younger EFB-infected larvae are mostly transparent, with visible trachea, and the older larvae die twisted around the cell walls [ 2 ]. European foulbrood (EFB) is a globally distributed and economically important disease of honey bees [ 7 ]. The bacterium only affects bee larvae shortly after they have hatched via contaminated food.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Melissococcus plutonius Can Be Effectively and Economically Detected Using Hive Debris and Conventional PCR

Biová

Charrière

Dostálková

et al. 2021

Insects

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

European foulbrood (EFB) is an infectious disease of honey bees caused by the bacterium Melissococcus plutonius. A method for DNA isolation and conventional PCR diagnosis was developed using hive debris, which was non-invasively collected on paper sheets placed on the bottom boards of hives. Field trials utilized 23 honey bee colonies with clinically positive symptoms and 21 colonies without symptoms. Bayes statistics were applied to calculate the comparable parameters for EFB diagnostics when using honey, hive debris, or samples of adult bees. The reliability of the conventional PCR was 100% at 6.7 × 103 Colony Forming Unit of M. plutonius in 1 g of debris. The sensitivity of the method for the sampled honey, hive debris, and adult bees was 0.867, 0.714, and 1.000, respectively. The specificity for the tested matrices was 0.842, 0.800, and 0.833. The predictive values for the positive tests from selected populations with 52% prevalence were 0.813, 0.833, and 0.842, and the real accuracies were 0.853, 0.750, and 0.912, for the honey, hive debris, and adult bees, respectively. It was concluded that hive debris can effectively be utilized to non-invasively monitor EFB in honey bee colonies.

show abstract

World Honey Bee Health: The Global Distribution of Western Honey Bee (Apis mellifera L.) Pests and Pathogens

Cited by 54 publications

References 21 publications

Pathogens Spillover from Honey Bees to Other Arthropods

Pathogens Spillover from Honey Bees to Other Arthropods

Detection of Lotmaria passim, Crithidia mellificae and Replicative Forms of Deformed Wing Virus and Kashmir Bee Virus in the Small Hive Beetle (Aethina tumida)

Melissococcus plutonius Can Be Effectively and Economically Detected Using Hive Debris and Conventional PCR

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About