Ascosphaera aggregata contamination on alfalfa leafcutting bees in a loose cell incubation system.

The alfalfa leafcutting bee, a solitary bee used to pollinate alfalfa seed crops, is seriously affected by chalkbrood, a larval disease caused by the fungus Ascosphaera aggregata. One attempt to control the disease includes removing nests from the nesting boards (the "loose cell" system). We report here that adults emerging from the loose cells are heavily contaminated with A. aggregata spores. The contamination levels are not as high as previously reported for bees emerging directly from the boards, but they are still a likely focus for disease spread and may need to be targeted in chalkbrood control strategies.