Regulation of gene expression in the brain plays an important role in behavioral plasticity and decision making in response to external stimuli. However, both can be severely affected by environmental factors, such as parasites and pathogens. In honey bees, the emergence and re-emergence of pathogens and potential for pathogen co-infection and interaction have been suggested as major components...

Parasites, by altering the nutritional and energetic state of their hosts, can significantly alter their foraging behaviour. In honeybees, an infection with Nosema ceranae has been shown to lower the energetic state of individual bees, bringing about changes in behaviours associated with foraging. Comparing the foraging trip times, hive times in between trips, and the crop contents of uninfecte...

In ecosystems, a variety of biological, chemical and physical stressors may act in combination to induce illness in populations of living organisms. While recent surveys reported that parasite-insecticide interactions can synergistically and negatively affect honeybee survival, the importance of sequence in exposure to stressors has hardly received any attention. In this work, Western honeybees...

A longitudinal study was carried out in order to evaluate Nosema spp. spore counts two key moments of the year (late autumn and spring) honeybee colonies from five eco-regions Argentina. Three hundred sixty were randomly selected infestation level Varroa destructor assessed spring 2015. In addition, a questionnaire concerning all management practices applied answered by beekeepers. Generalized ...