Transgenic corn, Zea mays L., hybrids expressing crystal protein endotoxin genes from Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner are an increasingly popular tactic for managing the European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner), in North America. O. nubilalis populations also are often vulnerable to the ubiquitous entomopathogenic microsporidium Nosema pyrausta (Paillot). We examined the effect of feedi...

Sex-related differences in susceptibility to pathogens are a common phenomenon in animals. In the eusocial Hymenoptera the two female castes, workers and queens, are diploid and males are haploid. The haploid susceptibility hypothesis predicts that haploid males are more susceptible to pathogen infections compared to females. Here we test this hypothesis using adult male (drone) and female (wor...

Learning and memory are crucial functions which enable insect pollinators to efficiently locate and extract floral rewards. Exposure to pesticides or infection by parasites may cause subtle but ecologically important changes in cognitive functions of pollinators. The potential interactive effects of these stressors on learning and memory have not yet been explored. Furthermore, sensitivity to s...

There is growing concern about the threats facing many pollinator populations. Emergent diseases are one of the major threats to biodiversity and a microsporidian parasite, Nosema ceranae, has recently jumped host from the Asian to the Western honeybee, spreading rapidly worldwide, and contributing to dramatic colony losses. Bumblebees are ecologically and economically important pollinators of ...

We designed fluorescence in situ hybridization probes for two distinct microsporidian clades and demonstrated their application in detecting, respectively, Nosema/Vairimorpha and Dictyoceola species. We used them to study the vertical transmission of two microsporidia infecting the amphipod Gammarus duebeni.

A study was undertaken to elucidate the impact of an undescribed Nosema sp. on the southwestern corn borer (SWCB; Diatraea grandiosella Dyar). The Nosema sp. (isolate 506) included in the study was isolated from an overwintering SWCB larva in Mississippi. It was highly infectious per os, with a median infective dose of 2.0 x 10(3) spores per larva. Even at the highest dosage tested (10(7) spore...

In East Africa, honey bees (Apis mellifera) provide critical pollination services and income for small-holder farmers and rural families. While honey bee populations in North America and Europe are in decline, little is known about the status of honey bee populations in Africa. We initiated a nationwide survey encompassing 24 locations across Kenya in 2010 to evaluate the numbers and sizes of h...

Identification of transmission routes and of factors affecting the spatial positions of pathogens, hosts and vectors is basic to an adequate disease management. Nosema ceranae is a Microsporidian recently described as a parasite of Apis mellifera honeybees and is currently considered the aetiological agent of an emergent illness named nosemosis type C. In this article we evaluate the role of a ...

Microsporidium Nosema ceranae is well known for exerting a negative impact on honey bee health, including down-regulation of immunoregulatory genes. Protein nutrition has been proven to have beneficial effects on bee immunity and other aspects of bee health. Bearing this in mind, the aim of our study was to evaluate the potential of a dietary amino acid and vitamin complex "BEEWELL AminoPlus" t...