Since the last decade, unusually high honey bee colony losses have been reported mainly in North-America and Europe. Here, we report on a comprehensive bee pathogen screening in Belgium covering 363 bee colonies that were screened for 18 known disease-causing pathogens and correlate their incidence in summer with subsequent winter mortality. Our analyses demonstrate that, in addition to Varroa ...

The ongoing decline of honey bee health worldwide is a serious economic and ecological concern. One major contributor to the decline are pathogens, including several honey bee viruses. However, information is limited on the biology of bee viruses and molecular interactions with their hosts. An experimental protocol to test these systems was developed, using injections of Israeli Acute Paralysis...

Increasing knowledge of the association of honeybee viruses with other honeybee parasites, primarily the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor, and their implication in the mass mortality of honeybee colonies has resulted in increasing awareness and interest in honeybee viruses. In addition the identification, monitoring and prevention of spread of bee viruses is of considerable importance, part...

Abstract Bee parasites are the main threat to apiculture and since many parasite taxa can spill over from honeybees ( Apis mellifera ) other bee species, honeybee disease management is important for pollinator conservation in general. It unknown whether that escaped apiaries (i.e. feral colonies) benefit natural parasite‐reducing mechanisms like swarming or suffer high pressure due lack of medi...

Honey bees face many environmental stressors, including exposure to pesticides and pathogens. A novel butenolide pesticide, flupyradifurone, was recently introduced the US shown have a bee-friendly toxicity profile. Like much-scrutinized neonicotinoids that preceded it, flupyradifurone targets insect nervous system. Some been interfere with antiviral immunity, which raised concern similar effec...

The mite Varroa destructor is an obligatory ectoparasite of the honey bee (Apis mellifera) and is one of the major threats to apiculture worldwide. We previously reported that honey bees fed on double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) with a sequence homologous to that of the Israeli acute paralysis virus are protected from the viral disease. Here we show that dsRNA ingested by bees is transferred to the Va...

Few areas of the world have western honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies that are free of invasive parasites Nosema ceranae (fungi) and Varroa destructor (mites). Particularly detrimental is V. destructor; in addition to feeding on host haemolymph, these mites are important vectors of several viruses that are further implicated as contributors to honey bee mortality around the world. Thus, the b...

Diseases in bees are quite common and when the no longer on face of earth, a great catastrophe will begin. The above has been attributed to Nobel Prize winner: Albert Einstein, who predicted that Man would only have 4 years left our planet. detection one pathogens descend constitutes small contribution knowledge this pathogen its control. chosen method is currently most effective tool regard we...