Abstract
Deformed wing virus is an important contributor to honey bee colony losses. Frequently queen failure is reported as a cause for colony loss. Here we examine whether sexual transmission during multiple matings of queens is a possible way of virus infection in queens. In an environment with high prevalence of deformed wing virus, queens (n = 30) were trapped upon their return from natural mating flights. The last drone’s endophallus (n = 29), if present, was removed from the mated queens for deformed wing virus quantification, leading to the detection of high-level infection in 3 endophalli. After oviposition, viral quantification revealed that seven of the 30 queens had high-level deformed wing virus infections, in all tissues, including the semen stored in the spermathecae. Two groups of either unmated queens (n = 8) with induced egg laying, or queens (n = 12) mated in isolation with drones showing comparatively low deformed wing virus infections served as control. None of the control queens exhibited high-level viral infections. Our results demonstrate that deformed wing virus infected drones are competitive to mate and able to transmit the virus along with semen, which occasionally leads to queen infections. Virus transmission to queens during mating may be common and can contribute noticeably to queen failure.
Highlights
Varroa mites are able to reproduce on both worker and drone brood on their new host A. mellifera, with a strong preference for drone brood, in contrast to the mites’ exclusive reproduction on drone brood of the original host A. cerana[34,35]
It is not known if natural mating with an infected drone will result in transmission of pathogens to the queen causing infection, which may be followed by subsequent vertical transmission of pathogens from parents to offspring[20,21]
We investigate the role of mating in the transmission of DWV and present data to prove that (1) DWV infected drones are able to mate with queens, (2) DWV can be transmitted from drones to queens via natural mating, (3) within weeks after mating, DWV can be detected throughout the body of the queen
Summary
Varroa mites are able to reproduce on both worker and drone brood on their new host A. mellifera, with a strong preference for drone brood, in contrast to the mites’ exclusive reproduction on drone brood of the original host A. cerana[34,35]. One of the possible explanations for the reported high prevalence of DWV in queens could be virus transmission from infected drones via natural mating. While it has previously been shown that infected drones are able to fly and frequently can reach DCAs8, there is little evidence that they successfully compete for mating with uninfected drones. It is not known if natural mating with an infected drone will result in transmission of pathogens to the queen causing infection, which may be followed by subsequent vertical transmission of pathogens from parents to offspring[20,21]. We investigate the role of mating in the transmission of DWV and present data to prove that (1) DWV infected drones are able to mate with queens, (2) DWV can be transmitted from drones to queens via natural mating, (3) within weeks after mating, DWV can be detected throughout the body of the queen
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