Abstract
Protection of honey bees is of great economic importance because of their role in pollination. Crucial steps towards this goal are epidemiological surveys of pathogens connected with honey bee losses. In this study deformed wing virus (DWV), chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV), acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV) and sacbrood virus (SBV) were investigated in colonies of different strength located in five regions of Serbia. The relationship between colony strength and virus occurrence/infection intensity were assessed as well as the genetic relationship between virus sequences from Serbia and worldwide. Real-time RT-PCR analyses detected at least one virus in 87.33% of colonies. Single infection was found in 28.67% colonies (21.33%, 4.00%, 2.67% and 0.67% in cases of DWV, ABPV, SBV and CBPV, respectively). In the majority of colonies (58.66%) more than one virus was found. The most prevalent was DWV (74%), followed by ABPV, SBV and CBPV (49.30%, 24.00% and 6.70%, respectively). Except for DWV, the prevalence of the remaining three viruses significantly varied between the regions. No significant differences were found between colony strength and either (i) the prevalence of DWV, ABPV, SBV, CBPV and their combinations, or (ii) DWV infection levels. The sequences of honey bee viruses obtained from bees in Serbia were 93–99% identical with those deposited in GenBank.
Highlights
Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are well-known beneficial insects for their popular products, and much more for their important role in pollination (Venturini et al, 2017)
Several viruses transferred by V. destructor considered to pose increasing risk to colonies’ health (Martin et al, 2012) including deformed wing virus (DWV), chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV), acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV) and the sacbrood virus (SBV), all of them seeming to have worldwide occurrence and distribution (Genersch, 2010; Simeunović et al, 2014a; Brutscher, McMenamin & Flenniken, 2016)
Single infection was found in 28.67% of colonies (DWV, ABPV, SBV and CBPV in 21.33%, 4.00%, 2.67% and 0.67% colonies, respectively, Table 2)
Summary
Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are well-known beneficial insects for their popular products, and much more for their important role in pollination (Venturini et al, 2017). More than 22 honey bee viruses have been identified and described so far (Genersch, 2010) which exist or co-exist in individual bees or colonies, but may remain unnoticed (Chen & Siede, 2007; Brutscher, McMenamin & Flenniken, 2016). Several viruses transferred by V. destructor considered to pose increasing risk to colonies’ health (Martin et al, 2012) including deformed wing virus (DWV), chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV), acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV) and the sacbrood virus (SBV), all of them seeming to have worldwide occurrence and distribution (Genersch, 2010; Simeunović et al, 2014a; Brutscher, McMenamin & Flenniken, 2016). In Serbia, four honey bee viruses were reported: ABPV, Egypt bee virus J strain (EBV), cloudy wing virus (CWV) and the black queen cell virus (BQCV) by Kulinčević, Ball & Mladjan (1990), and DWV and ABPV by Simeunović et al (2014a). Due to the lack of information on the prevalence of SBV and CBPV, as well as the long time which passed since the previous investigations necessity demands newer research
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