Abstract
Since the discovery that honey bee viruses play a role in colony decline, researchers have made major breakthroughs in understanding viral pathology and infection processes in honey bees. Work on virus transmission patterns and virus vectors, such as the mite Varroa destructor, has prompted intense efforts to manage honey bee health. However, little is known about the occurrence of honey bee viruses in bee predators, such as vespids. In this study, we characterized the occurrence of 11 honey bee viruses in five vespid species and one wasp from four provinces in China and two vespid species from four locations in France. The results showed that all the species from China carried certain honey bee viruses, notably Apis mellifera filamentous virus (AmFV), Deformed wing virus (DWV), and Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV); furthermore, in some vespid colonies, more than three different viruses were identified. In France, DWV was the most common virus; Sacbrood virus (SBV) and Black queen cell virus (BQCV) were observed in one and two samples, respectively. Phylogenetic analyses of IAPV and BQCV sequences indicated that most of the IAPV sequences belonged to a single group, while the BQCV sequences belonged to several groups. Additionally, our study is the first to detect Lake Sinai virus (LSV) in a hornet from China. Our findings can guide further research into the origin and transmission of honey bee viruses in Vespidae, a taxon of ecological, and potentially epidemiological, relevance.
Highlights
Honey bees (Apis mellifera) make vital contributions to plant diversity and agricultural ecosystems [1], but they are attacked by a variety of pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, and fungi [2]
This study aims to provide a better foundation for understanding honey bee virus dynamics in vespids
Because Deformed wing virus (DWV)-A/KV and Apis mellifera filamentous virus (AmFV) have never been reported in France, we only looked for these two viruses in the Chinese samples
Summary
Honey bees (Apis mellifera) make vital contributions to plant diversity and agricultural ecosystems [1], but they are attacked by a variety of pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, and fungi [2]. Researchers have identified more than 20 honey bee viruses that impact bee health and survival [3]. For example, are major bee predators, and the yellow-legged hornet (Vespa velutina nigrithorax)—an invasive species in Europe [6]—has a major impact on honey bee populations. Public authorities and the beekeeping industry are deeply concerned about the rapid spread of V. velutina and its dramatic impact on honey bee survival in Europe [7], South Korea [8,9], and Japan [10]. The yellow-legged hornet was first observed in France in 2005 [11,12] It quickly spread throughout the country and moved into other parts of Europe [6,13,14,15].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call