Abstract
The ectoparasitic mite, Varroa destructor, shifted host from the eastern honeybee, Apis cerana, to the western honeybee, Apis mellifera. Whereas the original host survives infestations by this parasite, they are lethal to colonies of its new host. Here, we investigated a population of A. cerana naturally infested by the V. destructor Korea haplotype that gave rise to the globally invasive mite lineage. Our aim was to better characterize traits that allow for the survival of the original host to infestations by this particular mite haplotype. A known major trait of resistance is the lack of mite reproduction on worker brood in A. cerana. We show that this trait is neither due to a lack of host attractiveness nor of reproduction initiation by the parasite. However, successful mite reproduction was prevented by abnormal host development. Adult A. cerana workers recognized this state and removed hosts and parasites, which greatly affected the fitness of the parasite. These results confirm and complete previous observations of brood susceptibility to infestation in other honeybee host populations, provide new insights into the coevolution between hosts and parasites in this system, and may contribute to mitigating the large‐scale colony losses of A. mellifera due to V. destructor.
Highlights
In an era of globalization, international trade purposely or unintentionally provides opportunities for the translocation of parasites beyond natural barriers (Hulme, 2009; Meyerson & Mooney, 2007; Perrings, Dehnen-Schmutz, Touza, & Williamson, 2005), creating opportunities to identify the processes of coevolution following host shifts (Antonovics, Hood, & Partain, 2002; Woolhouse, Haydon, & Antia, 2005). The conditions for such a shift were provided to the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor when colonies of the western honeybees, Apis mellifera, were introduced into Asia, in the distribution range of the original host of this parasite, the eastern honeybees, Apis cerana (Rath, 1999; Rosenkranz, Aumeier, & Ziegelmann, 2010)
We investigated several stages in the host–parasite interaction at which parasite reproduction could fail on worker brood
We have previously proposed that the high susceptibility of A. cerana worker larvae to infestations with the invasive lineage of V. destructor is a form of suicide or social apoptosis that benefits the survival of the colony (Page et al, 2016)
Summary
In an era of globalization, international trade purposely or unintentionally provides opportunities for the translocation of parasites beyond natural barriers (Hulme, 2009; Meyerson & Mooney, 2007; Perrings, Dehnen-Schmutz, Touza, & Williamson, 2005), creating opportunities to identify the processes of coevolution following host shifts (Antonovics, Hood, & Partain, 2002; Woolhouse, Haydon, & Antia, 2005) The conditions for such a shift were provided to the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor when colonies of the western honeybees, Apis mellifera, were introduced into Asia, in the distribution range of the original host of this parasite, the eastern honeybees, Apis cerana (Rath, 1999; Rosenkranz, Aumeier, & Ziegelmann, 2010). Its ubiquity exposes the invasive lineage to diverse populations of original and new hosts, providing several comparison points to investigate the range of host– parasite coevolution processes at play in the interaction between Apis spp. and Varroa spp
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