Preliminary analysis shows that feral and managed honey bees in Southern California have similar levels of viral pathogens

ABTRACT

Bees provide critical pollination services but are threatened by multiple stressors, including viral pathogens. The role of feral honey bees (FHB) in spreading viral pathogens is of increasing interest. We provide preliminary evidence that FHB colonies may act as persistant reservoirs of acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV), black queen cell virus (BQCV), and deformed wing virus (DWV) in southern California. Additionally, though FHB are not treated for diseases or parasites, they harbor similar pathogen loads to managed honey bees (MHB), emphasizing the need for future studies describing how FHB mitigate viral pathogen stress.

Keywords:

• Feral honey bees
• deformed wing virus
• acute bee paralysis virus
• black queen cell virus
• pollinator community

Disclosure statement

Authors declare no potential competing interests.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by University of California Natural Reserve System; University of California Academic Senate, San Diego; University of California, San Diego.