Viruses are one of the major pathogens implicated in the overwintering losses of managed honeybees, and due to their rapid mutation rates, are one of the biggest risks of spillover to native bees. Migratory honeybee operations follow crop pollination events which can spread viral strains across large geographical distances. The almond bloom in California requires 60% of all managed honeybees in the US to congregate in the Central Valley every year. Afterwards they are placed at stopover sites where they interact with native bees and indirectly expose them to pathogens from the bloom. For this project, I focus on alpine meadows in the Sierra which boast high levels of native bee diversity. A subset of these meadows have honey bee hives placed there early in the summer after the almond bloom to produce wildflower honey. Using longitudinal sampling I compare virus communities through time at sites with and without honey bees to explore the directionality of pathogen transmission between migratory honeybees and native bees. This system allows me to survey the viral communities in bees before and after honey bees arrive, in comparison to sites that are sufficiently removed from honeybees. I will describe the viral dynamics of prominent bee viruses (DWV, BQCV, SBV, and LSV) within this pollinator community. Using this system, I can see if spatial isolation from honeybees can act as a spillover refuge for the native bees and whether viruses that honeybees were exposed to in the almond bloom are emerging in the native bees.
