Comparative quantification of honey bee (Apis mellifera) associated viruses in wild and managed colonies

The most detrimental threat to honey bee (Apis mellifera) health is the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor, which is linked to sizeable colony losses worldwide. Varroa is also a prolific vector of several honey bee-associated viruses. Wild honey bee colonies live in feral conditions and are thus not treated for Varroa control, which has enabled the natural selection of mite tolerant bees. To date, there is limited information about virus prevalence in wild Africanized honey bee (AHB) populations. The Welder Wildlife Refuge (WWR) is a unique site to study the viral landscape of wild AHBs in the Southern U.S. The goal of this project is to quantify honey bee-associated viruses in a wild population of AHBs, compare the presence of these viruses to that in the nearest managed apiaries. In 2013 we detected the presence of Deformed wing virus (DWV), Black queen cell virus (BQCV), and Lake Sinai virus (LSV). In 2016 we detected the presence of DWV, BQCV, and Sacbrood virus (SBV). All samples that tested positive for viruses contained extremely low copy numbers in both years. This study provides us the first information on the presence and levels of honey bee-associated viruses in a wild population of AHBs.