Honey Bee Viruses in Wild Bees: Viral Prevalence, Loads, and Experimental
Inoculation
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0166190

Abstract

Evidence of inter-species pathogen transmission from managed to wild bees
has sparked concern that emerging diseases could be causing or exacerbating
wild bee declines. While some pathogens, like RNA viruses, have been found
in pollen and wild bees, the threat these viruses pose to wild bees is
largely unknown. Here, we tested 169 bees, representing 4 families and 8
genera, for five common honey bee (*Apis mellifera*) viruses, finding that
more than 80% of wild bees harbored at least one virus. We also quantified
virus titers in these bees, providing, for the first time, an assessment of
viral load in a broad spectrum of wild bees. Although virus detection was
very common, virus levels in the wild bees were minimal—similar to or lower
than foraging honey bees and substantially lower than honey bees collected
from hives. Furthermore, when we experimentally inoculated adults of two
different bee species (*Megachile rotundata* and *Colletes inaequalis*)
with a mixture of common viruses that is lethal to honey bees, we saw no
effect on short term survival. Overall, we found that honey bee RNA viruses
can be commonly detected at low levels in many wild bee species, but we
found no evidence that these pathogens cause elevated short-term mortality
effects. However, more work on these viruses is greatly needed to assess
effects on additional bee species and life stages.

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