> But he starts off by saying bees don't have individual immunity. I thought all the work on RNAi and siRNA showed bees do have an individual immune system. Do I misunderstand?

Nope. Seems like everyone is an expert on "immune systems" these days. Except that half of them are wrong. Examples:

> Honeybees have a well-developed immune system for coping with bacterial and fungal infections although their immune response to viral pathogens is less well understood and there has been significant interest recently on the potential for pesticides to affect the susceptibility of bees to diseases.

> After infection with N. apis the honey bee immune system quickly activates defence mechanisms, which includes the increase in the expression of genes encoding antimicrobial peptides and other immunity-related enzymes. 

Thompson, H., Fryday, S., & Dennis, N. (2013). Neonicotinoid Pesticides and Bees.

* * *

> Insects have a robust immune system to defend themselves against the attack of microbial and eukaryotic pathogens. Physical barriers are the insects' first lines of defence, which prevent infectious agents from gaining entry into the body cavity. These physical barriers include the exoskeleton cuticle and the peritrophic membranes lining the digestive tract. As a second line of defence, the insects' innate immunity is usually considered in two broad categories, cellular and humoral immunity (Gillespie et al., 1997; Lavine and Strand, 2002; Boman, 2003). Cellular immunity involves processes such as phagocytosis, nodulation and encapsulation. 

> Infection of honey bees with N. apis and N. ceranae produced significant changes in abaecin mRNA expression (anova, P = 0.0007; Fig. 1A and B). Indeed, abaecin mRNA expression augmented significantly 4 days after infection with N. apis when compared with the controls and N. ceranae-infected bees. 

> To our knowledge, this is the first study to address the effects of infection by N. apis and N. ceranae on the immune response in honey bees. We demonstrated that the honey bee immune system quickly activates defence mechanisms after infection with N. apis, which includes the increase in the expression of genes encoding antimicrobial peptides and other immunity-related enzymes. On the other hand, N. ceranae infection seems to suppress the immune response by reducing the transcription of some of these genes.

Antúnez, K., Martín‐Hernández, R., Prieto, L., Meana, A., Zunino, P., & Higes, M. (2009). Immune suppression in the honey bee (Apis mellifera) following infection by Nosema ceranae (Microsporidia). Environmental microbiology, 11(9), 2284-2290.

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