Deformed wing virus is an important contributor to honey bee colony losses. Frequently queen failure is reported as a cause for colony loss. Here we examine whether sexual transmission during multiple matings of queens is a possible way of virus infection in queens. In an environment with high prevalence of deformed wing virus, queens (n = 30) were trapped upon their return from natural mating flights. 

None of the control queens exhibited high-level viral infections. Our results demonstrate that deformed wing virus infected drones are competitive to mate and able to transmit the virus along with semen, which occasionally leads to queen infections. Virus transmission to queens during mating may be common and can contribute noticeably to queen failure.

High DWV titres from collected endophalli suggest a link between Varroa infestation of drone brood and virus transmission during mating. Consequently, infected queens might represent a potential source for distribution of DWV across honey bee populations worldwide.

It is well documented that a DWV infection shortens the life expectancy of worker honey bees, but currently no data are available on queen survival and queen performance in relation to an infection with DWV. Between 16% to 25% of lost colonies are directly attributed to queen events. On the basis of our experimental data, we can develop the hypothesis that high titres of DWV following mating may contribute to explaining part of the queen failures in lost colonies.

Amiri, E., Meixner, M. D., & Kryger, P. (2016). Deformed wing virus can be transmitted during natural mating in honey bees and infect the queens. Scientific Reports, 6, 33065.

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