> Here we carry out a preliminary examination of the occurrence of parasites in a variety of pollinators from across the UK. We collected samples of social wasps, bumblebees, hoverflies, honey bees and other bees (all of which pollinate flowers and used molecular methods to screen them for the presence of the six most common honey bee viruses, Ascosphaera fungi, Microsporidia, and the Wolbachiaintracellular bacterium.
> 
> Possibly the most important result was the discovery that DWV was present in a third of Bombus terrestris bumblebees and Vespula vulgaris wasps, as well as a few B. pascuorum. Symptomatic DWV infections in honey bees result in bees developing with deformed wings and thus being unable to fly, although most infections do not result in such obvious symptoms.
> 
> DWV has previously been found infecting, and causing symptoms in, a colony of B. pascuorum in Germany, as well as possibly in 10% of commercially-reared B. terrestris. A similar molecular screening to ours detected it in every bee and wasp species examined, although the limited sampling in that study gave little information on prevalence. Our results indicate that DWV is in fact quite widespread in bumblebees, at least in B. terrestris, and is also common in V. vulgaris wasps. 

Evison SEF, Roberts KE, Laurenson L, Pietravalle S, Hui J, et al. (2012) Pervasiveness of Parasites in Pollinators. PLoS ONE 7(1): e30641. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0030641

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reported by 
Peter Loring Borst
128 Lieb Road
Spencer, NY  14883
607 280 4253

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