Decoupling the effects of nutrition, age, and behavioral caste on honey bee physiology, immunity, and colony health.

Nutritional stress, especially a dearth of pollen, has been linked to honey bee colony losses. Colony-level experiments are critical for understanding the mechanisms by which nutritional stress affects individual honey bee physiology and pushes honey bee colonies to collapse. In this study, we investigated the impact of pollen restriction on key markers of honey bee physiology, main elements of the immune system, and predominant honey bee viruses.

Insights into the effects of sublethal doses of pesticides glufosinate-ammonium and sulfoxaflor on honey bee health.

Insect pollinators are threatened worldwide, being the exposure to multiple pesticides one of the most important stressor. The herbicide Glyphosate and the insecticide Imidacloprid are among the most used pesticides worldwide, although different studies evidenced their detrimental effects on non-target organisms. The emergence of glyphosate-resistant weeds and the recent ban of imidacloprid in Europe due to safety concerns, has prompted their replacement by new molecules, such as glufosinate-ammonium (GA) and sulfoxaflor (S).

Impact of Chronic Exposure to Sublethal Doses of Glyphosate on Honey Bee Immunity, Gut Microbiota and Infection by Pathogens.

Glyphosate is the most used pesticide around the world. Although different studies have evidenced its negative effect on honey bees, including detrimental impacts on behavior, cognitive, sensory and developmental abilities, its use continues to grow. Recent studies have shown that it also alters the composition of the honey bee gut microbiota.

Unraveling Honey Bee- Interaction: Multiple Factors Involved in Differential Resistance between Two Uruguayan Populations.

The ectoparasite is the greatest biotic threat of honey bees in vast regions of the world. Recently, the study of natural mite-resistant populations has gained much interest to understand the action of natural selection on the mechanisms that limit the mite population. In this study, the components of the - relationship were thoroughly examined and compared in resistant and susceptible honey bee populations from two regions of Uruguay.

Detection of Lotmaria passim in Africanized and European honey bees from Uruguay, Argentina and Chile.

Trypanosomatids affecting honey bees, Crithidia mellificae and Lotmaria passim, have been poorly studied in South America. We therefore analyzed their presence in Africanized and European honeybees from Uruguay, Argentina and Chile collected between 1990 and 2011 and assessed their association with other bee parasites and pathogens. Crithidia mellificae was not detected while L.

Nosemosis control in European honey bees, , by silencing the gene encoding polar tube protein 3.

RNA interference (RNAi) is a post-transcriptional gene silencing mechanism triggered by double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) that is homologous in sequence to the silenced gene and is conserved in a wide range of eukaryotic organisms. The RNAi mechanism has provided unique opportunities for combating honey bee diseases caused by various parasites and pathogens. is a microsporidian parasite of European honey bees, , and has been associated with honey bee colony losses in some regions of the world.

Epormenis cestri secretions in Sebastiania schottiana trees cause mass death of honey bee Apis mellifera larvae in Uruguay.

For more than 60 years, sporadic cases of massive summer honey bee larvae mortality in colonies located near freshwater systems with abundant riparian vegetation have been reported in Uruguay. This odd phenomenon, known as "River disease" by beekeepers, can lead to colony death by depopulation. The aim of this study was to detect the causes of larvae death.

Sublethal effects of acaricides and Nosema ceranae infection on immune related gene expression in honeybees.

Nosema ceranae is an obligate intracellular parasite and the etiologic agent of Nosemosis that affects honeybees. Beside the stress caused by this pathogen, honeybee colonies are exposed to pesticides under beekeeper intervention, such as acaricides to control Varroa mites. These compounds can accumulate at high concentrations in apicultural matrices.

Seasonal Variation of Honeybee Pathogens and its Association with Pollen Diversity in Uruguay.

Honeybees are susceptible to a wide range of pathogens, which have been related to the occurrence of colony loss episodes reported mainly in north hemisphere countries. Their ability to resist those infections is compromised if they are malnourished or exposed to pesticides. The aim of the present study was to carry out an epidemiological study in Uruguay, South America, in order to evaluate the dynamics and interaction of honeybee pathogens and evaluate their association with the presence of external stress factors such as restricted pollen diversity and presence of agrochemicals.

American Foulbrood in Uruguay: twelve years from its first report.

Paenibacillus larvae is the causative agent of American Foulbrood (AFB), a deleterious disease that affects honeybees. In Uruguay it was first reported in 1999. In 2001 the bacterium was spread all over the country, and its prevalence in honey was estimated in 51%.