Ontogeny of immunity and natural viral infection in Apis mellifera drones and workers.

The most common viral diseases affecting honey bees (Apis mellifera) in Israel include deformed wing viruses (DWV-A and DWV-B) and acute paralysis viruses (ABPV and IAPV). These viruses are transmitted within and between colonies, both horizontally and vertically. All members of the colony contribute to this transmission, on the other hand individual and social immunity, particularly hygienic behaviour, may affect the outcome of the process.

Multiple benefits of breeding honey bees for hygienic behavior.

Honey bee colonies are prone to invasion by pests and pathogens. The combination of the parasitic mite Varroa destructor (Varroa) and the multiple viruses it vectors, is a major driver of colony losses. Breeding for hygienic behavior to reduce Varroa populations is considered a sustainable way to reduce the impact of Varroa on honey bee health.

Metatranscriptome Analysis of Sympatric Bee Species Identifies Bee Virus Variants and a New Virus, Andrena-Associated Bee Virus-1.

Bees are important plant pollinators in agricultural and natural ecosystems. High average annual losses of honey bee () colonies in some parts of the world, and regional population declines of some mining bee species (.), are attributed to multiple factors including habitat loss, lack of quality forage, insecticide exposure, and pathogens, including viruses.

Infection of a Lepidopteran Cell Line with Deformed Wing Virus.

Many attempts to develop a reliable cell cultured-based system to study honey bee virus infections have encountered substantial difficulties. We investigated the ability of a cell line from a heterologous insect to sustain infection by a honey bee virus. For this purpose, we infected the Lepidopteran hemocytic cell line (P1) with Deformed wing virus (DWV).

Natural Variation in Flower Color and Scent in Populations of Eruca sativa (Brassicaceae) Affects Pollination Behavior of Honey Bees.

Plants of Eruca sativa Mill. (Brassicaceae) from desert and Mediterranean populations in Israel differ in flower color and size. In the desert habitat, the population has higher abundance of flowers with cream color and longer petals, whereas in the Mediterranean habitat, the population has higher abundance of flowers with yellow and shorter petals.

New Viruses from the Ectoparasite Mite Infesting and .

is an ectoparasitic mite of Asian or Eastern honeybees which has become a serious threat to European subspecies of Western honeybees () within the last century. and its vectored honeybee viruses became serious threats for colony survival. This is a short period for pathogen- and host-populations to adapt.

Presence of Apis Rhabdovirus-1 in Populations of Pollinators and Their Parasites from Two Continents.

The viral ecology of bee communities is complex, where viruses are readily shared among co-foraging bee species. Additionally, in honey bees (), many viruses are transmitted - and their impacts exacerbated - by the parasitic mite. Thus far, the viruses found to be shared across bee species and transmitted by mites are positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses.