Higher prevalence of sacbrood virus in Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) colonies after pollinating highbush blueberries.

ABSTRACT: Highbush blueberry pollination depends on managed honey bees (Apis mellifera) L. for adequate fruit sets; however, beekeepers have raised concerns about the poor health of colonies after pollinating this crop. Postulated causes include agrochemical exposure, nutritional deficits, and interactions with parasites and pathogens, particularly Melisococcus plutonius [(ex. White) Bailey and Collins, Lactobacillales: Enterococcaceae], the causal agent of European foulbrood disease, but other pathogens could be involved. To broadly investigate common honey bee pathogens in relation to blueberry pollination, we sampled adult honey bees from colonies at time points corresponding to before (t1), during (t2), at the end (t3), and after (t4) highbush blueberry pollination in British Columbia, Canada, a

SUBMITTER: McAfee A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11318621 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature