How Population Structure and Nest Membership Shape Pathogen Patterns in Bumble Bees.

ABSTRACT: Host density, genetic diversity and social groups are key factors influencing pathogen transmission in wildlife populations, but their interactions remain poorly understood in insects. Islands can provide natural laboratories with distinct populations that vary in density and genetic diversity, whereby dense, genetically homogeneous populations are expected to facilitate pathogen transmission. We used bumble bees to test these predictions, assessing the population structure of the two common species Bombus pascuorum and B. terrestris across island and mainland sites in the British Isles and France and testing bees for five micro-parasitic and four viral pathogens. B. pascuorum formed distinct genetic clusters on islands, with varying levels of heterozygosity and only the Isle of Arran clus

SUBMITTER: Dobelmann J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12617071 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature