First detection of bee viruses in hoverfly (syrphid) pollinators.

ABSTRACT: Global declines of insect pollinators jeopardize the delivery of pollination services in both agricultural and natural ecosystems. The importance of infectious diseases has been documented in honeybees, but there is little information on the extent to which these diseases are shared with other pollinator orders. Here, we establish for the first time the presence of three important bee viruses in hoverfly pollinators (Diptera: Syrphidae): black queen cell virus (BQCV), sacbrood virus (SBV) and deformed wing virus strain B (DWV-B). These viruses were detected in two Eristalis species, which are behavioural and morphological bee mimics and share a foraging niche with honeybees. Nucleotide sequences of viruses isolated from the Eristalis species and Apis mellifera were up

SUBMITTER: Bailes EJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5830674 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature