Pollination by wild and managed insects is important for most crops, particularly in securing the global food supply. In the U.S. alone, the crops that rely on pollinators generate over $50 billion annually.
However, recent evidence suggests that the native wild bee species face a significant threat, with a 12% decline from 3.28 million colonies in 2012. One of the dangers to the vulnerable bee community is the dangerous variant of deformed wing virus (DWV).
What is a Deformed Wing Virus?
Deformed wing virus is a worldwide disease considered a major threat to the world's honeybee population. The Varroa mites are the vector that carries the disease inside the bees, infecting the colony members through robbing and drift. These mites not only spread viruses between wild honey bees but also eat the bee's tissues.
DWV affects all stages of honey bee development, and its severity depends on the stage in which the individual bee is infected. The disease is asymptomatic and appears normal if the bees are infected as adults. For pupae, those infected in the white eye stage usually make it to adulthood but are malformed and die soon. Meanwhile, the brood infected before that time typically dies during development.
This viral infection has easily recognizable symptoms. Some symptoms usually observed in the adult honey bee include discoloration, decreased body size, bloated abdomens, and shriveled and twisted wings.
A new variant of the deformed wing virus has already replaced the original strain of the virus from Europe. It has spread to other parts of the planet and has caused entire bee colonies to collapse.
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Decreased Virulence of DWV
This year's cold and flu season is bringing good news for wild bee populations in the U.S. Experts have discovered that DWV may have evolved to be less fatal in at least one forest in the country.
Led by Allyson Ray from Vanderbilt University, the research team compared the rates and severity of DWV in wild honey bees from a forest outside Ithaca, New York, to those from managed apiaries in New York and Pennsylvania. It was discovered that although the infection rates were similar across all groups, a variant of the virus found in the wild honey bee population resulted in milder infections than those found in the managed apiaries.
When the experts compared the behavior of Pennsylvania bees after being infected with the different strains of DWV, they discovered that virus genotypes from the Arnot Forest resulted in milder infections and higher survival rates compared to the viruses from the managed colonies.
The result of the study suggests that just like variants of human viruses lead to less severe infection, there could also be less virulent strains of DWV, which circulate among populations of wild honey bees.
This finding could have implications for preventing or treating viruses in managed bee colonies. According to Ray, understanding how different virus strains can result in more or less severe infections can help experts gain better insights into infection dynamics in managed colonies.
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