Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2025
Keywords
Wild colonies, Africanized honey bee, Varroa, Nosema, trypanosome
Abstract
Managed honey bee populations in the United States have been under stress over the past several decades, probably due to the interaction among multiple biotic and abiotic stressors. While most research has focused on national surveys of honey bee pathogens and parasites, state-specific studies that include both managed and feral honey bee populations may offer additional insights into the factors that contribute to the decline of honey bees. We conducted a survey to detect parasites and pathogens from feral and managed honey bees in colonies in Oklahoma. A total of 253 (89 managed and 164 feral) honey bees from these colonies were analyzed for five species of parasites and pathogens. Honey bees in the samples represented the A, C, M, and O lineages. A total of 87 of the managed colonies were also screened for Varroa mites. Samples from the colonies were collected from 49 counties that represent six distinct ecological regions of Oklahoma. Nosema ceranae (11.1% overall occurrence) was significantly more common in the managed colonies (27.0%) compared to the feral (2.4%) honey bee colonies. Lotmaria passim was observed in six colonies (2.43%), with five (2.0%) from feral colonies and one (1.1%) from a managed colony. A total of seven (2.8%) colonies were positive for Spiroplasma melliferous, and all these cases were from managed honey bee colonies. To the best of our knowledge, this is only the second study to utilize molecular diagnostics to document the occurrence of S. melliferum in honey bee colonies in the U.S. Varroa mites were found in 18 (20.7%) of the 87 managed honey bee colonies screened. None of the honey bee samples were positive for N. apis, S. apis, and Crithidia mellificae. This study provides an assessment of the species of parasites and pathogens that occur in feral and managed honey bee colonies in Oklahoma.
Citation
Szalanski, Allen L., and Dylan A. Cleary. "Pathogens and parasites of feral and managed honey bee, Apis mellifera1, colonies from Oklahoma." Southwestern Entomologist 50, no. 4 (2025): 1262-1282.
