Enhancing Pollinator Survival

Problem

How can disease and decline of domesticated honey bee colonies be prevented?

• Selection associated with domestication of honey bees may have decreased their fitness and left them vulnerable to pests and pathogens.

Findings

The researchers partnered with beekeepers to pair 25 feral honey bee colonies across Pennsylvania with a managed colony within a 7-mile radius. Over two years, the team measured winter survival, levels of two viruses and a parasite, and expression of six genes that regulate immunity.

• The team identified two genes that could serve as biomarkers of honey bee health to predict a colony's ability to survive the winter.
• Feral honey bee colonies may have higher tolerance to pathogens than managed bee colonies.

Impact

The findings may help lead to breeding stocks that would enhance survival of managed colonies and decrease colony losses for the beekeeping industry.

• The study was the first to show the association of host-pathogen dynamics with survival of feral colonies.

Research Credit

Team

• Chauncy Hinshaw, Kathleen C. Evans, Cristina Rosa, Margarita M. López-Uribe

Participating Departments

• Entomology
• Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology

Partner

• University of Maryland

Other Funding

• University Graduate Training Program in Integrative Pollinator Ecology
• Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences Strategic Networks and Initiatives Program

Federal and State Appropriations

• USDA NIFA Hatch Multistate Project PEN04716, Accession #1020527
• Animal Health Project PEN04620, Accession #1011873
• Hatch Project PEN04652, Accession #1016243

Emerging Discoveries

Feral colonies provide clues for enhancing honey bee tolerance to pathogens

January 19, 2021

Understanding the genetic and environmental factors that enable some feral honey bee colonies to tolerate pathogens and survive the winter in the absence of beekeeping management may help lead to breeding stocks that would enhance survival of managed colonies, according to a study led by researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.

Published Research

The Role of Pathogen Dynamics and Immune Gene Expression in the Survival of Feral Honey Bees

• Hinshaw, C., Evans, K. C., Rosa, C., & López-Uribe, M. M. (2021). The Role of Pathogen Dynamics and Immune Gene Expression in the Survival of Feral Honey Bees. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 8, [594263]. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2020.594263