About This Project

We rely on bees to pollinate plants critical for our survival, but viruses threaten these key pollinators. Bees infected with viruses experience devastating effects, including deformities and larval mortality. Our project will look at the influence of bee biodiversity and species interactions on the prevalence and distribution of four viruses in wild bee communities. By expanding our understanding of how bee viruses spread, this project can provide insight into conservation strategies.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

Viral diseases and other pathogens are one of the top four threats to bees. First identified in managed honey bee colonies, many bee viruses are now known to infect a wide range of native species as well. This is due to pathogen spillover, when pathogens transmit from one host species to another species, which is a common occurrence among bees. Scientists believe that these viruses spread between species when infected individuals deposit viral particles onto flowers that uninfected individuals then visit. We know pathogen spillover can make entire communities vulnerable. By studying bee communities and identifying the viruses found within them, we can better understand how to stop the spread.

What is the significance of this project?

Bee conservation efforts need to go beyond protecting our favorite honey-making friends. There are ~4000 species of native bees in the U.S.; many of which fill a role in the pollination of our crops and wildflowers unmet by managed honey bees. These species alongside honey bees face multiple threats that are compounded by exposure to harmful viruses.

Addressing the issue posed by bee viruses will require going beyond focusing on a single vulnerable species and towards understanding how these diseases affect the entire community. While this work will take place in Florida, it addresses a global phenomenon. This project will contribute to the growing body of literature on bee disease ecology and help inform efforts to protect these important species.

What are the goals of the project?

We will collect 200 bees from up to 20 species and test each for the presence of four bee viruses: black queen cell virus, deformed wing virus, Israeli acute paralysis virus, and sacbrood virus. Bees will be collected from communities that we have been monitoring in Alachua County, FL, and for which we have established the network of floral associations that connect the resident species.

With this collection, we aim to: 1) identify which of four common bee viruses are present in the bee communities we are studying and which bee species are susceptible to infection(s), 2) map the host distributions of these viruses onto known networks of bee species associations within each community, and 3) assess if bee biodiversity can predict viral infections within the communities.