Infestation levels of Aphomia sociella in bumblebees increase with proximity to apiaries and result in lower reproductive output and weaker immune response
IntroductionBumblebees are essential pollinators in temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. Niche overlap and competition with honeybees may impose significant stress on bumblebees by reducing nutrient acquisition and increasing the risk of pathogen and parasite spillover from honeybees. One o...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Bee Science |
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| author | Ronalds Krams Ronalds Krams Ronalds Krams Tatjana Grigorjeva Jonathan Willow Sergejs Popovs Māris Munkevics Māris Munkevics Māris Munkevics Giedrius Trakimas Giedrius Trakimas Jorge Contreras-Garduño André Rodrigues de Souza Colton B. Adams Colton B. Adams Markus J. Rantala Samira J. Garajeva Eriks Sledevskis Tatjana Krama Tatjana Krama Tatjana Krama Indrikis A. Krams Indrikis A. Krams Indrikis A. Krams Indrikis A. Krams |
| author_facet | Ronalds Krams Ronalds Krams Ronalds Krams Tatjana Grigorjeva Jonathan Willow Sergejs Popovs Māris Munkevics Māris Munkevics Māris Munkevics Giedrius Trakimas Giedrius Trakimas Jorge Contreras-Garduño André Rodrigues de Souza Colton B. Adams Colton B. Adams Markus J. Rantala Samira J. Garajeva Eriks Sledevskis Tatjana Krama Tatjana Krama Tatjana Krama Indrikis A. Krams Indrikis A. Krams Indrikis A. Krams Indrikis A. Krams |
| author_sort | Ronalds Krams |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionBumblebees are essential pollinators in temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. Niche overlap and competition with honeybees may impose significant stress on bumblebees by reducing nutrient acquisition and increasing the risk of pathogen and parasite spillover from honeybees. One of these parasites is the bumblebee wax moth (Aphomia sociella), whose larvae can be found in bumblebee and wasp nests, as well as weakened commercial honeybee hives (hereafter called apiaries).MethodsUsing Bombus terrestris colonies as experimental models, we expected that young queen and worker bumblebee immunity (measured by encapsulation response) would become weaker under both competitive (i.e., proximity to apiaries) and parasite (A. sociella infestation) pressure and, specifically, that the immunity of bumblebees in closest proximity to apiaries would be weakest in nests infested by A. sociella.Results and discussionWe observed increased infestation, lower reproductive output, and weaker encapsulation response in bumblebee colonies that were near apiaries. Our data provide insights on the ecology of A. sociella infestations where honeybees and bumblebees coexist. Our observations of reduced immune response in bumblebees inhabiting colonies nearer to apiaries are of critical importance, as this reduction in immune response could facilitate additional infestations of other parasites and pathogens within bumblebee colonies. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3cb5ceb7ecb9429fae599b9830593667 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2813-5911 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
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| spelling | doaj-art-3cb5ceb7ecb9429fae599b98305936672025-08-20T03:03:29ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Bee Science2813-59112025-04-01310.3389/frbee.2025.15505601550560Infestation levels of Aphomia sociella in bumblebees increase with proximity to apiaries and result in lower reproductive output and weaker immune responseRonalds Krams0Ronalds Krams1Ronalds Krams2Tatjana Grigorjeva3Jonathan Willow4Sergejs Popovs5Māris Munkevics6Māris Munkevics7Māris Munkevics8Giedrius Trakimas9Giedrius Trakimas10Jorge Contreras-Garduño11André Rodrigues de Souza12Colton B. Adams13Colton B. Adams14Markus J. Rantala15Samira J. Garajeva16Eriks Sledevskis17Tatjana Krama18Tatjana Krama19Tatjana Krama20Indrikis A. Krams21Indrikis A. Krams22Indrikis A. Krams23Indrikis A. Krams24Department of Biodiversity, Institute of Life Sciences and Technology, Daugavpils University, Daugavpils, LatviaChair of Plant Health, Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, EstoniaInstitute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment “BIOR”, Riga, LatviaDepartment of Biodiversity, Institute of Life Sciences and Technology, Daugavpils University, Daugavpils, LatviaPheasants Forever and Quail Forever, St James, MN, United StatesDepartment of Biodiversity, Institute of Life Sciences and Technology, Daugavpils University, Daugavpils, LatviaSection of Ecology, Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences, University of Latvia, Riga, LatviaStatistics Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Riga Stradins University, Riga, LatviaLatvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre, Riga, LatviaDepartment of Biodiversity, Institute of Life Sciences and Technology, Daugavpils University, Daugavpils, LatviaInstitute of Biosciences, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, Vilnius, LithuaniaEscuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Mexico0Departamento de Biologia, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, BrazilDepartment of Biodiversity, Institute of Life Sciences and Technology, Daugavpils University, Daugavpils, LatviaLatvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre, Riga, Latvia1Department of Biology & Turku Brain and Mind Centre, University of Turku, Turku, FinlandDepartment of Biodiversity, Institute of Life Sciences and Technology, Daugavpils University, Daugavpils, Latvia2Department of Technology, Institute of Life Sciences and Technology, Daugavpils University, Daugavpils, LatviaDepartment of Biodiversity, Institute of Life Sciences and Technology, Daugavpils University, Daugavpils, LatviaChair of Plant Health, Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, EstoniaLatvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre, Riga, LatviaDepartment of Biodiversity, Institute of Life Sciences and Technology, Daugavpils University, Daugavpils, LatviaSection of Ecology, Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences, University of Latvia, Riga, LatviaLatvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre, Riga, Latvia3Department of Zoology, Institute of Ecology and Erath Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, EstoniaIntroductionBumblebees are essential pollinators in temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. Niche overlap and competition with honeybees may impose significant stress on bumblebees by reducing nutrient acquisition and increasing the risk of pathogen and parasite spillover from honeybees. One of these parasites is the bumblebee wax moth (Aphomia sociella), whose larvae can be found in bumblebee and wasp nests, as well as weakened commercial honeybee hives (hereafter called apiaries).MethodsUsing Bombus terrestris colonies as experimental models, we expected that young queen and worker bumblebee immunity (measured by encapsulation response) would become weaker under both competitive (i.e., proximity to apiaries) and parasite (A. sociella infestation) pressure and, specifically, that the immunity of bumblebees in closest proximity to apiaries would be weakest in nests infested by A. sociella.Results and discussionWe observed increased infestation, lower reproductive output, and weaker encapsulation response in bumblebee colonies that were near apiaries. Our data provide insights on the ecology of A. sociella infestations where honeybees and bumblebees coexist. Our observations of reduced immune response in bumblebees inhabiting colonies nearer to apiaries are of critical importance, as this reduction in immune response could facilitate additional infestations of other parasites and pathogens within bumblebee colonies.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frbee.2025.1550560/fullbumblebeehoneybeeimmunitycompetitionAphomia sociella infestation |
| spellingShingle | Ronalds Krams Ronalds Krams Ronalds Krams Tatjana Grigorjeva Jonathan Willow Sergejs Popovs Māris Munkevics Māris Munkevics Māris Munkevics Giedrius Trakimas Giedrius Trakimas Jorge Contreras-Garduño André Rodrigues de Souza Colton B. Adams Colton B. Adams Markus J. Rantala Samira J. Garajeva Eriks Sledevskis Tatjana Krama Tatjana Krama Tatjana Krama Indrikis A. Krams Indrikis A. Krams Indrikis A. Krams Indrikis A. Krams Infestation levels of Aphomia sociella in bumblebees increase with proximity to apiaries and result in lower reproductive output and weaker immune response Frontiers in Bee Science bumblebee honeybee immunity competition Aphomia sociella infestation |
| title | Infestation levels of Aphomia sociella in bumblebees increase with proximity to apiaries and result in lower reproductive output and weaker immune response |
| title_full | Infestation levels of Aphomia sociella in bumblebees increase with proximity to apiaries and result in lower reproductive output and weaker immune response |
| title_fullStr | Infestation levels of Aphomia sociella in bumblebees increase with proximity to apiaries and result in lower reproductive output and weaker immune response |
| title_full_unstemmed | Infestation levels of Aphomia sociella in bumblebees increase with proximity to apiaries and result in lower reproductive output and weaker immune response |
| title_short | Infestation levels of Aphomia sociella in bumblebees increase with proximity to apiaries and result in lower reproductive output and weaker immune response |
| title_sort | infestation levels of aphomia sociella in bumblebees increase with proximity to apiaries and result in lower reproductive output and weaker immune response |
| topic | bumblebee honeybee immunity competition Aphomia sociella infestation |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frbee.2025.1550560/full |
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