Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) affecting honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies

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Emil Wilcox
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1 Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) affecting honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies Dr. Jeff Pettis USDA-ARS Bee Research Lab. Beltsville, Maryland, USA Bee Health and Symptoms of CCD Explore potential causes of CCD

2 National Academy of Sciences report in 2006 concluded that: all pollinators in decline Honey bee colony numbers have been reduced from 5 million in the 1940s to only 2.5 million today Honey bee colony health has declined since the 1980s Pollination needs will continue to increase Almonds in California use 1.2 million colonies

3 Major U. S. Migratory Routes For Commercial Honey Bee Colonies California almonds require 1.2 million honey bee colonies from January through March each year; that represents almost half of all managed colonies In the U.S.

4 Symptoms of CCD Rapid loss of adult worker bees Few or no dead bees in colony Colonies dead w/ excess brood Small cluster w/ queen present Pollen and Honey stores intact

5 Nosema Fungi Bacteria Viruses Parasites Other Insects

6 Not all losses are CCD! Colony deaths yield clues: Presence of dead bees honey brood physical signs

7 So where have all the bees gone? Not all colony deaths are CCD! Bees dying away from the hive is normal Must rule out the obvious causes Courtesy of the Washington Post

8 Sunday, April 29, 2007 So why are the bees disappearing?

9 Perception of possible causes of CCD Opinions as to Causes of colony loss Researcher Mites CCD Other BK Beekeeper Mites CCD Other BK Media Mites CCD 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

10 Primary Stress Working Hypothesis Varroa mites Management Nutrition Pesticides Viruses Secondary Pathogen Nosema Fungi

11 CCD working group has representative samples from across the country Historical bee die offs?

12 Earlier bee die offs went unexplained - We now have new tools

13 Samples from CCD colonies are being analyzed at Columbia University sequencing University of Illinois Whole genome array ARS Beltsville Lab. Bee Pathology array Penn State - Virus loads and pathogen ID Edgewood Virus quantification and ID Pennsylvania Dept. of Ag. - Adult bee autopsies ARS Beltsville Lab. parasitic mite and Nosema levels

14 30 Strong vs. Weak Colony Varroa Mite Levels Colonies represent 12 beekeeping operations sampled in Jan. 07 in CA with adult bees per colony sampled from the brood nest Mites / 100 Bees Strong Colonies Weak Colonies

15 Nosema apis vs. Nosema ceranae N. ceranae described in 1996 in Apis cerana In found in Apis mellifera in Taiwan and Spain Associated in Spain and Poland with heavy colony losses Presence of Nosema ceranae confirmed in numerous states in U. S. Nosema Spores / bee (millions Strong Colonies Nosema Spores / bee (millions Weak Colonies

16 Working in four major areas Stress Nutrition, moving colonies, management Parasitic mites Varroa and tracheal Pesticides in hive mite treatments and Agricultural Pathogens bacteria, fungi, viruses

17 The Honey Bee Genome Project and Healthier Bees Jay Evans Bee Research Lab, USDA-ARS Beltsville, MD ARS Administrator s Council June 13, 2007

18 Bee Forensics Gene Set New turbo edition Beetox Immune Genes Pathogen Controls Catalase Abaecin A. apis Am52C8 CEst04 Apidaecin ABPV VgMC CYP306A1 basket Acawood Actin (E) CYP4G11 Bgluc1 Amoeba RPS5 (E) CYP6AS14 defensin1 Bact16S dnc ortholog defensin2 BQCV GSTS3 dorsal-1 CBPV PKA-C1 Dredd chitina PKA-R1 Dscam DWV rut ortholog EGFlikeA FungITS hymenopt PGRP9710 PGRPLC710 PGRPSC2505 PGRPSC4300 PPOact tab germsa KBV M. Pluton Nosapis Noscer SBV Spapis

defensin1 Bact16S dnc ortholog defensin2 BQCV GSTS3 dorsal-1 CBPV PKA-C1 Dredd chitina PKA-R1 Dscam DWV rut

19 Bee Forensics Gene Set New turbo edition Beetox Immune Genes Pathogen Controls Catalase Abaecin A. apis Am52C8 CEst04 Apidaecin ABPV VgMC CYP306A1 basket Acawood Actin (E) CYP4G11 Bgluc1 Amoeba RPS5 (E) CYP6AS14 defensin1 Bact16S dnc ortholog defensin2 BQCV GSTS3 dorsal-1 CBPV PKA-C1 Dredd chitina PKA-R1 Dscam DWV rut ortholog EGFlikeA FungITS hymenopt PGRP9710 PGRPLC710 PGRPSC2505 PGRPSC4300 PPOact tab germsa KBV M. Pluton Nosapis Noscer SBV Spapis

20 Bee Forensics Gene Set New turbo edition Beetox Immune Genes Pathogen Controls Catalase Abaecin A. apis Am52C8 CEst04 Apidaecin ABPV VgMC CYP306A1 basket Acawood Actin (E) CYP4G11 Bgluc1 Amoeba RPS5 (E) CYP6AS14 defensin1 Bact16S dnc ortholog defensin2 BQCV GSTS3 dorsal-1 CBPV PKA-C1 Dredd chitina PKA-R1 Dscam DWV rut ortholog EGFlikeA FungITS hymenopt PGRP9710 PGRPLC710 PGRPSC2505 PGRPSC4300 PPOact tab germsa KBV M. Pluton Nosapis Noscer SBV Spapis

21 Bee Forensics Gene Set New turbo edition Beetox Immune Genes Pathogen Controls Catalase Abaecin A. apis Am52C8 CEst04 Apidaecin ABPV VgMC CYP306A1 basket Acawood Actin (E) CYP4G11 Bgluc1 Amoeba RPS5 (E) CYP6AS14 defensin1 Bact16S dnc ortholog defensin2 BQCV GSTS3 dorsal-1 CBPV PKA-C1 Dredd chitina PKA-R1 Dscam DWV rut ortholog EGFlikeA FungITS hymenopt PGRP9710 PGRPLC710 PGRPSC2505 PGRPSC4300 PPOact tab germsa KBV M. Pluton Nosapis Noscer SBV Spapis

22 CCD Colony Immune Analyses - Results Red = Expressed, Blue = Silent Beetox Immune Pathogen

23 Control (n = 6) Beetox Immune Pathogen Strong CCD (n = 6) Weak CCD (n = 6)

24 Photo by Bart Smith USDA-ARS

25 Four areas of emphasis on CCD Survey Sample Identification Hypothesis driven experimentation Remediation and Extension

26 Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) Workshop held in Beltsville 4/23/07 Working group continues sample analysis and initiation of experiments Steering Committee Action Plan

27 Symptoms of CCD Rapid loss of adult worker bees Few or no dead bees in colony Colonies dead w/ excess brood Small cluster w/ queen present Pollen and Honey stores intact

28 Photo by Bart Smith USDA-ARS

- Determining the Causes - Dr. Diana Cox-Foster Pennsylvania State University

Colony Collapse Disorder - Determining the Causes - Dr. Diana Cox-Foster Pennsylvania State University Honey Bees in US Agriculture and the Colony Collapse Disorder Essential for pollination of over 100