Presence of Lotmaria passim, Crithidia mellificae and Nosema spp. in differently aged Apis mellifera brood

Abstract

Infections caused by Lotmaria passim, Crithidia mellificae, Nosema spp. are frequently observed in bee colonies. The aim of this study was to determine the age at which honey bee worker larvae are most susceptible to the above parasites. Three apiaries (group C—central Poland, group E—north-eastern Poland, group S—southern Poland) with the highest number of colonies infected with Nosema spp. were chosen for the study. Six bee colonies were selected in each apiary, and bee workers of different developmental stages were sampled. The presence of parasites was determined by real-time PCR. The results were processed statistically by two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the least significant difference post-hoc test. The relationship between the presence of the parasites and larval age within groups was analyzed statistically. Significant differences (p < 0.05) in the presence of L. passim were found between 10-day-old larvae vs. 4-, 8-, 12-, 16-, 21-day-old bee brood. Differences in the presence of the analyzed parasites in differently aged larvae were also determined between groups. The presence of N. apis in 10-day-old larvae differed significantly (p < 0.05) between groups C and E. The study revealed that apparently, healthy bee colonies can be a source of infection for other colonies and larvae. C. mellificae was not identified in any of the analyzed groups.

Keywords:

• Lotmaria passim
• Nosema spp.
• protozoa
• real-time PCR
• brood
• bees

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by the National Science Centre, Poland, grant No. 2018/02/X/NZ/01070 and the project was financially co-supported by the Minister of Science and Higher Education under the program entitled “Regional lnitiative of Excellence” for the years 2019-2022, Project No. 010/RID/2018/19, amount of funding PLN 12 000 000.