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We aimed to evaluate the occurrence and level of infestation by Varroa destructor in Apis mellifera from different regions and Köppen-Geiger climate typologies in Brazil. We evaluated a total of 159 managed colonies of A. mellifera (156 Africanized honey bees – AHB + 3 European honey bees – EHB colonies) distributed across all five Brazilian regions (Northern, Northeastern, Midwest, Southern, and Southeastern) from 2014 to 2017. In each colony, approximately 300 adult honey bees were collected to detect and calculate the mite parasitism level, and the A. mellifera colonies are not treated against the mite. Our results showed that V. destructor is disseminated across all Brazilian regions with low levels of infestation (3.8% ± 3.61). The mite infestation level per colony ranged from 0 to 17.4% with significant differences in the infestation level between the five Brazilian regions, where higher infestation levels were found in colonies installed in the Southern (4.1 ± 2.8) and Southeastern (7.2 ± 3.3) regions, and the lowest infestation levels were found in colonies installed in the Northern region (equal to zero). The climate associated with those Brazilian regions presented the lowest (Am and As – Northern region) and highest (C – Southern and Southeastern that are regions less tropical than Northern) Varroa infestation level. We conclude that V. destructor is dispersed in all regions of Brazil with low infestation levels which can be influenced by the climate typology of each region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stingless bees are important pollinators in tropical and subtropical areas. The breeding of native stingless bee species from the Meliponini tribe to obtain honey, pollen, and geopropolis (meliponiculture) is a promising activity in Brazil with economic, social, and environmental impacts. Stingless bees can share food sources with Apis mellifera and other insects that can be vectors of pathogens. Here, we investigated seven stingless bee species from Brazil (Melipona quadrifasciata anthidioides, Melipona scutellaris, Nannotrigona testaceicornis, Partamona helleri, Scaptotrigona xanthotricha, Tetragonisca angustula, and Trigona spinipes) screening for seven of the most common pathogenic viruses (ABPV, IAPV, BQCV, CBPV, SBV, KBV, and DWV) in A. mellifera in summer and winter seasons. All seven stingless bee species studied were positive for ABPV and IAPV (only in M. quadrifasciata anthidioides and T. spinipes), while ABPV was found in samples from summer and winter, IAPV was only found in winter. This is the first study detecting viruses in seven native stingless bee species in Brazil and because of the novelty of this area in Brazil, it is necessary to monitor native stingless bee colonies to investigate the impact of those viruses at a colony and individual level to avoid losses and impact to the native bees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]