Search

The honey bee tracheal mite Acarapis woodi is an internal obligate parasite of adult honey bees (Apis mellifera). The small size of the mites and location within the bee's trachea create a challenge for diagnostic identification. Detailed assessment of low-level mite infestation involves microscopic examination of the bee's tracheae, but this traditional diagnostic method takes a long time. In recent years, new molecular diagnostic techniques have been developed to identify A. woodi with the use of PCRs. The purpose of this study was to compare the diagnostic sensitivity of microscopic examination and qPCR method for the detection of A. woodi in honey bee samples. Thirty-six samples were analyzed with both methods and qPCR was more sensitive than the microscopic method to detect A. woodi. This work demonstrates the practical application of molecular technology as a support tool for surveys and contingency management and to provide robust surveillance data on the presence or absence of A. woodi in honey bee colonies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many biotic and abiotic stressors impact bees' health, acting as immunosupressors and contribute to colony losses. Thus, the importance of studying the immune response of honey bees is central to develop new strategies aiming to enhance bees' fitness to confront the threats affecting them. If a pathogen breaches the physical and chemical barriers, honey bees can protect themselves from infection with cellular and humoral immune responses which represent a second line of defense. Through a series of correlative studies we have previously reported that abscisic acid (ABA) and nitric oxide (NO) share roles in the same immune defenses of Apis mellifera (A. mellifera). Here we show results supporting that the supplementation of bee larvae's diet reared in vitro with L-Arginine (precursor of NO) or ABA enhanced the immune activation of the granulocytes in response to wounding and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) injection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]