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Chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV) is a positive single-stranded RNA virus that exhibits a worldwide distribution. Although the effects of this virus on honeybees' health are well known, its presence in other bee species has not been fully studied. In this work, CBPV was detected in several native bees from Argentina, including Bombus pauloensis, Halictillus amplilobus, Peponapis fervens, and members of the genus Xylocopa. Here, we report for the first time the presence of CBPV in native bees from South America.

Pollinators, including solitary bees, are drastically declining worldwide. Among the factors contributing to this decline, bee pathogens and different land uses are of relevance. The link between the gut microbiome composition and host health has been recently studied for social pollinators (e.g. honeybees), whereas the information related to solitary bees is sparse. This work aimed at the characterization of the gut microbiome of the solitary bees Xylocopa augusti, Eucera fervens and Lasioglossum and attempted to correlate the gut microbial composition with the presence and load of different pathogens and land uses. Solitary bees were sampled in different sites (i.e. a farm, a natural reserve, and an urban plant nursery) showing different land uses. DNA was extracted from the gut, 16S rRNA gene amplified and sequenced. Eight pathogens, known for spillover from managed bees to wild ones, were quantified with qPCR. The results showed that the core microbiome profile of the three solitary bees significantly varied in the different species. Pseudomonas was found as the major core taxa in all solitary bees analyzed, whereas Lactobacillus, Spiroplasma and Sodalis were the second most abundant taxa in X. augusti, E. fervens and Lasioglossum, respectively. The main pathogens detected with qPCR were Nosema ceranae, Nosema bombi and Crithidia bombi, although differently abundant in the different bee species and sampling sites. Most microbial taxa did not show any correlation with the land use, apart from Snodgrassella and Nocardioides, showing higher abundances on less anthropized sites. Conversely, the pathogens species and load strongly affected the gut microbial composition, with Bifidobacterium, Apibacter, Serratia, Snodgrassella and Sodalis abundance that positively or negatively correlated with the detected pathogens load. Therefore, pathogens presence and load appear to be the main factor shaping the gut microbiome of solitary bees in Argentina. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parasitism and bees: a concept revision from an ecological perspective. From the beginning all, parasites, pathogens and viruses are organisms that have a negative connotation in the field of medicine. However, the use of methodologies and terms of medicine in the field of ecology and, above all, veterinary medicine, led to this understanding of "pathogenic" organisms reaching such studies. When we look into the apicultural research bibliography, we find that these concepts sometimes are poorly distinguished and only a few early studies have been focused on bringing light on this conflictive conceptualization. Today we find a large number of scientific articles that misuse these terms and often consider them as synonyms. Throughout this review we will seek to differentiate each of these terms and generate consensus that avoids the confusion of such important ecological concepts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]