Widespread occurrence of honey bee pathogens in solitary bees

Solitary bees and honey bees from a neighbouring apiary were screened for a broad set of putative pathogens including protists, fungi, spiroplasmas and viruses. Most sampled bees appeared to be infected with multiple parasites. Interestingly, viruses exclusively known from honey bees such as Apis mellifera Filamentous Virus and Varroa destructor Macula-like Virus were also discovered in solitary bees. A microsporidium found in Andrena vaga showed most resemblance to Nosema thomsoni. Our results suggest that bee hives represent a putative source of pathogens for other pollinators. Similarly, solitary bees may act as a reservoir of honey bee pathogens.publisher: Elsevier articletitle: Widespread occurrence of honey bee pathogens in solitary bees journaltitle: Journal of Invertebrate Pathology articlelink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jip.2014.08.007 content_type: article copyright: Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.status: publishe