title: Predictive markers of honey bee colony collapse.
abstract: Across the Northern hemisphere, managed honey bee colonies, Apis mellifera, are currently affected by abrupt depopulation during winter and many factors are suspected to be involved, either alone or in combination. Parasites and pathogens are considered as principal actors, in particular the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor, associated viruses and the microsporidian Nosema ceranae. Here we used long term monitoring of colonies and screening for eleven disease agents and genes involved in bee immunity and physiology to identify predictive markers of honeybee colony losses during winter. The data show that DWV, Nosema ceranae, Varroa destructor and Vitellogenin can be predictive markers for winter colony losses, but their predictive power strongly depends on the season. In particular, the data support that V. destructor is a key player for losses, arguably in line with its specific impact on the health of individual bees and colonies.
authors.affiliation: Swiss Bee Research Centre, Agroscope Liebefeld-Posieux Research Station ALP, Bern, Switzerland. benjamin.dainat@alp.admin.ch
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dainat
authors.forename: Jay D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.forename: Yan Ping
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gauthier
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Neumann
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000382:microbiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000502:physiology*; D056631:Colony Collapse; D017753:Ecosystem; D006722:Honey; D007107:Immune System; D008954:Models, Biological; D008957:Models, Genetic; D016818:Nosema / Q000378:metabolism*; D011058:Pollen; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D011157:Population Dynamics; D012621:Seasons; D057077:Varroidae / Q000378:metabolism*