title: Absence of Leishmaniinae and Nosematidae in stingless bees.
abstract: Bee pollination is an indispensable component of global food production and plays a crucial role in sustainable agriculture. The worldwide decline of bee populations, including wild pollinators, poses a threat to this system. However, most studies to date are situated in temperate regions where Apini and Bombini are very abundant pollinators. Tropical and subtropical regions where stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini) are generally very common, are often overlooked. These bees also face pressure due to deforestation and agricultural intensification as well as the growing use and spread of exotic pollinators as Apis mellifera and Bombus species. The loss or decline of this important bee tribe would have a large impact on their provided ecosystem services, in both wild and agricultural landscapes. The importance of pollinator diseases, which can contribute to decline, has not been investigated so far in this bee tribe. Here we report on the first large pathogen screening of Meliponini species in southern Brazil. Remarkably we observed that there was an absence of Leishmaniinae and Nosematidae, and a very low occurrence of Apicystis bombi. Our data on disease prevalence in both understudied areas and species, can greatly improve our knowledge on the distribution of pathogens among bee species.
authors: Laboratory of Entomology, Department of Biodiversity and Ecology, Faculty of Biosciences, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors: Patrícia
authors: P
authors: Nunes-Silva
authors: Laboratory of Agrozoology, Department of Crop Protection, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Belgium.
authors: Niels
authors: N
authors: Piot
authors: Laboratory of Agrozoology, Department of Crop Protection, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Belgium.
authors: Ivan
authors: I
authors: Meeus
authors: Laboratory of Entomology, Department of Biodiversity and Ecology, Faculty of Biosciences, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors: Betina
authors: B
authors: Blochtein
authors: Laboratory of Agrozoology, Department of Crop Protection, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Belgium.
authors: Guy
authors: G
authors: Smagghe
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000469:parasitology*; D001938:Brazil; D005843:Geography; D007891:Leishmania / Q000502:physiology*; D016818:Nosema / Q000502:physiology*; D010802:Phylogeny; D014351:Trypanosomatina / Q000502:physiology*