Bee gut parasite was hiding in island colonies decades before scientists noticed
Sánchez-Aroca M, Muñoz I, De la Rúa P, Martínez-López V
Pollinators
Every third bite of food you eat exists because a bee visited a flower first, and the parasites quietly undermining bee colonies have been spreading longer and farther than scientists assumed.
Researchers checked frozen bee samples collected over 20 years on a group of Spanish islands and found a tiny gut parasite had been living in the bees since at least 1998. That's the oldest confirmed record of this particular parasite anywhere on Earth. Strangely, the parasite's presence didn't line up with the arrival of imported queen bees, which suggests it was already there before humans started moving bees around.
Key Findings
Lotmaria passim detected in Canary Islands samples dating to 1998, the earliest confirmed global record of this pathogen.
Crithidia mellificae was not detected in any sample across the 20-year study period (1998-2017).
La Palma, which has a long-running native bee conservation program, showed higher L. passim prevalence than Gran Canaria, with no correlation to foreign queen introductions.
chevron_right Technical Summary
A 20-year study of honey bee colonies across Spain's Canary Islands found that a gut parasite called Lotmaria passim has been present there since at least 1998, making it the earliest known record of this pathogen anywhere in the world. The findings suggest the parasite was already established on the islands before foreign bee imports began, complicating assumptions about how it spreads.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Long-term presence of emerging pathogens in island honey bee colonies.
Honey bees are recognised as the primary pollinators of most agricultural crops and numerous wild plant species worldwide. However, the colony losses reported over recent decades pose a serious thr...
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