Kentucky Pollinator Extension

Want to learn about honey bees? The Varroa destructor mite is a key factor in causing colonies to collapse. These mites lower bee immune responses, act as biological vectors for pathogens, and replicate viruses, increasing the risk of colonies failing. This graphic shows how Varroa move within a colony.

Nurse bees are caretakers for upcoming generations. Nurses and the brood anatomically have larger fat bodies (an organ critical for immune system function). Varroa will climb off the adult nurse bees, into the brood cells, where they will parasitize them, vector viruses all while female mites reproduce within the cells. With mites carrying high viral infection levels, they are likely to carry a variant of Deformed Wing Virus which can have obvious and deadly symptoms.

For beekeepers, figuring out if your hive is malnourished is not easy! A recent paper I read explained that a key visual symptom to look for is in brood cells. Nurses are feeding brood and if there is not adequate nutrition coming in, there will not be a lot of brood food in their cells. If you are concerned that your hive is not getting enough nutrition, look at the brood cells for brood food! 

What harms pollinators? A plethora of threats exist! A lack of nutritional biodiversity, agriculture systems, pesticides, pathogens, parasites, and climate change all harm pollinator populations!