Does viral load alter behavior of the bee parasite Varroa destructor?

Abstract

The invasive mite Varroa destructor has negatively impacted global apiculture, by being a vector for many viruses of the honey bee (Apis mellifera). Until now, most studies have been limited to varroa-honey bee or virus-honey bee interactions. The aim of this study is to bridge the important research gap of varroa-virus interactions by correlating varroa behavior with viral load. Ten-minute video recordings of 200 varroa mites were analyzed, and average speeds of the mites were compared to individual qPCR viral loads for deformed wing virus (DWV) and sacbrood virus (SBV). Statistically significant models reveal that colony, DWV, and SBV all might play a role in mite behavior, suggesting that the varroa-virus interaction needs to be an integral part of future studies on honey bee pathogens.