Nosema ceranae in South American Native Stingless Bees and Social Wasp

PORRINI, LEONARDO PABLO; PORRINI, DARÍO PABLO; ALVAREZ, LEOPOLDO JESÚS; GARRIDO, PAULA ; PORRINI, MARTÍN PABLO; MULLER, FERNANDO; DE MELO E SILVA NETO, CARLOS; FERNANDEZ IRIARTE, PEDRO; NUÑEZ, LAURA ALEJANDRA; EGUARAS, MARTÍN JAVIER

MICROBIAL ECOLOGY

SPRINGER

Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2018 vol. 74 p. 761 - 764

0095-3628

Besides the incipient research effort, the role ofparasites as drivers of the reduction affecting pollinator populationsis mostly unknown. Given the worldwide extension ofthe beekeeping practice and the diversity of pathogens affectingApis mellifera populations, honey bee colonies are a certainsource of parasite dispersion to other species. Here, wecommunicate the detection of the microsporidium Nosemaceranae, a relatively new parasite of honey bees, in stinglessbees (Meliponini) and the social wasp Polybia scutellaris(Vespidae) samples from Argentina and Brazil by means ofduplex PCR. Beyond the geographic location of the nests,N. ceranae was detected in seven from the eight Meliponinispecies analyzed, while Nosema apis, another common parasiteof A. mellifera, was absent in all samples tested. Furtherresearch is necessary to determine if the presence of the parasiteis also associated with established infection in host tissues.