Honey Bee Health and Innovation Research Grant Program (Georgia)

Honey Bee Health and Innovation Research Grant Program (Georgia) is sponsored by Georgia Department of Agriculture. This program aims to enhance honey bee health and boost the beekeeping industry in Georgia. It encourages research proposals focusing on improving disease management, enhancing honey bee nutrition, and advancing genetic research for healthy, diverse, and resilient bee stock.

Honey Bee Health Grants | Pollinator. org Honey Bee Health Improvement Project The mysterious disappearance of bees, called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), is a growing threat to honey bees, the mainstay of pollination services in agriculture.

The North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC), a tri-national coalition dedicated to promoting the health of all pollinators, partners with different organizations to perform research for improving the health of honey bees and reversing the threats they face. The Honey Bee Health Improvement Project focuses on ways to help honey bees and beekeepers.

In the absence of Colony Collapse Disorder, this task force will seek out and secure funding for innovative and important work to understand and promote genetic stock improvements, understand and promote best management practices for commercial beekeeping, and promote forage opportunities for colonies on public and private land. The 2026 grant cycle is now closed.

Submit your proposal packets as a single PDF file to our application platform here by 5PM ET on Friday, January 16, 2026. The Honey Bee Health Task Force has identified seven priority areas for funding, though other areas will be considered as well. Please indicate to which of the one (or more) of the seven objectives your application applies.

Effects of pathogens and pests on honey bee behavior, physiology, and/or colony health, including the development of novel methods to mitigate these effects. Effects of nutrition on pest, pathogen, and disease incidence. Effects of pesticides on pest, pathogen, and disease incidence with an emphasis on mitigation and incorporation of Integrated Pest and Pollinator Management (IPPM).

Investigation of new and emerging honey bee pests and pathogens . Development of approaches for genetic stock improvement of honey bee populations to enhance resistance to pathogens and parasites. Effects of environmental variables on honey bee pests, pathogens, and disease incidence.

Development of diagnostics or indicators for the presence of pests, pathogens and diseases that affect honey bee health. Donate to Honey Bee Health: Even if you aren't a scientist able to do research, you can play an important role in increasing research related to the health of honey bees. Give now and your money will go directly to the Honey Bee Health Improvement Project.

Petra Hafker and Christophe Duplais at Cornell University will be investigating Supplements for immunity: Can sterol-rich overwintering supplements offset miticide- induced pressure on honey bee health?

Dr. Mulusew Fikere at Purdue University will be developing Know your bees: A genomic based stock characterization and certification framework to track origin, diversity, and disease risk across the United States Lincoln Taylor, Dr. Julian Resasco, and Dr. Samuel Ramsey at University of Colorado will be researching the Effects of pesticides on pest, pathogen, and disease incidence with an emphasis on mitigation and incorporation of Integrated Pest and Pollinator Management (IPPM) Luke Hearon and Reed Johnson at The Ohio State University will be Understanding Daily Foraging Patterns to Protect Pollinators from Pesticides Zachary Lamas, Michelle Starz Gaiano, and Brandon Tringa at University of Maryland Baltimore County will be Investigating covert viral infections and increased sensitivity to cold stress in managed honey bees Treson Thompson, and Dr. Samuel Ramsey at the Boulder Bee Lab will be Investigating the Role of the Microbiome in Varroa destructor and Tropilaelaps mercedesae : Analysis of Virulence and Life History Ian Collins and Dr. Lewis Bartlett at the University of Georgia will be Evaluating Chlorantraniliprole resistance in small hive beetles through evolutionary selection experiments for the improvement of honey bee health.

Zion Hubbard, Dr. Susan Holecheck, Dr. Gro Amdam at Arizona State University will be analyzing how Odorant-Stimulated Hygienic Behavior Reveals Differential Susceptibility of Varroa mite Infestations, Inducing Gene Expression Changes of Apis mellifera Previous grantees are listed below by priority area.

Effects of Pathogens and Pests on Honey Bees 2025 – Ecological and Spatial Overlap Between Apis mellifera and Parasites: A Tool for Predicting Disease Risk Under Climate Change – Angela Nava Bolaños, National Autonomous University of Mexico 2025 – Catch My Drift: Investigations of varroa and nosema movement via drifting – Curtis Coleman, Mississippi State University, chc239@msstate.

edu 2025 – Deformed Wing Virus (DWV) Dynamics in Puerto Rican Honeybees – Cid M. Calderon Rodriguez, University of Puerto Rico, cid. calderon@upr.

edu 2025 – Towards Understanding the Conditional Pathogenicity of Black Queen Cell Virus – Olav Rueppell and Chenoa Kaufman, University of Alberta, olav@ualberta. ca , cnkaufma@ualberta. ca 2025 – Mortality effects of naturally occurring virus mixtures on honey bees – Olav Rueppell, University of Alberta, olav@ualberta.

ca 2024 - The impact of viral infection on honey bee queen reproduction quality - Dr. Esmaeil Amiri and Sagar Bhandari, Delta Research and Extension Center 2024 – Deformed Wing Virus (DWV) Dynamics in Puerto Rican Honeybees – Cid M. Calderon Rodriguez, University of Puerto Rico, cid. calderon@upr.

edu 2024 – Social immunity in the queen's retinue – Olav Rueppel and Dr. Alexander Walton, University of Alberta 2024 – The sustainability fix and political landscape drives of urban bee diversity and pathogen susceptibility: An urban political ecological perspective in Philadelphia and Montreal – Austin Martin, Temple University 2023 – Effect of toxic, pathogenic and nutritional stressors on queen-worker interactions and chemical signal content in the honeybee – Margarita Orlova, Ph.

D. , SUNY Polytechnic University, orlovam@sunypoly. edu 2023 – The Effects of Maternal IAPV Vaccination on Apis mellifera Offspring – Olav Rueppell with Robert Xinzhi Lu, University of Alberta, olav@ualberta.

ca 2023 – Genetic diversity and populations structure of Varroa destructor across the U.S., and potential implications for Amitraz-resistant mites – Juliana Rangel, Ph. D with Taylor Reams, Texas A&M, jrangel@tamu. edu 2022 – Breeding for Low Varroa Growth (LVG) in Ontario Honey Bee Colonies – Ernesto Guzman-Novoa, University of Guelph, eguzman@uoguelph.

ca 2022 – Dynamics of viruses among Varroa mite populations – Dr. Esmaeil Amiri, Delta Research and Extension Center at Mississippi State University, ea795@msstate. edu 2022 – Developing a novel system to study bee viruses – Dr. David Tarpy, Department of Applied Ecology at North Carolina State University, drtarpy@ncsu.

edu 2022 – Determining the drivers of precocious honey bee (Apis mellifera) self-removal behavior – Dr. Juliana Rengel, Department of Entomology atTexas A&M AgriLife Research, jrangel@tamu. edu 2021 – Trialing a novel insecticide to control small hive beetle infestation and encourage supplementary pollen feeding as part of honey bee health – Lewis J. Bartlett, The University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc. (UGARF), lewis.

bartlett@uga. edu 2021 – Can improved diet quality ameliorate the interactive effects of sublethal pesticide exposure and viral infection in honey bees? – Adam G.

Dolezal, Department of Entomology College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Administration University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, adolezal@illinois. edu 2020 – The Understudied Honey Bee: Exploring the Role of Feral Honey Bees in Pathogen Dynamics in Pollinator Communities of Southern California – Amy Geffre, UC San Diego, ageffre@ucsd. edu We will explore pathogen dynamics in southern California pollinator communities.

We will 1) characterize HBAV loads in feral and managed honey bees in southern California across time and 2) describe the directionality of pathogen transmission in this bee community. We hypothesize that feral honey bees play a key role in pathogen transmission dynamics. 2020 – Smart Tracking: How varroa impact the social cohesion and longevity of a colony – Kirsten Traynor, Arizona State University, ktraynor@asu.

edu Though we know varroa reduce honey bee lifespan in infected colonies, we don’t know how individually parasitized bees differ from healthy bees in colony contributions to nursing, foraging and their individual productivity during their lifespan. A small reduction to individual productiveness (i.e. 2 days shorter nursing duration/15% reduction in pollen carrying capacity/1.

5 days shorter lifespan) can compound into large colony level effects when amplified over the season and throughout the superorganism. If we quantified the changes in the behavior of individually parasitized individuals, we could estimate the sublethal economic impact on colony productivity.

We propose to investigate how varroa parasitization during pupal development has sub-lethal impacts on colony health, influencing the rate of maturation, the age of first foraging, and the social dynamics in a colony. 2019 – Varroa behavior: Invasion of brood cells and consequences of co-infested cells – Zachary Lamas, University of Maryland, zlamas@umd.

edu Our study takes a two-pronged approach to understand the dynamics of Varroa parasitism and nutritional stressors on honey bees. The first approach looks at the rate of varroa invasion on worker brood cells that were or were not stressed during early development. Transmission potentials of multiple varroa invading a single brood cell will be examined.

The second approach investigates Varroa parasitism, nutritional deprivation, or a combination of the two stressors during brood development on adult bee behavior and physiology. Rates of Varroa parasitism are then revisited on the adult bees from all treatment groups.

2019 – Elucidating the role of crop flowers as reservoirs of pathogens and the influence of the pollinator community on pathogen transmission to honey bees – Ana Montero-Castaño, University of Guelph, ana. montero. castano@gmail.

com The general objective of this proposal is to understand the role of crop flowers as reservoirs of viable pathogens to honey bees and the most probable direction of transmission considering the influence of the entire pollinator community. Specifically, I want to address the following questions: 1. Are pathogens found on crop flowers?

2. Is the richness and prevalence of pathogens on flowers related to the richness and prevalence of pathogens in honey bees or other wild bee species, and to the rate at which they visit the crop? And according to that, which is the most probable direction of transmission?

3. Do the natural habitat cover and the density of honey bee hives in the surrounding landscape influence the risk that crop flowers pose to honey- and wild bees? Is there an optimum of both factors that minimizes the risk?

We propose a simple but important investigation into the use of synthetic amorphous silica (SAS) coupled with Davren technology as a management strategy for A. tumida . Specifically, we are targeting management of adult and larval beetles in the hive, as well as pupae in the soil.

These approaches would be most likely to target the beetle while leaving honey bees untouched. 1. Evaluate the efficacy of SAS for control of adult and larval A.

tumida with screen traps. 2. Evaluate the use of SAS as a soil amendment against pupating A.

tumida. 2018 – Ecology of shared honey bee and bumble bee pathogens: Floral transmission routes, pathogen interactions, and effects on host health – Alexander Burnham, University of Vermont, pburnham@uvm. edu With this work, we aim to bridge disease ecology and conservation biology to ask how these multi-host pathogens are transmitted, how multiple pathogens interact, and how those interactions affect host health.

This work will add to the growing body of peer-reviewed literature on both native bee conservation and the basic science of disease ecology.

Building heavily on our previous work, this proposed project will address the following objectives: 1) We will experimentally test transmission of viruses between bee species through shared flowers, 2) Through field surveys, examine seasonal phenology and patterns of coinfection of four pathogens in two bumble bee species, and 3) Using laboratory experiments, examine interactions and effects of multiple pathogens on bumble bee health.

2018 – Development of an RNAi-based strategy for small hive beetle control – Marcé Lorenzen, North Carolina State University, marce_lorenzen@ncsu. edu Since traditional pesticide-based small hive beetle control measures have a negative impact on bee health, we propose to develop and test a species-specific control method, one expected to have no negative impact on honey bees.

RNA interference (RNAi) is a promising alternative to pesticides. It is a sequence-specific gene-silencing mechanism that is initiated by the introduction of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) into a cell. The RNAi pathway is conserved in insects and has the potential to be used as an insect control technology.

We propose developing an RNAi-based control strategy to address the needs of apiculturist globally. Our research plan is an interdisciplinary approach that will integrate transcriptomics, functional genomics, applied entomology and agricultural extension. Moreover, this research serves as proof-of-principal for use of RNAi in the control of honey bee pests.

If successful, this approach could be extended to mites, and other more difficult to manipulate arthropods. 2018 – Natural products to control American Foulbrood in honey bees – Rod Merrill, University of Guelph, rmerrill@uoguelph. ca The long-term goal is to characterize the extracts of essential oils to develop inhibitors (anti-virulence compounds) against key bacterial toxins produced by P.

larvae for the prevention and treatment of AFB. This will be manifested in the development of a formulation consisting of inhibitory compounds extracted and purified from essential oils. The specific aims (short-term objectives) are: Aim#1: characterize natural products as effective compounds against P.

larvae toxins; Aim#2: testing the best optimized compounds against AFB-infected honeybee larvae; Aim#3: testing of compounds in AFB-infected hives. 2017 – Phytochemicals as varroadices: The development of propolis-based miticides – William Collins, Fort Lewis College, collins_w@fortlewis. edu The first objective of this study is the preparation of varroacides 1-5.

Our research group has already developed an efficient, preliminary route to this class of molecules starting from inexpensive, commercially available reagents. The second objective will be to evaluate the effects of compounds 1-5 on varroa mites. Our research apiary will be fitted with drone brood frames in early spring 2017 that will be harvested throughout the spring/summer/fall to obtain varroa for testing.

Solutions of compounds 1-5 at varying concentrations will be evaluated, and both toxicity and repellency toward varroa will be monitored. The goal of this part of the study will be to identify one or more molecules that possess exceptional miticidal efficacy when compared to thymol (positive control).

Ultimately, the long-term objective of this project will be to not only identify novel, botanically derived molecules that possess exceptional miticidal efficacy but also to field-test them in colonies. 2017 – Viral transmission in bee communities: role of alternative hosts and environmental conditions – Briana Ezray, Penn State University, bde125@psu.

edu We seek to better understand the transmission of bee viruses within their communities by examining whether these viruses can be transmitted to honey bees via alternative hosts species and by determining the role of environmental exposure in the survival of these viruses on flowers, where inter and intraspecies/colony transmission is most likely to occur.

We will focus the study on the persistence and transmission of the two most prevalent honey bee viruses, Deformed Wing Virus (DWV) and Black Queen Cell Virus (BQCV), both of which have been demonstrated to have substantial impacts with identifiable symptoms on bees. These viral transmission patterns will provide a baseline for understanding the transmission of other bee viruses.

Specifically, we will address the following: 1) Can other organisms that live in and around honey bee hives or share floral resources with honey bees such as the German cockroach Blattella germanica , the small hive beetle Aethina tumida , and the orchard bee Osmia lignaria , transmit infective DWV and BQCV to honey bees? 2) What is the time course from ingestion to transmission of the virus in honey bees and alternative hosts?

3) How long after deposition on flowers or other spaces can pathogens survive to be transmitted and what role do environmental conditions play in this? 2017 – Phage binding to Paenibacillus larvae spores , Sandra Hope, Brigham Young University, sandrahope2016@gmail. com We hypothesize that some bacteriophages can bind to bacterial spores of Paenibacillus larvae .

To test this hypothesis, we divide the work into three primary tasks: 1) prepare P. larvae spores for testing, 2) test phage binding capabilities on spores, 3) test the phages that bind for the ability to kill the bacterium upon activation of the spore. 2017 – The predatory mite Stratiolaelaps scimitus as a biological control agent against Varroa destructor – Sabrina Rondeau, Universidad Laval, sabrina.

rondeau. 1@ulaval. ca The main objective of our study is to evaluate the potential of Stratiolaelaps scimitus as a biological control agent against Varroa destructor.

Specific objectives are: 1) to assess the risk of predation of honey bee eggs and brood by S. scimitus under both laboratory conditions and within the colony, 2) to study the behavior and movements of S. scimitus within a bee colony and 3) to evaluate the effectiveness of the predator in controlling Varroa densities during an autumn treatment.

Our research hypotheses are that: 1) S. scimitus does not pose predation risk for honey bee eggs and brood within the colony, 2) the predator will remain in the hive after his introduction and will attack varroa mites for feeding, and 3) when introduced in the late fall, S. scimitus will effectively control varroa mite populations in the colonies before winter.

2016 – Changing perspectives: How pollinator community context influences honey bee virus prevalence – Michelle Fearon, University of Michigan, mlfearon@umich. edu Although it has been widely documented that other bee species share the same pathogens with honey bees, the impact of pollinator community context on honey bee health has not been tested.

The objectives of this proposal are to provide the first analysis of how honeybee pathogen prevalence changes with pollinator community context in an agricultural environment, and evaluate how pollinator species richness and overall abundance impact honey bee health.

These results will set the stage for future experimental research investigating species specific contributions to increased viral prevalence in honey bees and the movement of viruses in pollinator communities. Hypothesis 1: Honeybees will have decreased pathogen prevalence at sites with greater pollinator species richness. Hypothesis 2: Honeybees will have increased pathogen prevalence at sites with greater overall pollinator abundance.

2016 – Testing the effects of nicotine, a natural plant metabolite found in nectar, on honey bee nosemosis – James Nieh, UC San Diego, jnieh@ucsd. edu The honey bee gut parasite Nosema cerana weakens colonies and thereby contributes to poor colony health. Recent studies raise the interesting possibility that naturally occurring secondary plant metabolites such as caffeine or nicotine can alter pollinator behavior.

Could these compounds also fight disease? We will test the hypothesis that plant defensive compounds in nectar, specifically nicotine, reduce Nosema infection. We will also test if infected bees prefer to forage at artificial nectar containing naturally relevant concentrations of nicotine.

If so, this suggest the intriguing possibility of self-medication by bees. 2016 – Focused virological analysis of the Arnot Forest survivor bee population for evidence of protective Deformed Wing Virus genotypes – David Peck, Cornell University, dtp36@cornell.

edu Recent research on the genetic structure of a population of untreated Varroa-survivor bees living in the Arnot Forest in New York has demonstrated that these bees experienced dramatic genomic change during the recent invasion of the Varroa destructor mite. (Mikheyev et al. 2015) To our knowledge, this is the only known population of untreated, Varroa-survivor European honey bee in the US (though there are likely others).

We propose to combine these two lines of research with help from the NAPPC, to find a sustainable, long-term solution to the Varroa-DWV crisis.

Objectives: To characterize the DWV strains present in the Arnot Forest Varroa survivor population, and to test the hypothesis that these bees harbor protective DWV strains that provide long-term protection to the bees, even after exposure to more virulent viral strains and despite high mite loads.

2016 – Investigating a new way to combat viruses with RNA-targeting biotechnology in Apis mellifera – David Tarpy, North Carolina State University, drtarpy@ncsu. edu This project is to develop an innovative approach using CRISPR/Cas9 system to target highly conserved regions of the honey bee, Apis mellifera (L.) infecting dicistroviruses Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV), Acute Bee Paralysis Virus (ABPV in vitro and in vivo .

This project can serve as a model system for additional protection against other RNA viruses such as Deformed Wing Virus (DWV). 2015 – Do viruses manipulate honey bee behavior in ways that increase their transmission ? – Adam Dolezal, Iowa State University, adolezal@iastate.

edu Despite the increasing interest in the effects of honey bee viruses, the behavioral repercussions of virus infection are not well-understood. What evidence does exist mostly focuses on the more observable pathogenic effects of viruses, e.g., paralysis (Chen 2011).

Therefore, we seek to understand how viral infection affects the social behavior of honey bees, and to determine whether virus-induced changes in behavior act to increase virus transmission between individuals and hives. 2013 – Activating honey bee immunity against Nosema disease: a pilot experiment – James Nieh, UC San Diego, jnieh@ucsd.

edu The goal of our study is to determine if honey bee defenses to Nosema ceranae (Microsporidia) infection can be activated when larvae are fed probiotics or a dose of inactivated N. ceranae spores. In addition, we recently conducted experiments that suggest larval exposure to Nosema can activate a beneficial immune response.

Larvae can be infected, but larvae fed a higher Nosema dose were less infected as adults compared to larvae given a lower dose (Eiri et al. , 2012, Fig. 1).

Thus, a sufficiently high dose of spores may activate a larval immune response, which moderates adult infection. These results are based upon live spores, which may impair adult longevity. We will also test if larval exposure to dead spores provides protection, as it does in other animals where vaccination with inactivated microsporidian spores reduces subsequent infection (Speare et al.

, 2007). 2013 – Identification of IAPV Targets in Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) – Olav Rueppell, UNC Greensboro, o_ruppel@uncg. edu Honey bee virology is a relatively new scientific field and many essential tools for the scientific investigation of the viruses are lacking.

Most importantly for the direct study of honey bee viruses is the ability to localize the viruses in the honey bee body. The localization of the virus to find out precisely how it enters the bees and where it replicates is fundamental to the understanding of the viral pathogenesis and to the development of effective protective treatments.

Here, we propose to identify the target organs of an important honey bee virus (Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus: IAPV). With an already developed, specific antibody we will determine the location of IAPV in bees during various stages of infection by in-situ immuno-histochemical staining. The identification of virus entry and replication sites will be informative for antiviral treatment and drug development.

2012 – Stimulating propolis collection to benefit honey bee health and immunity – Renata Borba, University of Minnesota, rsborba@umn.

edu The goals of this research are to explore ways for beekeepers to encourage honey bee colonies to deposit a propolis envelope within standard beekeeping equipment, and to quantify the benefit of this natural propolis envelope to colony health and immune system functioning, particularly in early spring in northern climates.

If a heavy propolis envelope is a vital component to a healthy bee colony, we can modify the equipment currently used for beekeepers and beekeeping practices nationwide. Such modifications will encourage the bees' natural construction of a necessary antimicrobial protective envelope in the nest cavity.

A long-term outcome of this research is to promote honey bee health, which will directly support local, regional and national beekeepers by having stronger colonies to produce more honey. 2012 – Comparative analysis of honey bee survival and immune response to co-infections of IAPV and N.

ceranae using quantitative mass spectrometry based proteomics – Leonard Foster, University of British Columbia Using proteomic tools, our research was aimed at understanding honey bee immune responses to both fungal and viral pathogens in an effort to develop novel integrated pest management based tools including RNAi based gene silencing treatment systems as an alternative to antibiotics for the control of honey bee pathogens.

Specifically, we aimed to evaluate survival and host immune response in honey bees infected with Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV) and Nosema ceranae, both singly and in combination. Our overall goals of the project are to: Test the effect of Israeli acute paralysis virus and Nosema ceranae infections both singly and in combination on larval, pupal, and adult honey bee (Apis mellifera L.)

survival using adult cage and in vitro larval rearing assays. Compare changes in host immune responses using mass spectromety based quantitative proteomics in larval, pupal and adult honey bees artificially innoculated with IAPV and N. ceranae, both singly and in combination.

2012 – Symbiont mediated pathogen protection – Lana Vojvodic, University of Arizona, vojvodic. sv@gmail. com This project has three ongoing components that are focused on the bacterial gut symbionts (probiotics) interaction with their honey bee host and the fungal pathogens that are known to cause chalkbrood and stonebrood disease.

We test for the: Survival of larvae infected with different combination of brood fungal pathogens and beneficial bacteria; Difference in the expression of six immune genes after the fungal and probiotic exposure; Investigating overall host gene expression by using the next generation sequencing (RNAseq) of the whole larval genome post exposed to the probiotics and aseptic larvae.

2010 – Development of novel Varroa mite control methods from attractant and arrestants isolated from brood host volatiles – Mark Carroll, USDA-ARS Carl Hayden Bee Research Center, Mark. Carroll@ars. usda.

gov One approach for the control of Varroa mite is the identification of semiochemicals (signaling chemicals) that the mite uses to find its hosts. During cell invasion, a female mite detects and moves into the cell of an older bee larva just before capping. Two volatiles named CA and CB characterized from older capping larvae were previously shown to act as excitants and arrestants to female mites in bioassays.

We have begun to investigate other brood volatiles to determine if these chemicals affect mite behavior, either individually or as synergists with CA and CB, using an EthoVision behavioral analysis system to analyze mite bioassay responses. One volatile specifically associated with non-host larvae, termed CC, acts as a repellent to mites at high concentrations.

The limited responsiveness of mites to these volatiles at lower concentrations suggests that these three compounds could affect mite behavior at contact or near-contact distances. We will continue our efforts to develop CA and other signaling chemicals as flooding agents (to disrupt mite chemical communication) or as trap lures to control mites in the hive environment.

2009 – Health Effects of Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV) on native pollinators – Edwin Rajotte, Penn State University, uvu@psu. edu We found that IAPV can be transmitted from honey bees to bumble bees and that the colony survival was shortened as compared to uninfected, control colonies. The symptoms of the infection in the bumble bees differed as compared to honey bees and needs to be more fully defined.

We plan to expand these preliminary trials into a full-fledged, well-replicated experiment to conclusively study the health impact of IAPV on bumble bees. 2008 – Effects of miticide and Fumagilin-B on honey bee survivorship and immune responses – Catherine Little, Acadia University, 076444l@acadiau. ca Western honey bees ( Apis mellifera ) are exposed to a number of parasites.

Varroa destructor , Nosema apis , and N. ceranae have particularly detrimental effects on colony productivity and survival. We will measure honey bee immune responses to infection by each of these three species of parasites and the effects of co-infection.

We will then compare the results of infection with the effects of miticide and Fumagilin-B® use on honey bee physiology. Quantification of immune trade-offs which occur during infection by multiple parasites and the effects of standard chemical treatments may enable us to determine infection threshold levels for effective use of chemical treatments, thereby reducing the risk of chemical resistance developing in either Varroa or Nosema.

We will also determine if immune protein concentrations resulting from parasitic infection are predictive of honey bee survival, potentially leading to a means of assessing mortality risk during preparations for over-wintering honey bee colonies. Effects of Nutrition on Pest, Pathogen, and Disease Incidence 2024 – Can mustard pollen mitigate Vairimorpha (Nosema) Infection in honey bee colonies?

– Dr. Chia Hua-Lin, The Ohio State University 2021 – Trialing a novel insecticide to control small hive beetle infestation and encourage supplementary pollen feeding as part of honey bee health – Lewis J. Bartlett, The University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc. (UGARF), lewis. bartlett@uga.

edu 2021 – Can improved diet quality ameliorate the interactive effects of sublethal pesticide exposure and viral infection in honey bees? – Adam G. Dolezal, Department of Entomology College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Administration University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, adolezal@illinois.

edu 2020 – Using nutrition to combat the biggest threat to honey bee survival, Varroa destructor – Meghan Bennett, USDA-ARS Carl Hayden Bee Research Center, meghbennett@gmail. com New strategies for controlling Varroa are sorely needed because despite a myriad of strategies for controlling Varroa, colony losses remain high worldwide.

If dietary essential fatty acids (EFAs) increase olfactory learning and enable nurse bees to better detect Varroa, we might be able to use diet as another weapon in our anti-Varroa arsenal. Thus, we aim to investigate the role of EFAs on cognition and hygienic behavior, at the individual and colony level. We will test this idea using individual cognitive tests and in-hive behavioral tests.

We hope that the results stemming from these studies will lead to improved honey bee dietary recommendations and non-chemical options for enhanced mite control. 2020 – Can we alter the macronutrient rations within artificial diets to bolster honey bee pathogen defense? – Juliana Rangel, Texas A&M University, jrangel@tamu.

edu Our intention is to take an integrative approach by using a nutritional framework to find practical solutions that will help beekeepers manage pathogen levels within their colonies.

To do this, we are using the Geometric Framework (GF), which can graphically represent an insect’s nutritional needs in a nutrient space defined by its food components, particularly the amounts of proteins, carbohydrates, and/or lipids that are present within a diet7. However, macronutrient ratios determined from the GF are not static and instead are dependent on the immediate physiological state of an organism.

Therefore, when an organism is experiencing stress or is parasitized, the ratio of nutrients needed may differ from the ratios they would obtain in their natural, healthy state. Objective 1: To determine the optimal P:L intake target of honey bees infected with either N. ceranae or DWV using a novel, artificial diet.

Objectives 2 & 3: To determine what macronutrient ratio(s) in honey bee diets can positively affect the survivorship, physiology, and expression of genes important for growth, development, and immunity in bees infected with either Nosema ceranae (Obj. 2), or DWV (Obj. 3).