Journal of Economic Entomology (2017) 110, 1959-1972

Evan C. Palmer-Young, Cansu Ö. Tozkar, Ryan S. Schwarz, Yanping Chen, Rebecca E. Irwin, Lynn S. Adler and Jay D. Evans (2017)
Nectar and pollen phytochemicals stimulate honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) immunity to viral infection
Journal of Economic Entomology 110 (5), 1959-1972
Abstract: Parasites and pathogens are implicated in honey bee colony losses, and honey bees may also spread infection to wild pollinators. Bees consume nectar and pollen, which contain phytochemicals that can positively or negatively affect pollinator health. Certain phytochemicals can reduce parasite loads in humans and other animals. Understanding how phytochemicals affect honey bee infection and survival could help identify optimal forage sources and phytochemical treatments to ameliorate disease. We fed honey bees seven dietary phytochemicals to evaluate whether phytochemical consumption would treat preexisting infection in mature bees, or mitigate infection in young bees either inside or outside of their colonies. Phytochemicals were generally well-tolerated at levels documented in nectar, honey, and pollen, although clove oil and thymol increased mortality at high doses. Six of seven tested phytochemicals significantly increased antimicrobial peptide expression by 12.9 to 61-fold in older bees after 7 d consumption. Short-term (<24 h) phytochemical consumption reduced levels of Deformed wing virus (DWV) up to 500-fold in young bees released into field colonies. However, with the exception of high-dose clove oil, our phytochemical treatments did not alter infection with Lotmaria passim or Nosema ceranae. Phytochemicals also lacked antiviral effects for pollen-deprived bees reared outside the colony. Our results suggest that phytochemicals have potential therapeutic value for honey bees infected with DWV. Short-term phytochemical consumption may be sufficient to confer benefits against infection. Phytochemical concentrations that reduced disease were comparable with naturally occurring floral concentrations, suggesting that flowers could serve as seasonally varied, serially consumed pollinator medicines.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Jay D. Evans, Yanping Chen, Lynn S. Adler

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
resistance/tolerance/defence of host

---

Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Iflavirus aladeformis