Deformed wing virus and its role in Colony Collapse Disorder in the honeybee.

The honeybee Apis mellifera is of great economic importance due to its role as a pollinator of a large number of agricultural crops. Since 2006however, it has been reported on a large scale that managed colonies have been dissapearing inexplicably in large parts of the world. These enigmatic losses, which are known as "Colony Collapse Disorder" (CCD), are characterized by a massive decline in the population of adult worker bees without the presence of any overt sign of disease. Although the exact etiology of CCD remains unknown, a number of factors have been identified that may play a role in the phenomenon. The main candidates are the extoparasite mite Varroa destructor in combination with Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAP) and Deformed wing virus (DWV), two viruses that are spread by Varroa. Research indicate that IAPV is associated with CCD in the United States. IAPV can not be the cause of CCD in our region though, since this virus is virtually absent in Belgium and the Netherlands. During a recent study at the lab in Leuven DWV was discovered in the brainsof foraging honey bees. This infers the possibility that DWV may interfere withe the orientation ability and foraging behavior of foraging honeybees, which spurs on the need for a new project on the involvement of this virus in CCD Flanders.

Keywords:Honeybee

Disciplines:Animal biology, Geology, Aquatic sciences, challenges and pollution, Fisheries sciences

Project type:PhD project