First detection of honeybee pathogenic viruses in butterflies

Pislak, Metka (author), Glavan, Gordana (author), Verovnik, Rudi (author), Šimenc, Laura (author), Toplak, Ivan (author)

Several pathogens are important causes of the observed pollinator decline, some of which could be transmitted between different pollinator species. To determine whether honeybee viruses can be transmitted to butterflies, a total of 120 butterflies were sampled at four locations in Slovenia. At each location, butterflies from three families (Pieridae, Nymphalidae, Hesperiidae/Lycenidae) and Carniolan honeybees (Apis mellifera carnica) were collected. The RNA of six honeybee viruses, i.e., acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV), black queen cell virus (BQCV), chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV), deformed wing virus A (DWV-A), Sacbrood bee virus (SBV), and Lake Sinai virus 3 (LSV3), was detected by a specific quantitative method (RT-PCR). The presence of ABPV, BQCV, LSV3, and SBV was detected in both butterflies and honeybees. All butterfly and bee samples were negative for CBPV, while DWV-A was detected only in honeybees. The viral load in the positive butterfly samples was much lower than in the positive bee samples, which could indicate that butterflies are passive carriers of bee viruses. The percentage of positive butterfly samples was higher when the butterflies were collected at sampling sites with a higher density of apiaries. Therefore, we believe that infected bees are a necessary condition for the presence of viruses in cohabiting butterflies. This is the first study on the presence of pathogenic bee viruses in butterflies.

• Language: English
• Keywords: butterflies, honeybees, viruses, pathogens transmission, bees, virology
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: VF - Veterinary Faculty; BF - Biotechnical Faculty
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2022
• Number of pages: 12 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 13, iss. 10, art. 925
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-142110
• UDC: 578
• ISSN on article: 2075-4450
• DOI: 10.3390/insects13100925
• COBISS.SI-ID: 126058243
• Publication date in RUL: 20.10.2022

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Insects
• Shortened title: Insects
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 2075-4450
• COBISS.SI-ID: 519122457

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Projects

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: P4-0092
• Name: Zdravje živali, okolje in varna hrana

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: P1-0184
• Name: Integrativna zoologija in speleobiologija