Socialized medicine: Individual and communal disease barriers in honey bees

Jay D. Evans, Marla Spivak

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

323 Scopus citations

Abstract

Honey bees are attacked by numerous parasites and pathogens toward which they present a variety of individual and group-level defenses. In this review, we briefly introduce the many pathogens and parasites afflicting honey bees, highlighting the biology of specific taxonomic groups mainly as they relate to virulence and possible defenses. Second, we describe physiological, immunological, and behavioral responses of individual bees toward pathogens and parasites. Third, bees also show behavioral mechanisms for reducing the disease risk of their nestmates. Accordingly, we discuss the dynamics of hygienic behavior and other group-level behaviors that can limit disease. Finally, we conclude with several avenues of research that seem especially promising for understanding host-parasite relationships in bees and for developing breeding or management strategies for enhancing honey bee health. We discuss how human efforts to maintain healthy colonies intersect with similar efforts by the bees, and how bee management and breeding protocols can affect disease traits in the short and long term.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)S62-S72
JournalJournal of Invertebrate Pathology
Volume103
Issue numberSUPPL. 1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2010

Keywords

  • Chalkbrood
  • Colony collapse disorder
  • Dicistroviridae
  • Foulbrood
  • Hygienic behavior
  • Innate immunity
  • Pollinator
  • Social immunity
  • Varroa mites

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Socialized medicine: Individual and communal disease barriers in honey bees'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this