Christina M Grozinger, Thesis Supervisor Diana Lynn Cox Foster, Thesis Honors Advisor Dr. Pamela A. Hankey-Giblin, Faculty Reader
Keywords:
virus colony losses honey bees bees dsRNA CCD
Abstract:
Recent large-scale colony losses of managed Western Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) have scared scientists and apiculturists alike. Indeed, the losses have cost many their means of income while threatening, deeply, the ecosystem at large. These losses are not isolated and are concurrent with losses of many wild bee populations, namely bumble bees (Bombus spp.). These losses have been attributed to a myriad of things including the salient ‘Colony Collapse Disorder’, up to 23 viruses, a fungal pathogen, several bacterial pathogens, two mite species, agricultural development and monocultures, and toxins, including pesticides and pollution. Herein, I examine apicultural practices in Kenya with a focus on hive health and pathogens in hives, and I begin to ask what role the Common Eastern Bumble Bee (Bombus impatiens) plays in the ecology of a honey bee virus.
