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Inapparent virus infections differentially affect honey bee flight

Naomi G Kaku1,2, Mark A Jankauski3, Bridget F Doyle1,2

  • 1Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA.

Science Advances
|August 8, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Honey bee viruses like deformed wing virus (DWV) impair flight, while sacbrood virus (SBV) enhances it. Octopamine treatment reversed DWV

Area of Science:

  • Apiculture
  • Insect Pathology
  • Animal Physiology

Background:

  • Honey bee colony losses are linked to viruses that often lack visible symptoms in adult bees.
  • Assessing the impact of these subclinical infections is crucial for understanding honey bee health.
  • Flight performance serves as a sensitive indicator of honey bee health and stress.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effects of specific honey bee viruses, deformed wing virus (DWV) and sacbrood virus (SBV), on flight performance.
  • To determine if co-infections with these viruses have compounding negative impacts on flight.
  • To explore the role of octopamine signaling in virus-induced flight impairment.

Main Methods:

  • Measuring flight performance (distance and speed) in bees infected with DWV and/or SBV.
  • Quantifying virus loads and expression of heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90).
  • Analyzing the expression of octopamine β-2 receptor (Oβ-2R) in infected bees.
  • Experimentally treating DWV-infected bees with octopamine to assess its effect on flight.

Main Results:

  • DWV infection reduced flight distance and speed, while SBV infection increased both.
  • High virus loads correlated with increased Hsp90 expression.
  • SBV-infected bees showed higher Oβ-2R expression, suggesting a role in altered flight.
  • Octopamine treatment successfully mitigated the flight impairment caused by DWV.

Conclusions:

  • DWV and SBV have distinct, opposing effects on honey bee flight performance.
  • Octopamine signaling is implicated in mediating the flight responses to viral infections.
  • Understanding these virus-host interactions is vital for honey bee health and colony survival.
  • Findings have implications for honey bee health at individual, colony, and ecosystem levels.

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