USDA-ARS Bee Research Lab, BARC-East Bldg. 476, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA.
J Invertebr Pathol. 2010 Jan;103 Suppl 1:S62-72. doi: 10.1016/j.jip.2009.06.019. Epub 2009 Nov 11.
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.
蜜蜂受到许多寄生虫和病原体的攻击，它们表现出各种个体和群体水平的防御能力。在这篇综述中，我们简要介绍了影响蜜蜂的许多病原体和寄生虫，重点介绍了特定分类群的生物学特性，主要是因为它们与毒力和可能的防御有关。其次，我们描述了个体蜜蜂对病原体和寄生虫的生理、免疫和行为反应。第三，蜜蜂还表现出降低巢内同伴疾病风险的行为机制。因此，我们讨论了卫生行为和其他群体水平行为的动态，这些行为可以限制疾病的传播。最后，我们总结了几个似乎特别有前途的研究方向，这些研究方向有助于理解蜜蜂的宿主-寄生虫关系，并为提高蜜蜂健康水平制定养殖或管理策略。我们讨论了人类维持健康蜂群的努力与蜜蜂自身的努力如何相互交叉，以及蜜蜂管理和养殖方案如何在短期和长期内影响疾病特征。
