Foodborne Transmission and Clinical Symptoms of Honey Bee Viruses in Ants spp.

Emerging infectious diseases are often the products of host shifts, where a pathogen jumps from its original host to a novel species. Viruses in particular cross species barriers frequently. Acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV) and deformed wing virus (DWV) are viruses described in honey bees () with broad host ranges. Ants scavenging on dead honey bees may get infected with these viruses via foodborne transmission. However, the role of black garden ants, and , as alternative hosts of ABPV and DWV is not known and potential impacts of these viruses have not been addressed yet. In a laboratory feeding experiment, we show that can carry DWV and ABPV. However, negative-sense strand RNA, a token of virus replication, was only detected for ABPV. Therefore, additional colonies were tested for clinical symptoms of ABPV infections. Symptoms were detected at colony (fewer emerging workers) and individual level (impaired locomotion and movement speed). In a field survey, all samples carried ABPV, DWV-A and -B, as well as the negative-sense strand RNA of ABPV. These results show that and are alternative hosts of ABPV, possibly acting as a biological vector of ABPV and as a mechanical one for DWV. This is the first study showing the impact of honey bee viruses on ants. The common virus infections of ants in the field support possible negative consequences for ecosystem functioning due to host shifts.