Investigating Impacts of Environmental and Pathogen Priming Factors on a Novel Hygienic Behavior Assay in Honey Bees

Commodities

• Animals: bees
• Animal Products: honey

Practices

• Animal Production: animal protection and health, livestock breeding, parasite control, preventive practices
• Crop Production: pollinator health
• Education and Training: demonstration, farmer to farmer, focus group, mentoring, on-farm/ranch research, technical assistance, workshop
• Pest Management: genetic resistance, integrated pest management, prevention

Project Focus

Beekeepers are facing significant challenges, with annual colony losses reaching unsustainable levels due to various factors, including pests and pathogens. This high mortality threatens the availability of nucleus colonies and honey production, essential for maintaining slim profit margins and providing pollination services for food crops. Rather than relying on chemical treatments that can lead to pathogen resistance, Vermont beekeepers are eager to adopt sustainable practices focused on selecting for hygienic behavior in their bees. This initiative aims to support beekeepers in developing more resilient operations while enhancing colony health.

Solution and Approach

Since 2020, the Vermont Bee Lab has partnered with four of Vermont’s largest bee producers to incorporate the novel hygienic behavior test, UBeeO, into their breeding programs. Our research indicates that UBeeO can effectively identify colonies resistant to Varroa mites, fungal pathogens like chalkbrood (Ascosphaera apis and Vairimorpha spp.), and various viruses (Alger et al., in review). By focusing on selective breeding for disease resistance, beekeepers can reduce their reliance on chemical treatments, promoting a holistic approach to improving colony health and resilience.

Despite the promise of UBeeO, barriers to adoption persist. Seasonal testing has shown significant variations in hygienic scores, indicating that temporal factors may affect hygienic behavior performance. Such discrepancies may lead beekeepers to exclude low-scoring colonies that could perform hygienically under more favorable conditions. Additionally, an increase in hygienic behavior has been observed in apiaries experiencing disease outbreaks, such as European foulbrood. This suggests a potential priming effect, where colonies detect infections in neighboring hives and recruit hygienic worker bees before becoming infected themselves. Understanding how pathogen virulence and the environment influence hygienic performance could enhance testing methods. 

To address these knowledge gaps, our proposed research will investigate external factors influencing hygienic behavior. By determining the ideal conditions for UBeeO testing, we aim to help beekeepers make accurate breeder selections and effectively incorporate hygienic genetics into their operations. 

To engage with farmers, we will implement a multi-faceted approach promoting collaboration and knowledge exchange. This includes hands-on workshops to educate beekeepers about the UBeeO protocol and field demonstrations to showcase real-time testing. We will establish a support network for ongoing consultation and conduct collaborative research to monitor the impacts of our efforts over time. Annual meetings with the Vermont Bee Producer Collective (VBPC) will facilitate feedback and ensure that our strategies align with farmers’ needs.

This project aspires to improve the sustainability and productivity of Vermont's beekeeping industry. By enhancing bee populations' resilience through innovative breeding practices, we aim to bolster the critical role of honey bees in crop pollination and contribute to the economic viability of local beekeepers, aligning with Northeast SARE’s goals of increasing sustainability, resilience, and economic viability in agriculture.

The objective of this project is to investigate external factors influencing hygienic behavior in honeybee colonies using the UBeeO testing protocol. By generating knowledge on optimal testing conditions and enhancing selective breeding practices, we aim to empower Northeast beekeepers to adopt sustainable, disease-resistant bee populations. This approach is expected to improve colony health and resilience, ultimately reducing reliance on chemical treatments and enhancing the economic viability of farms through increased honey production and effective pollination services.