Battling the Bee Parasite: Advances with Dr. Thomas A. O'Shea-Wheller

The survival of honey bee colonies worldwide is threatened by the ectoparasite Varroa destructor. In this riveting episode, we host Dr. Thomas A. O’Shea-Wheller, who has dedicated his research to uncovering solutions to this pressing issue.O'Shea-Wheller presents an in-depth study of a Varroa-resistant honey bee stock, known as 'Pol-line', and its potential in tackling this parasite threat. The study, conducted on a large scale and over an extended period, showed promising results. The 'Pol-line' demonstrated significantly reduced Varroa levels, lower titres of three major viruses vectored by the mite (DWV-A, DWV-B, and CBPV), and a notable increase in survival.Interestingly, a fourth virus not associated with Varroa—BQCV—showed no differences between the stocks, hinting at the disruption of the transmission pathway. When Varroa levels were removed from the equation, viral titres did not significantly predict colony mortality risk, shedding new light on Varroa's etiology.Join us as we delve into these promising findings and discuss the potential of derived stocks as a sustainable solution to the Varroa pandemic.Keywords: Varroa destructor, honey bee, Apis mellifera, Varroa-resistant, Pol-line, DWV-A, DWV-B, CBPV, BQCV, Dr. Thomas A. O’Shea-Wheller.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-08643-w The ectoparasite Varroa destructor is the greatest threat to managed honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies globally.