Small hive beetles, Aethina tumida, are vectors of Paenibacillus larvae

Le petit coléoptère des ruches, Aethina tumida, vecteur de Paenibacillus larvae

Marc Oliver Schäfer , Wolfgang Ritter , Jeff Pettis , Peter Neumann

The transmission of honeybee pathogens by free-flying pests, such as small hive beetles (= SHB), would be independent of bees and beekeepers and thereby constitute a new challenge for pathogen control measures. Here we show that larval and adult SHB become contaminated with Paenibacillus larvae spores when exposed to honeybee brood combs with clinical American foulbrood (= AFB) symptoms in the laboratory. This contamination persists in pupae and newly emerged adults. After exposure to contaminated adult SHB, honeybee field colonies showed higher numbers of P. larvae spores in worker and honey samples after five weeks. Despite these results, the rather low number of P. larvae spores on adult SHB suggests that clinical AFB outbreaks are not likely. However, even small spore numbers can be sufficient to spread P. larvae. Therefore, our data clearly show that SHB are vectors of P. larvae. We suggest considering the role of SHB in AFB control in areas where both pests are established.

Mots clés: Aethina tumida; AFB; American foulbrood; Paenibacillus larvae; small hive beetle; vector<br>---<br>Aethina tumida; loque américaine; petit coléoptère des ruches; vecteur

Domaines: Zoologie des invertébrés; Biodiversité; Ecologie, Environnement; Science des productions animales

Marc Oliver Schäfer, Wolfgang Ritter, Jeff Pettis, Peter Neumann. Small hive beetles, Aethina tumida, are vectors of Paenibacillus larvae. Apidologie, 2010, 41 (1), ⟨10.1051/apido/2009037⟩. ⟨hal-00892027⟩