| cytological variation and pathogenicity of the bumble bee parasite nosema bombi (microspora, nosematidae). | in three field seasons, 2003-2005, bumble bees were collected in southern sweden and eastern denmark in search of microsporidian parasites. of the 16 bumble bee species studied, microsporidia were found in bombus hortorum, bombus hypnorum, bombus lapidarius, bombus lucorum, bombus pascuorum, bombus pratorum, bombus ruderarius, bombus subterraneus and bombus terrestris. only one microsporidian species, nosema bombi, was recorded. a microsporidium found in b. pratorum differed cytologically from m ... | 2007 | 17005191 |
| nosema bombi: a pollinator parasite with detrimental fitness effects. | nosema bombi is an obligate intracellular parasite that infects different bumblebee species at a substantial, though variable, rate. to date its pathology and impact on host fitness are not well understood. we performed a laboratory experiment investigating the pathology and fitness effects of this parasite on the bumblebee bombus terrestris. we experimentally infected one group of colonies with n. bombi spores at the start of the worker production, while a second uninfected group of colonies se ... | 2007 | 17482641 |
| horizontal transmission success of nosema bombi to its adult bumble bee hosts: effects of dosage, spore source and host age. | parasite transmission dynamics are fundamental to explaining the evolutionary epidemiology of disease because transmission and virulence are tightly linked. horizontal transmission of microsporidian parasites, e.g. nosema bombi, may be influenced by numerous factors, including inoculation dose, host susceptibility and host population heterogeneity. despite previous studies of n. bombi and its bumble bee hosts, neither the epidemiology nor impact of the parasite are as yet understood. here we inv ... | 2007 | 17610765 |
| comparative analysis of detection limits and specificity of molecular diagnostic markers for three pathogens (microsporidia, nosema spp.) in the key pollinators apis mellifera and bombus terrestris. | global pollinator decline has recently been discussed in the context of honey and bumble bee infections from various pathogens including viruses, bacteria, microsporidia and mites. the microsporidian pathogens nosema apis, nosema ceranae and nosema bombi may in fact be major candidates contributing to this decline. different molecular and non-molecular detection methods have been developed; however, a comparison, especially of the highly sensitive pcr based methods, is currently lacking. here, w ... | 2011 | 21927870 |
| long-term prevalence of the protists crithidia bombi and apicystis bombi and detection of the microsporidium nosema bombi in invasive bumble bees. | an initial survey in 2009 carried out at a site in northwestern patagonia region, argentina, revealed for the first time in south america the presence of the flagellate crithidia bombi and the neogregarine apicystis bombi, two pathogens associated with the palaearctic invasive bumble bee bombus terrestris. in order to determine the long-term persistence and dynamics of this microparasite complex, four additional collections at the same site (san carlos de bariloche) were conducted along the foll ... | 2017 | 28085231 |
| ecological effects on gut bacterial communities in wild bumblebee colonies. | 1. animal hosts harbour diverse and often specific bacterial communities (microbiota) in their gut. these microbiota can provide crucial services to the host such as aiding in digestion of food and immune defence. however, the ecological factors correlating with and eventually shaping these microbiota under natural conditions are poorly understood. 2. bumblebees have recently been shown to possess simple and highly specific microbiota. we here examine the dynamics of these microbiota in field co ... | 2012 | 22708631 |
| factors influencing nosema bombi infections in natural populations of bombus terrestris (hymenoptera: apidae). | bumblebees are of profound ecological importance because of the pollination services they provide in natural and agricultural ecosystems. any decline of these pollinators is therefore of great concern for ecosystem functioning. increased parasite pressures have been discussed as a major factor for the loss of pollinators. one of the main parasites of bumblebees is nosema bombi, an intracellular microsporidian parasite with considerable impact on the vitality of the host. here we study the effect ... | 2012 | 22349145 |