Beyond the bees: new insight into the evolution and ecology of deformed wing virus, black queen cell virus, and Israeli acute paralysis virus

Deformed wing virus (DWV), black queen cell virus (BQCV) and Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV) are members of the order Picornavirales and are known to infect honey bees (Apis mellifera). In bees parasitized by varroa mites, DWV is known to cause wing deformities in newly emerging honey bees, as well as a greatly reduce the life span of the workers. IAPV is associated with colony collapse disorder (CCD) of honey bees in which bee colonies rapidly lose a large percentage of their workers and die. BQCV may cause the death of queen larvae or prepupae after their cells are sealed. Here we report the detection and phylogenetic analysis of these viruses in honeybees as well as other arthropods collected from the area surrounding apiaries. Our data indicate that several other species of arthropods can be infected by DWV, BQCV and IAPV. DWV is found in multiple species of cockroaches, taken from colonies without any known association with bee colonies, suggesting that DWV may be more widely distributed among insects.