Wild honey bees quickly responded to a new 1990s parasite, Varroa Mites. The rapid response was not extinction, but a evolved resistance to Varroa. After exposure to Varroa Mites, wild bees in Tompkins County, New York changed physically and genetically.
From the Cornell University Insect Collection, 32 wild worker bees collected in 1977 are compared with and equal number of wild worker bees collected in 2010 from the same county. Only one worker bee is used per wild colony. This analysis is made possible by Thomas Seeley who collected and deposited these samples in the Cornell University Insect Collection.
Follow this link to the article in Nature Communications, Museum samples reveal rapid evolution by wild honey bees exposed to a novel parasite.
Follow this link to the article review in Entomology Today, New York Honey Bees Evolved Resistance to Disease After Exposure to Varroa Mites.
See figure 5, from the supplementary information section of the article. 32 blue graph points are the wild worker bees collected in 1977 and 32 red graph points are wild worker bees collected in 2010. As you can see, body size and shape metrics are smaller for wild bees exposed to Varroa.
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