SummaryGreater (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae, Galleria mellonella) and Lesser (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae, Achroia grisella) wax moths are ubiquitous pests of honey bee colonies globally. The economic importance of wax moths has led to a number of investigations on wax moth life history, biology, behaviour, ecology, molecular biology, physiology, and control. Despite the importance of wax moths to the apicultural industry, they are investigated considerably more as a model organism for studies in insect physiology, genomics, proteomics, etc. Those studying wax moths from an apicultural perspective typically use only a small number of the total available research methods outlined in the literature. Herein, we describe methods associated with wax moth research that we feel are important from an apicultural research perspective. Ultimately, we hope that this paper will revitalize research on wax moths, since they remain both an important honey bee colony pest and an interesting colony symbiont.Métodos estándar para la investigación de la polilla de la cera Resumen Las polillas de la cera grande (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae, Galleria mellonella) y pequeña (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae, Achroia grisella) son una plaga ubicua de las colonias de abejas al nivel mundial. La importancia económica de las polillas de la cera ha dado lugar a una serie de investigaciones sobre la historia de la vida de la polilla de la cera, la biología, el comportamiento, la ecología, la biología molecular, la fisiología y su control. A pesar de la importancia de la polilla de la cera en la industria apícola, se ha investigado mucho más como un organismo modelo para estudios de fisiología de insectos, genómica, proteómica, etc. Aquellos que estudian las polillas de la cera desde una perspectiva apícola suelen utilizar sólo un reducido número de métodos de investigación del total descrito en la literatura. En este documento, se describen los métodos asociados a la investigación de la polilla de la cera que creemos que son importantes desde una perspectiva de investigación apícola. En última instancia, esperamos que este documento revitalice la investigación sobre las polillas de la cera, ya que siguen siendo una plaga importante de las colonias de la abeja de la miel y un interesante simbionte de las colonias.

Abstract:Varroa destructor, a parasitic mite of honey bees, is also a vector for viral diseases. The mite displays high host specificity and requires access to colonies of Apis spp. to complete its lifecycle. In contrast, the Deformed Wing Virus (DWV), one of the many viruses transmitted by V. destructor, appears to have a much broader host range. Previous studies have detected DWV in a variety of insect groups that are not directly parasitized by the mite. In this study, we take advantage of the discrete distribution of the Varroa mite in the Hawaiian archipelago to compare DWV prevalence on non-Apis flower visitors, and test whether Varroa presence is linked to a "viral spillover". We selected two islands with different viral landscapes: Oahu, where V. destructor has been present since 2007, and Maui, where the mite is absent. We sampled individuals of Apis mellifera, Ceratina smaragdula, Polistes aurifer, and Polistes exclamens, to assess and compare the DWV prevalence in the Hymenoptera community of the two islands. The results indicated that, as expected, honey bee colonies on Oahu have much higher incidence of DWV compared to Maui. Correspondingly, DWV was detected on the Non-Apis Hymenoptera collected from Oahu, but was absent in the species examined on Maui. The study sites selected shared a similar geography, climate, and insect fauna, but differed in the presence of the Varroa mite, suggesting an indirect, but significant, increase on DWV prevalence in the Hymenoptera community on mite-infected islands.

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