The Oriental Hornet (Vespa orientalis L.): a Threat to the Americas?

Werenkraut, Victoria; Arbetman, Marina P.; Fergnani, Paula Nilda

doi:10.1007/s13744-021-00929-4

Cited by 11 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…In order to grow and develop correctly, hornet larvae need great amounts of proteins, and honeybees are the favored prey among the other animal and non-animal protein sources ( Cini et al., 2018 ). Forager hornets are able to locate and encircle honeybee hives which present the best combination of sugars and proteins, attacking honeybee foragers which are leaving for or coming back from the foraging activities ( Ishay, 1964 ; Werenkraut et al., 2021 ) and plunder the hive by robbing and taking to their nests honey, pollen and larvae, leading to the weakening of honeybee colonies ( Morse, 1978 ; Abrol, 1994 ). Besides the reduction in the number of honeybees due to predation, the number of workers in a colony can decrease as a result of starvation consequent to inhibition of A. mellifera foraging activity and scarcity of hive food storage, which is robbed by the hornets ( Monceau et al., 2013 , Monceau et al, 2014 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detection of Honeybee Viruses in Vespa orientalis

Power

Altamura

Martano

et al. 2022

Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.

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The Oriental hornet (Vespa orientalis) is spreading across the Italian territory threatening the health and wellbeing of honeybees by feeding on adult individuals and larvae and by plundering hive resources. Considering the capacity of other hornets in harboring honeybee viruses, the aim of this study was to identify the possible role of the Oriental hornet as a vector for honeybee viruses. Adult hornets were subjected to macroscopical examination to identify the presence of lesions, and to biomolecular investigation to detect the presence of six honeybee viruses: Acute Bee Paralysis Virus (ABPV), Black Queen Cell Virus (BQCV), Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus (CBPV), Deformed Wing Virus (DWV), Kashmir Bee Virus (KBV), Sac Brood Virus (SBV). No macroscopical alterations were found while biomolecular results showed that DWV was the most detected virus (25/30), followed by ABPV (19/30), BQCV (13/30), KBV (1/30) and SBV (1/30). No sample was found positive for CBPV. In 20/30 samples several co-infections were identified. The most frequent (17/30) was the association between DWV and ABPV, often associated to BQCV (9/17). One sample (1/30) showed the presence of four different viruses namely DWV, ABPV, BQCV and KBV. The detected viruses are the most widespread in apiaries across the Italian territory suggesting the possible passage from honeybees to V. orientalis, by predation of infected adult honeybees and larvae, and cannibalization of their carcasses. However, to date, it is still not clear if these viruses are replicative but we can suggest a role as mechanical vector of V. orientalis in spreading these viruses.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detection of Honeybee Viruses in Vespa orientalis

Power

Altamura

Martano

et al. 2022

Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.

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“…Insect collection and maintenance. The Oriental hornet (Vespa orientalis) is a large, eusocial wasp, mostly found in south-eastern Europe, North Africa, and western Asia, and is currently spreading worldwide 52 . This species establishes annual colonies in underground cavities, comprising up to several thousand individuals 53 .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Continuous exchange of nectar nutrients in an Oriental hornet colony

2022

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Nutritional exchanges play a fundamental role in the evolution of animal societies. In higher animal societies, while adult individuals can be both food donors and receivers, the offspring usually only receive food from the adults. Hornets and wasps are fierce insect hunters that feed their larvae with prey. However, although the adults also consume floral nectar, the role of nectar in vespid nutrition has remained largely unknown. We provided experimental colonies of the Oriental hornet with artificial nectar enriched with a 13C-labeled amino acid, and found that a continuous cycle of nutrition took place, in which nectar nutrients were used and exchanged back and forth between adults and larvae. We posit that this continuous cycle of nutrients constitutes a mechanism contributing to social cohesion. In an additional experiment, we found that nectar consumption was essential for adult and larval survival, suggesting the importance of wasps and hornets as pollinators in natural ecosystems.

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“…The European hornet (Vespa crabro Linnaeus, 1761) (Carpenter and Kojima, 1997) and the Asian hornet (Vespa velutina Lepeletier, 1836) (Bertolino et al, 2016), as the Oriental hornet, attack honey bee foragers during their foraging flights or when returning to the hive, and inhibit A. mellifera foraging activity (Ishay, 1964). Moreover, forager hornets can spot honey bee hives which hold the best combination of carbohydrates and proteins (Werenkraut et al, 2021) and they plunder them by stealing honey, pollen and larvae, and they then carry to the nest weakening honey bee colonies (Morse, 1978;Abrol, 1994). Inhibition of foraging activity together with scarcity of hive food storage could result in starvation of honey bees (Monceau et al, 2013;Monceau et al, 2014) and inadequate nourishment of honey bee larvae, which could develop into weak adults more susceptible to the action of pesticides and pathogens (Branchiccela et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detection of honey bee viruses in larvae of Vespa orientalis

Power

Martano

Ragusa

et al. 2023

Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.

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The Oriental hornet (Vespa orientalis) is one of the major predators of honey bees. It has been demonstrated that adults of V. orientalis can harbor honey bee viruses, however the transmission route of infection is still not clear. The aim of this study was to study the possible presence of honey bee viruses in V. orientalis larvae and honey bees collected from the same apiary. Therefore, 29 samples of V. orientalis larvae and 2 pools of honey bee (Apis mellifera). samples were analyzed by multiplex PCR to detect the presence of six honeybee viruses: Acute Bee Paralysis Virus (ABPV), Black Queen Cell Virus (BQCV), Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus (CBPV), Deformed Wing Virus (DWV), Kashmir Bee Virus (KBV) and Sac Brood Virus (SBV). Biomolecular analysis of V. orientalis larvae revealed that DWV was present in 24/29 samples, SBV in 10/29, BQCV in 7/29 samples and ABPV in 5/29 samples, while no sample was found positive for CBPV or KBV. From biomolecular analysis of honey bee samples DWV was the most detected virus, followed by SBV, BQCV, ABPV. No honey bee sample was found positive for CBPV or KBV. Considering the overlapping of positivities between V.orientalis larvae and honey bee samples, and that V.orientalis larvae are fed insect proteins, preferably honey bees, we can suggest the acquisition of viral particles through the ingestion of infected bees. However, future studies are needed to confirm this hypothesis and rule out any other source of infection.

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The Oriental Hornet (Vespa orientalis L.): a Threat to the Americas?

Cited by 11 publications

References 28 publications

Detection of Honeybee Viruses in Vespa orientalis

Detection of Honeybee Viruses in Vespa orientalis

Continuous exchange of nectar nutrients in an Oriental hornet colony

Detection of honey bee viruses in larvae of Vespa orientalis

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