Prevalence of Nosema spp. (Microsporidia: Nosematidae) in Africanized Honeybees in Atenas, Costa Rica: Number of Spores and Infection Level During the Rainy Season
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15359/rcv.39-1.3Keywords:
Nosema spp., nosemosis, infection level, rainy season, africanized honeybeesAbstract
The prevalence of the microsporidium Nosema spp. was studied during the rainy months from July to November 2017 in 10 Africanized honeybees colonies in Atenas-Alajuela, Costa Rica. In addition, the number of spores and the infection level were compared in group and individual samples of adult bees from the same colony. The apiary was sampled once a month. Approximately 100 forager bees per colony were collected, of which 30 were examined for Nosema spp. in group analysis and 30 individually at the Bee Pathology Lab-CINAT. According to the Cantwell method, the abdomens of 30 adult bees were cut and macerated together with 30 ml of distilled water for the group test. For the individual analysis, the same method was used, but each bee was examined separately. Nosema spores were identified under the cover slip using a light microscopy at 40x magnification and were counted with a hemocytometer. The infection level was determined for every colony. The microsporidium Nosema spp. were found in all apiary colonies at different levels, ranging from low to severe infection in both group and individual exams. In July, the highest number of Nosema spores were quantified, with an average of 20,360,000 ± 1,586,957 per bee in the group analysis, and 12,749,733 ± 867,232 per bee in the individual analysis. In the following months, a considerable decrease in the number of spores was observed, and the lowest amount was recorded in November, with an average of 4,375,000 ± 874,132 and 2,087,708 ± 398,895 spores per bee in the group and individual exam, respectively. When comparing the spore count and the infection level of Nosema spp. in group and individual samples, similar results were obtained. Furthermore, by correlating the number of spores, high proximity in the values was found, showing that, by both methods, a similar result is obtained concerning the infection level of the same colony.
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