Virome compositions in honey bee (Apis mellifera) and small carpenter bee (Ceratina calcarata) in response to various agricultural landscapes in New Hampshire

Pollinators such as honeybees (Apis mellifera) and small carpenter bees (Ceratina calcarata) are important for natural and agricultural ecosystems. Viruses impose risks to honeybee health. It is not unclear if the viruses could infect small carpenter bees. Whether the prevalence of viruses in pollinators is associated with agricultural landscapes hasn’t been studied. We studied the virome compositions of honeybees and small carpenter bees collected from three types of landscapes: conventional farms, organic farms, and roadside sites without agricultural activity in the state of New Hampshire. The result shows honeybees carry a wide range of insect and plant viruses, among which only a few were detected in small carpenter bees. The black queen cell virus is the only pathogenic virus found in both species in one conventional farm. One novel entomopoxvirus species and two novel iflaviruses species were detected from the samples of small carpenter bees, one of which is also identified in honeybee samples. Their biological significance is yet to be studied. The results of our project shed light on the status of biotic stress of viruses on pollinators.