Abstract

The gut parasiteLotmaria passimhas recently been identified inApis melliferaand appears to be the predominant trypanosome in honey bees worldwide, but there is little information aboutL. passimin honey bees of different ages and stages of development. We evaluated the prevalence and load ofL. passimin eggs, young and old larvae, dark pupae, newly emerged, nurse and forager bees from colonies that wereL. passim-positive. The use of real-time PCR enabled us to detectL. passim,ranging from 21 to 100% in honey bees of almost all stages and ages, with loads ranging from 1.91 x 10(1)to 7.39 x 10(5)cells equivalent per bee. This is the first study that reportsL. passimin honey bees of different ages and stages of development. We also found an absence ofL. passimin eggs, which discards a possible transovarial transmission of this pathogen, although further validations are required. Our findings provide new perspectives for studies on the epidemiology ofL. passimin honey bees and other insect pollinators.