Occurrence of deformed wing virus variants in the stingless bee Melipona subnitida and honey bee Apis mellifera populations in Brazil

Deformed wing virus (DWV) is now a global insect pathogen. Brazilian stingless bees are a diverse group often managed in close proximity to honey bees. We investigated the prevalence and load of DWV in 33 stingless bees ( Melipona subnitida ) and 12 honey bees ( Apis mellifera ) colonies from NE Brazil. DWV was detected in all colonies with the A and C-variants dominating M. subnitida and A-variant in A. mellifera . Viral loads were 8.83E+07 and 7.19E+07 in M. subnitida and A. mellifera , respectively. On Fernando de Noronha island DWV is low ( M. subnitida colonies, indicating no viral spill-over of DWV has occurred during the past 34 years. Furthermore, the ubiquitous presence of the DWV-C variant in M. subnitida colonies, and rarity in A. mellifera , may suggest limited viral exchange between these two species.