Addressing emerging issues in entomology: 2023 student debates.

The Entomological Society of America (ESA) Student Debates is an annual student competition at the ESA Annual Meeting organized by Student Debates Subcommittee (SDS) members of the ESA Student Affairs Committee. In conjunction with the 2023 ESA Annual Meeting theme, 'Insects and influence: Advancing entomology's impact on people and policy', the theme of this year's student debate was 'Addressing emerging issues in entomology'. With the aid of ESA membership, the SDS selected the following debate topics: (1) Should disclosure of artificial intelligence large language models in scientific writing always be required? and (2) Is it more important to prioritize honey bee or native pollinator health for long-term food security within North America? Four student teams from across the nation, composed of 3-5 student members and a professional advisor, were assigned a topic and stance. Over the course of 5 months, all team members researched and prepared for their assigned topic before debating live with an opposing team at the 2023 ESA Annual Meeting in National Harbor, Maryland. SDS members additionally prepared and presented introductions for each debate topic to provide unbiased backgrounds to the judges and audience for context in assessing teams' arguments. The result was an engaging discussion between our teams, judges, and audience members on emerging issues facing entomology and its impact on people and policy, such as scientific communication and food security, that brought attention to the complexities involved when debating topics concerning insects and influence.

Development of a multiplex real-time quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction for the detection of four bee viruses.

Viruses in the families Dicistroviridae and Iflaviridae are among the main threats to western honey bees (Apis mellifera) and native bee species. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is the gold standard for pathogen detection in bees. However, high throughput screening for bee virus infections in singleplex PCR reactions is cumbersome and limited by the high quantities of sample RNA required. Thus, the development of a sensitive and specific multiplex PCR detection method for screening for multiple viruses simultaneously is necessary. Here, we report the development of a one-step multiplex reverse-transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) assay to detect four viruses commonly encountered in pollinator species. The optimized multiplex RT-qPCR protocol described in this study allows simultaneous detection of two dicistroviruses (Israeli acute paralysis virus and Black queen cell virus) and two iflaviruses (Sacbrood virus and Deformed wing virus) with high efficiency and specificity comparable to singleplex detection assays. This assay provides a broad range of detection and quantification, and the results of virus quantification in this study are similar to those performed in other studies using singleplex detection assays. This method will be particularly useful for data generation from small-bodied insect species that yield low amounts of RNA.

California Native Perennials Attract Greater Native Pollinator Abundance and Diversity Than Nonnative, Commercially Available Ornamentals in Southern California.

While many factors have been implicated in global pollinator decline, habitat loss is a key driver of wild pollinator decline in both abundance and species richness. An increase in and diversification of pollinator habitat, even in urban settings, can assist in the conservation of pollinator populations. In Southern California, a highly fragmented and urbanized landscape with a rich yet threatened native pollinator fauna, the availability of food resources for native pollinators hinges largely upon the selection of ornamental plants grown in the urban landscape. To examine the pollinator attractiveness of ornamental plants in a Southern California context, we installed an experimental garden with common California native and nonnative ornamental perennials and observed floral visitation and visitor community composition for 3 yr. Our study demonstrates that while native pollinators visited common ornamental perennials native to California at a higher rate than they visited nonnative ornamentals, introduced honey bees showed no significant preference for either native or nonnative species. Native plants also received a greater diversity of visitor taxa, including a richer suite of native bees. Plant species differed dramatically in attractiveness, by as much as a factor of 12, even within the native status group. Our results suggest that including a data-driven selection of both native and non-native ornamental perennials in the urban landscape can diversify the assemblage of native pollinators, provide critical floral resources throughout the year, and reduce the impact of honey bee landscape foraging dominance by providing plants highly attractive to native pollinators and less so to honey bees.

Harmful effects of fipronil exposure on the behavior and brain of the stingless bee Partamona helleri Friese (Hymenoptera: Meliponini).

Fipronil is a pesticide widely used to control agricultural and household insect pests. However, fipronil is highly toxic to non-target insects, including pollinators. In this study, we investigated the acute effects of fipronil on the behavior, brain morphology, antioxidant activity, and proteins related to signaling pathways on the brain of workers of the stingless bee Partamona helleri. The ingestion of fipronil increases both the walking distance and velocity and causes enlarged intercellular spaces in the Kenyon cells and intense vacuolization in the neuropils of the brain. Moreover, fipronil decreases the activity of catalase (CAT) and increases the activity of glutathione S-transferase (GST). However, there is no difference in superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity between the control and fipronil. Regarding immunofluorescence analysis, bees exposed to fipronil showed an increase in the number of cells positive for cleaved caspase-3 and peroxidase, but a reduction in the number of cells positive for ERK 1/2, JNK and Notch, suggesting neuron death and impaired brain function. Our results demonstrate that fipronil has harmful effects on the behavior and brain of a stingless bee, which may threaten the individuals and colonies of this pollinator.

Discovery of Aphid Lethal Paralysis Virus in Vespa velutina and Apis cerana in China.

Honey bees are essential to the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. However, despite no single factor being blamed for losses of honey bee colonies in Europe and the USA, viruses have been considered as a major driver. Moreover, a virus vector can enhance the titer and virulence of virus such as Varroa destructor can change the virulence of the deformed wing virus. Here, we report molecular evidence for aphid lethal paralysis virus (ALPV) infecting Vespa velutina, which is an important predator of honey bees, especially of Apis cerana. Viral replication and phylogenetic analysis indicated that ALPV can not only replicate in V. velutina and A. cerana, but ALPV from A. cerana (ALPV-Ac) was also significantly associated with that of V. velutina (ALPV-Vv), though distinct from those of Apis mellifera (ALPV-Am). The host state posterior probability displayed that V. velutina is the main viral reservoir between V. velutina and A. cerana. Our results show ALPV had expanded host diversity resulting in potential impacts on the health of pollinators, even on the pollination ecosystem. We suggest further studies should investigate potential risks and impacts on pollinator populations of hornets. These results should have an impact conservation efforts focused on sustaining native pollinator abundance and diversity, and therefore, the crucial ecosystem services that they provide.

Leaf Fertilizers Affect Survival and Behavior of the Neotropical Stingless Bee Friesella schrottkyi (Meliponini: Apidae: Hymenoptera).

The ongoing concern about bee decline has largely focused on honey bees and neonicotinoid insecticides, while native pollinators such as Neotropical stingless bees and agrochemicals such as other insecticide groups, pesticides in general, and fertilizers-especially leaf fertilizers-remain neglected as potential contributors to pollination decline. In an effort to explore this knowledge gap, we assessed the lethal and sublethal behavioral impact of heavy metal-containing leaf fertilizers in a native pollinator of ecological importance in the Neotropics: the stingless bee Friesella schrottkyi (Friese). Two leaf fertilizers-copper sulfate (24% Cu) and a micronutrient mix (Arrank L: 5% S, 5% Zn, 3% Mn, 0.6% Cu, 0.5% B, and 0.06% Mo)-were used in oral and contact exposure bioassays. The biopesticide spinosad and water were used as positive and negative controls, respectively. Copper sulfate compromised the survival of stingless bee workers, particularly with oral exposure, although less than spinosad under contact exposure. Sublethal exposure to both leaf fertilizers at their field rates also caused significant effects in exposed workers. Copper sulfate enhanced flight take-off on stingless bee workers, unlike workers exposed to the micronutrient mix. There was no significant effect of leaf fertilizers on the overall activity and walking behavior of worker bees. No significant effect was observed for the respiration rate of worker bees under contact exposure, but workers orally exposed to the micronutrient mix exhibited a reduced respiration rate. Therefore, leaf fertilizers do affect F. schrottkyi , what may also occur with other stingless bees, potentially compromising their pollination activity deserving attention.