Journal of Invertebrate Pathology 90 (2005) 118–121 www.elsevier.com/locate/yjipa 0022-2011/$ - see front matter. Published by Elsevier Inc. doi:10.1016/j.jip.2005.08.005 Short communication Detection of multiple viruses in queens of the honey bee Apis mellifera L.  Yanping Chen ¤ , JeVery S. Pettis, Mark F. Feldlaufer USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Bee Research Laboratory, Building 476; BARC-East, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA Received 31 March 2005; accepted 6 August 2005 Abstract Individual honey bee Apis mellifera L. queens were examined for the presence of six honey bee viruses including acute bee paralysis virus, chronic bee paralysis virus, black queen cell virus, deformed wing virus, Kashmir bee virus, and sacbrood virus. All viruses, except ABPV, were detected in the samples. Among queens examined for virus infections, 93% had multiple virus infections. The detection of viruses in queens raises the possibility of a vertical transmission pathway wherein infected queens can pass virus through their eggs to their oVspring. Published by Elsevier Inc. Keywords: Apis mellifera; Queen; Viruses; Single infection; Multiple infections; Vertical transmission The honey bee Apis mellifera L. has been reported to harbor at least 18 viruses (Allen and Ball, 1996; Bailey and Ball, 1991). Among viruses infecting honey bees, 10 have been found in the United States (Allen and Ball, 1996). Except for Wlamentous bee virus, all honey bee viruses reported so far are single stranded RNA viruses 20–30 nm in diameter, isometrically shaped, nonoccluded, possessing a buoyant density in CsCl ranging from 1.33 to 1.42g/ml, and a 100–190S sedimentation coeYcient (Bailey, 1976). Hence, they are very diYcult to distinguish using physical characteristics. Furthermore, most bee viruses persist as inapparent infections and cause no overt signs of disease (Bailey, 1976), it is very diYcult to identify bee virus infec- tions and almost impossible to diVerentiate mixed virus infections based only on the Weld observation. The develop- ment of molecular technologies, however, has provided a powerful tool for speciWc, sensitive, and rapid identiWcation of bee viruses. The availability of complete genome sequences of Wve viruses, acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV; GenBank Accession No. AF150629), black queen cell virus (BQCV; GenBank Accession No. AF183905), deformed wing virus (DWV; GenBank Accession No. NC004830), Kashmir bee virus (KBV; GenBank Accession No. NC004807), and sacbrood virus (SBV; GenBank Accession No. AF092924) and partial genome sequences of chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV; GenBank Accession No. AF461061) makes the molecular detection and character- ization of these viruses possible (Bakonyi et al., 2002; Ben- jeddou et al., 2001; Chen et al., 2004c; Evans, 2001; Genersch, 2005; Grabenstiner et al., 2001; Hung et al., 1996; Ribiere et al., 2002; Stoltz et al., 1995; Tentcheva et al., 2004). Utilizing RT-PCR methods, viruses have been detected in diVerent life stages of bees as well as in the para- sitic mite Varroa destructor (Chen et al., 2005, 2004a). How- ever, despite the increasing knowledge of bee virus infections, there is little information regarding the virus sta- tus of the honey bee queens. In this report, we examine the virus status of individual queen bees. Twenty-nine queens from honey bee colonies maintained in Beltsville, MD and Sapelo Island, GA were used in this study. Queens from GA were collected in centrifuge tubes on  Disclaimer: Mention of trade names or commercial products in this ar- ticle is solely for the purpose of providing speciWc information and does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. * Corresponding author. Fax: +1 301 504 8736. E-mail address: chenj@ba.ars.usda.gov (Y. Chen).