Disease dynamics of Honeybees with Varroa destructor as parasite and virus vector

TL;DR

This paper develops a comprehensive mathematical model of honeybee populations incorporating Varroa mite parasitism, virus transmission, and Allee effects, revealing complex dynamics and potential causes of colony collapse.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed honeybee-mite-virus model with multiple transmission pathways and Allee effects, providing new insights into colony dynamics and collapse mechanisms.

Findings

Initial conditions are crucial for colony survival.

Low adult-to-brood ratios destabilize the system and may cause collapse.

Virus infections can stabilize the system and increase disease persistence.

Abstract

We propose a honeybee-mite-virus model that incorporates (1) parasitic interactions between honeybees and the Varroa mites; (2) five virus transmission terms between honeybees and mites at different stages of Varroa mites: from honeybees to honeybees, from adult honeybees to phoretic mites, from honeybee brood to reproductive mites, from reproductive mites to honeybee brood, and from honeybees to phoretic mites; and (3) Allee effects in the honeybee population generated by its internal organization such as division of labor. We provide completed local and global analysis for the full system and its subsystems. Our analytical and numerical results allow us have a better understanding of the synergistic effects of parasitism and virus infections on honeybee population dynamics and its persistence. Interesting findings from our work include: (a) Due to Allee effects experienced by the honeybee population, initial conditions are essential for the survival of the colony. (b) Low adult honeybee to brood ratios have destabilizing effects on the system, generate fluctuated dynamics, and potentially lead to a \emph{catastrophic event} where both honeybees and mites suddenly become extinct. This catastrophic event could be potentially linked to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) of honeybee colonies. (c) Virus infections may have stabilizing effects on the system, and could make disease more persistent in the presence of parasitic mites. Our model illustrates how the synergy between the parasitic mites and virus infections consequently generates rich dynamics including multiple attractors where all species can coexist or go extinct depending on initial conditions. Our findings may provide important insights on honeybee diseases and parasites and how to best control them.