Thermal Hazards for Honey Bee Queens

Abstract

All species need to reproduce to maintain viable populations, but heat stress kills sperm cells across the animal kingdom and rising frequencies of heatwaves are a threat to biodiversity. Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are globally distributed micro-livestock; therefore, they could serve as environmental biomonitors for fertility losses. Here, we found that queens have two potential routes of temperaturestress exposure: within colonies and during routine shipping. Our data suggest that temperatures of 15 to 38{degrees}C are safe for queens at a tolerance threshold of 11.5% loss of sperm viability, which is the viability difference associated with queen failure in the field. Heat shock activates expression of specific stressresponse proteins in the spermatheca, which could serve as molecular biomarkers (indicators) for heat stress. This protein fingerprint may eventually enable surveys for the prevalence of heat-induced loss of sperm viability in diverse landscapes as part of a biomonitoring program.