The effect of apiculture stressors on the immunological response of Apis mellifera: lack of structural plastic foundation has energetic costs

Colony collapse disorder (CCD) has caused widespread death of honeybees, but the exact causes are not understood. Many scientists agree that pathogenic threats most likely contribute to CCD. Due to the integral ecosystem role bees fulfill, it is important to understand how honeybees respond immunologically to different factors to better inform practices to combat CCD. Quantifying the immunological cost of two different beekeeping approaches allows us to better understand how beekeeping practices affect bees' susceptibility to CCD. Within colonies, a plastic frame foundation provides structural support for the creation of honeycomb. Production of beeswax is energetically costly for colonies to produce, possibly causing energetic stress that may affect the colony's ability to fight pathogens. Two colonies were maintained, one with an internal plastic foundation on their frames and one without. We collected bees from each colony and extracted their hemolymph to quantify both their basal and activated immunological protein levels. Protein levels were higher in bees from the no foundation colony. Prophenoloxidase (PPO) activity trended toward higher levels in the no foundation colony, although this was not statistically significant. This suggests that lack of foundation causes the bees to have a higher protein turnover based on their energetic requirements, increasing their ability to fight off immunological threats.