Squash bees host high diversity and prevalence of parasites in the northeastern United States

The squash bee Eucera (Peponapis) pruinosa is emerging as a model species to study how stressors impact solitary wild bees in North America. Here, we describe the prevalence of trypanosomes, microsporidians and mollicute bacteria in E. pruinosa and two other species, Bombus impatiens and Apis mellifera, that together comprise over 97% of the pollinator visitors of Cucurbita agroecosystems in Pennsylvania (United States). Our results indicate that all three parasite groups are commonly detected in these bee species, but E. pruinosa often exhibit higher prevalences. We further describe novel trypanosome parasites detected in E. pruinosa, however it is unknown how these parasites impact these bees. We suggest future work investigates parasite replication and infection outcomes.

Automated summary

The study found that the squash bee Eucera pruinosa in Pennsylvania's agroecosystems commonly harbors three types of parasites, with trypanosomes being the most prevalent. The researchers also discovered a new type of trypanosome parasite in E. pruinosa, but its impact on the bees is still unknown. Future research should focus on investigating parasite replication and infection outcomes.