Assessment of Nosema spp. parasitism in bumblebees of Roanoke River Valley in Virginia

Bumblebees of North America are experiencing precipitous population decline. Causes of their decline are still unclear, but multiple declining species are correlated with Nosema bombi (a microsporidian pathogen) infection. N. bombi is the only species of this pathogen so far reported from North American bumblebees, although N. ceranae (an emerging pathogen of honeybees) infection to bumblebees is recently reported from countries like China and Argentina. It raised concerns as to whether this new species of Nosema involved in population decline of North American bumblebees. The goal of this research project is to assess the incidence of multiple Nosema spp. in bumblebees of Roanoke and New River Valley across the southern Virginia.