Prevalence of Varroa Mite and Associated Viruses in Apis mellifera jemenitica in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions.

The Arabian honeybee, Apis mellifera jemenitica, is well adapted to the arid and semi-arid conditions of the Arabian Peninsula. However, little is known about the interactions among climatic conditions, Varroa mite, and honeybee viruses affecting A. m. jemenitica colonies. This study investigated the prevalence of Varroa destructor and major honey bee viruses (DWV, BQCV, SBV, CBPV, ABPV, KBV, IAPV and AIV) in A. m. jemenitica colonies located across arid and semi-arid regions of Saudi Arabia. The results revealed a high prevalence of Varroa infestation and DWV in both climatic zones. The other viruses (BQCV, SBV, CBPV, ABPV, KBV, IAPV and AIV) showed significant spatial variation in prevalence across the surveyed regions. Varroa infestation levels were generally low and significantly higher in semi-arid environments compared to arid regions (p < 0.001). Mean regional DWV loads (copies/bee) were consistently low across all A. m. jemenitica colonies (6.8 × 102 to 4.4 × 103 copies/bee), were positively linked with Varroa infestation levels (R2 = 0.63), and demonstrated significant variation among climatic zones (p < 0.001). Virus co-occurrence analysis using Phi (ϕ) coefficients revealed structured viral communities, with several virus pairs exhibiting moderate to strong positive associations. Overall, this study highlights the low DWV loads in A. m. jemenitica colonies, and the impact of climate conditions on Varroa mite-virus interactions in shaping honeybee health under arid and semi-arid conditions.