Received: 25 January 2025 / Accepted: 23 May 2025 / Published Online: 31 May 2025
Abstract
This study investigates the impact of Aspergillus flavus, a mycotoxin-producing fungus, on honeybee health in Thailand, where maize pollen is a key nutritional resource for apiculture but carries a significant risk of fungal contamination. Metabolomic analysis revealed that A. flavus produces aflatoxins B1 (AFB1) at 3,753 ng/mL and B2 (AFB2) at 327 ng/mL, while A. nomius is not toxin-producing. Co-culturing A. flavus with A. nomius led to a reduction in AFB1 and AFB2 to 218 and 26.52 mg/mL, respectively. Newly emerged worker honeybees were fed various diets: 50% sucrose syrup (S, T1), S + semi-synthetic media (T2), S + metabolites of A. flavus (T3), S + metabolites of A. nomius (T4), and S + metabolites of both A. flavus and A. nomius (T5). The results indicated that T3 resulted in the shortest lifespan and the smallest hypopharyngeal gland acini size (9.38 ± 1.02 nm compared to 21.07 ± 1.37 nm in T2). However, the lifespan of T4 and T5 was comparable to T1 and T2, indicating that A. nomius would not have any harmful impact on honeybee lifespan and may reduce any deleterious impacts of A. flavus. Similar inference was possible on the acini size of the hypopharyngeal gland which is an important health parameter of worker honeybees. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of how microbial contamination affects honeybee health and the necessity to reduce the risks associated with toxin exposure under the situation of natural pollen sources declining.
