Abstract

PLISCHUK, Santiago  and  LANGE, Carlos E.. Record of Nephridiophaga sp. (Protista: Nephridiophagidae) in Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) of the southern Pampas. Rev. Soc. Entomol. Argent. [online]. 2011, vol.70, n.3-4, pp.357-361. ISSN 0373-5680.

During surveys for the detection of protists associated to Apidae in the Pampas region, biconcave oval spores, and spore clumps were observed in the Malpighian tubules of honeybees from Dufaur, Saavedra county, southwestern Buenos Aires province. Mature spores measured 4.8 ± 0.05 x 2.4 ± 0.03 μm, and mean spore load was 5.71 ± 1.49 x 10⁶ per honeybee. Detections were from July to October 2006, and prevalence in positive colonies ranged from 1 to 16.7%. Morphology of the spores, the site of development, and the identity of the host species suggest that the isolated microorganism belongs to the genus Nephridiophaga and would be N apis Ivani, the type species, knowledge on which is extremely limited. The finding constitutes the first record of a nephridiophagid in honeybees outside of Europe.

Keywords : Haplosporidia; Malpighian tubules; Nephridiophaga apis; Nosema.

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