Brief Bio: Dr. P. Chantawannakul has worked on bee pathology for almost 20 years and collaborated with bee resarchers at USDA (Baton rouge and Beltsville, US), University of Bern (Switzerland), National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science (Japan), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science (China), CSIRO (Australia), Free University of Bolzano (Italy), and Bulgarian Academy of Science (Bulgaria). Dr. Chantawannakul is co-Vice presisent and one of executive committee members of COLOSS network (www.coloss.org).

Honey bee pathology, disease resistance, immune responses, host-parasite interactions

When East meets West: The prevalence of pathogens and parasites in honey bees

Southeast Asia is a homeland to at least nine recognized honey bee species including the western honey bee. The western honey bee (Apis mellifera) has been introduced and replaced the eastern honey bee (Apis cerana) in apiculture in Thailand and in much of Southeast Asia. However, A. mellifera is prone to many diseases and parasites. The native honey bees are also affected by microbial diseases and parasitic mites but appear to be more resistant than A. mellifera. In this context, our team has studied the epidemiology of pathogens and parasites in different species of Apis and resistance mechanisms of the native honey bees in both individual and social levels.