| Summary: | The global spread of a parasitic mite (<i>Varroa destructor)</i> has resulted in Deformed wing virus (DWV), a previously rare pathogen, now dominating the viromes in honey bees and contributing to large-scale honey bee colony losses. DWV can be found in diverse insect taxa and has been implicated in spilling over from honey bees into associated (“apiary”) and other (“non-apiary”) insects. Here we generated next generation sequence data from 127 insect samples belonging to diverse taxa collected from Hawaiian islands with and without <i>Varroa</i> to identify whether the mite has indirectly affected the viral landscapes of key insect taxa across bees, wasps, flies and ants. Our data showed that, while <i>Varroa</i> was associated with a dramatic increase in abundance of (predominantly recombinant) DWV in honey bees (and no other honey bee-associated RNA virus), this change was not seen in any other taxa sampled. Honey bees share their environment with other insect populations and exist as a homogenous group, frequently sharing common viruses, albeit at low levels. Our data suggest that the threat of <i>Varroa</i> to increase viral load in an apiary does not automatically translate to an increase in virus load in other insects living in the wider community.
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