| Summary: | <i>Nosema ceranae</i> is a relatively new pathogen of the honeybee (<i>Apis mellifera</i>) and the course of type C nosemosis (the disease that it causes) is not entirely known. In order to better understand the course and the consequences of this disease, laboratory experiments were performed. They aimed to compare the course of <i>N. ceranae</i> infection with the course of <i>Nosema apis</i> infection, taking its influence on the black queen cell virus (BQCV) into account. Determination of the quantity of <i>N. ceranae</i> and BQCV genetic material in laboratory tests was performed using real-time PCR. In mixed <i>Nosema</i> infections, <i>N. ceranae</i> “wins” the competition and manages to outnumber <i>N. apis</i> significantly. BQCV exacerbates the course of both A and C nosemoses, but the data shows that in the case of nosemosis C and this viral infection, the mortality rate was the highest from all examined groups. Obtained results show that <i>N. ceranae</i> is more pathogenic for <i>A. mellifera</i> than <i>N. apis</i>, and the course of type C nosemosis is much heavier, which results in the shortened life spans of bees, and in connection with BQCV it becomes even more dangerous to bees.
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