The primary purpose of this agreement is to develop an inclusive dataset of viral and non-viral targets of interest that can be used for correlative analysis with management, loss, pesticide, pest,…

The University of Maryland, College Park received a $100,000 cooperative agreement awarded May 1, 2025, by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) under the Plant and Animal Disease, Pest Control, and Animal Care program (CFDA 10.025). The agreement supports the development of a comprehensive dataset comprising viral and non-viral targets of interest for honey bee health assessment across multiple survey years (2013–2014, 2014–2015, and 2025–2026). The project will complete a retrospective database of 15 specified targets and conduct seasonal and geographical analyses to determine whether new priority targets warrant inclusion in future survey years.

The primary deliverable is a complete, publicly accessible dataset that fills existing data gaps and enables correlative analysis of viral and non-viral targets with management practices, pesticide use, pest pressures, and disease occurrence. By providing comprehensive epidemiological data, the project will support the development of predictive models and evidence-based mitigation strategies to reduce pathogen impacts on honey bee colonies and colony losses. The intended beneficiaries include the broader beekeeping community, participants in the National Honey Bee Disease Survey, commercial beekeepers, and honey bee scientists. No sub-awards were issued under this agreement, and the project is scheduled for completion by April 30, 2026.

The primary purpose of this agreement is to develop an inclusive dataset of viral and non-viral targets of interest that can be used for correlative analysis with management, loss, pesticide, pest, and disease data. Activities to be performed: at the completion of this grant, the completed viral and non-viral suite for 2013-2014, 2014- 2015, and 2025-2026 will be composed of the 15 targets listed in the grant. We will complete the viral and non-viral retrospective database as indicated. We will determine if there are seasonal or geographical significant results with the addition of the new priority targets, to determine if any of them should be included as high priority in future survey years. Deliverables and expected outcomes: we will have a complete data set for all viral and non-viral targets listed in this grant. Filling in the data holes will further increase the usefulness as we begin to model the occurrence of disease with other risk factors exposures, the results of which are essential for development of approaches to mitigate the negative impact of pathogens on honey BEE health and ultimately reduce colony losses. These models work when datasets are complete. All results will be publicly posted and accessible on our website. Intended beneficiary(IES): the larger beekeeping community, including all participants of the national honey BEE disease survey, members of the apiary inspectors of america, commercial beekeepers, honey BEE scientists and virologists. Subrecipient activities, if known or specified at the time of award: no subawards.