The gut microbiota can have profound effects on hosts, but the study of these relationships in
humans is challenging. The specialized gut microbial community of honey bees is similar to …

Highlights•The honey bee gut microbiome contains five core bacterial species mainly in
hindguts.•This core microbiome is implicated in nutrition and development of adult …

Gut microbiomes play crucial roles in animal health, and shifts in the gut microbial
community structure can have detrimental impacts on hosts. Studies with vertebrate models …

The highly social (eusocial) corbiculate bees, comprising the honey bees, bumble bees, and
stingless bees, are ubiquitous insect pollinators that fulfill critical roles in ecosystem services …

The gut microbiota of the honey bee (Apis mellifera) offers several advantages as an
experimental system for addressing how gut communities affect their hosts and for exploring …

Bees acquire carbohydrates from nectar and lipids; and amino acids from pollen, which also
contains polysaccharides including cellulose, hemicellulose, and pectin. These potential …

Honey bees feed on floral nectar and pollen that they store in their colonies as honey and
bee bread. Social division of labor enables the collection of stores of food that are consumed …

Gastrointestinal microbiota play a vital role in maintaining organismal health, through
facilitating nutrient uptake, detoxification and interactions with the immune system. The …

Social bees collect carbohydrate-rich food to support their colonies, and yet, certain
carbohydrates present in their diet or produced through the breakdown of pollen are toxic to …

Bifidobacteria are common and frequently dominant members of the gut microbiota of many
animals, including mammals and insects. Carbohydrates are considered key carbon …