Honey bees (Apis mellifera) can be infected by many viruses, some of which pose a major
threat to their health and well-being. A critical step in the dynamics of a viral infection is its
mode of transmission. Here, we compared for the first time the effect of mode of horizontal
transmission of Black queen cell virus (BQCV), a ubiquitous and highly prevalent virus of A.
mellifera, on viral virulence in individual adult honey bees. Hosts were exposed to BQCV
either by feeding (representing direct transmission) or by injection into hemolymph …