@article{giuffre_lubkin_tarpy_2019, title={Does viral load alter behavior of the bee parasite Varroa destructor?}, volume={14}, ISSN={["1932-6203"]}, DOI={10.1371/journal.pone.0217975}, abstractNote={The invasive mite Varroa destructor has negatively impacted global apiculture, by being a vector for many viruses of the honey bee (Apis mellifera). Until now, most studies have been limited to varroa-honey bee or virus-honey bee interactions. The aim of this study is to bridge the important research gap of varroa-virus interactions by correlating varroa behavior with viral load. Ten-minute video recordings of 200 varroa mites were analyzed, and average speeds of the mites were compared to individual qPCR viral loads for deformed wing virus (DWV) and sacbrood virus (SBV). Statistically significant models reveal that colony, DWV, and SBV all might play a role in mite behavior, suggesting that the varroa-virus interaction needs to be an integral part of future studies on honey bee pathogens.}, number={6}, journal={PLOS ONE}, publisher={Public Library of Science (PLoS)}, author={Giuffre, Carl and Lubkin, Sharon R. and Tarpy, David R.}, editor={Rueppell, OlavEditor}, year={2019}, month={Jun} }
 @article{giuffre_lubkin_tarpy_2017, title={Automated assay and differential model of western honey bee (Apis mellifera) autogrooming using digital image processing}, volume={135}, ISSN={["1872-7107"]}, DOI={10.1016/j.compag.2017.02.003}, abstractNote={In animals, self-grooming is an important component of their overall hygiene because it reduces the risk of disease and parasites. The European honey bee (Apis mellifera) exhibits hygienic behavior, which refers to the ability of the members of a colony to remove diseased or dead brood from the hive. Individual grooming behavior, however, is when a bee grooms itself to remove parasites. While both behaviors are critical for the mitigation of disease, hygienic behavior is overwhelmingly more studied because, unlike grooming behavior, it has a simple bioassay to measure its phenotype. Here, we develop a novel bioassay to expedite data collection of grooming behavior by testing different honey bee genotypes (stocks). Individual worker bees from different commercial stocks were coated in baking flour, placed in an observation arena, and digitally recorded to automatically measure grooming rates. The videos were analyzed in MATLAB, and an exponential function was fit to the pixel data to calculate individual grooming rates. While bees from the different commercial stocks were not significantly different in their grooming rates, the automation of grooming measurements may facilitate future research and stock selection for this important mechanism of social immunity.}, journal={COMPUTERS AND ELECTRONICS IN AGRICULTURE}, publisher={Elsevier BV}, author={Giuffre, Carl and Lubkin, Sharon R. and Tarpy, David R.}, year={2017}, month={Apr}, pages={338–344} }