The western honey bee (Apis mellifera) has been domesticated mainly for the production of honey, crop pollination, and wax nest construction. The function of the gut microbiota (GM) in controlling the health of A. mellifera has become more evident in recent years. Antibiotic resistance of bacteria is increasing worldwide in beekeeping and may result in public health problems. Studies on the identification of GM of honey bees and its resistance towards antibiotics in the selected region are needed. In the literature, no such recorded data is found on antibiotic resistance of honey bee gut bacteria. Therefore, this study aimed to isolate and identify bacterial strains from the gut of A.mellifera to examine antibiotic resistance of the isolated bacterial strains. Bees were collected, and dissected, guts were extracted, and bacterial isolates were cultured on nutrient agar (NA) medium. Morphology of the isolated bacterial strains was observed on subculture plates by staining and microscopy, and the bacterial strains were checked for antibiotic resistance by applying various antibiotic discs particularly Oxytetracycline (OX), by disc diffusion method. Two bacterial strains E.coli and Klebsiella were identified through staining and microscopy. Higher resistance was observed in E.coli against Oxytetracycline (OX), Nalidixic acid (NA), Tetracycline (TEC), and Cephaprazone (SCF) having zones of inhibition 10mm, 12mm, 11mm, and 10mm, respectively (compared with CLSI;2013 table), while no significant resistance observed in Klebsiella against Cephalexin (CE), Oxytetracycline (OX), Nalidixic acid (NA), Tetracycline (TEC)  and Cephaprazone (SCF) having Zones of inhibition 25mm, 30mm, 21mm, 19mm and 20mm, respectively. Experimental results reported that E.coli from the gut of honey bees is resistant while Klebsiella shows susceptibility towards these antibiotics.

Index Terms- Antibiotic resistance, Apis mellifera, Gut microbiota, E.coli, Klebsiella