A virus causes infection by invading host cells, multiplying new virions, and exiting the host cell to attack others. As part of their survival strategies, hosts have evolved effective mechanisms to defend against viral invaders by employing multifaceted immune responses. Virulence and pathogenesis are the consequences of the complex interactions between the infecting virus and host immunity. While the humoral and cellular immune responses to bacterial and fungal infections have been characterized and documented in honey bees, relatively little is known concerning how honey bees recognize and fight viral infections. The commonly observed phenomenon that viruses persist in apparently healthy colonies as latent infections is a good indication that honey bees have the innate ability to resist the multiplication of virus infections.