Technical Abstract: Diagnostic analyses of RNA targets are widely used in honey bee pathology. These diagnostics can be compromised by the actions of endogenous RNA-degrading enzymes activated upon bee death. RNA degradation can be minimized by storage at ultra-cold temperatures or by immersion in high-salt buffers. However, these methods are not always available in the field or are costly, driving a search for alternate ways to store and transport bees for RNA analyses. While the impact of storage conditions on RNA integrity has been evaluated, the tolerance of standard RT-qPCR diagnostics of honey bee pathogens, given non-ideal collection and storage, has not yet been determined. Given the short regions of RNA now being screened for pathogen diagnostics (generally amplified regions of 100-200 nucleotides), it is conceivable that even degraded RNA may provide a template for precise diagnostics. Here, we evaluated for the first time the impact of the two most convenient sample storage and handling methods (+4°C and Room Temperature) for RT-qPCR honey bee virus diagnostics. Our motivation was to streamline the methods needed to collect, transport, and store honey bee samples destined for pathogen diagnostics. We show that samples held at room temperature for times anticipated for sample transport are in fact suitable for virus diagnostics. Our data will be useful for the standardization of sampling methods across countries and laboratories.