Parasites, depredators, and limited resources as potential drivers of winter mortality of feral honeybee colonies in German forests.

Wild honeybees (Apis mellifera) are considered extinct in most parts of Europe. The likely causes of their decline include increased parasite burden, lack of high-quality nesting sites and associated depredation pressure, and food scarcity. In Germany, feral honeybees still colonize managed forests, but their survival rate is too low to maintain viable populations.

High incidence of carbapenemase-producing clinical isolates from Lagos, Nigeria.

Background: Carbapenem-resistant strains are on the rise worldwide. This study characterized clinical isolates of from three Nigerian hospitals for carbapenem resistance.

Methods: Strains isolated from wounds ( = 88), urine/catheter tips ( = 25), sputum/tracheotomy aspirates ( = 5), ear swabs ( = 4) and vaginal swabs ( = 1) were identified by MALDI-TOF and antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed using the VITEK 2 system.

Changes of microorganism composition in fresh and stored bee pollen from Southern Germany.

Analysis of plant pollen can provide valuable insights into the existing spectrum of microorganisms in the environment. When harvesting bee-collected pollen as a dietary supplement for human consumption, timely preservation of the freshly collected pollen is fundamental for product quality. Environmental microorganisms contained in freshly collected pollen can lead to spoilage by degradation of pollen components.