The health status of the honey bee populations has attracted a great amount of interest in recent years. We investigated honey bee health in five natural protected areas in Italy from October 2009 to December 2010. Areas were selected to represent a wide range of bio‑geographical zones including alpine, continental, and Mediterranean. Within each of these natural protected areas, one apiary of 20 colonies near potential pollution sources (e.g., agricultural areas, industrial areas, or urban settlements) and another apiary of 20 colonies far from possible sources of pollutants have been placed. To monitor honey bee health, colony mortality was related to: honey bee pathologies, environment (Naturality Index, plant protection products and heavy metal exposure), and apiary management. Anthropogenic pollutants and pathogens did not have significant effects on colony mortality while environment and the poor colony management skills of the beekeepers did.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.12834/VetIt.1209.6739.4 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Arising amitraz and pyrethroids resistance mutations in the ectoparasitic Varroa destructor mite in Canada.
Sci Rep
January 2025
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
The ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor remains a great threat for the beekeeping industry, for example contributing to excessive winter colony loss in Canada. For decades, beekeepers have sequentially used the registered synthetic varroacides tau-fluvalinate, coumaphos, amitraz, and flumethrin, leading to the risk of resistance evolution in the mites. In addition to the widespread resistance to coumaphos and pyrethroids, a decline in amitraz efficacy has recently been reported in numerous beekeeping regions in Canada.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChromosome-level genome assembly of Megachile sculpturalis Smith (Hymenoptera, Apoidea, Megachilidae).
Sci Data
January 2025
Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Megachile sculpturalis Smith, 1853 native to East Asia, is an important solitary bee species that has invaded both Europe and the United States. This study provides the first chromosome-level genome assembly of M. sculpturalis using a combination of Nanopore long reads, Illumina short reads, and Hi-C data.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA test of the Grant-Stebbins pollinator-shift model of floral evolution.
New Phytol
January 2025
Department of Botany, Rhodes University, Makhanda, 6140, South Africa.
Pollinators are thought to play a key role in driving incipient speciation within the angiosperms. However, the mechanisms underlying floral divergence in plants with generalist pollination systems, remains understudied. Brunsvigia gregaria displays significant geographical variation in floral traits and are visited by diverse pollinator communities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDetection of glyphosate, glufosinate, and their metabolites in multi-floral honey for food safety.
Food Addit Contam Part A Chem Anal Control Expo Risk Assess
January 2025
Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science (DIVAS), University of Milan, Lodi, Italy.
Beehives can accumulate environmental contaminants as bees gather pollen, propolis, and water from their surroundings, contaminating hive products like honey. Moreover, in multifloral environments, bees can interact with plants treated with different pesticides, often causing higher pesticides concentrations in multi-floral honey than in mono-floral varieties. Glyphosate and glufosinate are both widely used herbicides.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBee reasonable: Do bumblebees reason by exclusion?
Learn Behav
January 2025
ICREA, Pg. Lluís Companys 23, Barcelona, Spain.
In a clever adaptation of the two-cups task, a recent paper tested for reasoning by exclusion in bees. Although further work is necessary to rule out competing hypotheses, this study advances our ability to test cognitive capacities in invertebrates.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!