scholarly journals Honey bee colony losses: Why are honey bees disappearing?

Sociobiology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 5851
Author(s):  
Peter Hristov ◽  
Rositsa Shumkova ◽  
Nadezhda Palova ◽  
Boyko Neov

The Western honey bee (Apis mellifera L., Hymenoptera: Apidae) is a species of crucial economic, agricultural and environmental importance.In the last ten years, some regions of the world have suffered from a significant reduction of honey bee colonies. In fact, honey bee losses are not an unusual phenomenon, but in many countries worldwide there has been a notable decrease in honey bee families. The cases in the USA, in many European countries, and in the Middle East have received considerable attention, mostly due to the absence of an easily identifiable cause.It has been difficult to determine the main factors leading to colony losses because of honey bees’ diverse social behavior. Moreover, in their daily routine, they make contact with many agents of the environment and are exposed to a plethora of human activities and their consequences. Nevertheless, a number of different factors are considered to be contributing to honey bee losses, and recent investigations have established some of the most important ones, in particular, pests and diseases, bee management, including bee keeping practices and breeding, the change in climatic conditions, agricultural practices, and the use of pesticides. The global picture highlights the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor as a major factor in colony loss. Last but not least, microsporidian parasites, mainly Nosema ceranae, also contribute to the problem.Thus, it is obvious that many factors are involved in honey bee colony losses globally. Increased monitoring and scientific research should throw new light on the factors involved in recent honey bee colony losses.This review focuses on the main factors which have been found to have an impact on the increase in honey bee colony losses.

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Hristov ◽  
Rositsa Shumkova ◽  
Nadezhda Palova ◽  
Boyko Neov

The Western honey bee (Apis mellifera L., Hymenoptera: Apidae) is a species of crucial economic, agricultural and environmental importance. In the last ten years, some regions of the world have suffered from a significant reduction of honey bee colonies. In fact, honey bee losses are not an unusual phenomenon, but in many countries worldwide there has been a notable decrease in honey bee colonies. The cases in the USA, in many European countries, and in the Middle East have received considerable attention, mostly due to the absence of an easily identifiable cause. It has been difficult to determine the main factors leading to colony losses because of honey bees’ diverse social behavior. Moreover, in their daily routine, they make contact with many agents of the environment and are exposed to a plethora of human activities and their consequences. Nevertheless, various factors have been considered to be contributing to honey bee losses, and recent investigations have established some of the most important ones, in particular, pests and diseases, bee management, including bee keeping practices and breeding, the change in climatic conditions, agricultural practices, and the use of pesticides. The global picture highlights the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor as a major factor in colony loss. Last but not least, microsporidian parasites, mainly Nosema ceranae, also contribute to the problem. Thus, it is obvious that there are many factors affecting honey bee colony losses globally. Increased monitoring and scientific research should throw new light on the factors involved in recent honey bee colony losses. The present review focuses on the main factors which have been found to have an impact on the increase in honey bee colony losses.


Bee World ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 96 (2) ◽  
pp. 50-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariia M. Fedoriak ◽  
Per K. Angelstam ◽  
Oleksandr M. Kulmanov ◽  
Lesia I. Tymochko ◽  
Svitlana S. Rudenko ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian W W Pirk ◽  
Hannelie Human ◽  
Robin M Crewe ◽  
Dennis vanEngelsdorp

2015 ◽  
Vol 532 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoine Clermont ◽  
Michael Eickermann ◽  
François Kraus ◽  
Lucien Hoffmann ◽  
Marco Beyer

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (12) ◽  
pp. 3203-3208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gennaro Di Prisco ◽  
Desiderato Annoscia ◽  
Marina Margiotta ◽  
Rosalba Ferrara ◽  
Paola Varricchio ◽  
...  

Honey bee colony losses are triggered by interacting stress factors consistently associated with high loads of parasites and/or pathogens. A wealth of biotic and abiotic stressors are involved in the induction of this complex multifactorial syndrome, with the parasitic mite Varroa destructor and the associated deformed wing virus (DWV) apparently playing key roles. The mechanistic basis underpinning this association and the evolutionary implications remain largely obscure. Here we narrow this research gap by demonstrating that DWV, vectored by the Varroa mite, adversely affects humoral and cellular immune responses by interfering with NF-κB signaling. This immunosuppressive effect of the viral pathogen enhances reproduction of the parasitic mite. Our experimental data uncover an unrecognized mutualistic symbiosis between Varroa and DWV, which perpetuates a loop of reciprocal stimulation with escalating negative effects on honey bee immunity and health. These results largely account for the remarkable importance of this mite–virus interaction in the induction of honey bee colony losses. The discovery of this mutualistic association and the elucidation of the underlying regulatory mechanisms sets the stage for a more insightful analysis of how synergistic stress factors contribute to colony collapse, and for the development of new strategies to alleviate this problem.


2010 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 104-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert W Currie ◽  
Stephen F Pernal ◽  
Ernesto Guzmán-Novoa

2010 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis vanEngelsdorp ◽  
Jerry Hayes ◽  
Robyn M Underwood ◽  
Jeffery S Pettis

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brigitte Huber ◽  
Ingrid Aichberger

Emotionalization is increasingly used in the daily news. However, communication scholars have only just begun to explore how journalists use emotionalization in coverage of scientific and environmental topics. This study contributes to filling this research gap by investigating emotionalization in reporting on honey bee colony losses. The aim of the study is to analyze the amount of emotionalization that took place, as well as to observe changes over time. Emotionalization is assessed in two ways; by analyzing to what extent journalists (1) <em>explicitly mentioned</em> discrete emotions in news stories (joy, hope, fear, anger, etc.) and/or (2) used <em>rhetorical devices</em> to evoke emotions (affective vocabulary, metaphors, colloquial language, superlatives, etc.). Results from a quantitative content analysis of four Austrian newspapers in 2010/2011, 2013/2014, and 2017/2018 show that the coverage is highly emotionalized across all three time periods studied. Emotionalization occurs far more often by using rhetorical devices than by explicitly mentioning positive or negative emotions. Interestingly, the incorporation of emotional elements and scientific expertise in the news items do not exclude one another. Hence, there seems to be no strict dichotomy between rational/objective and emotional reporting.


Diversity ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 403
Author(s):  
Aleš Gregorc

In recent decades, independent national and international research programs have revealed possible reasons for the death of managed honey bee colonies worldwide. Such losses are not due to a single factor, but instead are due to highly complex interactions between various internal and external influences, including pests, pathogens, honey bee stock diversity, and environmental change. Reduced honey bee vitality and nutrition, exposure to agrochemicals, and quality of colony management contribute to reduced colony survival in beekeeping operations. Our Special Issue (SI) on ‘’Monitoring of Honey Bee Colony Losses’’ aims to address specific challenges facing honey bee researchers and beekeepers. This SI includes four reviews, with one being a meta-analysis that identifies gaps in the current and future directions for research into honey bee colonies mortalities. Other review articles include studies regarding the impact of numerous factors on honey bee mortality, including external abiotic factors (e.g., winter conditions and colony management) as well as biotic factors such as attacks by Vespa velutina and Varroa destructor.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document