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Journals
Insects
Special Issues
Stressors on Bee Health
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Stressors on Bee Health

A special issue of Insects (ISSN 2075-4450).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 September 2018) | Viewed by 35349

Special Issue Editors

Dr. John J. Adamczyk, Jr., PhD.

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
The Thad Cochran Southern Horticultural Laboratory, USDA-Agricultural Research Service, P.O. BOX 287, Poplarville, MS 39470, USA
Interests: integrated pest management; landscape ecology; honey bees
Dr. William Meikle, PhD.

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Carl Hayden Bee Research Center, USDA-ARS, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
Interests: honey bees; continuous monitoring, colony-level behavior

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This special issue will focus on biotic and abiotic stressors that affect bee health. Topics such as how pesticides, food resources, parasites, pathogens, and changing habitat affect honey bee (Apis sp. and native bee (non-Apis) populations, how those colonies and populations respond to the stressors, and how stressors can interact are invited from across the globe. Authors are encouraged to submit relevant articles concerning both laboratory and field studies as well as modelling studies.

Dr. John J. Adamczyk, Jr.
Dr. William Meikle
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Insects is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Please note that for papers submitted after 1 July 2018 an APC of 1000 CHF applies.

Keywords

  • Pesticides
  • Pathogens
  • Stressors
  • Bees
  • Apis
  • non-Apis

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (5 papers)

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7 pages, 773 KiB  
Communication
Nest Modification Protects Immature Stages of the Japanese Orchard Bee (Osmia cornifrons) from Invasion of a Cleptoparasitic Mite Pest
by Neelendra K. Joshi, Kusum Naithani and David J. Biddinger
Insects 2020, 11(1), 65; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects11010065 - 20 Jan 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4430
Abstract
Osmia cornifrons (Radoszkowski) (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) is an effective orchard pollinator. Considering the honey bee population decline in recent years, the conservation and propagation of O. cornifrons as an alternative managed pollinator is important in ensuring adequate pollination of tree fruit crops in the [...] Read more.
Osmia cornifrons (Radoszkowski) (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) is an effective orchard pollinator. Considering the honey bee population decline in recent years, the conservation and propagation of O. cornifrons as an alternative managed pollinator is important in ensuring adequate pollination of tree fruit crops in the eastern United States. A field study was conducted to determine if nest modifications could reduce mite parasites and parasitoid natural enemies that attack managed O. cornifrons. Paraffin-coated paper liners (straws) were added to create modified nests, and were compared with the unmodified nests (i.e., nests without paper liners). In each nest, we recorded the number of nest cells with cleptoparasitic mites Chaetodactylus krombeini (Baker), and the presence of a parasitoid wasp Monodontomerus obscurus (Westwood). We also recorded the number of cocoons, male pupae, female pupae, and unconsumed pollen-nectar provision masses in these nests. Results showed that using paper liners in nest-tunnels greatly reduced the invasion of natural enemies of managed populations of O. cornifrons. Most notably, the addition of paper liners provided protection from invasion by C. krombeini mites, as the mean number of nest cells with mites were significantly lower in these lined nests compared to the nests without paper liners. A significantly higher number of male and female cocoons of O. cornifrons were recorded in the nests with paper liners. The population of M. obscurus was almost negligible in this field study. These results suggest that using nests with paper liners may accelerate the O. cornifrons population establishment and propagation in commercial orchards of rosaceous fruit crops, and possibly in other crops. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Stressors on Bee Health)
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19 pages, 2391 KiB  
Article
Comprehensive Survey of Area-Wide Agricultural Pesticide Use in Southern United States Row Crops and Potential Impact on Honey Bee Colonies
by Jon Zawislak, John Adamczyk, Donald R. Johnson, Gus Lorenz, Joe Black, Quinton Hornsby, Scott D. Stewart and Neelendra Joshi
Insects 2019, 10(9), 280; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects10090280 - 2 Sep 2019
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 5734
Abstract
Honey bees forage across a large area, continually scouting the local landscape for ephemeral food resources. Beekeepers often rely on flowering plants in and around irrigated farmland to maintain their colonies during dry seasons, despite the potential risk of pesticide exposure. Recent declines [...] Read more.
Honey bees forage across a large area, continually scouting the local landscape for ephemeral food resources. Beekeepers often rely on flowering plants in and around irrigated farmland to maintain their colonies during dry seasons, despite the potential risk of pesticide exposure. Recent declines in pollinator abundance and diversity have focused attention on the role of pesticides and their effects on honey bee health. This investigation examined two types of landscapes within a two-mile (3.2 km) radius of honey bee colonies: an intensive agricultural setting and a rural setting without intensive agriculture. More than 10,000 acres of agricultural land was surveyed to quantify the area of cultivated crops and the area treated with pesticides, including seed treatments and foliar applications of insecticides. Samples of honey, bee bread (stored pollen), beeswax, and adult bees were collected from hives in both landscape types and screened for pesticide residues to determine if foraging bees were transporting pesticides to hives. Some samples of bee bread and honey did contain pesticide residues, but these were below known lethal dose (LD50) levels for honey bees. Beeswax samples contained the highest levels of contamination, but most were still relatively low. Samples were screened for 174 common agricultural pesticides and metabolites, but only 26 compounds were detected during the two-year study. These included one defoliant, one insect growth regulator, five herbicides, six fungicides, six insecticides never used in beekeeping, and five insecticides/miticides and their metabolites, which are used in beekeeping and for various other agricultural purposes, as well as two miticides exclusively used by beekeepers to control Varroa destructor. Bee colonies foraging in agricultural landscapes are potentially exposed to numerous pesticide applications. While the residues detected in this study did not pose an acute lethal risk to adult honey bees, this study did not measure sublethal effects on bee colony health or performance, which merit further investigation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Stressors on Bee Health)
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15 pages, 1867 KiB  
Article
Honey Bee Survival and Pathogen Prevalence: From the Perspective of Landscape and Exposure to Pesticides
by Mohamed Alburaki, Deniz Chen, John A. Skinner, William G. Meikle, David R. Tarpy, John Adamczyk and Scott D. Stewart
Insects 2018, 9(2), 65; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects9020065 - 13 Jun 2018
Cited by 34 | Viewed by 7873
Abstract
In order to study the in situ effects of the agricultural landscape and exposure to pesticides on honey bee health, sixteen honey bee colonies were placed in four different agricultural landscapes. Those landscapes were three agricultural areas with varying levels of agricultural intensity [...] Read more.
In order to study the in situ effects of the agricultural landscape and exposure to pesticides on honey bee health, sixteen honey bee colonies were placed in four different agricultural landscapes. Those landscapes were three agricultural areas with varying levels of agricultural intensity (AG areas) and one non-agricultural area (NAG area). Colonies were monitored for different pathogen prevalence and pesticide residues over a period of one year. RT-qPCR was used to study the prevalence of seven different honey bee viruses as well as Nosema sp. in colonies located in different agricultural systems with various intensities of soybean, corn, sorghum, and cotton production. Populations of the parasitic mite Varroa destructor were also extensively monitored. Comprehensive MS-LC pesticide residue analyses were performed on samples of wax, honey, foragers, winter bees, dead bees, and crop flowers for each apiary and location. A significantly higher level of varroa loads were recorded in colonies of the AG areas, but this at least partly correlated with increased colony size and did not necessarily result from exposure to pesticides. Infections of two viruses (deformed wing virus genotype a (DWVa) and acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV)) and Nosema sp. varied among the four studied locations. The urban location significantly elevated colony pathogen loads, while AG locations significantly benefited and increased the colony weight gain. Cotton and sorghum flowers contained high concentrations of insecticide including neonicotinoids, while soybean and corn had less pesticide residues. Several events of pesticide toxicity were recorded in the AG areas, and high concentrations of neonicotinoid insecticides were detected in dead bees. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Stressors on Bee Health)
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18 pages, 328 KiB  
Article
Organochlorine Pesticides in Honey and Pollen Samples from Managed Colonies of the Honey Bee Apis mellifera Linnaeus and the Stingless Bee Scaptotrigona mexicana Guérin from Southern, Mexico
by Jovani Ruiz-Toledo, Rémy Vandame, Ricardo Alberto Castro-Chan, Rosa Patricia Penilla-Navarro, Jaime Gómez and Daniel Sánchez
Insects 2018, 9(2), 54; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects9020054 - 10 May 2018
Cited by 27 | Viewed by 6109
Abstract
In this paper, we show the results of investigating the presence of organochlorine pesticides in honey and pollen samples from managed colonies of the honey bee, Apis mellifera L. and of the stingless bee Scaptotrigona mexicana Guérin. Three colonies of each species were [...] Read more.
In this paper, we show the results of investigating the presence of organochlorine pesticides in honey and pollen samples from managed colonies of the honey bee, Apis mellifera L. and of the stingless bee Scaptotrigona mexicana Guérin. Three colonies of each species were moved into each of two sites. Three samples of pollen and three samples of honey were collected from each colony: the first collection occurred at the beginning of the study and the following ones at every six months during a year. Thus the total number of samples collected was 36 for honey (18 for A. mellifera and 18 for S. mexicana) and 36 for pollen (18 for A. mellifera and 18 for S. mexicana). We found that 88.44% and 93.33% of honey samples, and 22.22% and 100% of pollen samples of S. mexicana and A. mellifera, respectively, resulted positive to at least one organochlorine. The most abundant pesticides were Heptaclor (44% of the samples), γ-HCH (36%), DDT (19%), Endrin (18%) and DDE (11%). Despite the short foraging range of S. mexicana, the number of pesticides quantified in the honey samples was similar to that of A. mellifera. Paradoxically we found a small number of organochlorines in pollen samples of S. mexicana in comparison to A. mellifera, perhaps indicating a low abundance of pollen sources within the foraging range of this species. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Stressors on Bee Health)
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13 pages, 926 KiB  
Perspective
A Better Understanding of Bee Nutritional Ecology Is Needed to Optimize Conservation Strategies for Wild Bees—The Application of Ecological Stoichiometry
by Michał Filipiak
Insects 2018, 9(3), 85; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects9030085 - 18 Jul 2018
Cited by 40 | Viewed by 10286
Abstract
The observed decline in wild bees may be connected to the decreasing diversity of flowering plants. Changes in floral composition shape nutrient availability in inhabited areas, and bee larvae need food rich in body-building nutrients to develop into adults. Adult food, mainly composed [...] Read more.
The observed decline in wild bees may be connected to the decreasing diversity of flowering plants. Changes in floral composition shape nutrient availability in inhabited areas, and bee larvae need food rich in body-building nutrients to develop into adults. Adult food, mainly composed of energy-rich nectar, differs from larval food, mainly composed of pollen, and adult bees forage on different plant species for nectar and pollen. Defining bee-friendly plants based on the quantities of food produced, and on the visitation rates of adult pollinating insects leads to the planting of bee habitats with poor-quality food for larvae, which limits their growth and development, and negatively affects the population. Consequently, failing to understand the nutritional needs of wild bees may lead to unintended negative effects of conservation efforts. Ecological stoichiometry was developed to elucidate the nutritional constraints of organisms and their colonies, populations, and communities. Here, I discuss how applying ecological stoichiometry to the study of the nutritional ecology of wild bees would help fill the gaps in our understanding of bee biology. I present questions that should be answered in future studies to improve our knowledge of the nutritional ecology of wild bees, which could result in better conservation strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Stressors on Bee Health)
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