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(1) Background: Bees are the primary animal pollinators in most ecosystems, and honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) are important providers of pollination ecosystem services and products. Climate change is one of the major threats for honey bees. (2) Objectives and methods: Qualitative research using focus group discussions was carried out in northwestern Italy, to investigate the beekeepers’ perceptions of climate change effects, the relevant management adaptations, and the main issues affecting the sector. (3) Results: Beekeepers reported several consequences related to severe weather events (weakening or loss of colonies; scarcity of nectar, pollen, and honeydew; decrease or lack of honey and other bee products; greater infestation by varroa; decline in pollination), making it necessary to provide supplemental sugar feeding, intensive transhumance, more effective and sustainable techniques for varroa control, and increased production of nuclei. A strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis was completed, displaying the factors able to strengthen or weaken the resilience of the beekeeping sector to climate change. (4) Conclusions: Thanks to their strong motivation and collaborative attitude, beekeepers succeed in adopting farm and bee hive adaptation strategies that are able to limit the climatic adverse effects. However, these findings highlight how the institutional and financial support for the beekeeping sector should be strengthened and better targeted.

The goal of this study is to inform those potentially interested (researchers, farmers, industry and public bodies) in the medicinal and aromatic properties, and profitability of Perilla frutescens (L.) Britton (Lamiaceae). Perilla, a medicinal and edible plant of Asian origin, was recently introduced to the Piedmont Region in the northwest of Italy. P. frutescens is commonly known for its anti-allergic, anti-tumor, and antioxidant properties. It is also widely used as human food. We collected a variety of data on Perilla crops in the Piedmont Region, including: agricultural practices, crop profitability, and its value as a bee plant. Our results suggest that ease of cultivation, approximate break-even economics, medicinal claims, and value for bees all contribute to make Perilla of economic interest in Italy.

SummaryHere we present the first report of the Phorid fly Megaselia rufipes as a "facultative parasitoid" of the honey bee Apis mellifera after its identification in a natural colony in the Piedmont Region of Italy. 60 bees with deformed wings probably caused by deformed wing virus and 50 healthy bees were collected. Whilst maintained in the laboratory, parasitoid larvae emerged from the deformed-winged dead bees; further examination revealed that the parasitized bees contained emptied body cavities. Parasitization was not detected in the normal honey bees. This finding suggests that M. rufipes should be considered among the facultative parasitoids of A. mellifera. As the parasite was found only in non-flying bees already destined for death, the M. rufipes damage seems unlikely to be important. However, this finding, and the role of Phorids in beekeeping generally, beg more study given the recent link of the Phorid Apocephalus borealis to its potential of one of the indirect causes of widespread honey bee losses in the USA.

The effects of Perilla frutescens pollination on the content of seed antioxidants were analysed by agronomical and pollination trials, comparing seeds produced from bagged plants in 2013 (A) to prevent access to pollinating insects, and seeds from open-pollinated plants in 2013 (B) and 2015 (C). The seeds of open-pollinated plants were significantly more numerous and heavier than those of self-pollinated plants. H NMR seed analysis showed a higher presence of phenolic compounds in open-pollinated seeds, mainly rosmarinic acid and flavonoids, apigenin and luteolin. Flavonoids were present in the glucosylated form in seeds (A) and (C), and in the aglycone form in seeds from (B) plants. Saturated and unsaturated fatty acids (palmitic, linoleic and linolenic) were more abundant in seeds from self-pollinated flowers. Pollination performed almost exclusively by the honeybee notably increased the antioxidant content in perilla seeds and gave rise to a reduction in the fatty acid content.

We experimentally tested the impact of browsing, defecation and urination corresponding to four different levels of moose population density on abundance and number of eco-morphological groups of soil mesofauna in a Swedish boreal forest. The study was carried out in three fenced exclosures representing different levels of productivity (from nutrient-rich to nutrient-poor). Moose impact on soil communities was evaluated by analysing abundance, richness and diversity of mesofaunal groups, and by means of a multi-taxa index based on ecomorphological groups, the Biological Soil Quality index (QBS). There was a negative impact of high moose densities on the abundance and richness of soil mesofauna. Furthermore, low-moderate moose densities had a positive impact on abundance and number of eco-morphological groups. We conclude that moose can have a large impact on soil-living mesofauna, and therefore probably soil decomposition processes and biological soil quality, in young boreal forest stands.

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has emerged as a technology for metabolite characterisation of both foods and plants. NMR technique allows to analyse metabolite content in a single experiment, in a non-destructive way and with a very simple sample preparation. This study characterises the metabolites of Perilla frutescens var. crispa leaf and flower for the first time by NMR. Our results showed higher metabolite content in leaves compared to flowers, highlighting the presence of amino acids, organic acids, saccharides and large amounts of aromatic compounds, mainly in the form of rosmarinic acid. Moreover, we cultivated Perilla, an important medicinal plant native to Asia, in a low mountain environment in Italy, to continue its evaluation as a honeybee attractive species. Interestingly, even in this type of environment, Perilla has been confirmed to be a good bee plant for both nectar and pollen.

La realizzazione di un tracciato ferroviario ad alta velocità nel nord-ovest dell'Italia ha degradato alcuni popolamenti forestali naturali e alcuni siti appartenenti alla rete Natura 2000. Gli ecologi, così come richiesto dalla normativa vigente, devono riuscire a trovare delle misure compensative che bilancino il danno ecologico, tramite la ricostituzione di habitat, dell'ecologia e delle funzioni che sono state danneggiate o distrutte. In generale le opere compensative vengono raramente monitorate o non ne viene valutato l'esito. Gli obiettivi di questa ricerca sono esaminare, a sette anni dall'impianto, i risultati ottenuti in 32 rimboschimenti effettuati lungo il tracciato ferroviario ad alta velocità e confrontare la vegetazione attualmente sviluppatasi con quella ipotizzata come obiettivo del restauro. I criteri di valutazione comprendono biodiversità (es. indice QBS, presenza di specie invasive o nemorali), crescita degli alberi e tasso di mortalità, proprietà fisico-chimiche del suolo. La maggior parte degli impianti non hanno avuto successo, come evidenziato dalla lenta crescita arborea, dall'elevata mortalità delle piante, dal ridotto livello di biodiversità e dall'elevata presenza di specie invasive. Ciò può essere dovuto sia all'impiego di tecniche di impianto non appropriate sia alla mancanza di cure colturali negli anni successivi all'impianto. Di conseguenza nasce l'esigenza di ripensare completamente l'approccio delle tecniche di rimboschimento per le compensazioni ecologiche, in termini di distribuzione spaziale degli impianti, del metodo di messa a dimora, della selezione delle specie arboree, della gestione dei rimboschimenti e degli obiettivi ecologici.Parole chiave: restauro ecologico, compensazioni, rimboschimenti. Keywords: restoration ecology, compensation, tree plantation.http://dx.doi.org/10.4129/2cis-an-eff IntroduzioneNegli ultimi decenni l'Italia, come il resto dell'Europa, ha assistito a una progressiva proliferazione di grandi infrastrutture di trasporto come strade e ferrovie ad alta velocità. La costruzione e l'uso di tali infrastrutture hanno determinato la perdita, il degrado e la frammentazione degli habitat (Andrews, 1990) nonché il consumo di ampie superfici di suolo con la modificazione di popolamenti forestali naturali e di siti Natura 2000. Per ridurre l'esito negativo di tali opere il Codice dell'Ambiente (D.lgs. 152/2006) prevede che, durante e/o dopo la realizzazione delle stesse, vengano attuate misure di mitigazione o compensazione. All'interno di questo contesto possono essere inseriti gli interventi di restoration ecology che hanno come obiettivo primario la restituzione di un ecosistema in grado di riacquisire in tempi più o meno rapidi l'integrità ecologica intesa come "la capacità di un ecosistema di sostenere e mantenere una comunità adattativa ed equilibrata di organismi aventi una composizione di specie, diversità e funzioni paragonabile a quella degli habitat naturali all'interno di una regione " (Karr e Dudley, 1981). Ovviamente se l'area che è stata alte...