Environment and Varroa destructor management as determinant of colony losses in apiaries under temperate and subtropical climate

Health status of honey bee colonies (Apis mellifera) and disease-related risk factors for colony losses in Austria

“…Possible influential characteristics of the apiary onto probability of colony loss, which are not evaluated in our study, are available natural food sources and their quality [64, 65, 91], pesticide exposure within the flight range [2, 69], climatic conditions of the apiary [60, 63], level of local adaptation of the queens’ genotype [92], mite reinvasion from neighboring colonies or apiaries after sampling [93, 94], quality and quantity of winter food [95–97] and prevalence and infestation level of bee viruses in the apiary [55, 67, 98]. Next to the recorded and already discussed beekeepers characteristics, the variation on apiary level can also be affected by not recorded or not recordable beekeeper properties, such as hive management, pest control and their suitability for the particular climate, location or weather conditions [1, 2, 99].…”

Environmental conditions and beekeeping practices associated with Nosema ceranae presence in Argentina

“…Apis mellifera colony losses episodes have been registered around the world, especially in Europe and the USA (van Engelsdorp et al, 2009;Higes et al, 2010;Le Conte et al, 2010;Lee et al, 2015;Van Der Zee et al 2014;Jacques et al, 2017;Meana et al, 2017). More recently, honeybee colony losses are being focus of research in South America, with similar results to those achieved in Europe and the USA (Giacobino et al 2016b;Maggi et al 2016;Antúnez et al 2016;Requier et al 2018;Molineri et al 2018). Different pathogens (e.g., Varroa destructor , Nosema spp., viruses) and other stressors (starvation and pesticide exposure) have been identified as potential factors responsible for the losses of honeybee colonies (Potts et al, 2010;van Engelsdorp and Meixner 2010;Williams et al, 2010;Pettis et al, 2012;Maggi et al, 2016;Steinhauer et al, 2014;Molineri et al, 2018).…”

Varroa destructor Parasitism and Genetic Variability at Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) Drone Congregation Areas and Their Associations With Environmental Variables in Argentina

“…For instance, in contrast to what occurs in the temperate regions of the country, honey bee populations exhibit general resistance or tolerance to the mite in the subtropical region, possibly because of the high prevalence of African-derived bees and the warmer temperatures of these regions (Hou et al, 2016;Correia-Oliveira et al, 2018). At the same time, not only climatic or bee genetics, but also agricultural and beekeeping practices, and landscape features, such as urban land cover, differ between regions, and are potentially important determinants of the levels of Varroa at apiaries in our territory (Abrol, 2012;Giacobino et al, 2017;Molineri et al, 2018). In addition, the first DCAs have been recently identified in the subtropical region of Argentina (Galindo-Cardona et al, 2017).…”