Many parts of the globe experience severe losses and fragmentation of habitats, affecting the self-sustainability of pollinator populations. A number of bee species coexist as wild and managed populations. Using honey bees as an example, we argue that several management practices in beekeeping threaten genetic diversity in both wild and managed populations, and drive population…
Bee World, Volume 99, Issue 1 is a special issue on the honey bee research association COLOSS. This issue contains 11 articles written by key members of all COLOSS core projects and task forces. Thanks to some authors institutions and the support of COLOSS all articles are permanently freely available and can be found here.…
Background: Whole-genome sequencing has become routine for population genetic studies. Sequencing of individuals provides maximal data but is rather expensive and fewer samples can be studied. In contrast, sequencing a pool of samples (pool-seq) can provide sufficient data, while presenting less of an economic challenge. Few studies have compared the two approaches to infer population…
In order to investigate the geographical distribution of morphological and mitochondrial variation of the Western honey bee in West and Central Africa, 175 colonies, sampled from 44 localities (or a subset therefrom), were subjected to geometric morphometric (GM), traditional morphometric (TM) and mitochondrial DNA analyses. The shape of the forewing differed significantly between the three…
Inflammation is a defense process triggered when the body faces assaults from pathogens, toxic substances, microbial infections, or when tissue is damaged. Immune and inflammatory disorders are common pathogenic pathways that lead to the progress of various chronic diseases, such as cancer and diabetes. The overproduction of cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor…
Introduction The first SOLATINA-COLOSS meeting took place virtually on September 22, 2021. The event was set up with the aim of promoting collaboration between the two societies. SoLatInA (SOciedad LATinoamericana de INvestigación en Abejas; www.solatina.org) is the Latin American Society for Bee Research based in Montevideo, Uruguay, founded in 2017 with the objectives of contributing…
Consumers often believe that “natural food” is harmless, however naturally occurring toxins in food represent a health risk to humans. Honey as a natural, nutritious sweetener, is one of the most commonly consumed foods throughout the world. However, food safety concerns for honey arise when honeybees collect nectar from poisonous plants such as Rhododendron sp., Coriaria arborea, and Tripterygium wilfordii Hook…
Bee venom (BV) is a typical toxin secreted by stingers of honeybee workers. BV and BV therapy have long been attractive to different cultures, with extensive studies during recent decades. Nowadays, BV is applied to combat several skin diseases, such as atopic dermatitis, acne vulgaris, alopecia, vitiligo, and psoriasis. BV is used extensively in topical…
Abstract A diverse supply of pollen is an important factor for honey bee health, but information about the pollen diversity available to colonies at the landscape scale is largely missing. In this COLOSS study, beekeeper citizen scientists sampled and analyzed the diversity of pollen collected by honey bee colonies. As a simple measure of diversity,…
The varroa mite (Varroa destructor), a complex ectoparasite with a very distinctive biology is considered a key pest affecting beekeeping and honey bee health worldwide. Several control strategies using synthetic and organic acaricides have been developed to deal with this invasive species in Europe, having also side effects on honey bee health. At the same…