U.S.: Biodiversity lowers pathogen levels in bees

A study by researchers at the University of Michigan has shown that the most diverse bee communities have the lowest levels of three common viral pathogens. The researchers netted and trapped more than 4,000 bees representing 60 species and they were collected at winter squash farms across Michigan. All but one species in the research, the European honeybee, were native bees. The most abundant bees were the European honeybee (Apis mellifera), the eastern bumblebee (Bombus impatiens), the squash bee (Eucera pruinose) and several species of sweat bee of the genus Lasioglossum. When they were tested for deformed wing virus, black queen cell virus, and sacbrood virus, the researchers found that lower viral presence was linked to greater biodiversity in the local bee community. “This result is exciting because it suggests that promoting diverse bee communities may be a win-win strategy to simultaneously reduce viral infections in managed honeybee colonies while helping to maintain ...