Honeybee Colonies Under Threat from Mites
Varroa destructor mites (a and b) and Varroa jacobsoni mites (c and d) under a scanning electron microscope. Images provided by beekeepers.
Since the mid-1980s, European bee colonies have decreased by more than 25%, and USA bee colonies by nearly 40%. There are many factors threatening the health and survival of honeybees, such as diseases and pests, pesticides, pollutants, habitat destruction, global climate change, etc. Among them, mites are often considered the most significant factor affecting the health of bee colonies.
The Institute of Apiculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (hereinafter referred to as the Institute), in collaboration with universities at home and abroad, studied the feeding characteristics of two species of honeybee ectoparasitic mites, revealing their feeding habits and high adaptability. This provides an important theoretical basis for understanding mites, and control measures. These findings were recently published in "Nature Communications".
The most significant killer of bee colonies
"One out of every three bites of food humans consume depends on insect pollination, and honeybees provide 80% of that pollination service...
What mites feed on remains a mystery
"Although bee researchers and beekeepers around the world pay close attention to mite troubles, much remains to be understood about the mites' biology," Xu Shufa said...
Searching for a green strategy to control mites
"Providing direct evidence for the above speculation is one of the keys to the experiment," Han Bin said...
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