Enhancing Pollinator Support: Plant-Pollinator Dynamics Between and Bees in Anthropogenic Landscapes.

Anthropogenic environments are increasingly recognised for their potential to support pollinator diversity, especially through the strategic selection of ornamental plant species. This study investigated the ecological role of (formerly ) in supporting solitary bees, particularly species of the genus , within urban green spaces in Milan (Italy). Field observations were conducted in both urban and rural sites to assess pollinator visitation rates, bee abundance, and plant traits relevant to nesting and foraging.

Exploring bee functional trait response to the agro-environment: a possible contribution to the future design of a farm-level indicator.

Pollination is essential for agriculture and food production. In Europe, the upcoming Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) will assess pollinator status and the effectiveness of Rural Development Programmes (RDPs) in supporting pollinator populations. While wild bees are recognized as key contributors, more clarity is needed on the ecological, agricultural and biological factors crucial for their conservation.

Urban landscapes tend to increase the presence of pathogenic protozoa, microsporidia and viruses, but likely decrease the abundance of viruses in wild bees and wasps.

Pathogens are shared between wild bees and wasps but little is known about how urbanization affects their occurrence. Here, the role of temperature and fragmentation of green areas, both associated with urbanization, in modulating pathogen loads was investigated. Twelve pathogens were investigated in the bees Anthophora plumipes Pallas, 1772, Halictus scabiosae (Rossi, 1790), Osmia cornuta (Latreille, 1805), and the wasp Polistes dominula (Christ, 1791) sampled across an urbanization gradient in a metropolitan area of northern Italy.

A BEE indicator for monitoring wild bee diversity in agricultural systems.

Given the growing importance of assessing the condition of wild bees in agroecosystems, we focused on developing a BEE indicator that could be easily used by non-expert taxonomists to score bee diversity. Our goal was to create a tool suitable for farm-level use, one that does not require taxonomic expertise nor heavy field work. Since existing literature has emphasized the significance of environmental features surrounding any investigated site, we incorporated this aspect into our design.

LIFE 4 Pollinators' platform: How citizen science can help monitoring plants and pollinators.

Plant diversity is critical to ensure the future of humanity, as it provides essential ecosystem services and functioning. As recent estimates showed that animal-mediated pollination is crucial for the reproduction of approximately 90% of flowering plants, playing an essential role in maintaining biodiversity and agricultural productivity, effort to preserve plants cannot be disjoined from pollinator conservation initiatives. Despite their importance, pollinators have experienced alarming declines.

Co-exposure to a honeybee pathogen and an insecticide: synergistic effects in a new solitary bee host but not in .

Pesticides and pathogens are major drivers of bee declines. However, their potential interactions are poorly understood, especially for non- bees. This study assessed the combined effects of infestation by the honeybee pathogen and chronic exposure to the insecticide flupyradifurone on and .

Preliminary Investigation Towards a Safety Tool for Swine Brucellosis Diagnosis by a Proteomic Approach Within the One-Health Framework.

Brucellosis is a zoonosis that affects domestic and wild animals, causing reproductive disorders and significant economic losses in livestock. , , and are the main agents of brucellosis in livestock and humans, thereby their control and eradication are crucial. Serological tests based on identification of antibodies against smooth lipopolysaccharides (sLPS) in the serum of infected animals are traditionally used.

Beebread pollen composition is affected by seasonality and landscape structure.

In honey bee diet, pollen is the primary source of proteins and essential nutrients. High pollen diversity and protein content support honey bee health, enhancing resistance to different stressors. Agroecosystem simplification, with few dominant species flowering for a limited period, can lead to a shortage of forage and a reduction in the variety and quantity of food.

Beekeepers' perceptions toward a new omics tool for monitoring bee health in Europe.

Pressures on honey bee health have substantially increased both colony mortality and beekeepers' costs for hive management across Europe. Although technological advances could offer cost-effective solutions to these challenges, there is little research into the incentives and barriers to technological adoption by beekeepers in Europe. Our study is the first to investigate beekeepers' willingness to adopt the Bee Health Card, a molecular diagnostic tool developed within the PoshBee EU project which can rapidly assess bee health by monitoring molecular changes in bees.

Current status of toxicological research on stingless bees (Apidae, Meliponini): Important pollinators neglected by pesticides' regulations.

Stingless bees (tribe Meliponini), comprising over 600 known species within the largest group of eusocial bees, play a critical role in ecosystem functioning through their pollination services. They contribute to the reproduction of numerous plant species, including many economically important crops such as cacao, coffee, and various fruits. Beyond their ecological significance, stingless bees hold cultural and economic importance for many native and rural communities, where they are managed for their honey, pollen, and propolis for nutritional and health purposes.

The genus Euodynerus Dalla Torre in Europe and the Maghreb (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae).

The genus Euodynerus Dalla Torre, 1904 (= Extraepipona Gusenleitner, 2014, syn. nov.; Euodynerus occultus (Gusenleitner, 2014), comb.

Neighbors sharing pathogens: the intricate relationship between Apis mellifera and ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) nesting in hives.

Ants are ubiquitous and eusocial insects that exhibit frequent physical contact among colony members, thereby increasing their susceptibility to diseases. Some species are often found in beehives and in their surroundings, where they exploit the food resources of honey bees. This intricate relationship may facilitate the interspecific transmission of honey bee pathogens to ants, although ants themselves may contribute to spillback phenomena.

Spatiotemporal evolution of the distribution of Chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV) in honey bee colonies.

Chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV) is a Apis mellifera viral infectious disease, exhibiting dark and hairless abdomen in workers with tremors and ataxita. Clinical signs are also typically linked to adverse weather conditions and overcrowding in the hive. The disease occurs in spring but recently it has been observed cases increase and seasonality loss of the disease incidence.

Oxalic Acid Treatment: Short-Term Effects on Enzyme Activities, Vitellogenin Content, and Residual Oxalic Acid Content in House Bees, L.

Honeybees ( L.) have to face many challenges, including infestation, associated with viral transmission. Oxalic acid is one of the most common treatments against .

Residues of agrochemicals in beebread as an indicator of landscape management.

The agricultural intensification represents a major threat to biodiversity, with negative effects on the ecosystem. In particular, habitat loss and degradation, along with pesticide use have been recognised as primary factors contributing to the actual global decline of pollinators. Here we investigated the quality of agroecosystems in the Emilia-Romagna region (Northern Italy) within the national monitoring project BeeNet.

Novel indices reveal that pollinator exposure to pesticides varies across biological compartments and crop surroundings.

Declines in insect pollinators have been linked to a range of causative factors such as disease, loss of habitats, the quality and availability of food, and exposure to pesticides. Here, we analysed an extensive dataset generated from pesticide screening of foraging insects, pollen-nectar stores/beebread, pollen and ingested nectar across three species of bees collected at 128 European sites set in two types of crop. In this paper, we aimed to (i) derive a new index to summarise key aspects of complex pesticide exposure data and (ii) understand the links between pesticide exposures depicted by the different matrices, bee species and apple orchards versus oilseed rape crops.

Taxonomic revision of the Stenodynerus fastidiosissimus species-group in Western Europe and North Africa (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae).

The fastidiosissimus species-group of Stenodynerus de Saussure, 1863 is revised in Western Europe and North Africa, combining morphological data and DNA barcoding. Six species are recognized: S. difficilis (Morawitz, 1867) stat.

Distribution of infectious and parasitic agents among three sentinel bee species across European agricultural landscapes.

Infectious and parasitic agents (IPAs) and their associated diseases are major environmental stressors that jeopardize bee health, both alone and in interaction with other stressors. Their impact on pollinator communities can be assessed by studying multiple sentinel bee species. Here, we analysed the field exposure of three sentinel managed bee species (Apis mellifera, Bombus terrestris and Osmia bicornis) to 11 IPAs (six RNA viruses, two bacteria, three microsporidia).

Effect of amino acid enriched diets on hemolymph amino acid composition in honey bees.

Amino acids (AAs) are an abundant class of nectar solutes, and they are involved in the nectar attractiveness to flower visitors. Among the various AAs, proline is the most abundant proteogenic AA, and γ-amino butyric acid (GABA) and β-alanine are the two most abundant non-proteogenic AAs. These three AAs are known to affect insect physiology, being involved in flight metabolism and neurotransmission.

Nesting biology and nest structure of the exotic bee .

From the 1990s, the Southeast Asia native giant resin bee (Smith, 1853) was introduced first to North America, and then to many countries in Europe. Despite increasing studies on its invasive potential and geographical expansion, information on nesting behaviour of this species is still extremely scarce. To increase knowledge on the nesting biology of , we studied multiple aspects of nesting and pollen provisioning in three consecutive years in artificial nests in Bologna, Italy.

Effects of Virgin Coconut Oil-Enriched Diet on Immune and Antioxidant Enzymatic Activity, Fat and Vitellogenin Contents in Newly Emerged and Forager Bees ( L.) Reared in Cages.

Searching for artificial diets positively affecting the survival, immune and antioxidant systems of honey bees is one of main challenges occurring in beekeeping. Among nutrients, lipids play a significant role in insect nutrition as structural components in cell membranes, energy sources and reserves, and are involved in many physiological processes. In this context, the aim of this work was to investigate the effect of 0.