Influence of polluted environment on the incidence of bee nosematosis

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are facing an increasing number of challenges, which in recent years have led to significant economic losses in beekeeping with resulting consequences for agriculture. Over the last ten years, global bee populations have been severely reduced by various environmental stressors, including, but not limited to, poor nutrition, loss of food habitats, infectious exposure to viruses and parasites, and exposure to pesticides and other persistent chemicals. Adult bees and secondary larvae, too, can be exposed during nectar, pollen, and water collection. Fat-soluble chemicals, e.g., organophosphates or pyrethroids, leave residues in matrices originating from the hive environment (propolis, wax, and honey). This creates a dangerous environment for bees directly exposed to these residues and contaminates the diet needed for nutrition and energy or wax to store beehive stocks, respectively, for breeding offspring. Several studies have identified a wide range of agricultural and beekeeping pesticides contaminating the matrix in the hive. Such weakened bee health is the gateway for opportunistic pathogens. Among the most documented opportunistic infections, we include nosematosis in bees, caused by microsporidia of the genus Nosema. Nosematosis as an intestinal disease is one of the main factors associated with the weakening and loss of hives. The relationship between infection of the bee colony Nosema spp. and the residual impact of plant protection products (POR) (XYZ) is the basic idea of this project. Assessing the incidence of nosematosis agents is also important to elucidate the pathogenic mechanisms involved in Colony Collaps Disorder.