-Samples of bees and honey from 101 apiaries were collected in the West African Republic of Benin. Visual inspection revealed high Varroa destructor and Aethina tumida infestations and low Oplostomus fuligineus infestations. A pathogen screen based on bacterial/fungal cultures or microscopic examinations revealed the absence of American and European foulbrood, chalkbrood disease, acariosis and nosemosis. However, 13 bee samples (15.47 %) were found to be infected by viruses as determined by PCR-based techniques. Acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV; 8.33 %) and Black queen cell virus (4.76 %) were the most common. From the former we found a strain with an unusual molecular signature of the capsid region, which was taxonomically positioned between ABPV and Israeli acute paralysis virus. We also discovered Lake Sinai virus (LSV; 3.57 %) for the first time in Africa. Eight honey samples collected in regions where cotton was cultivated were subjected to multi-residue and quality control analyses.honey bees / diseases / parasites / viruses / pesticide residue

Morphometric characteristics combined with genetic markers are powerful tools used for determining honey bee subspecies. Bees samples collected from 94 established apiaries distributed throughout all of the Republic of Benin were morphometricaly characterized using seven parameters and the COI-COII regions of mitochondrial DNA were sequenced. Based on the morphometric data the native honey bees could be divided into three distinct ecotypes - the Benino-dry-tropical-ecotype in the north, the Benino-Sudanian-ecotype in the central part and the Benino-Sudano-Guinean-ecotype in the south. The DNA COI-COII regions sequence analyses confirmed that the honey bee population of the Republic of Benin belongs to different mitotypes but do not correspond with the determined ecotypes. We could determine three new haplotypes which missed the P0 segment but the Q region was duplicated or triplicated. Phylogenetic analyses clustered them together in the A evolutionary lineage. In conclusion, morphometric and genetic analysis of the native West African honey bees indicated that each of the different mitotypes was able to adapt to the different ecological conditions in the country by morphometric adjustments.

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Combretum micranthum is a medicinal and melliferous plant from the dry tropical regions where it is threatened with extinction and it urges to develop suitable methods for its sustainable domestication. The challenges of producing seedlings from the seeds of the species make stem cutting, a potential approach for its domestication and this research evaluated the possibility to use such cuttings for seedlings production at a nursery located in the northern part of the Republic of Benin by determining the most effective season to harvest the stem cuttings, the parts of the branch which could yield the best rate of vigorous seedlings and the optimal transplantation time. An experimental dispositive of 4 plots of 35 cuttings of 25 cm long of the categories named A, B, C and D from the base to the apex of the branch was repeated in two seasons. The first trial consisted of cuttings harvested during the end of the dry season and the second trial was carried out with cuttings that were harvested at the heart of the rainy season. The results showed that the dry season cuttings yielded the best vigorous seedlings rate (46% against only 6% for those harvested in the rainy season). Basal cuttings of the dry season had the best survival rate at 49% while apical cuttings from the same season had the best vigorous seedlings rate at 43% versus 23% for the basal cuttings. Intermediate cuttings yielded low vigorous plantlet rates. The optimum nursery time was 90 days regardless of the harvest season. Dry season stem cuttings, based on basal and apical cuttings were the best approach for domesticating C. micranthum. The technology did not require any root activator and the vigorous seedlings were available during the relevant reforestation rain season. Keywords: Forestry, medicinal plant, melliferous plant, non-timber product, nursery, seedling, stem cutting.