The paper presents the results of long-term observations of the agricultural land transformation into natural phytocenoses. The comparative analysis of sustainability and biodiversity of two closely located Plots No. 1 and No. 2 showed that the initial state of the land mainly determines these indicators. The transformation of well-cultivated fallows of Plot No. 1 was with a sufficiently high rate of succession. It led to the disturbance of the ecosystem, the degradation of the phytocenosis and a low level of biodiversity and productivity. A decrease in the number of almost all entomophilous plants, including Fabaceae, Asteraceae, from 25.6% to 3.4% was on the plot in the period from the 6th year. Moreover, there were shrubs of the test plot with birch the appearance of dominant species, by nettle and willow-herb. The transformation of seeded herbage with a Legume component of Plot No. 2 by the year 8 led to the displacement of sown grasses, the emergence of synusia with a high density and biomass of plants based on hybrid clover and Poaceae. They occupied a large area of Plot No. 2 and determined a steady state of the biocenosis with high biodiversity and productivity, with the retention of a high number of Fabaceae in the herbage from 9 to 16% for a long time. The paper indicates that the management by the initial state of phytocenoses, in particular, haymaking and a clover-cereal mixture sowing, makes it possible to change the direction of transformation of biocenoses and carry out long-term planning and restoration of their stability and biodiversity.

The article presents the results of long-term observations and a comparative analysis of changes in the biodiversity of insect pollinators and entomophilic plants of two closely spaced biocenoses (Test plots 1 and 2). In the initial period of observation, both sites had a comparable ecological state and relatively high biodiversity of pollinators and plants, Apidae (55%) prevailed in Test plot 2, and Diptera dominated in Test plot 1 (32.7%). The number of pollinators was approximately 44% higher in Test plot 2 than in Test plot 1. The number of pollinators, their species diversity and plants decreased fivefold in the biocenosis of Test plot 1 in the second observation period (after 15 years), signs of degradation of the phytocenosis of the Test plot 1 were observed. Woody vegetation and cereals predominated in the phytocenosis. The number of pollinators and their species diversity increased (approximately 2 times) in the biocenosis of Test plot 2, Apidae dominated in this area (about 32%). High number of legumes in the herbage and the intensive pollination activity of bees and other pollinators were undoubtedly one of the factors for a stable state of the biocenosis of Test plot 2. The article indicates that the controlled anthropogenic impact on biocenoses, in particular the creation of a dense grassy cover based on hybrid clover, the creation of nesting spots for bumblebees and single bees, the development of beekeeping will allow for targeted impact on biocenoses to create their stable state with a high level of biodiversity and productivity.

The results of studying the number of honey bees in colonies and the results determining and the evaluation the age-stage specific survival rates of bee colonies have been presented. The survival rate depends on the egg-laying of the queen bee, the period of the season, the level of development of bee colonies and reaches a minimum in all colonies in the period after the main honey collection S = 0.3-0.5. In the spring and autumn periods, there is a high negative correlation dependence (r=−0.7÷(−0.9), between the egg-laying of the queen bee (number of brood) and survival. The average survival rate in the spring and summer periods for strong families is 20-30% lower than in weak and medium families. The values of the survival rate in the spring and autumn periods for all types of bee colonies are more than one. This result is typical for bee colonies and is associated with the presence of wintering bees with a high life expectancy (up to 9 months) in colonies. A decrease in the survival rate in the period after the main honey flow to S<0.5-0.6 may be one of the factors in the colony collapse disorder (CCD) due to a violation of the gene expression mechanism in bees during the transition from hive activity to forager or to the autumn-winter period. A high survival rate determines the sustainability of the honey bee population, increasing the survival rate to one allows you to manage the vital activity of bee colonies, reduce the impact of various adverse factors on bees, reduce the risk of CCD, and manage the population of honey bees in ecosystems.

The article addresses the educational project activities implementation at universities as part of the student-centered learning and a means to raise the effectiveness of students’ professional training. The article provides a critical comparison of the basic elements and features of project activities and SCL. The author proposes a three-tier system of teacher – student – teacher and a methodology for project activities implementation, taking into account the basic principles of SCL. In accordance with the developed system, at the first stage, the teacher organizes the student’s activities on the project including his/her discussing the topic, problem, goal, determining their own requirements for the implementation of the project and individual tasks. At the second stage, the methodology determines the organization of students’ self-governing work on the project, taking into account their personal qualities and experience. An active management of self-governing work enables to build an individual educational trajectory of a student, guide his/her personal development. At the third stage, the methodology determines the teacher’s activities to foster mastering the competencies by the students. These activities are necessarily based on partnership interaction and exchange of views between the teacher and students, the student’s personal critical assessment of the project results and its comparison with the work of other students. The author suggests to positively evaluate incomplete or erroneous results in case the way and method to achieve the assigned tasks were correct and use transparent, objective and understandable for students criteria in assessing the results of his work.

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