Effects of Insecticides and Microbiological Contaminants on Apis mellifera Health

Abstract

Over the past two decades, there has been an alarming decline in the number of honey bee colonies. This phenomenon is called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Bee products play a significant role in human life and have a huge impact on agriculture, therefore bees are an economically important species. Honey has found its healing application in various sectors of human life, as well as other bee products such as royal jelly, propolis, and bee pollen. There are many putative factors of CCD, such as air pollution, GMO, viruses, or predators (such as wasps and hornets). It is, however, believed that pesticides and microorganisms play a huge role in the mass extinction of bee colonies. Insecticides are chemicals that are dangerous to both humans and the environment. They can cause enormous damage to bees’ nervous system and permanently weaken their immune system, making them vulnerable to other factors. Some of the insecticides that negatively affect bees are, for example, neonicotinoids, coumaphos, and chlorpyrifos. Microorganisms can cause various diseases in bees, weakening the health of the colony and often resulting in its extinction. Infection with microorganisms may result in the need to dispose of the entire hive to prevent the spread of pathogens to other hives. Many aspects of the impact of pesticides and microorganisms on bees are still unclear. The need to deepen knowledge in this matter is crucial, bearing in mind how important these animals are for human life.

Motivation of Honey Bee, Apis mellifera, Colonies to Draw out Wax Foundations and to Build Combs

“…Further, synergistic effects of single factors may add up to a threat greater than sum of them. Consequently, these factors or contaminants exacerbate the potential challenges not only for worker bees, but also for drones and queens (Rinderer et al, 1999;Johnson et al, 2009;Fisher and Rangel, 2018;Leska et al, 2021). Further, replacement of comb reduces the amount of old comb that the wax month can feed upon.…”

Molecular Targets of Neurotoxic Insecticides in Apis mellifera

“…In addition to the above mentioned factors, this sudden decline of honeybee colonies have been linked to parasites (such as the mite Varroa destructor or fungi of the genus Nosema), viral infections, and poisoning by neonicotinoids. [9] Seventy percent of the major commodity crops directly used for human consumption are dependent on pollinators. Pollination of crops is provided by over 25,000 species of bees worldwide and by other insects such as flies, butterflies or wasps, or by vertebrates such as bats or birds.…”

“…More specifically for honeybees, colony collapse disorder observed since 2006 manifests by winter loss of around 30 % of managed colonies. In addition to the above mentioned factors, this sudden decline of honeybee colonies have been linked to parasites (such as the mite Varroa destructor or fungi of the genus Nosema ), viral infections, and poisoning by neonicotinoids [9] …”

Acaricidal Activity of Bufadienolides Isolated from Drimia pancration against Tetranychus urticae, and Structural Elucidation of Arenobufagin-3-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside

“…Managing insect and mite pests of agricultural importance is a major challenge nowadays, considering the quick and widespread development of pesticide resistance in overexposed pest populations [1], as well as the major impact of pesticide use on human health and the environment [2][3][4]. Among mites, the two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch (Arachnida: Acari: Tetranychidae) is an excellent example of a species with huge economic importance coupled with the ability to quickly develop resistance to several classes Plants 2022, 11, 1629 2 of 9 of chemical acaricides [5,6], which is boosted by high fecundity, inbreeding, arrhenotokous reproduction, and short life cycle [7,8].…”

“…[27,28]. Notably, in a recent investigation on a Sicilian accession [29], the authors isolated (2R,3R)-dihydrokaempferol 3-O-β-D-glucoside, and three steroidal saponins: (5α)-4,5-dihydro-16β-hydroxyscillirosidin-3-O-α-L-thevetopyranoside (1), scilliglaucoside (2), and (5α)-4,5-dihydrosicillirosidin-3-O-(β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→4)-α-L-thevetopyranoside) (3). Furthermore, in the same paper, the insecticidal properties of the methanol and butanol extracts of D. pancration were proven effective against adult Stegobium paniceum beetles [29].…”