A combination of insecticides and mite weakens honeybees

Today, scientists of the Institute of Bee Health of the University of Bern and the honeybee research association COLOSS have published an article in the peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports that shows a synergistic time-lag interaction between the parasitic mite Varroa destructor and neonicotinoid insecticides reducing survival of winter honeybees, Apis mellifera. This article emphasizes the need to develop sustainable agricultural and apicultural schemes. The Western honeybee is the most important managed pollinator globally and has recently experienced unsustainably high colony losses in many regions of the world. Synergistic interactions among stressors are believed to be primarily responsible. Despite the clear negative impact of certain neonicotinoids and the ubiquitous ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor on exposed honeybees, no data existed to show synergistic effects between these two stressors. Current data that was collected at the University of Bern and Agroscope, in cooperation with the Auburn University (USA) and Chiang Mai University (Thailand), suggest a novel possible previously overlooked mechanism for recent unsustainably high losses of managed honeybee colonies. According to the authors, the study underlines the importance of developing sustainable agro-ecosystem management schemes that incorporate reduced used of neonicotinoids and sustainable solutions for V. destructor mites.