Honey Bees and Wild Pollinators in Agricultural Ecosystems
A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Ecosystem, Environment and Climate Change in Agriculture".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 August 2025) | Viewed by 1515
Special Issue Editors
Interests: veterinary pharmacology and toxicology; essential oils; natural products; animal health and welfare; honeybee pathogens; hive products
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: animal welfare; parasitic diseases; parasitological diagnosis and alternative control on livestock
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: ethnobotany; green chemistry; phytochemistry; green extractions; herbal products; phytochemical analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
As is well known, bees are the most important group of pollinators in the world and are essential to both agricultural productivity and the health of natural ecosystems. By taking advantage of the activity of managed honey bee colonies or native bees or by implementing good land management techniques with the aim of increasing bee populations, agricultural producers can increase the fruit or seed yield of crops. However, despite their importance, the survival of honey bee colonies and bees in general is currently under pressure. Climate change, anthropization and related urbanization, land use and habitat fragmentation, pesticides, environmental pollutants and exotic pathogens are the main risk factors undermining the health of pollinators. In addition, a growing body of research is documenting the spread of various pathogens among breeding and wild bee species. These elements make ecosystems increasingly inhospitable to pollinating insects. Understanding how interactions between different environmental factors, management techniques, pathogens and pests can affect the health of honey bees and native bees would help implement a framework of sustainable beekeeping and agricultural practices to ensure the survival of bee populations.
The goal of this Special Issue is to provide various stakeholders with information that can be used to improve agricultural and beekeeping practices. In particular, we intend to gather research on current and potential threats to managed bees and native pollinators, as well as possible remedies to counter their impact on bee survival.
Submissions of reviews, systematic reviews, meta-analysis studies and original research articles of various topics is encouraged. In particular, submissions are invited for articles on environmental toxicology, the interaction between pathogens and bees, veterinary drug use in beekeeping, the implications of environmental changes on the beehive superorganism’s activity and survival and studies on resilient bee populations.
Dr. Roberto Bava
Dr. Fabio Castagna
Dr. Carmine Lupia
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- honey bees and wild bees
- bee pathogens
- pesticides
- pest control
- climate change
- environmental pollutants
- colony collapse disorder
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