Losses, Health and Wellbeing of Honey Bees Across the World

A special issue of Insects (ISSN 2075-4450). This special issue belongs to the section "Insect Ecology, Diversity and Conservation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2026 | Viewed by 2534

Special Issue Editor


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mathematics & Statistics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland
Interests: honey bees; colony losses and risk factors; bee health and management; statistics; machine learning; morphometry; Apis mellifera subspecies; citizen science
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Following the earlier successful Special Issue "Losses of Honey Bee Colonies across the World", and in view of the importance of this topic and the continuing interest and research in this area, we are pleased to launch a second Special Issue, on “Losses, Health and Wellbeing of Honey Bees Across the World”. We welcome further high-quality articles on any aspect of honey bee wellbeing, including, for example, national, regional and international colony losses, colony monitoring generally, modelling of survival, results of surveys, risk factors, established and emerging threats and their control, effects of environment and climate, survival of feral colonies, resistance to pests and disease, management, conservation and sustainability. Observational studies, laboratory studies and field studies could all be relevant.

Colleagues are warmly invited to submit original research, reviews and other suitable types of articles within the scope of this Special Issue.

Dr. Alison Gray
Guest Editor

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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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. Insects is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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
  • beekeeping
  • colony losses
  • survival
  • health
  • wellbeing
  • management
  • environment
  • climate
  • threats
  • conservation

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Related Special Issue

Published Papers (2 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

14 pages, 2573 KB  
Article
First Molecular Detection and Characterization of Nosema ceranae in Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) from the Northern Highlands of Ecuador
by Dayana Sandoval-Morejón, Cristina Cholota-Iza, Marbel Torres-Arias, Karina Antúnez, Armando Reyna-Bello, Luis Fuentes-Hidalgo, Claude Saegerman, Sarah Martin-Solano and Jorge Ron-Román
Insects 2026, 17(3), 302; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects17030302 - 11 Mar 2026
Viewed by 922
Abstract
The development of beekeeping in Ecuador has generated the need to strengthen the bee health program. Research on the main pathogens responsible for diseases like nosemosis, which can severely impact bee health, is of special interest. This study aims to identify the Nosema [...] Read more.
The development of beekeeping in Ecuador has generated the need to strengthen the bee health program. Research on the main pathogens responsible for diseases like nosemosis, which can severely impact bee health, is of special interest. This study aims to identify the Nosema apis and/or Nosema ceranae species infecting honey bee colonies located in the northern Andean region of Ecuador using multiplex PCR targeting the RNA polymerase II gene (RPB1), and the phylogenetic analysis of N. ceranae based on the 16 S rRNA gene sequences. Among the 164 honey bee samples collected from colonies in the provinces of Carchi, Imbabura, and Pichincha, the prevalence of Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae was 14.63% and 21.34%, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis showed that N. ceranae from Ecuador is closely related to the sequences from Argentina and Brazil. These findings provide the first molecular confirmation of N. ceranae in Ecuador and support the need for molecular monitoring of honey bee pathogens in the region. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Losses, Health and Wellbeing of Honey Bees Across the World)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

23 pages, 1335 KB  
Review
The Genus Apis in a Changing World: Distribution, Conservation, Climate, and Anthropogenic Stressors
by Erica Holzer, Serena Malabusini, Sara Savoldelli and Daniela Lupi
Insects 2026, 17(2), 185; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects17020185 - 10 Feb 2026
Viewed by 1089
Abstract
(1) Background: Bees of the genus Apis play a fundamental role in ecosystems thanks to their pollination activities and their long evolutionary history. This has resulted in species diversifying and spreading across Asia, Africa, and Europe. This review contextualises the genus within biogeographic [...] Read more.
(1) Background: Bees of the genus Apis play a fundamental role in ecosystems thanks to their pollination activities and their long evolutionary history. This has resulted in species diversifying and spreading across Asia, Africa, and Europe. This review contextualises the genus within biogeographic and evolutionary frameworks, emphasising the importance of understanding the origins, adaptations, distribution and differences between species. (2) Methods: Recent studies on the biology, taxonomy and ecology of Apis species were analysed, including research on social behaviour, communication, genetics, morphology and environmental adaptations, as well as contributions using modern evolutionary and phylogeographic analytical methods. (3) Results: The gathered evidence shows that anthropogenic factors, including climate change, habitat loss, intensive agriculture, pollutants, competition with other bees and the spread of parasites and pathogens, significantly affect the stability of Apis populations and increase the vulnerability of wild species. (4) Conclusions: This review emphasises the importance of integrating ecological, genetic and management knowledge to develop effective conservation strategies that aim to reduce the impact of human activities and preserve the resilience of Apis species and the vital ecosystem services they provide. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Losses, Health and Wellbeing of Honey Bees Across the World)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop