Optimization algorithms are search methods where the goal is to find an optimal solution to a problem, in order to satisfy one or more objective functions, possibly subject to a set of constraints. Studies of social animals and social insects have re...
In many non-deterministic search algorithms, particularly those analogous to complex biological systems, there are a number of inherent difficulties, and the Bees Algorithm (BA) is no exception. The BA is a population-based metaheuristic search algor...
To clarify the pollination contributions of introduced honey bees and native wild bees, we compared their pollination efficiency on a perennial herb, Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua. The flower’s traits and bees’ body traits were measured to qu...
Bees come into contact with bacteria and fungi from flowering plants during their foraging trips. The Western honeybee (Apis mellifera) shows a pronounced hygienic behavior with social interactions, while the solitary red mason bee (Osmia bicornis) l...
Based on bee foraging behaviour, the Bees Algorithm (BA) is an optimisation metaheuristic algorithm which has found many applications in both the continuous and combinatorial domains. The original version of the Bees Algorithm has six user-selected p...
Wildfires are increasing in extent and severity under anthropogenic climate change, with potential adverse impacts on native pollinators like wild bees. In 2019/2020, wildfires burned swathes of the Australian bushland. Whilst herbaceous angiosperms...
The health of honey bees is threatened by multiple factors, including viruses and parasites. We screened 557 honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies from 155 beekeepers distributed all over Belgium to determine the prevalence of seven widespread viruses...
Honey bees, and pollinators in general, play a major role in the health of ecosystems. There is a consensus about the steady decrease in pollinator populations, which raises global ecological concern. Several drivers are implicated in this threat. Am...
Honey bees (Apis mellifera) can be reared in an incubator to study the mechanisms of aging and longevity; however, whether breeding in an incubator and using the abdomen without the digestive tract influences the expression of immune genes is unclear...
One of the eight shortfalls in European wild bee data is the knowledge of the flowering plants they favor. This knowledge is of particular importance for bee gardens and wildflower strips initiatives aiming to provide forage for the wild bees. The ai...
Bees are typically diurnal but around 1% of described species have nocturnal activity. Nocturnal bees are still poorly studied due to bias towards studying diurnal insects. However, knowledge concerning their biology and role as crop pollinators has...
Despite its global importance for the maintenance of healthy ecosystems and its contribution in providing economic benefits to human society, the clade Anthophila is in severe decline worldwide. In this context, counteracting the decline in Apoidea i...
Bees are one of the best-known and, at the same time, perhaps the most enigmatic insects on our planet, known for their organization and social structure, being essential for the pollination of agricultural crops and several other plants, playing an...
Bee venom (BV), or apitoxin, is a complex substance produced by a gland in the abdominal cavity of bees. The main component of BV is melittin, which is a largely studied substance due to its biological properties. To date, the most well-known bee ven...
Pyriproxyfen is a juvenile hormone mimic used extensively worldwide to fight pests in agriculture and horticulture. It also has numerous applications as larvicide in vector control. The molecule disrupts metamorphosis and adult emergence in the targe...
Stingless bees (Meliponini) are highly social bees that are native to tropical and sub-tropical ecosystems. Resin use is vital to many aspects of stingless bee colony function. Stingless bees use resin to build essential nest structures, repel predat...
The western honey bee remains the most important pollinator for agricultural crops. Disease and stressors threaten honey bee populations and productivity during winter- and summertime, creating costs for beekeepers and negative impacts on agriculture...
The ecological and economic importance of bees for pollination and biodiversity is well established. The health of bees is, however, threatened by a multitude of factors, including viruses. In this study, we screened 557 colonies from 155 beekeepers...
State-of-the-art virus detection technology has advanced a lot, yet technology to evaluate the impacts of viruses on bee physiology and health is basically lacking. However, such technology is sorely needed to understand how multi-host viruses can im...
Microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitous and persistent pollutants, and have been detected in a wide variety of media, from soils to aquatic systems. MPs, consisting primarily of polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyacrylamide polymers, have recently been...
Solitary bees and other wild pollinators provide an important ecosystem service which can benefit both the agricultural economy and the sustainability of many native ecosystems. Many solitary bees, however, are experiencing decreases in their populat...
The recent global decline in insect populations is of particular concern for pollinators. Wild and managed bees (Hymenoptera, Apoidea) are of primary environmental and economic importance because of their role in pollinating cultivated and wild plant...
Different species of bees provide essential ecosystem services by pollinating various agricultural crops, including tree fruits. Many fruits and nuts depend on insect pollination, primarily by wild and managed bees. In different geographical regions...
Bees play a key role in natural and agro-ecosystems and their diversity is worldwide threatened by anthropogenic causes. Despite this, there is little awareness of the existence of the numerous species of wild bees, and the common name “bee” is very...
The size of comb cells is a key factor influencing the body size of honey bee workers. Comb cells and the body size of Chinese honey bee workers are smaller than those of Italian honey bee workers. To increase the size of Chinese honey bee workers, t...
In addition to wax, propolis is a mixture of resins, terpenes, and etheric and aromatic oils. This composition supports its very strong biochemical activity that affects bee health. Bee colonies are externally exposed to the activity of other differe...
Urbanization is a major anthropogenic driver of decline for ecologically and economically important taxa including bees. Despite their generally negative impact on pollinators, cities can display a surprising degree of biodiversity compared to other...
Large-scale declines in bee abundance and species richness over the last decade have sounded an alarm, given the crucial pollination services that bees provide. Population dips have specifically been noted for both managed and feral bee species. The...
The brain-gut–microbiome axis is an emerging area of study, particularly in vertebrate systems. Existing evidence suggests that gut microbes can influence basic physiological functions and that perturbations to the gut microbiome can have delet...
Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are essential pollinators, responsible for the pollination of over 80% of crops and flowering plants globally. However, there is concern that the extensive use of pesticides, particularly atrazine, can harm pollinators. De...
Bees are vital pollinators that maintain plant populations by transporting pollen among individuals; however, bees are declining, and information on how habitat characteristics alter the catch of bees in traps is needed to better assess monitoring. F...
This review focuses on critical milestones in the development path for the use of bees, mainly honey bees and bumble bees, as sentinels and biosensors. These keystone species comprise the most abundant pollinators of agro-ecosystems. Pollinating 70%–...
In temperate climates, honey bee workers of the species Apis mellifera have different lifespans depending on the seasonal phenotype: summer bees (short lifespan) and winter bees (long lifespan). Many studies have revealed the biochemical parameters i...
We investigated intraspecific aggression in experimental nests (expN1, expN2) of the giant honey bee Apis dorsata in Chitwan (Nepal), focusing on interactions between surface bees and two other groups of bees approaching the nest: (1) homing “nestmat...
For two centuries, visual illusions have attracted the attention of neurobiologists and comparative psychologists, given the possibility of investigating the complexity of perceptual mechanisms by using relatively simple patterns. Animal models, such...
Over the past few decades, honey bees have been facing an increasing number of stressors. Beyond individual stress factors, the synergies between them have been identified as a key factor in the observed increase in colony mortality. However, these i...
The flowers of plants of the genus Ludwigia are an important source of food for several species of bees. In the current study, we conducted an experiment with the aim to describe the reproductive biology and phenology of L. nervosa; to identify the s...
Bee and insect mortality has recently moved to the forefront of current nature conservation debates and experiences intensive media coverage worldwide. In order to understand the complexity, it is necessary to raise awareness of the diversity of bees...
The availability of nesting resources influences the persistence and survival of bee communities. Although a positive effect of artificial nesting structures has frequently been shown for aboveground cavity-nesting wild bees, studies on below ground-...
Bees represent vital natural assets contributing significantly to global food production and the maintenance of ecosystems. While studies on climate change effects impacting major pollinators like honeybees and bumblebees raise concerns about global...
The main drawback in using coloration to identify honey bee subspecies is the lack of knowledge regarding genetic background, subjectivity of coloration grading, and the effect of the environment. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effect of en...
Bees provide vital pollination services to the majority of flowering plants in both natural and agricultural systems. Unfortunately, both native and managed bee populations are experiencing declines, threatening the persistence of these plants and cr...
Honey bees are key agricultural pollinators, but beekeepers continually suffer high annual colony losses owing to a number of environmental stressors, including inadequate nutrition, pressures from parasites and pathogens, and exposure to a wide vari...
A high concentration of hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) (e.g., 15 mg HMF per kg honey) indicates quality deterioration for a wide range of foods. In honey bee colonies, HMF in stored honey can negatively affect bee health and survival. Therefore, in the...
Despite the advantages associated with social living, one of the main costs of sociality is an increased exposure to pathogens. For honey bees, these costs are artificially inflated in the unnatural and densely crowded apiary environments common to c...
The decline in insect pollinators has increased the importance of accurately monitoring pollinator diversity and abundance over time. Sampling techniques include the use of passive insect traps such as pan traps, yet there is still discussion over th...
Honey bee viruses are capable of causing a wide variety of devastating effects, but effective treatments have yet to be discovered. Phytochemicals represent a broad range of substances that honey bees frequently encounter and consume, many of which h...
Malpighamoeba mellificae is a protozoan that infects the Malpighian tubules of honey bees. The amoebae, ingested as cysts, develop into trophozoites that feed upon tubule epithelia. The resulting damage of the Malpighian tubules can induce an imbalan...
Bees are economically and ecologically important pollinating species. Managed and native bee species face increasing pressures from human-created stressors such as habitat loss, pesticide use, and introduced pathogens. There has been increasing atten...
The observed decline in wild bees may be connected to the decreasing diversity of flowering plants. Changes in floral composition shape nutrient availability in inhabited areas, and bee larvae need food rich in body-building nutrients to develop into...
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