Honey bees metapopulations, parasites, and landscape - search for possible relationships: case study Slovakia

Abstract

The loss of bees is a relatively well-known worldwide phenomenon. Many papers examine the direct influence of different factors on global bees lost. However, a look at this problem with the intentions of host-parasite-environment interactions is rare. This paper post tries to prove possible connections among bees, their parasites and landscape structure. During the research at 27 suitable sites across Slovakia, Nosema spp. spores were detected in two samples (7.41 % of examined apiaries) and Varroa destructor in a total of 41 % of samples (mean prevalence of 0.57). Significant differences were found in mites infestation in altitudes up to 500 m and over 500 m, and at sites with different ES. Considering the landscape structure, Varroa infestation was significantly positively influenced by the presence of discontinuous urban fabrics.