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Exciting research on the spread of Tropilaelaps via honey bee swarming – made by BEE-GUARDS team members

An international team of researchers, led by the first author Prof. Dr. Aleksandar Uzunov (UKIM), demonstrated that T. mercedesae mites successfully transfer into a new swarm, with some continuing to reproduce within the newly established colony. This represents the first scientific evidence of parasite transfer through swarming and moreover first evidence that male individual was transferred. The study was conducted in an apiary in Georgia with field and lab work led by Dr. Irakli Janashia and further support from Maggie Gill, Prof. D-r Chen Chao, and the BEE-GUARDS members D-r Cecilia Costa (CREA) and Prof. D-r Marin Kovacic (FAZOS).

The study “Swarming promotes Tropilaelaps mercedesae (Mesostigmata: Laelapidae) dispersal in Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) “ gained substantial attention, prompting Entomology Today, the publication of the Entomological Society of America, to feature an article dedicated to this important research.

For more details check the links bellow with open access articles:

https://academic.oup.com/jee/advance-article/doi/10.1093/jee/toag027/8512193?login=false

New Research Links Honey Bee Swarms to the Spread of an Invasive Mite

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📢 🐝 Want to be part of science?📢 🐝

Join BEE-GUARDS Horizon Europe Project: a new Citizen Science activity on pollinators!

🦋 As part of the European project @beeguards (www.bee-guards.eu), a new citizen science activity is starting, dedicated to observing interactions between plants and pollinators.

Why? To better understand how pollinators use floral resources, assess the potential effects of competition between managed and wild species, and contribute to the protection of biodiversity.

How? Participation is easy and quick: each observation takes between 2 and 15 minutes and can be repeated whenever you like, wherever you like, as many times as you like

🏆Win a prize at the end of the project if you are a keen participant and observer and help protect the environment and safeguard all pollinators (managed and wild)

🔍Take part here: https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/71ed6834-0948-fa8e-3aa8-aea1a31cb0cb

📝 Sign up and stay updated: https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/BeeGuardsCitizenScienceRegister

🌍 EN, ES, IT, PL, DE, GR, DA, SL languages available and connect with a local coordinator via info@beeguards.eu

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BEE-GUARDS at Apimell: live from the hive! 🐝

BEE-GUARDS at Apimell: live from the hive! 🐝
The hive was buzzing last weekend! BEE-GUARDS landed at Apimell (Piacenza, northern Italy) — one of the biggest international beekeeping trade fairs, with nearly 140 exhibitors. Among them was the CREA Research Centre for Agriculture and Environment, whose team presented all the projects CREA is currently working on, including BEE-GUARDS.

The spotlight? Our citizen science activities — open to both beekeepers and the general public: innovative Varroa management and pollinator observations.

We handed out dozens of flyers and our special pollinator business cards, and the response was fantastic. With 24,000 visitors from across Europe — including Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Malta, and more — the buzz was real.

And we had a very special guest that stole the show: a stunning Vespa velutina nest — enormous, beautiful, and impossible to ignore. Everyone stopped to stare!

And leading the BEE-GUARDS team at the stand? The queen of the project — CREA’s Principal Investigator, Cecilia Costa, together with the rest of the BEE-GUARDS crew.

Both pictures: The CREA Research Centre for Agriculture and Environment team — including the BEE-GUARDS crew — at their Apimell stand. Communication posters, outreach materials, and of course, the star of the show: the Vespa velutina nest.

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BEE-GUARDS at the 5th International Symposium for Agriculture & Food – Ohrid

We were proud to take part in the 5th International Symposium for Agriculture and Food in the beautiful city of Ohrid, where science, innovation, and collaboration came together.

A special Apicultural session, organized by UKIM, highlighted the importance of honey bees and beekeeping for the future of sustainable agriculture.

Our leader, Dr. Cecilia Costa, delivered an inspiring keynote speech on “The most essential of all agricultural activities: apiculture”, reminding everyone that bees are not only pollinators but also guardians of biodiversity and food security.

Goran Aleksovski from UKIM presented the progress of WP2 – Innovative Breeding Strategies.

The session brought together scientist, extensionists and beekeepers from 12 countries, who closed the event with inspection of colonies from the local honey bee subspecies: Apis mellifera macedonica.

This event was a great opportunity for UKIM to form a team of beekeepers that will be involved in BEE-GUARDS WP1 and WP2 research activities!!!

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