Bees and their challenge with diseases

Author

Ph.D. student, Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran

Abstract

Problem of diseases is a serious concern both in domesticated and wild soiltary bees. When disease strikes a hive of bees, it can devastate the colony and spread to the entire beekeeping operation. All bees are susceptible to diseases, and when they are domesticated, their population densities increase to suit human needs, making them more susceptible. Decline in their population has threatened the food security on global scale through deficit of pollinators. Most attempts at disease control have centered on drug treatments leading to resistance in disease causing pathogens and problem of residues in hive products. This chapter discusses how disease control strategies could be improved by breeding bees for disease resistance and better hygienic behaviour allowing researchers to identify that time and place in the management system for which the pathogen is most vulnerable, followed by targeting treatments to that
stage.

Keywords