Using Citizen Science to Scout Honey Bee Colonies That Naturally Survive Varroa destructor Infestations.

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State: Public
Version: Final published version
License: CC BY 4.0
Serval ID
serval:BIB_2EB0BC440C78
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Using Citizen Science to Scout Honey Bee Colonies That Naturally Survive Varroa destructor Infestations.
Journal
Insects
Author(s)
Moro A., Beaurepaire A., Dall'Olio R., Rogenstein S., Blacquière T., Dahle B., de Miranda J.R., Dietemann V., Locke B., Licón Luna R.M., Le Conte Y., Neumann P.
ISSN
2075-4450 (Print)
ISSN-L
2075-4450
Publication state
Published
Issued date
09/06/2021
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
12
Number
6
Pages
536
Language
english
Notes
Publication types: Journal Article
Publication Status: epublish
Abstract
Citizen Science contributes significantly to the conservation of biodiversity, but its application to honey bee research has remained minimal. Even though certain European honey bee (Apis mellifera) populations are known to naturally survive Varroa destructor infestations, it is unclear how widespread or common such populations are. Such colonies are highly valuable for investigating the mechanisms enabling colony survival, as well as for tracking the conservation status of free-living honey bees. Here, we use targeted Citizen Science to identify potentially new cases of managed or free-living A. mellifera populations that survive V. destructor without mite control strategies. In 2018, a survey containing 20 questions was developed, translated into 13 languages, and promoted at beekeeping conferences and online. After three years, 305 reports were collected from 28 countries: 241 from managed colonies and 64 from free-living colonies. The collected data suggest that there could be twice as many naturally surviving colonies worldwide than are currently known. Further, online and personal promotion seem to be key for successful recruitment of participants. Although the survivor status of these colonies still needs to be confirmed, the volume of reports and responses already illustrate how effectively Citizen Science can contribute to bee research by massively increasing generated data, broadening opportunities for comparative research, and fostering collaboration between scientists, beekeepers, and citizens. The success of this survey spurred the development of a more advanced Citizen Science platform, Honey Bee Watch, that will enable a more accurate reporting, confirmation, and monitoring of surviving colonies, and strengthen the ties between science, stakeholders, and citizens to foster the protection of both free-living and managed honey bees.
Keywords
COLOSS, Citizen Science, Honey Bee Watch, Varroa destructor, honey bee, monitoring, natural selection
Pubmed
Web of science
Open Access
Yes
Create date
12/07/2021 12:08
Last modification date
12/01/2022 8:08
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