Pan-european assessment, monitoring, and mitigation Of Stressors on the Health of BEEs

Geographical location	United Kingdom
Main geographical location (NUTS3)	West Surrey
Keywords	Animal husbandry and welfare Pest / disease control Fertilisation and nutrients management Biodiversity and nature management
Additional keywords	beekeeping bee pollination
Main funding source	Horizon 2020 (EU Research & Innovation programme)
Project Identification	Multi-actor project
Project type	Research project
Starting date	2018
End date	2023
Project status	Ongoing
Website	http://poshbee.eu

Title (in English):

PoshBee: Pan-european assessment, monitoring, and mitigation Of Stressors on the Health of BEEs

Objective of the project (native language):

See objectives in English

Objective of the project (in English):

PoshBee is a multi-actor, trans-disciplinary project whose overarching goal is to significantly enhance the sustainable health of bees and pollination services in Europe. The project will: 1) provide the first pan-European quantification of the exposure hazard of chemicals to managed and wild bees; 2) determine how chemicals alone, in mixtures, and in combination with pathogens and nutrition, affect bee health; and 3) through interactive innovation meet the demand-driven need for monitoring tools, novel and innovative screening protocols, and practice- and policy-relevant research outputs to local, national, European, and global stakeholders.

Description of activities (native language):

See desctiption in English

Description of activities (in English):

PoshBee will determine the exposure of honey bees, bumble bees and solitary bees to agrochemicals across Europe. It will combine these profiles with data on pathogen prevalence and nutritional state to explain how chemical exposure affects bee health. Through laboratory, semifield and field experiments the project will determine the ecotoxicology and causal effects of chemicals, both single and mixed, on bee health for exemplar managed and wild, social and solitary bees. Finally, the project will develop new protocols for ecotoxicological studies of bees and new tools and models to monitor exposure and predict the effects of chemicals, pathogens, and nutritional stress in bees in the wild.

Project coordinator

Contact person:

Prof. Mark Brown

Address:

Royal Holloway University of London, United Kingdom

E-mail:

mark.brown@rhul.ac.uk

Phone:

+44 1784 276443

Partner category:

Researcher

Project partners

Contact person:

Prof. Mark Brown

Address:

Royal Holloway University of London, United Kingdom

E-mail:

mark.brown@rhul.ac.uk

Phone:

+44 1784 276443

Partner category:

Researcher

Contact person:

Felix Wäckers

Address:

Biobest Group, Belgium

E-mail:

felix.wackers@biobest.be

Phone:

+32 142 579 80

Partner category:

SME

Contact person:

Denis Michez

Address:

Université de Mons, Belgium

E-mail:

Denis.MICHEZ@umons.ac.be

Phone:

+32 484 845 810

Partner category:

Researcher

Contact person:

Lyubomir Penev

Address:

Pensoft Publishers Ltd, Bulgaria

E-mail:

penev@pensoft.net

Phone:

+359 2 8704281

Partner category:

SME

Contact person:

Prof Chris J. Topping

Address:

Aarhus University, Denmark

E-mail:

cjt@bios.au.dk

Phone:

+45 87158845

Partner category:

Researcher

Contact person:

Marika Mänd

Address:

Estonian University of Life Sciences, Estonia

E-mail:

marika.mand@emu.ee

Phone:

+372 731 3001

Partner category:

Researcher

Contact person:

Riina Maruštšak

Address:

The Estonian Chamber of Agriculture and Commerce, Estonia

E-mail:

riina@epkk.ee

Phone:

+372 600 9349

Partner category:

Representative of an NGO

Contact person:

Sigmar Naudi

Address:

Estonian Professional Beekeepers Association

E-mail:

sigmarnaudi@gmail.com

Phone:

+372 568 846 96

Partner category:

Representative of an NGO

Contact person:

Marie-Pierre Chauzat

Address:

French Agency for food, environmental and occupational health & safety, France

E-mail:

marie-pierre.chauzat@anses.fr

Phone:

+33 1 49 77 27 04

Partner category:

Researcher

Contact person:

Karim Arafah

Address:

Association Plateforme BioPark d’Archamps, France

E-mail:

karim.arafah@biopark-archamps.org

Phone:

+33(0)450432524

Partner category:

Other

Contact person:

Philippe Bulet

Address:

Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France

E-mail:

philippe.bulet@univ-grenoble-alpes.fr

Phone:

+33(0)450432521

Partner category:

Researcher

Contact person:

Cedric Alaux

Address:

National Institute for Agricultural Research, INRA, France

E-mail:

cedric.alaux@inra.fr

Phone:

+33 432 722 619

Partner category:

Researcher

Contact person:

Alexandra-Maria Klein

Address:

Albert-Ludwigs University of Freiburg, Germany

E-mail:

alexandra.klein@nature.uni-freiburg.de

Phone:

+49 761 203 3635

Partner category:

Researcher

Contact person:

Prof Dr Robert Paxton

Address:

Martin -Luther -University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany

E-mail:

robert.paxton@zoologie.uni-halle.de

Phone:

+49-345 5526451

Partner category:

Researcher

Contact person:

Norman Thuermer

Address:

Imkerverband Sachsen-Anhalt e. V., Germany

E-mail:

2.schatzmeister@imkerverband-st.de

Phone:

+49 391 251 90478

Partner category:

Representative of an NGO

Contact person:

Marcus Rothbart

Address:

Bauernverband Sachsen-Anhalt e.V., Germany

E-mail:

mrothbart@bauernverband-st.de

Phone:

+49 391 739 690

Partner category:

Other

Contact person:

Dr Oliver Schweiger

Address:

Helmholtz-Zentrum für Umweltforschung GmbH-– UFZ, Germany

E-mail:

oliver.schweiger@ufz.de

Phone:

+49 345 558 5306

Partner category:

Researcher

Contact person:

Zsuzsanna Domak

Address:

Nemzeti Elelmiszerlanc-Biztonsagi Hivatal (National Food Chain Safety Office), Hungary

E-mail:

domakzs@nebih.gov.hu

Phone:

+36 1 456 3010

Partner category:

Adviser

Contact person:

Jane Stout

Address:

University of Dublin Trinity College

E-mail:

STOUTJ@tcd.ie

Phone:

+353 1 8963761

Partner category:

Researcher

Contact person:

Dr Michael Gaffney

Address:

Teagasc – Agriculture and Food Development Authority, Ireland

E-mail:

Michael.Gaffney@teagasc.ie

Phone:

+353 871 205 840

Partner category:

Adviser

Contact person:

Eleanor Attridge

Address:

Federation of Beekeepers of Ireland Associations, Ireland

E-mail:

attridge@eircom.net

Phone:

+353 214 325 749

Partner category:

Other

Contact person:

Annalisa Saccardo

Address:

Confederazione Nazionale Coldiretti, Italy

E-mail:

saccardo@coldiretti.it

Phone:

+39 064 682 237

Partner category:

Representative of an NGO

Contact person:

Dr Cecilia Costa

Address:

Council for Agricultural Research and Economics

E-mail:

cecilia.costa@crea.gov.it

Phone:

+39 051 353103

Partner category:

Researcher

Contact person:

Prof. Francesco Nazzi

Address:

Università degli Studi di Udine, Italy

E-mail:

francesco.nazzi@uniud.it

Phone:

+39 043 255 8600

Partner category:

Researcher

Contact person:

Giovanni Floris

Address:

Unione Nazionale Associazioni Apicoltori Italiani, Italy

E-mail:

vanni.floris@unaapi.it

Phone:

+39 347 350 2289

Partner category:

Other

Contact person:

Tomasz Kiljanek

Address:

Panstwowy Instytut Weterynaryjny – Panstwowy Instytut Badawczy (National Veterinary Research Institute), Poland

E-mail:

tomasz.kiljanek@piwet.pulawy.pl

Phone:

+48 818 893 146

Partner category:

Researcher

Contact person:

Adaya Marín García

Address:

Asociación Regional de Empresas Agrícolas y Ganaderas de la Comunidad Autónoma de Murcia, Spain

E-mail:

adaya42@gmail.com

Phone:

+34 626 978 965/ +34 695 183 640

Partner category:

Other

Contact person:

Assistant Prof Pilar De la Rúa

Address:

Universidad de Murcia

E-mail:

pdelarua@um.es

Phone:

+34 868 884908

Partner category:

Researcher

Contact person:

Jonny Ulvtorp

Address:

Biodlingsföretagarna

E-mail:

jonny@ulvtorp.eu

Phone:

+46 735 233 130

Partner category:

Other

Contact person:

Kjell Ivarsson

Address:

Lantbrukarnas Riksförbund, Sweden

E-mail:

kjell.ivarsson@lrf.se

Phone:

+46 70 642 03 40

Partner category:

Farmer

Contact person:

Matthias Albrecht

Address:

Eidgenössisches Departement für Wirtschaft, Bildung und Forschung, Switzeland

E-mail:

matthias.albrecht@agroscope.admin.ch

Phone:

+41 584 687 413

Partner category:

Researcher

Contact person:

Mathias Götti Limacher

Address:

apisuisse

E-mail:

mathias.goetti@bienenschweiz.ch

Phone:

+41 717 801 050

Partner category:

Other

Contact person:

Fabienne Thomas

Address:

Union Suisse des Paysans

E-mail:

fabienne.thomas@sbv-usp.ch

Phone:

No consent!!!

Partner category:

Farmer

Contact person:

Peter Neumann

Address:

Institute of Bee Health, University of Bern

E-mail:

peter.neumann@vetsuisse.unibe.ch

Phone:

+41 31 631 23 22

Partner category:

Researcher

Contact person:

Steffen Hagenbucher

Address:

Wildbiene+Partner AG, Switzerland

E-mail:

s.hagenbucher@wildbieneundpartner.ch

Phone:

+41 44 533 59 26

Partner category:

SME

Contact person:

Matthew Allan

Address:

Atlantic Pollination Ltd, United Kingdom

E-mail:

matt@atlanticpollination.com

Phone:

+44 23 8061 7969

Partner category:

Other

Contact person:

Pamela A Hunter

Address:

British Beekeepers Association

E-mail:

pamhunter@burnthouse.org.uk

Phone:

+44 140 386 4007

Partner category:

Other

Contact person:

Dr Chris Hartfield

Address:

The National Farmers Union , United Kingdom

E-mail:

chris.hartfield@nfu.org.uk

Phone:

+44 2476858500

Partner category:

Farmer

Contact person:

Robin Dean

Address:

The Red Beehive Company,United Kingdom

E-mail:

redbeehive@btopenworld.com

Phone:

+44 2380 434703

Partner category:

Other

Contact person:

Prof. Simon Potts

Address:

University of Reading

E-mail:

s.g.potts@reading.ac.uk

Phone:

+44 118 378 6154

Partner category:

Researcher

Contact person:

Dr Max Watkins

Address:

Vita (Europe) Limited,United Kingdom

E-mail:

max.watkins@vita-europe.com

Phone:

+44 125 647 3177

Partner category:

SME

Contact person:

Hélène Budzinski

Address:

Université de Bordeaux, France

E-mail:

helene.budzinski@u-bordeaux.fr

Phone:

+33 540 006 998

Partner category:

Researcher

Practice summary

Practice abstract 1

Short title (native language):

PoshBee: pan-European assessment, monitoring, and mitigation of stressors on the health of bees

Short summary for practitioners (native language):

Bees – honey bees, bumble bees, and solitary bees – pollinate our crops and wildflowers, and thus are essential for human well-being. However, in Europe, and around the globe, bees face many threats and are often in decline as a result. One potential driver of reduced bee health is agrochemicals. While laboratory and semi-field studies suggest that such chemicals negatively impact bee health, their importance and relevance in the real world remains unclear. PoshBee (www.poshbee.eu) is a consortium of academics, governmental organisations, industry, and NGOs that will address the issue of agrochemicals to ensure the sustainable health of bees and their pollination services in Europe. Integrating the knowledge and experience of local beekeeping and farming organisations and academic researchers, we will provide the first comprehensive pan-European assessment of the exposure hazard of chemicals, their mixtures, and co-occurrence with pathogens and nutritional stress for solitary, bumble, and honey bees across oilseed rape and apple orchards. Integrated studies across the lab-to-field axis will determine the effect of chemicals, their mixtures, and interactions with pathogens and nutrition on bee health. We will develop new model species and innovative protocols for testing chemicals in bees, and develop dynamic landscape environmental risk assessment models for bees. Using proteomics, we will produce new molecular markers for assessing bee health and enabling long-term monitoring schemes. We will deliver practice- and policy-relevant research outputs to local, national, European, and global stakeholders. Our work will support healthy bee populations, sustainable beekeeping, and sustainable pollination across Europe.

Practice abstract 2

Short title (native language):

Pan-european assessment, monitoring, and mitigation of stressors on the health of bees (PoshBee)

Short summary for practitioners (native language):

Many recent reports describe long-term declines in insects. ‘PoshBee’ aims to identify factors negatively impacting bees in European farmland, and in 2019 performed an extensive pan-European field study over 8 countries. Our recommendations for groups planning to perform similar multi-partner, farm-scale, field studies on pollinating insects are listed below.
Scientists
• Accept variation will occur among partners, but record appropriate data to be used as covariates in subsequent data analysis
• Ensure all methodological protocols are understood and are practicable for all partners
• If specialist techniques are needed, hire staff familiar with these processes or ensure staff have adequate training
• Unless additional resources are available (staff/vehicles/funding), avoid adding extra ‘side projects’ out of scope of the main project
Beekeepers
• Standardize study hives in terms of equipment, colony size etc. If possible, obtain colonies from a single source
• Beekeepers should request clear guidelines on all aspects of hive management, and what records should be maintained
• Beekeepers should maintain regular contact with project management and communicate which procedures have been performed and any pests and diseases that have been observed
Farmers
• Growers/ field sites should be located early in the planning process
• Researchers should explain what they plan to do and when, and how the farmer can help throughout the study. Farmers should explain what they require so that farm operations are not negatively impacted by the research program
• Farmers should ask what information relating to the field site and crop management is required by the research team, and then maintain appropriate, easily accessible records

Practice abstract 3

Short title (native language):

Effect of real-world clothianidin exposure on bees and their diseases

Short summary for practitioners (native language):

In this study we used 16 commercial oilseed rape fields across southern Sweden to investigate the effect of real-world clothianidin exposure on bees. Half of the fields were sown with clothianidin-treated oilseed rape seed and half with clothianidin-free seed. Honeybee and bumblebee colonies as well as mason bee cocoons and nests were placed at each field and monitored during the growing season, with the honeybee colonies also monitored the following year through a second season of clothianidin exposure in oilseed rape. Chemical analysis of the nectar and pollen collected by the bees showed large differences in clothianidin exposure between treated and untreated fields, and between the two seasons. Honeybee colony growth and development was not affected by clothianidin exposure, but both bumblebees and mason bees produced far fewer offspring at treated fields than at untreated fields. Follow-up analyses showed that clothianidin exposure had no effect on pathogen levels in either honeybees or bumblebees, nor on immune genes in honeybees. The conclusion is that honeybee colonies are relatively robust to neonicotinoid exposure in agricultural landscapes, but that bumblebees and solitary bees are strongly affected.
For farmers:
If wild pollinators and their pollination are important for you or your neighbours, consider adjusting your plant protection strategy to reduce pesticide use, particularly in flowering crops and during bloom. For honeybees this would also be beneficial, but less critical.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlgxa7lOjdQ
www.nature.com/articles/nature14420
www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-07914-3
www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-08523-4

Practice abstract 4

Short title (native language):

Teamwork of scientists and beekeepers in the field

Short summary for practitioners (native language):

As part of a European-wide experiment to assess the exposure of bees to environmental stressors, we were involved in the pre- and post-project consultation for the delivery of honey bees, their care, sampling support and consultation for questions on the oil seed rape field areas.
Based on our experience we make the following recommendations:
• before the project starts it should be clear that there is enough time planned for the bees to be purchased.
• that for NGO partners or beneficiaries that have not previously been involved in an EU project, a fixed contact person for all EU formalities should be in place at a project partner who already has this knowledge.
• the use of an additional communicator on the part of the beekeepers to support the conduct of the experiment. This communicator is intended to facilitate communication between the scientific community and the beekeepers, specifically to query all parties involved in small time windows. In everyday life, the worlds of beekeepers and scientists are too different to notice discrepancies which might have negative impacts on the study early enough. To clarify, we present two examples of such issues:
a) it would prevent agreements in the field from being postponed and forgotten until one of the parties remembers too late.
b) to prevent the misalignment of biological reality and study design. For example, scientists want to take samples (e.g., honey) within a specific time (e.g., 3 weeks) and avoid hives swarming, while the beekeepers know that hives will swarm within 3 days, or immediately if honey is harvested. Without timely communication, neither party understands the issues.

Further details

Audiovisual material:

Brochure

Poster

Inforgraphic - project overview

Press release

Description of the context of the project:

Bees – honey bees, bumble bees, and solitary bees – pollinate our crops and wildflowers, and thus are essential for human
well-being. However, in Europe, and around the globe, bees face many threats and are often in decline as a result. One
potential driver of reduced bee health is agrochemicals. While laboratory and semi-field studies suggest that such chemicals
negatively impact bee health, their importance and relevance in the real world remains unclear. Chemicals are an integral feature of modern agriculture, controlling pests and disease in crops and domesticated animals. However, agrochemicals can also have negative effects on non-target organisms, with ensuing environmental costs [Hallmann et al. 2014]. The potential effects of agrochemicals on bee health is a high profile, yet unresolved case [Godfray et al. 2015], as bees provide the essential ecosystem service of pollination, but are at risk around the globe [Potts et al. 2016, Vanbergen et al. 2013]. Previous research has shown that agrochemicals affect behaviour, immunity, lifespan, physiology, and reproduction of individual bees and colonies, in honey bees, bumble bees, and solitary bees [Godfray et al. 2015, Tsvetkov et al. 2017, Woodcock et al. 2017], and that this may reduce pollination efficiency [Stanley et al. 2015].

Additional information:

Specific Objectives:
1. Exposure hazard: drawing on the complementary expertise of a diverse range of actors, we will quantify the exposure of honey bees, bumble bees, and solitary bees to chemicals within major agricultural cropping systems across Europe.
2. Ecotoxicokinetics: through the development of innovative protocols and novel model systems, co-created with end-user partners, we will assess toxicity and dynamics of key agrochemicals, and their mixtures, in honey bees, bumble bees, and solitary bees.
3. Health effects: taking a trans-disciplinary approach, we will integrate across laboratory, semi-field, field, and landscape studies to provide a holistic understanding of how chemicals, their mixtures, and their interactions with pathogens and nutrition drive health in honey bees, bumble bees, and solitary bees.
4. Modeling bee health: PoshBee will develop the first mechanistically-underpinned holistic model of bee health.
5. Monitoring tools and protocols: we will provide validated tools for the monitoring and assessment of bee health and exposure to stressors. We will develop and test an innovative ‘air sensor’ tool for assessing chemical exposure within honey bee hives. Using proteomics, we will produce a novel molecular monitoring tool, or ‘health card’ for bees, that measures chemical exposure, pathogens, immune capacities, and nutritional state.
6. Driving policy and practice: PoshBee will develop a European bee health knowledge exchange hub by working together with key stakeholders in the honey bee, agrochemical, farming, pollination service, research, EU policy and regulatory, and bee conservation sectors.