18 - Healthy bees for effective pollination

Programme manager:

Programme director:

Objective

To establish scientific principles for improving the rearing conditions of honey bees so that beekeeping remains an attractive occupation and a sufficient number of health honey bee colonies can be kept in a healthy environment. To establish scientific principles which contribute to the development of an effective and efficient agricultural policy and practical measures to protect and support wild and honey bees and their pollination services.

• Specific objectives

  • Identify the reasons for excessive winter mortality among honey bee colonies and develop solutions to prevent this which are put into practice. Develop methods adapted to Swiss conditions for controlling the Varroa mite and bacterial diseases of honey bees; if necessary, improve the epidemiology of these diseases. Explore options for dealing with new threats (new diseases/parasites/invasive species).
  • Evaluate current and future beekeeping and agricultural practices in terms of their effects on honey and wild bee populations, including from the perspective of maintaining biodiversity and pollination services.
  • Investigate the impacts of climate change on beekeeping and find adaptive solutions in parallel with adaptations to agricultural practices aimed at improving the climate resilience of cropping systems (e.g. agroforestry).
  • Develop precise and appropriate analytical methods for evaluating bee health and the quality of bee products, and provide the knowledge needed to develop a programme for monitoring environmental pollutants through the chemical analysis of bees and bee products.
  • Use genomic information to improve honey bee selection in Switzerland. Improvements should focus primarily on disease resistance and climate change adaptation.
  • Gain a better understanding of the interactions between wild bees and farmed bees (honey bees as well as farmed bumble bees and mason bees): comprehensive data about possible competition for food or the transfer of pathogens and what impact this can have on wild bees and the provision of pollination services. This is essential for making well-founded recommendations to exploit synergies and minimise potential competition when supporting wild and honey bees and their pollination services.
  • Compile practical knowledge to develop and optimise bee-friendly cropping and management methods, including measures to ensure adequate and stable pollination services in the face of climate change.

Expected outcomes

The health of honey bees improves due to reduced impacts of diseases, increased natural resilience; targeted beekeeping and agricultural measures ensure there are sufficient honey bees and wild bees to adequately pollinate insect-pollinated crops. Beekeeping practices can be adapted to climate change. Practitioners receive information about how specific agricultural practices – currently applied or being tested – impact bees. Where necessary, policy makers receive information enabling them to introduce targeted measures to maintain the species diversity of pollinators and at the same time ensure optimal pollination of crops. This also helps to promote biodiversity.

Projects

Read more