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Varroa destructor is a parasitic mite responsible for the loss of honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies. This study aimed to find a promising marker in honey for the bee colony infestation level using fluorescence spectroscopy and biochemical analyses. We examined whether the parameters of the honey samples’ fluorescence spectra and biochemical parameters, both related to proteins and phenolics, may be connected with the level of honey bee colonies’ infestation. The infestation level was highly positively correlated with the catalase activity in honey (r = 0.936). Additionally, the infestation level was positively correlated with the phenolic spectral component (r = 0.656), which was tentatively related to the phenolics in honey. No correlation was found between the diastase activity in honey and the colonies’ infestation level. The results indicate that the catalase activity in honey and the PFC1 spectral component may be reliable markers for the V. destructor infestation level of the colonies. The obtained data may be related to the honey yield obtained from the apiaries.

Background: In this study we have compared time series of pollen concentrations measured by Hirst type volumetric method using regular wind vane inlet and Sigma-2 fixed inlet. The study aims to reveal to what extent sampling inlet introduces discrepancy in quantity when comparing measurements from different methods. Methods: Airborne pollen samples were collected continuously from February to October 2019, using two “Lanzoni” VPPS samplers at the roof-level, on the top of the building of the Faculty of Sciences located in Novi Sad. Meteorological conditions were recorded simultaneously with the automatic meteorological station measuring solar radiation, air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and precipitation. Results: Time series of daily pollen concentrations recorded with different inlets expressed high positive correlations. However, notable differences between signals could be observed on the hourly basis. Absolute difference between hourly values showed very weak correlation with relevant meteorological parameters: temperature, humidity, wind speed and turbulent kinetic energy. Conclusions There is a high correspondence between total pollen concentrations obtained from 10 l/minute sampling regardless the type of inlet. Meteorological conditions did not have notable influence on the sampling performance., The study has been conducted in the frame of BREATHE project financed by Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia (GA no. 6039613)

Invasive alien species (IAS) can substantially affect ecosystem services and human well-being. However, quantitative assessments of their impact on human health are rare and the benefits of implementing IAS management likely to be underestimated. Here we report the effects of the allergenic plant Ambrosia artemisiifolia on public health in Europe and the potential impact of the accidentally introduced leaf beetle Ophraella communa on the number of patients and healthcare costs. We find that, prior to the establishment of O. communa, some 13.5 million persons suffered from Ambrosia-induced allergies in Europe, causing costs of Euro 7.4 billion annually. Our projections reveal that biological control of A. artemisiifolia will reduce the number of patients by approximately 2.3 million and the health costs by Euro 1.1 billion per year. Our conservative calculations indicate that the currently discussed economic costs of IAS underestimate the real costs and thus also the benefits from biological control., Invasive plants can adversely affect ecosystems and economic costs. Here, the authors quantify the impact of the invasive plant Ambrosia artemisiifolia on seasonal allergies and health costs across Europe, finding that the costs are considerably higher than what previously reported, and estimate also the reduction in the number of patients and health costs that may be obtained with biological control

Table S1: Melissopalynological analysis of presence nectraiferous and nectarless species in Serbian (H1-H4) and Polish honey samples (H5, H6).; Table S2: Content of 31 phenolic compounds (mg/kg), TPC (mg GAE/kg) and RSA (%) in buckwheat honey samples from Serbia (H1-H4) and Poland (H5, H6).

Micrographs of pollen types contributing pollen spectrum with >15%.

The genus Merodon Meigen, 1803 is the largest European hoverfly genus, widely distributed around the Palaearctic and Afrotropical regions. Larvae of Merodon are phytophagous, feeding on buried plant storage structures, often bulbs of plants pollinated by the adults. The larval morphology and habits of most species remain unknown. Merodon planifacies Bezzi, 1915, belongs to the Afrotropical lineage of the M. desuturinus species-group. The latest studies of Merodon in Africa have revealed the existence of two new species within the taxon previously known as Merodon planifacies, found exclusively in the Drakensberg Mountains in Republic of South Africa, specifically in the Cathedral Peak National Park and the Royal Natal National Park. These two new species are M. capi in litt. and M. roni in litt. The current study presents the general description of the pre-imaginal stages of M. capi and M. roni, together with the functional morphology of the cephalopharyngeal skeleton. Geometric morphometry and linear measurements were carried out on the spiracular openings of the Posterior Respiratory Process (PRP) of pupae. There were differences in the shape of the PRP and spiracular openings between the two species. The feeding requirements of adults of the two species were analysed and compared with a third species from the M. desuturinus species-group, found in the same valleys at the same time: M. drakonis Vujić & adenković, 2018. Pollen grains found on the body and in the gut were identified and counted; the morphology of the mouthparts of the adults was also described and compared., This study was funded by the project of the European Union: Horizon 2020, Marie kłodowska-Curie action, Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE) Programme: FlyHigh – Insect-plant relationships: insights into biodiversity and new applications.

Although considered a golden standard in aerobiology, continuous long-term sampling of bioaerosols is resource demanding. The aim of this study was to explore whether, if needed, intermittent sampling could replace the continuous one without major loss of information. Hourly pollen concentrations obtained by averaging 56, 28, 14 and 7 equidistantly distributed 1.07-min concentrations ofAmbrosiaairborne pollen were compared. The analysis revealed that majority of information on trends and magnitude in hourly concentrations is captured even if the sampling is not continuous. The correlations were high for all intermittent sampling arrangements, but absolute percentage error increased with the decrease in samples used for calculating hourly concentration.

The aim of this study was to setup afield experimentthat will collect suitable data for parameterizing the release ofAmbrosiapollen. The study took place on the Pannonian plain during three flowering seasons: 2014, 2015 and 2016. The sampling of airborne pollen was performed using volumetricsporetraps at 0.5 m and 5 m above the canopy level of a strong homogenousAmbrosia artemisiifoliaL. field (10 m × 10 m) in threetemporal resolutions: 1 h, 7.5 min and 1.07 min. This high temporal resolution revealed characteristics that were hitherto unknown. Pollen production per day was estimated to range from 6.38 billion to 770 billion pollen grains for the whole experimental field. Measurements ofmeteorological parametersincluded: temperature,relative humidity, solar radiation, precipitation, wind speed andwind direction. Weak correlations between pollen concentration and meteorological parameters were obtained, indicating nonlinear relationships among them. The distribution of pollen concentration with respect to meteorological parameters showed that high pollen concentrations coincide with temperature in the interval 20–24 °C, and that relative humidity of around 95% can delay or even switch off the emission, while the turbulentkinetic energyof a wind less than 0.1 m2 s−2is sufficient for lifting the pollen into the air. The test of the new model forAmbrosiapollen emission processes showed a strong correlation between measured and modeled data when the estimated emission capacity for the field was in the range of 45–75 billion pollen grains per day.

Understanding the cellular stress response in honey bees will significantly contribute to their conservation. The aim of this study was to analyze the response of the antioxidative enzymes superoxide dismutase and catalase in honey bees related to the presence of toxic metals in different habitats. Three locations were selected: (i) Tunovo on the mountain Golija, as control area, without industry and large human impact, (ii) Belgrade as urban area, and (iii) Zajaca, as mining and industrial zone. Our results showed that the concentrations of lead (Pb) in whole body of bees vary according to habitat, but there was very significant increase of Pb in bees from investigated industrial area. Bees from urban and industrial area had increased expression of both Sod1 and Cat genes, suggesting adaptation to increased oxidative stress. However, in spite increased gene expression, the enzyme activity of catalase was lower in bees from industrial area suggesting inhibitory effect of Pb on catalase. (C) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia {[}ON 173014, III 46002]

The Pannonian Plain (PP) and parts of France are the largest sources of airborne ragweed pollen in Europe. Atmospheric transport of airborne ragweed pollen within and from these regions can be investigated using atmospheric transport models. The performance of such models is sensitive to the quality of the emissions data. This study aims to: (1) produce a simple methodology for calculating high quality source inventories for airborne ragweed pollen ; (2) propose a methodology for quality assessment ; (3) provide data that are ready to be used by atmospheric transport models. The applied methodology combines spatial variations in annual Ambrosia airborne pollen counts (indicator of abundance), knowledge of ragweed ecology (indicator of habitat) and detailed land cover information for the PP and France. Compared to the PP, France could be considered heterogenous with the respect of ecological regions and topography. As a result, the French inventory required additional information about of potential growth habitats such as an elevation filter. In the PP, the gridded species inventory shows that the most infected areas are found to the south as well as two smaller "hot-spots" to the east and west. The most infected areas in France are found in the Rhone valley, e.g. near Roussillon, but notable infection is also found in the Loire valley, particularly near Nevers. Such inventories identify areas of potential growth habitats that are not presently infected by ragweed and highlight the importance of understanding ragweed ecology and local preferred growth habitats and to continue pollen- monitoring in order to investigate expansions in range.

Mapping the distribution and abundance of alien plants is important in the process of understanding their invasive potential. It provides basic information that can be used in estimating their ecological preferences but also the success of eradication strategies. Mapping of vegetation is a time consuming task and especially problematic for annuals whose population distribution and abundance show year–to-year variability. Alternatives to this bottom-up approach are therefore highly needed when producing vegetation maps and inventories. The paper examines the potential of using the top-down approach for producing pollen source inventories, which employs spatial variations in annual airborne pollen counts to indicate the abundance of invasive species. The ragweed pollen source inventory over Vojvodina is presented here as an example. The degree in which the performance of the method is affected by spatial resolution is investigated.

Ambrosia (ragweed) is a major threat to human health and agriculture. In Europe Ambrosia is considered invasive and limiting the spread has until now failed. How the pollen load of ragweed is distributed geographically remains unexplained. We have applied the Integrated Approach (IA) where a suite of methods are used to show how the Pannonian Plain (PP) acts as a prime source of Ambrosia pollen not only locally but on the regional scale.

nvasive alien species (IAS) can substantially affect ecosystem services and human well-being. However, quantitative assessments of their impact on human health are rare and the benefits of implementing IAS management likely to be underestimated. Here we report the effects of the allergenic plant Ambrosia artemisiifolia on public health in Europe and the potential impact of the accidentally introduced leaf beetle Ophraella communa on the number of patients and healthcare costs. We find that, prior to the establishment of O. communa, some 13.5 million persons suffered from Ambrosia-induced allergies in Europe, causing costs of Euro 7.4 billion annually. Our projections reveal that biological control of A. artemisiifolia will reduce the number of patients by approximately 2.3 million and the health costs by Euro 1.1 billion per year. Our conservative calculations indicate that the currently discussed economic costs of IAS underestimate the real costs and thus also the benefits from biological control., Nature Communications, 11 (1), ISSN:2041-1723