Honeybees are pollinators of countless wild and cultivated plants.Mike Groll/AP
Bee populations around the world are suffering from the spread of a deadly virus that eats away at their wings.
Deformed wing virus (DWV) was first detected 40 years ago, but a new strain that emerged in the Netherlands in 2001 is on the rise according to scientists.
Honeybees are most afflicted by the virus, which is transmitted by a parasitic mite called Varroa Destructor.
"These mites not only transmit viruses between honeybees, they also eat the bees' tissues," explains Professor Robert Paxton, a zoologist from Germany’s Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) which led the new study.
After analysing data on cases of DWV from the past 20 years, the researchers found that the virus mutation has already replaced the original strain in Europe. It is spreading quickly and now threatens bee colonies around the world.
Australia is the only major landmass on which the virus has not been detected, likely because the Varroa mite has not yet been able to spread widely there.
The plight of bees is well documented, with habitat destruction, pesticide use and climate change all contributing to their decline. Nearly 1 in 10 wild bee populations across Europe are facing extinction, according to environmental charity Friends of the Earth.
Notwithstanding all the ways humans are pushing these crucial pollinators to the brink, Paxton says that the "Deformed wing virus is definitely the biggest threat to honeybees.” euronews - link - Lottie Limb - link - more like this (killing bees) - link - more like this (pollution) - link
Deformed wing virus (DWV) was first detected 40 years ago, but a new strain that emerged in the Netherlands in 2001 is on the rise according to scientists.
Honeybees are most afflicted by the virus, which is transmitted by a parasitic mite called Varroa Destructor.
"These mites not only transmit viruses between honeybees, they also eat the bees' tissues," explains Professor Robert Paxton, a zoologist from Germany’s Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) which led the new study.
After analysing data on cases of DWV from the past 20 years, the researchers found that the virus mutation has already replaced the original strain in Europe. It is spreading quickly and now threatens bee colonies around the world.
Australia is the only major landmass on which the virus has not been detected, likely because the Varroa mite has not yet been able to spread widely there.
The plight of bees is well documented, with habitat destruction, pesticide use and climate change all contributing to their decline. Nearly 1 in 10 wild bee populations across Europe are facing extinction, according to environmental charity Friends of the Earth.
Notwithstanding all the ways humans are pushing these crucial pollinators to the brink, Paxton says that the "Deformed wing virus is definitely the biggest threat to honeybees.” euronews - link - Lottie Limb - link - more like this (killing bees) - link - more like this (pollution) - link
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