Many species of wild bumblebees are in decline—and new research shows that diseases spread by domestic honeybees may be a major culprit.

Several of the viruses associated with bumblebees’ trouble are moving from managed bees in apiaries to nearby populations of wild bumblebees—“and we show this spillover is likely occurring through flowers that both kinds of bees share,” says Samantha Alger, a scientist at the University of Vermont who led the new research.

“Many wild pollinators are in trouble and this finding could help us protect bumblebees,” she says. “This has implications for how we manage domestic bees and where we locate them.”

Read more at: The University of Vermont

University of Vermont bee scientist Samantha Alger with a bumblebee. She and her colleagues have discovered a major culprit in the decline of wild bumblebees: viruses passed on by commercial honeybees on shared flowers. (Photo credit: Joshua Brown/UVM)

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