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Reports of honey bee population decline has spurred many national efforts to understand the extent of the problem and to identify causative or associated factors. However, our collective understanding of the factors has been hampered by a lack of joined up trans-national effort. Moreover, the impacts of beekeeper knowledge and beekeeping management practices have often been overlooked, despite honey bees being a managed pollinator. Here, we established a standardised active monitoring network for 5 798 apiaries over two consecutive years to quantify honey bee colony mortality across 17 European countries. Our data demonstrate that overwinter losses ranged between 2% and 32%, and that high summer losses were likely to follow high winter losses. Multivariate Poisson regression models revealed that hobbyist beekeepers with small apiaries and little experience in beekeeping had double the winter mortality rate when compared to professional beekeepers. Furthermore, honey bees kept by professional beekeepers never showed signs of disease, unlike apiaries from hobbyist beekeepers that had symptoms of bacterial infection and heavy Varroa infestation. Our data highlight beekeeper background and apicultural practices as major drivers of honey bee colony losses. The benefits of conducting trans-national monitoring schemes and improving beekeeper training are discussed.

In the last decade the beekeeping sector in various countries around the world is affected by a variety of health problems. In addition to the use of pesticides the biggest problem of bees are considered their own diseases, which include nosematosis of bees caused by Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae. Risk assessment of nosematosis of bees refers to the evaluation of health risks (its impact on the population of bees in Slovakia, the financial losses) as well as environmental risk assessment (rapid reduction of entomophilous pollination of plants and the consequent reduction in crop yields per hectare)., SK; sk; efsa.focalpoint@land.gov.sk

Risk assessment of the impact of diseases of bees and bee brood of bees on products concerning risk assessment mainly on honey, wax, propolis, royal jelly and bee venom. At the same time, it should be noted that morbidity bees, has a negative impact on the number of population of bee colonies in Slovakia but also on agricultural production and the environment (rapid reduction of pollinated plants and the consequent reduction in crop yields per hectare). American foulbrood, European foulbrood, Varroa mite, Tracheal mite, Tropilaelaps mite and Small hive beetle are the diseases (possibly pests of bees), causing huge financial losses due to the death of bee colonies. The greatest risk of health issues hives is the use of medications in the prevetion and treatment of dangerous diseases of bees and bee brood. While at the national level and at EU can not use antibiotics and sulfonamides or in the prevention and even treatment, in many other countries in the world it is common practice the use of these drugs in beehives. Subsequent import of honey from these countries to the EU are at risk of honeys on the market for residues of antibiotics and sulfonamides. The situation is different when using acaricidal drugs to control Varroa mite, because treatment is mandatory and necessary to maintain relatively good health bee colonies. However, there are also the occurrence of residues acaricidal substances in honey, which is only set MRLs for amitraz and tau-fluvalinate (substances used in the Slovak Republic). By using these products is a risk of their residues in honey consumption and the risk of end-users., SK; sk; efsa.focalpoint@land.gov.sk

The mite Varroa destructor (formerly Varroa jacobsoni) is a parasite of adult bees and their brood. Varroa mite is one of the most common disease of bees worldwide but in Slovakia is not mandatory reporting (Act of the Slovak National Council No 39/2007 Coll. on veterinary care) because of nationwide presence since 1978. It is also regarded as the most stressful factor, which results either leaving the hives with the queen and brood, or to cause total mortality of the honey bee colony. Varroa mite is also considered to be the principal vector of viral, bacterial and fungal diseases of bees. At present, there are still no effective biological and zootechnical methods to combat Varroa to replace previously used chemicals. The enormous use of acaricidal substances in bee colonies has resulted in their transfer to honey (amitraz, synthetic pyrethroids) on one side and and secondly the risk of developing resistance to these drugs and shortly after being built ineffective, as we see in the world. Risk assessment of Varroa is important to evaluate of health risk (the impact on the population of bees in Slovakia), as well as to evaluate environmental risk (rapid decrease of pollination of plants thereby reducing crop yields per hectare). To develop a risk assessment is important to use of existing international or communitarian guide for risk assessment., SK; sk; efsa.focalpoint@land.gov.sk