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The European honey bee (Apis mellifera) is an important livestock animal in New Zealand. This is due to their combined pollination services and production of honey for export, notably mānuka honey. The honey bee is an imported species that is praised as a productive partner and accused as an invasive competitive species. In New Zealand this well–entrenched insect pollinator has essentially been driven to extinction outside of managed apiaries by the deadly Varroa mite (Varroa destructor). Honey bees, live in a microbial world which includes beneficial microorganisms and pathogens that cause disease. Here we review the biology and prevention of Paenibacillus larvae which causes American Foulbrood (AFB). AFB affected hives must be destroyed within seven days of discovery. Bacteriophages, the viruses of bacteria, are abundant in nature and demonstrated to protect hives against AFB infection when applied in advance of exposure. Whilst treating AFB is not allowed, P. larvae bacteriophages can be a safe and natural prophylactic for protecting honey bee colonies against AFB infection. Bacteriophages are a potent source of novel solutions to agricultural diseases caused by bacterial pathogens, and we are proponents of their development to protect our domesticated pollinators against AFB here in Aotearoa, New Zealand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pollination patterns i.e. the proportions of entomophilous, anemophilous, autogamous and hydrophilous plant species and those useful for the European honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) in the flora and vegetation of northern Croatia have been determined. The survey included 507 plant taxa, belonging to 95 plant families. The results show that most plant species employ insect pollination (73.6%), followed by self-pollination (30%), wind (25%) and water pollination (0.6%). For some plant species there are one, two or more modes of pollination; the largest group consists of pure insect pollination (43%), followed by both insect and self-pollination (27%), pure wind pollination (22%), insect and wind pollination (2.6%), and so on. Overall, 54% of plant species useful to European honey bees were found, 51% of which provide pollen and 47% nectar. These results suggest that A. mellifera could be a potential pollinator for about half of the flora. Analysis shows significant differences in pollination patterns among habitat types and that most entomophilous plant taxa are found in grassland, forest and ruderal sites, indicating that these habitats are most important for pollinators. Other characteristics of plant species, such as flowering time, plant family, life form and origin, were also analysed to determine a possible relationship with pollination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flüggé; Poaceae) is primarily a pasture grass in the southern US. It is also lawn grass found in residential settings, public parks, and planted in golf courses. Bahiagrass is principally wind-pollinated, but the pollination contribution of insect pollinators is not documented. A survey was conducted on bahiagrass patches in central Georgia, USA, to determine the visitation of foraging pollinators. The results showed that European honey bees, bumblebees, and sweat bees forage on bahiagrass spikelets. Of the total bees observed, 10.6% (n = 94) were foraging on bahiagrass, compared to 46.8% on white clover, 27.7% on dandelion, and 14.8% on buckhorn plantain. This is the first report showing bee foraging on bahiagrass. The results suggest that bahiagrass spikelets may be a supplemental resource for bees and essential for bee conservation programs in rural and suburban areas. More research is warranted to determine how bahiagrass spikelets play a role in meeting the nutritional needs of bees to help sustain their colony and provide pollination service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Premise of the study: According to Cope's 'law of the unspecialized' highly dependent species interactions are 'evolutionary dead ends,' prone to extinction because reversion to more generalist interactions is thought to be unlikely. Cases of extreme specialization, such as those seen between obligate mutualists, are cast as evolutionarily inescapable, inevitably leading to extinction rather than diversification of participating species. The pollination mutualism between Yucca plants and yucca moths (Tegeticula and Parategeticula) would seem to be locked into such an obligate mutualism. Yucca aloifolia populations, however, can produce large numbers of fruit lacking moth oviposition scars. Here, we investigate the pollination ecology of Y. aloifolia, in search of the non-moth pollination of a Yucca species. • Methods: We perform pollinator exclusion studies on Yucca aloifolia and a sympatric yucca species, Y. filamentosa. We then perform postvisit exclusion treatments, an analysis of dissected fruits, and a fluorescent dye transfer experiment. • Key results: As expected, Yucca filamentosa plants set fruit only when inflorescences were exposed to crepuscular and nocturnal pollinating yucca moths. In contrast, good fruit set was observed when pollinators were excluded from Y. aloifolia inflorescences from dusk to dawn, and nofruit set was observed when pollinators were excluded during the day. Follow up experiments indicated that European honeybees (Apis mellifera) were passively yet effectively pollinating Y. aloifolia flowers. • Conclusions: These results indicate that even highly specialized mutualisms may not be entirely obligate interactions or evolutionary dead ends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]