Study examines how parasites affect nature's key pollinators: Bees

Farmers are well-aware that numerous factors can influence the final yield their crops bring. While crop insurance can cover incidentals like certain types of accidental damage, there are plenty of other variables to keep on your radar.

In addition to weather and environmental conditions, there's one extremely important insect that has a massive role to play in crop production: bees.

Researchers are constantly trying to better understand these buzzing bugs, keeping an eye on their population levels and behaviour in part because they're so vital for the world's food supply.

Recently, scientists at James Cook University in Australia applied advanced techniques to investigate how non-lethal stressors - namely parasites and diseases - influence bee behaviour. By attaching radio frequency identification (RFID) tags to the backs of individual bees, the team was able to examine how the insects respond and react to sickness.

Half of the bees were exposed to nosema spores, a gut parasite that commonly infects honeybees. Importantly, the species of nosema used is generally not lethal and the bees were given a low dose in order to keep the study focused on illness, not dying insects.

What happened? Even though the bees remained alive, those carrying the parasites were 4.3 times less likely to transport pollen. Those that did move pollen around carried significantly less than their healthy counterparts. Infected bees were also more likely to die sooner and had shorter 'working hours'.

The bottom line? Even if bee populations aren't noticeably diminishing, the presence of parasites and other disease-causing substances may influence crop growth.

"The real implications from this work are for humans. About a quarter of our food production is dependent on honey bee pollination," said Dr. Lori Lach, the lead researcher on the project.

"Declines in the ability of honey bees to pollinate will result in lower crop yields."

About 25 per cent of food production relies on honey bees and their pollination activities, The Guardian reported.

While you might not be able to control bee health and productivity, there are ways to mitigate risk in your farming operations. In the meantime, hopefully researchers will continue to investigate these factors, discovering ways to protect and fortify bee populations.