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Healthier honeybee hives mean fewer viruses on nearby flowers and wild bees

PubMed · 2026-09-23

When beekeepers keep varroa mites under control, honeybees carry far less deformed wing virus, and the virus turns up much less on flowers and in wild pollinators nearby. Good hive management protects native bees and other flower visitors too.

1

Keeping varroa below the recommended treatment threshold reduced deformed wing virus loads in honeybees by over 100-fold.

2

Virus prevalence on flowers near apiaries dropped by over 35% when varroa was controlled.

3

Virus prevalence in wild pollinators around apiaries fell by 39%-85% when varroa was controlled, based on about 1000 pollinators and 350 flowers across 27 apiaries.

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