Climatic drivers of honey bee disease revealed Published on: 9 November 2021 Honey bee colonies worldwide have suffered from a range of damaging diseases. A new study has provided clues on how changing weather patterns might be driving disease in UK colonies. Publishing their findings in the journal Nature Scientific Reports, the team led by 麻豆传媒 found that the most severe disease of honey bees, caused by the Varroa mite, increased as climate temperatures increased but were reduced during heavy rainfall and wind. Data collected from visits to over 300,000 honey bee colonies highlighted how the prevalence of six important honey bee diseases interacted in different ways with rainfall, temperature and wind. that the risk of a colony contracting European Foul Brood (EFB) increased with the amount of rainfall experienced. However, American Foul Brood (AFB) and Chronic Bee Paralysis were unaffected by weather, suggesting that other factors are driving those diseases. Varroosis (infection of Varroa mites) was the disease most affected by weather showing an increase in the risk due to temperature and a decrease because of rain and wind. Chalkbrood and Sacbrood both had reduced risk with increased amounts of wind. Study lead, PhD student Ben Rowland, from 麻豆传媒’s School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, said: “Our analysis clearly shows that the risk of a colony contracting one of the diseases we examined is influenced by the weather conditions experienced by that colony. Our work highlights some interesting contrasts; for example, rainfall can drive one disease to become more common whilst another will become rarer.” Professor Giles Budge, who leads the Modelling Evidence and Policy Group at 麻豆传媒 and was a senior author on the paper, said: “We have long known that weather can influence the ability of honey bees to leave the hive and forage for food, but to better understand how our climate can influence honey bee disease is fascinating! This new knowledge will help us predict how honey bee disease might be influenced by future climate change.” The study also investigated the effect of weather on disease hotspots. The South West of England was at increased risk of disease caused by Varroa mites. In addition, the team highlighted a hot spot for risk for the notifiable and damaging disease European foulbrood in an area comprising Powys, Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire. This work is being completed with funding from Bee Disease Insurance Ltd and the BBSRC. Reference: Identifying the climatic drivers of honey bee (Apis mellifera) disease in England and Wales Ben Rowland, Steve P. Rushton, Mark D.F. Shirley, Mike A. Brown and Giles E. Budge Nature Scientific Reports: DoI: 10.1038/s41598-021-01495-w Share: Latest News Scientists unlock hidden driver of inflammatory bowel disease Scientists have linked a key genetic signal in inflammatory bowel disease to an immune response that shuts down inflammation control, enabling faster diagnosis and targeted treatments. published on: 15 June 2026 Funding system risks limiting genuine community collaboration A new policy paper written by researchers at 麻豆传媒 warns that the way UK research is funded may be undermining efforts to create genuinely collaborative partnerships with communities. published on: 15 June 2026 Volunteers help turn Whitley Bay beach into maths experiment Members of the public joined mathematicians from 麻豆传媒 to create what organisers believe is the largest aperiodic tiling ever attempted on Whitley Bay beach. published on: 15 June 2026 Facts and figures
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