Publications – Insignia

Here will come a list of publications of the insignia group. Under construction.

Report and deliverables

13. Varroa Control: A Brief Overview of Available Methods

Adequate varroa control is a tool to reduce winter losses (Le Conte et al., 2010; Dainat et al., 2012; Rosenkranz et al., 2010). As beekeepers still fail to choose and implement varroa control methods, there is a need for a better understanding of the mode of action and consequences of the various control methods. This article provides an overview of varroa treatment and provides beekeepers with background information to make varroa control an integral part of beekeeping management. Each control has its efficacy, depending on in-hive conditions. Generally, a combination of control methods appears to be the most effective for year-round low varroa infestation pressure.

12. INSIGNIA STUDY REPORT Detection of Pesticide Residues from the APIStrip: Summary Comparison of Results from Years 2019 and 2020

The INSIGNIA study has developed a protocol for apicultural citizen science to use the honey bee colony for environmental bio-monitoring. This report concerns the detection of pesticide residues via collection of suitable samples by the beekeeper from their honey bee hives. In the beekeeping season of 2019, four countries took part in the citizen science field work, according to a trial protocol, which was finalised based on the results from 2019 and implemented more extensively in nine countries in the 2020 beekeeping season. Analysis of the year 1 study results identified the in-hive passive APIStrip sampler as the most effective matrix for the monitoring of pesticide residues, and two to three colonies as a suitable number to use per apiary. Therefore the APIStrip was used in two colonies per beekeeper in 2020, and in nine apiaries per country. In both years, sampling was carried out bi-weekly, with ten sampling rounds.

11. INSIGNIA: Beekeepers as citizen scientists investigate the environment of their honey bees

Beekeepers can be valuable volunteers in large scale research studies. They own honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies, have basic equipment, and are knowledgeable about apiculture. In the INSIGNIA project, citizen science beekeepers collected samples from their colonies over two seasons. Several protocols and different sampling devices for beekeeper participation in monitoring the environment for pesticides and bee forage sources were developed and tested, including all steps until sample analysis in the laboratory. The study was accompanied by studies investigating the motivations and skills of beekeepers volunteering as citizen scientists. The samples and information collected with the help of citizen scientists will be used to model the biodiversity of pollen sources, risk mapping for pollinators and environmental pollution in different environments.

10. Storage methods of mixed pollen samples collected from traps: impact on botanical identification and estimation of relatives abundances as determined by ITS2 metabarcoding

To facilitate storage at the CS premises of a large number of pollen samples collected across the bee active season, while at the same time assuring sample integrity for downstream molecular analyses, here we compared four different storage methods. The objective of this experiment was to assess whether the method of storing freshly collected pollen for long-time periods would affect botanical identification and relative abundances of mixed pollen samples, as determined by ITS2 metabarcoding, The ultimate goal of this experiment is to facilitate future Citizen Science projects by finding cheaper and easier methods for long-term storage of pollen samples that do not compromise the accuracy of downstream laboratorial analyses.

9. How and why beekeepers participate in the INSIGNIA citizen science honey bee environmental monitoring project

Citizen science is becoming more and more popular these days, although no universal definition of the term exists. The most important aspects include the recruitment and training (or instruction) of volunteers – so-called citizen scientists. Even though citizen science has a long tradition in entomology and especially in the research on honey bees and bumblebees, the term has only been used for a relatively short time. Researchers from the University of Graz for the first time ever investigated what motivates beekeepers to voluntary participate in a citizen science study like INSIGNIA. This specific group of citizen scientists was also asked what expectations they had from participating, which study aspects were easy or difficult for them and whether they saw added value from their participation.

8. APIStrip storage

Maria Murcia -Morales & Amadeo R. Fernández-Alba, University Almeria Spain Degradation of pesticides is mainly affected by light and moisture. This is generally true and it also occurs for pesticides accumulated in the APIStrip. In preliminary studies of INSIGNIA in 2019, it was shown that APIStrip storage under frozen conditions and at room temperature (under dry and dark conditions in both cases) had virtually the same impact of the pesticide stability, i.e. when adsorbed onto the APIStrip surface, the pesticide residues remained stable under both conditions……

7. Publication. APIStrip, a new tool for environmental contaminant sampling through honeybee colonies.

2020. APIStrip, a new tool for environmental contaminant sampling through honeybee colonies. María Murcia-Morales, Jozef J.M. Van der Steen, Flemming Vejsnæs, Francisco José Díaz-Galiano, José Manuel Flores, Amadeo R. Fernández-Alba. Science of the Total Environment 729 (2020) 138948

6. Publication. Honeybees as active samplers for microplastics

2020. Honeybees as active samplers for microplastics. Carlos Edo, Amadeo R. Fernández-Alba, Flemming Vejsnæs, Jozef J.M. van der Steen, Francisca Fernández-Piñas, Roberto Rosal. Science of The Total environment. Volume 767, 1 May 2021, 144481

5. Publication. An innovative home-made beebread collector as a tool for sampling and harvesting.

Loglio, G., Formato, G., Pietropaoli, M., Jannoni-Sebastianini, R., Carreck, N., & van der Steen, J. (2019). An innovative home-made beebread collector as a tool for sampling and harvesting. Bee World, 96(1), 16-18

4. Deliverable 3.2 INSIGNIA sample materials storage and transportation

3 - Deliverable 3.1. map of test apiaries 2019.

4. REPORT YEAR 1 (2019) OF THE INSIGNIA PILOT STUDY ON ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING OF PESTICIDE USE THROUGH HONEYBEES

1 - Deliverable D 1.1 Development of picture manual and video manual

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2 - Deliverable D 1.1 b. Development of picture manual and video manual - final version

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3 - D 1.2. REPORT ON THE BEST MONITORING PRACTICE BASED ON Y1 TO BE RING - TESTED

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Articles in bee journals

Flemming Vejsnæs & INSIGNIA Konsortiet. Bier til miljøovervågning af pesticidanvendelse. Tidsskrift for Biavl. Januar 2019 (1): 25-25. Danmarks Biavlerforening. Download here. Introducing INSIGNIA-danish beekeeper magazine

Scotland

Alison Gray and the INSIGNIA Consortium (2019). Introducing INSIGNIA (environmental monitoring of pesticide use through honey bees). The Scottish Beekeeper, 96(3), 111 and 113-114.

Alison Gray, Flemming Vejsnaes, Norman Carreck and the INSIGNIA Consortium (2020). An update on the INSIGNIA project (environmental monitoring of pesticide use through honey bees). The Scottish Beekeeper, 97(4), 156-158.

J. van der Steen (2020). Lead rain after the Notre Dame cathedral fire, and how honey bee colonies map this contamination. The Scottish Beekeeper, 97(11), 409-411.

The international INSIGNIA group (2020). Insignia pesticide matrix sampling: The APIStrip is an efficient matrix for bio-monitoring of pesticides using honey bee colonies and most pollen entering bee hives is collected from wild plants rather than crops. Results of the statistical analysis of the 2019 INSIGNIA sampling. The Scottish Beekeeper, 97(11), 426.

Amadeo Fernandez-Alba, Flemming Vejsnæs and Sjef van der Steen (2021). INSIGNIA Group note: Bee-monitoring for microplastics. The Scottish Beekeeper, 98(3), 97-98.

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