title: Role of Human Action in the Spread of Honey Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Pathogens.
abstract: The increased annual losses in European honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies in North America and some other countries is usually attributed to a range of factors including pathogens, poor nutrition, and insecticides. In this essay, I will argue that the global trade in honey bees and migratory beekeeping practices within countries has enabled pathogens to spread quickly. Beekeepers' management strategies have also contributed to the spread of pathogens as well as the development of resistance to miticides and antibiotics, and exacerbated by hobby beekeepers. The opportunities for arresting honey bee declines rest as strongly with individual beekeepers as they do with the dynamics of disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosciences, University of Melbourne, Carlton, Vic. 3010, Australia Corresponding author, e-mail: roberto1@student.unimelb.edu.au.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Owen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D056630:Beekeeping / Q000379:methods*; D001516:Bees / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D003132:Commerce; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D006801:Humans
keywords: Apis mellifera; beekeeper; global spread; management practice; pathogen