Question
What they found
All of the honeybee colonies tested by the researchers were positive for both viruses, an unfortunate but common occurrence for commercial colonies.
But the number of wild bumblebees carrying viruses varied depending on the proximity to the domesticated hives. There was also variation between the two viruses.
More than 90 percent of bumblebees collected close to apiaries carried black queen cell virus. In sites farther from apiaries, and where no honeybees were foraging, just under 40 percent were positive for this virus. When the researchers checked for actual infections, they found that the proximity to an apiary wasn’t telling of whether a bumblebee was infected with black queen cell virus. That means sites near and far from a commercial beehive had the same abundance of black queen cell virus infections.
The connection was clearer for deformed wing virus infections. Twenty percent of bumblebees foraging close to apiaries carried the virus on their outsides and 10 percent had active infections. But in sites more than a half mile away from an apiary, where honeybees were absent, not a single bumblebee tested positive for deformed wing virus — as a carrier or with an infection..
When the researchers looked at infected flowers, they noticed a similar trend. Of the 20 percent of flowers that tested positive for viruses, all were picked close to apiaries. And the denser the flower patch in these areas, the higher the rate of deformed wing virus infection in bumblebees.
Why it matters
If human-managed bees and bee-friendly flowers are acting as hotspots for pathogens, keeping more bees and planting more flowers may be contributing to the steep losses in commercial pollinators seen in the U.S. each year, as well as fueling the decline of wild bees. The more that bees are transported and concentrated for larger-scale pollination events, the more opportunities for diseases to spread.
And it’s not just a one-way street.
“It’s likely the transmission is going both ways,” said Scott McArt, a pollinator ecologist at Cornell University who was not involved in the study. Even if diseases in commercial bees are eliminated, new infections from the wild bee population, which are known to harbor pathogens, could spill back into managed populations, making disease eradication even tougher than it is now.
From the urban gardener to the rural farmer, people are encouraged to grow “bee-friendly” plants.
“But in some cases you might actually be increasing disease levels when you plant those flowers,” said Sheila Colla, a conservation biologist at York University who was not involved in the study. “Maybe we need to have a [buffer] area without flowers to stop diseases from spreading to wild bees.”
Nobody is suggesting we stop planting flowers altogether. “We know that habitat loss is already a big problem for bees,” said Alger. Instead, she’s now investigating
if increasing plant diversity, or culling certain plants could help decrease disease transmission.
She added that beekeepers and farmers need to take a long, hard look at how they are managing bees.
© NewsHour Productions LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Question
Use the article to answer the question.
How does the “What they found” section refine the central idea?
(1 point)
Responses
It uncovers the specifics of what makes wild bees sick and answers the question in the title.
It uncovers the specifics of what makes wild bees sick and answers the question in the title.
It suggests the author’s initial claims were not completely accurate and adjusts them.
It suggests the author’s initial claims were not completely accurate and adjusts them.
It reveals the advances that have been made on the topic since the studies began.
It reveals the advances that have been made on the topic since the studies began.
It provides additional nuance that helps readers understand how complex the issue is.
All of the honeybee colonies tested by the researchers were positive for both viruses, an unfortunate but common occurrence for commercial colonies.
But the number of wild bumblebees carrying viruses varied depending on the proximity to the domesticated hives. There was also variation between the two viruses.
More than 90 percent of bumblebees collected close to apiaries carried black queen cell virus. In sites farther from apiaries, and where no honeybees were foraging, just under 40 percent were positive for this virus. When the researchers checked for actual infections, they found that the proximity to an apiary wasn’t telling of whether a bumblebee was infected with black queen cell virus. That means sites near and far from a commercial beehive had the same abundance of black queen cell virus infections.
The connection was clearer for deformed wing virus infections. Twenty percent of bumblebees foraging close to apiaries carried the virus on their outsides and 10 percent had active infections. But in sites more than a half mile away from an apiary, where honeybees were absent, not a single bumblebee tested positive for deformed wing virus — as a carrier or with an infection..
When the researchers looked at infected flowers, they noticed a similar trend. Of the 20 percent of flowers that tested positive for viruses, all were picked close to apiaries. And the denser the flower patch in these areas, the higher the rate of deformed wing virus infection in bumblebees.
Why it matters
If human-managed bees and bee-friendly flowers are acting as hotspots for pathogens, keeping more bees and planting more flowers may be contributing to the steep losses in commercial pollinators seen in the U.S. each year, as well as fueling the decline of wild bees. The more that bees are transported and concentrated for larger-scale pollination events, the more opportunities for diseases to spread.
And it’s not just a one-way street.
“It’s likely the transmission is going both ways,” said Scott McArt, a pollinator ecologist at Cornell University who was not involved in the study. Even if diseases in commercial bees are eliminated, new infections from the wild bee population, which are known to harbor pathogens, could spill back into managed populations, making disease eradication even tougher than it is now.
From the urban gardener to the rural farmer, people are encouraged to grow “bee-friendly” plants.
“But in some cases you might actually be increasing disease levels when you plant those flowers,” said Sheila Colla, a conservation biologist at York University who was not involved in the study. “Maybe we need to have a [buffer] area without flowers to stop diseases from spreading to wild bees.”
Nobody is suggesting we stop planting flowers altogether. “We know that habitat loss is already a big problem for bees,” said Alger. Instead, she’s now investigating
if increasing plant diversity, or culling certain plants could help decrease disease transmission.
She added that beekeepers and farmers need to take a long, hard look at how they are managing bees.
© NewsHour Productions LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Question
Use the article to answer the question.
How does the “What they found” section refine the central idea?
(1 point)
Responses
It uncovers the specifics of what makes wild bees sick and answers the question in the title.
It uncovers the specifics of what makes wild bees sick and answers the question in the title.
It suggests the author’s initial claims were not completely accurate and adjusts them.
It suggests the author’s initial claims were not completely accurate and adjusts them.
It reveals the advances that have been made on the topic since the studies began.
It reveals the advances that have been made on the topic since the studies began.
It provides additional nuance that helps readers understand how complex the issue is.
Answers
GPT-4o mini
It provides additional nuance that helps readers understand how complex the issue is.