Reference laboratory on bee health in France and Europe
For more than 40 years, the ANSES laboratory in Sophia Antipolis has become a national and international reference in the field of bee health. It holds the mandates of National Reference Laboratory and European Union Reference Laboratory for bee health as well as OMSA (World Organization for Animal Health) Reference Laboratory for six bee diseases.
The teams there study bee diseases, the bacteria, parasites or viruses responsible for them and the effects of phytosanitary products. They develop analytical methods to identify and detect pathogens as well as residues of the most dangerous products for their health. The work of the laboratory has led to significant advances in understanding the multiple factors that are at the root of the disorders affecting bee colonies and the implementation of sustainable solutions for their preservation at national and European level.
Under its European reference mandate, the ANSES laboratory in Sophia Antipolis piloted EPILOBEE, a vast epidemiological surveillance program in Europe aimed at better characterizing the phenomenon of excess bee mortality. He currently participates and has participated in various european projects such as :
- the POSHBEE project, aiming to develop a holistic approach to objectify bee disorders;
- the SmartBees project, centered on the natural resistance of bees to a major parasite (Varroa destructor) and the viruses transmitted by this parasite, ended in 2018.
Bees at Anses in Sophia Antipolis from Anses on Vimeo.
Shedding light on the effects of co-exposures
ANSES has launched expert work since 2012 for understand the multiple causes of colony collapse. His work shows a complex reality of interactions between pathogens such as the varroa mite and certain viruses, or between chemicals. Some reduce, for example, the immune defenses bees, making them more vulnerable to pathogens. The Sophia Antipolis laboratory has also carried out work aimed at studying the synergistic effects of viruses with chemical contaminants. These are all factors to which must be added the loss of biodiversity, particularly in the flowers prized by bees, and climate change, which is reducing their food resources.
Faced with this observation, ANSES recommended several lines of work, such as the development of finer multi-residue measurements on specimens and hive products to better identify the molecules present in the environment of the bee and has itself developed identification and quantification methods with very low detection thresholds for many molecules of various chemical families used in pesticides. ANSES also recommended the creation of a network of reference apiaries to better analyze the regional situation of apiaries. The Agency also recommends globally reduce the use of chemical inputs and strengthen requirements for marketing authorizations.
Read our news: “Bee health: impact of the co-exposure of colonies to pesticides and infectious agents”.
Change the assessment of the risks linked to phytosanitary products for the environment, and, in particular, for bees
In order to reduce the exposure of bees and other pollinating insects to plant protection products, ANSES assessed various provisions at the national level and proposed various recommendations in order to change the restrictions at the national level and the assessment of the products at the European level.
The EPPO guidance document on the risk assessment for bees was revised at the end of 2010 and specifies the procedure to be followed for seed treatments and substances capable of migrating into the plant.
ANSES’s recommendations for strengthening the protection of bees exposed to plant protection products
- In addition to the systematic assessment of the acute and chronic risks on adult bees and on larval development in the context of marketing authorization applications (MA), ANSES recommends the carrying out new testsas soon as the methods allowing it are available.
- Proposals for restriction of use for all products: no application in the presence of bees during periods when crops are attractive (ANSES opinion issued in 2018 and 2019).
- Proposals for changes to risk assessment methods in the context of MA applications to improve the assessment of long-term risks for bees and for other pollinators, with in particular the introduction of bee behavior testss, such as the method for measuring the return time to the hive (when standardized protocols are available).