Source: NCSU COLLEGE OF AG & LIFE SCIENCES, 9/28/20


When parasite pressure is low, bees can control how quickly the parasites spread within colonies, and this might be due to social immunity. All bees risk encountering parasites any time they stop at a flower. An unrelated study in New York found that as many as 1 in 10 flowers had parasites on them and flowers can be visited a few to dozens of times per day. Some flowers are more likely to harbor parasites because of their shape and the way bees move across the flower to forage.

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