The link between flowers and bacteria transmission in wild bees.

A study has shown that multiple flower and wild bee species share several of the same types of bacteria,as these bacteria may play important roles in bee health. The research, published in the journal Microbial Ecology, shows for the first time that multiple flower and wild bee species share several of the same types of bacteria. Wild bees although not as widely studied as honey bees or bumblebees, are a critical in the pollination puzzle. Wild bees could become more important because of the decline in numbers of honey bees due to colony collapse disorder, which has resulted in the loss of more than 10 million hives in the past decade. The team collected wild bees and flowers from 2 locations,they simulated bee nests by drilling holes into wood and placing these nests in fields with wildflowers,because wild bees naturally nest in abandoned holes in trees created by beetles. The bees established nests in wood and they were collected , the microbiomes of their guts and the pollen they were carrying was analyzed. They also collected flowers at the site including those that the bees visited and flowers that they didn't visit. They ensured flowers that had not been visited by bees, had bags placed over them before they bloomed and then picked them once they matured and opened. The result showed that the bacteria were present on the flowers whether they were bagged or not. The presence of bee-associated bacteria in bagged flowers suggests the bacteria may be transmitted to flowers via plant surfaces, the air or small insects. The bacteria shared by flowers and wild bees is believed to be beneficial because of the presence of Lactobacillus bacteria, which was found on all the flower and bee samples.