Pesticide-induced disturbances of bee gut microbiotas

Effects of abamectin nanocapsules on bees through host physiology, immune function, and gut microbiome

Pesticide usage is a common practice to increase crop yields. Nevertheless, the existence of pesticide residues in the surrounding environment presents a significant hazard to pollinators, specifically the potential undisclosed dangers related to emerging nanopesticides. This study examines the impact of abamectin nanocapsules (AbaNCs), created through electrostatic self-assembly, as an insecticide on honey bees. It was determined that AbaNCs upregulated detoxification genes, including CYP450, as well as antioxidant and immune genes in honey bees. Furthermore, AbaNCs affected the activity of crucial enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD). Although no apparent damage was observed in bee gut tissue, AbaNCs significantly decreased digestive enzyme activity. Microbiome sequencing revealed that AbaNCs disrupted gut microbiome, resulting in a reduction of beneficial bacteria such as Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus. Additionally, these changes in the gut microbiome were associated with decreased activity of digestive enzymes, including lipase. This study enhances our understanding of the impact of nanopesticides on pollinating insects. Through the revelation of the consequences arising from the utilization of abamectin nanocapsules, we have identified potential stress factors faced by these pollinators, enabling the implementation of improved protective measures.

Toxicological Assessments of Agrochemicals in Stingless Bees in Brazil: a Systematic Review

The growing concern with the decline of pollinators worldwide is centered on honey bees, due to their wide distribution, economic, and ecological importance. This type of concern remained less evident for stingless bees, which are widely distributed in the Neotropics, until recently. Since exposure to agrochemicals has been identified as one of the potential threats to bees, the present systematic review compiled information from toxicological evaluations in stingless bees in Brazil, home to a considerable portion of the existing species. This systematic review was performed considering species, research institutions, scientific journals, metrics, experimental set ups, and agrochemicals. The first article in this topic was published in 2010. Since then, 93 scientific papers were published, which showed that there are few species of stingless bees used for toxicological evaluations and Brazilian institutions lead these evaluations. Only 1.5% of the stingless bees' species that occur in Brazil were assessed through chronic exposure in the larval stage. The Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV) is responsible for 37% of the total publications. The main route of exposure was acute, using adults in laboratory conditions. The main group of agrochemicals studied were insecticides, in particular the neonicotinoids. The current results reveal the advances achieved and point out the gaps that still need to be filled considering toxicological evaluations in stingless bees.

Prospects of probiotics in beekeeping: a review for sustainable approach to boost honeybee health

Honeybees are vital for global crop pollination, making indispensable contributions to agricultural productivity. However, these vital insects are currently facing escalating colony losses on a global scale, primarily attributed to parasitic and pathogenic attacks. The prevalent response to combat these infections may involve the use of antibiotics. Nevertheless, the application of antibiotics raises concerns regarding potential adverse effects such as antibiotic resistance and imbalances in the gut microbiota of bees. In response to these challenges, this study reviews the utilization of a probiotic-supplemented pollen substitute diet to promote honeybee gut health, enhance immunity, and overall well-being. We systematically explore various probiotic strains and their impacts on critical parameters, including survival rate, colony strength, honey and royal jelly production, and the immune response of bees. By doing so, we emphasize the significance of maintaining a balanced gut microbial community in honeybees. The review also scrutinizes the factors influencing the gut microbial communities of bees, elucidates the consequences of dysbiosis, and evaluates the potential of probiotics to mitigate these challenges. Additionally, it delineates different delivery mechanisms for probiotic supplementation and elucidates their positive effects on diverse health parameters of honeybees. Given the alarming decline in honeybee populations and the consequential threat to global food security, this study provides valuable insights into sustainable practices aimed at supporting honeybee populations and enhancing agricultural productivity.

Enhancing knowledge of chemical exposures and fate in honey bee hives: Insights from colony structure and interactions

Honey bees are unintentionally exposed to a wide range of chemicals through various routes in their natural environment, yet research on the cumulative effects of multi-chemical and sublethal exposures on important caste members, including the queen bee and brood, is still in its infancy. The hive's social structure and food-sharing (trophallaxis) practices are important aspects to consider when identifying primary and secondary exposure pathways for residential hive members and possible chemical reservoirs within the colony. Secondary exposures may also occur through chemical transfer (maternal offloading) to the brood and by contact through possible chemical diffusion from wax cells to all hive members. The lack of research on peer-to-peer exposures to contaminants and their metabolites may be in part due to the limitations in sensitive analytical techniques for monitoring chemical fate and dispersion. Combined application of automated honey bee monitoring and modern chemical trace analysis techniques could offer rapid progress in quantifying chemical transfer and accumulation within the hive environment and developing effective mitigation strategies for toxic chemical co-exposures. To enhance the understanding of chemical fate and toxicity within the entire colony, it is crucial to consider both the intricate interactions among hive members and the potential synergistic effects arising from combinations of chemical and their metabolites.

Exploring the impact of fungicide exposure and nutritional stress on the microbiota and immune response of the Cape honey bee (Apis mellifera capensis)

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) harbour a stable core microbial community within their gut, that is suggested to play a role in metabolic functioning, immune regulation, and host homeostasis. This microbiota presents a unique opportunity to observe the effects of stressors on honey bee health. We examined the effects of two common honey bee stressors: indirect fungicide contamination and nutrient limitation. These effects were observed through changes in their hind- and midgut microbiota using Automated Ribosomal Intergenic Spacer Analysis (ARISA), alongside high-throughput amplicon sequencing. Expression of the honey bees' immune response was examined through the expression of three immune-related genes, namely, immune deficiency (imd), proPhenolOxidase (proPO), and spaetzle (spz). Additionally, longevity of the honey bees was monitored through observation of the expression levels of Vitellogenin (Vg). Both treatment groups were compared to a negative control, and a diseased positive control. There was no effect on the hindgut microbiota due to the stressors, while significant changes in the midgut was observed. This was also observed in the expression of the immune-related genes within the treatment groups. The Imd pathway was substantially downregulated, with upregulation in the prophenoloxidase pathway. However, no significant effect was observed in the expression of spz, and only the pollen treatment group showed reduced longevity through a downregulation of Vg. Overall, the effect of these two common stressors indicate a compromise in honey bee immunity, and potential vulnerabilities within the immune defence mechanisms.

Exposure to a fungicide for a field-realistic duration does not alter bumble bee fecal microbiota structure

Social bees are frequently exposed to pesticides when foraging on nectar and pollen. Recent research has shown that pesticide exposure not only impacts social bee host health but can also alter the community structure of social bee gut microbiotas. However, most research on pesticide-bee gut microbiota interactions has been conducted in honey bees; bumble bees, native North American pollinators, have received less attention and, due to differences in their ecology, may be exposed to certain pesticides for shorter durations than honey bees. Here, we examine how exposure to the fungicide chlorothalonil for a short, field-realistic duration alters bumble bee fecal microbiotas (used as a proxy for gut microbiotas) and host performance. We expose small groups of Bombus impatiens workers (microcolonies) to field-realistic chlorothalonil concentrations for 5 days, track changes in fecal microbiotas during the exposure period and a recovery period, and compare microcolony offspring production between treatments at the end of the experiment. We also assess the use of fecal microbiotas as a gut microbiota proxy by comparing community structures of fecal and gut microbiotas. We find that chlorothalonil exposure for a short duration does not alter bumble bee fecal microbiota structure or affect microcolony production at any concentration but that fecal and gut microbiotas differ significantly in community structure. Our results show that, at least when exposure durations are brief and unaccompanied by other stressors, bumble bee microbiotas are resilient to fungicide exposure. Additionally, our work highlights the importance of sampling gut microbiotas directly, when possible.IMPORTANCEWith global pesticide use expected to increase in the coming decades, studies on how pesticides affect the health and performance of animals, including and perhaps especially pollinators, will be crucial to minimize negative environmental impacts of pesticides in agriculture. Here, we find no effect of exposure to chlorothalonil for a short, field-realistic period on bumble bee fecal microbiota community structure or microcolony production regardless of pesticide concentration. Our results can help inform pesticide use practices to minimize negative environmental impacts on the health and fitness of bumble bees, which are key native, commercial pollinators in North America. We also find that concurrently sampled bumble bee fecal and gut microbiotas contain similar microbes but differ from one another in community structure and consequently suggest that using fecal microbiotas as a proxy for gut microbiotas be done cautiously; this result contributes to our understanding of proxy use in gut microbiota research.

Phytochemicals, Probiotics, Recombinant Proteins: Enzymatic Remedies to Pesticide Poisonings in Bees

The ongoing global decline of bees threatens biodiversity and food safety as both wild plants and crops rely on bee pollination to produce viable progeny or high-quality products in high yields. Pesticide exposure is a major driving force for the decline, yet pesticide use remains unreconciled with bee conservation since studies demonstrate that bees continue to be heavily exposed to and threatened by pesticides in crops and natural habitats. Pharmaceutical methods, including the administration of phytochemicals, probiotics (beneficial bacteria), and recombinant proteins (enzymes) with detoxification functions, show promise as potential solutions to mitigate pesticide poisonings. We discuss how these new methods can be appropriately developed and applied in agriculture from bee biology and ecotoxicology perspectives. As countless phytochemicals, probiotics, and recombinant proteins exist, this Perspective will provide suggestive guidance to accelerate the development of new techniques by directing research and resources toward promising candidates. Furthermore, we discuss practical limitations of the new methods mentioned above in realistic field applications and propose recommendations to overcome these limitations. This Perspective builds a framework to allow researchers to use new detoxification techniques more efficiently in order to mitigate the harmful impacts of pesticides on bees.

Chronic exposure to pesticides disrupts the bacterial and fungal co-existence and the cross-kingdom network characteristics of honey bee gut microbiome

Gut microbiome communities have a significant impact on bee health and disease and have been shown to be shaped by a variety of factors, including exposure to pesticides and inhive chemicals. However, it is unknown whether pesticide exposure affects the coexistence and cross-kingdom network parameters of bee gut microbiome communities because microbes may compete in the gut environment under different stressors. Therefore, we conducted additional analysis of the microbiome data from our previous study in which we discovered that exposure to two novel insecticides flupyradifurone (FPF) and sulfoxaflor (Sulf) or/and a fungicide, azoxystrobin (Azoxy) caused dysbiosis of bee gut microbiota that was associated with an increase in the relative abundance of opportunistic pathogens such as Serratia marcescens. We investigated for the first time the potential cross-kingdom fungal-bacterial interactions using co-occurrence pattern correlation and network analysis. We discovered that exposure to FPF or Sulf alone or in combination with Azoxy fungicide influenced the co-existence patterns of fungal and bacterial communities. Significant differences in degree centrality, closeness centrality, and eigenvector centrality distribution indices were also found in single and double-treatment groups compared to controls. The effects of FPF and Sulf alone on cross-kingdom parameters (bacterial to fungal node ratio, degree of centrality, closeness centrality, and eigenvector centrality) were distinct, but this was reversed when they were combined with Azoxy fungicide. The fungal and bacterial hub taxa identified differed, with only a few shared hubs across treatments, suggesting microbial cross-kingdom networks may be disrupted differently under different stressors. Our findings add to our understanding of pesticide effects on the bee gut microbiome and bee health in general, while also emphasizing the importance of cross-kingdom network analysis in future microbiome research.

Combined effect of a neonicotinoid insecticide and a fungicide on honeybee gut epithelium and microbiota, adult survival, colony strength and foraging preferences

Fungicides, insecticides and herbicides are widely used in agriculture to counteract pathogens and pests. Several of these molecules are toxic to non-target organisms such as pollinators and their lethal dose can be lowered if applied as a mixture. They can cause large and unpredictable problems, spanning from behavioural changes to alterations in the gut. The present work aimed at understanding the synergistic effects on honeybees of a combined in-hive exposure to sub-lethal doses of the insecticide thiacloprid and the fungicide penconazole. A multidisciplinary approach was used: honeybee mortality upon exposure was initially tested in cage, and the colonies development monitored. Morphological and ultrastructural analyses via light and transmission electron microscopy were carried out on the gut of larvae and forager honeybees. Moreover, the main pollen foraging sources and the fungal gut microbiota were studied using Next Generation Sequencing; the gut core bacterial taxa were quantified via qPCR. The mortality test showed a negative effect on honeybee survival when exposed to agrochemicals and their mixture in cage but not confirmed at colony level. Microscopy analyses on the gut epithelium indicated no appreciable morphological changes in larvae, newly emerged and forager honeybees exposed in field to the agrochemicals. Nevertheless, the gut microbial profile showed a reduction of Bombilactobacillus and an increase of Lactobacillus and total fungi upon mixture application. Finally, we highlighted for the first time a significant honeybee diet change after pesticide exposure: penconazole, alone or in mixture, significantly altered the pollen foraging preference, with honeybees preferring Hedera pollen. Overall, our in-hive results showed no severe effects upon administration of sublethal doses of thiacloprid and penconazole but indicate a change in honeybees foraging preference. A possible explanation can be that the different nutritional profile of the pollen may offer better recovery chances to honeybees.

Wild bee and pollen microbiomes across an urban-rural divide

Wild pollinators and their microbiota are sensitive to land use changes from anthropogenic activities that disrupt landscape and environmental features. As urbanization and agriculture affect bee habitats, human-led disturbances are driving changes in bee microbiomes, potentially leading to dysbiosis detrimental to bee fitness. This study examines the bacterial, fungal, and plant compositions of the small carpenter bee, Ceratina calcarata, and its pollen provisions across an urban-rural divide. We performed metabarcoding of C. calcarata and provisions in Toronto by targeting the 16S rRNA, ITS, and rbcL regions. Despite similar plant composition and diversity across bees and their provisions, there was a greater microbial diversity in pollen provisions than in bees. By characterizing the differences in land use, climate, and pesticide residues that differentiate urban and rural landscapes, we find that urban areas support elevated levels of microbial diversity and more complex networks between microbes and plants than rural areas. However, urban areas may lead to lower relative abundances of known beneficial symbionts and increased levels of pathogens, such as Ascosphaera and Alternaria fungi. Further, rural pollen provisions indicate elevated pesticide residues that may dysregulate symbiosis. As anthropogenic activities continue to alter land use, ever changing environments threaten microbiota crucial in maintaining bee health.

The honeybee gut resistome and its role in antibiotic resistance dissemination

There is now general concern about widespread antibiotic resistance, and growing evidence indicates that gut microbiota is critical in providing antibiotic resistance. Honeybee is an important pollinator; the incidence of antibiotic resistance genes in honeybee gut causes potential risks to not only its own health but also to public and animal health, for its potential disseminator role, thus receiving more attention from the public. Recent analysis results reveal that the gut of honeybee serves as a reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes, probably due to antibiotics application history in beekeeping and horizontal gene transfer from the highly polluted environment. These antibiotic resistance genes accumulate in the honeybee gut and could be transferred to the pathogen, even having the potential to spread during pollination, tending, social interactions, etc. Newly acquired resistance traits may cause fitness reduction in bacteria whereas facilitating adaptive evolution as well. This review outlines the current knowledge about the resistome in honeybee gut and emphasizes its role in antibiotic resistance dissemination.

Environmental Effects on Bee Microbiota

Anthropogenic activities and increased land use, which include industrialization, agriculture and urbanization, directly affect pollinators by changing habitats and floral availability, and indirectly by influencing their microbial composition and diversity. Bees form vital symbioses with their microbiota, relying on microorganisms to perform physiological functions and aid in immunity. As altered environments and climate threaten bees and their microbiota, characterizing the microbiome and its complex relationships with its host offers insights into understanding bee health. This review summarizes the role of sociality in microbiota establishment, as well as examines if such factors result in increased susceptibility to altered microbiota due to environmental changes. We characterize the role of geographic distribution, temperature, precipitation, floral resources, agriculture, and urbanization on bee microbiota. Bee microbiota are affected by altered surroundings regardless of sociality. Solitary bees that predominantly acquire their microbiota through the environment are particularly sensitive to such effects. However, the microbiota of obligately eusocial bees are also impacted by environmental changes despite typically well conserved and socially inherited microbiota. We provide an overview of the role of microbiota in plant-pollinator relationships and how bee microbiota play a larger role in urban ecology, offering microbial connections between animals, humans, and the environment. Understanding bee microbiota presents opportunities for sustainable land use restoration and aiding in wildlife conservation.

Microbial Risks Caused by Livestock Excrement: Current Research Status and Prospects

Livestock excrement is a major pollutant yielded from husbandry and it has been constantly imported into various related environments. Livestock excrement comprises a variety of microorganisms including certain units with health risks and these microorganisms are transferred synchronically during the management and utilization processes of livestock excrement. The livestock excrement microbiome is extensively affecting the microbiome of humans and the relevant environments and it could be altered by related environmental factors as well. The zoonotic microorganisms, extremely zoonotic pathogens, and antibiotic-resistant microorganisms are posing threats to human health and environmental safety. In this review, we highlight the main feature of the microbiome of livestock excrement and elucidate the composition and structure of the repertoire of microbes, how these microbes transfer from different spots, and they then affect the microbiomes of related habitants as a whole. Overall, the environmental problems caused by the microbiome of livestock excrement and the potential risks it may cause are summarized from the microbial perspective and the strategies for prediction, prevention, and management are discussed so as to provide a reference for further studies regarding potential microbial risks of livestock excrement microbes.

Atrazine exposure can dysregulate the immune system and increase the susceptibility against pathogens in honeybees in a dose-dependent manner

Recently, concerns regarding the impact of agrochemical pesticides on non-target organisms have increased. The effect of atrazine, the second-most widely used herbicide in commercial farming globally, on honeybees remains poorly understood. Here, we evaluated how atrazine impacts the survival of honeybees and pollen and sucrose consumption, investigating the morphology and mRNA expression levels of midgut tissue, along with bacterial composition (relative abundance) and load (absolute abundance) in the whole gut. Atrazine did not affect mortality, but high exposure (37.3 mg/L) reduced pollen and sucrose consumption, resulting in peritrophic membrane dysplasia. Sodium channels and chitin synthesis were considered potential atrazine targets, with the expression of various genes related to lipid metabolism, detoxification, immunity, and chemosensory activity being inhibited after atrazine exposure. Importantly, 37.3 mg/L atrazine exposure substantially altered the composition and size of the gut microbial community, clearly reducing both the absolute and relative abundance of three core gram-positive taxa, Lactobacillus Firm-5, Lactobacillus Firm-4, and Bifidobacterium asteroides. With altered microbiome composition and a weakened immune system following atrazine exposure, honeybees became more susceptible to infection by the opportunistic pathogen Serratia marcescens. Thus, considering its scale of use, atrazine could negatively impact honeybee populations worldwide, which may adversely affect global food security.

The impact of early-life exposure to three agrochemicals on survival, behavior, and gut microbiota of stingless bees (Partamona helleri)

Over the last few decades, agrochemicals have been partially associated with a global reduction in bees' population. Toxicological assessment is therefore crucial for understanding the overall agrochemical risks to stingless bees. Therefore, the lethal and sublethal effects of agrochemicals commonly used in crops (copper sulfate, glyphosate, and spinosad) on the behavior and gut microbiota of the stingless bee, Partamona helleri, were assessed using chronic exposure during the larval stage. When used at the field-recommended rates, both copper sulfate (200 µg of active ingredient/bee; a.i µg bee^-1) and spinosad (8.16 a.i µg bee^-1) caused a decrease in bee survival, while glyphosate (148 a.i µg bee^-1) did not show any significant effects. No significant adverse effects on bee development were observed in any treatment with CuSO₄ or glyphosate, but spinosad (0.08 or 0.03 a.i µg bee ^-1) increased the number of deformed bees and reduced their body mass. Agrochemicals changed the behavior of bees and composition of the gut microbiota of adult bees, and metals such as copper accumulated in the bees' bodies. The response of bees to agrochemicals depends on the class or dose of the ingested compound. In vitro rearing of stingless bees' larvae is a useful tool to elucidate the sublethal effects of agrochemicals.

Common pesticides disrupt critical ecological interactions

Critical ecological interactions can be disrupted by pesticides, leading to serious ecosystem and economic harm. For the most part, however, the extent and magnitude of these impacts are unknown. We argue for increased investigation of ecosystem impacts of common pesticides by scientists and scrutiny by regulators.

The role of AccCDK20 and AccCDKN1 from Apis cerana cerana in development and response to pesticide and heavy metal toxicity

Apis cerana cerana is a native bee species in China and plays a key role in agricultural production and ecological balance. However, the growth and development of Apis cerana cerana has not been smooth, and pesticide and heavy metal stress are key factors that have forced a dramatic decline in population size. This study was performed with the objective of investigating the role of AccCDK20 and AccCDKN1 in honey bee resistance to pesticide and heavy metal stress. RT-qPCR analysis revealed that AccCDK20 transcript levels were highest in brown-eyed pupae and AccCDKN1 transcript levels were highest in 1-day-old worker bees. In different tissues and body parts of adult bees, AccCDK20 transcript levels were highest in the head, and AccCDKN1 transcript levels were highest in the thorax. It was further observed that environmental stress can affect the transcript levels of the AccCDK20 and AccCDKN1 genes. Silencing of the AccCDK20 and AccCDKN1 genes resulted in altered activities of antioxidant-related genes and antioxidant-related enzymes. AccCDK20 and AccCDKN1 transcript levels were upregulated under glyphosate stress, and silencing of the genes resulted in reduced resistance to glyphosate and greatly increased mortality in Apis cerana cerana. In addition, gene function was verified by in vitro repression assays. Overexpression of the AccCDK20 and AccCDKN1 proteins in E. coli cells increased the resistance to ROS damage induced by CHP. In conclusion, AccCDK20 and AccCDKN1 play an indispensable role in honey bee resistance to pesticide and heavy metal stress.

Bees under interactive stressors: the novel insecticides flupyradifurone and sulfoxaflor along with the fungicide azoxystrobin disrupt the gut microbiota of honey bees and increase opportunistic bacterial pathogens

The gut microbiome plays an important role in bee health and disease. But it can be disrupted by pesticides and in-hive chemicals, putting honey bee health in danger. We used a controlled and fully crossed laboratory experimental design to test the effects of a 10-day period of chronic exposure to field-realistic sublethal concentrations of two nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonist insecticides (nACHRs), namely flupyradifurone (FPF) and sulfoxaflor (Sulf), and a fungicide, azoxystrobin (Azoxy), individually and in combination, on the survival of individual honey bee workers and the composition of their gut microbiota (fungal and bacterial diversity). Metabarcoding was used to examine the gut microbiota on days 0, 5, and 10 of pesticide exposure to determine how the microbial response varies over time; to do so, the fungal ITS2 fragment and the V4 region of the bacterial 16S rRNA were targeted. We found that FPF has a negative impact on honey bee survival, but interactive (additive or synergistic) effects between either insecticide and the fungicide on honey bee survival were not statistically significant. Pesticide treatments significantly impacted the microbial community composition. The fungicide Azoxy substantially reduced the Shannon diversity of fungi after chronic exposure for 10 days. The relative abundance of the top 10 genera of the bee gut microbiota was also differentially affected by the fungicide, insecticides, and fungicide-insecticide combinations. Gut microbiota dysbiosis was associated with an increase in the relative abundance of opportunistic pathogens such as Serratia spp. (e.g. S. marcescens), which can have devastating consequences for host health such as increased susceptibility to infection and reduced lifespan. Our findings raise concerns about the long-term impact of novel nACHR insecticides, particularly FPF, on pollinator health and recommend a novel methodology for a refined risk assessment that includes the potential effects of agrochemicals on the gut microbiome of bees.

The effects of urban land use gradients on wild bee microbiomes

Bees and their microbes interact in complex networks in which bees form symbiotic relationships with their bacteria and fungi. Microbial composition and abundance affect bee health through nutrition, immunity, and fitness. In ever-expanding urban landscapes, land use development changes bee habitats and floral resource availability, thus altering the sources of microbes that wild bees need to establish their microbiome. Here, we implement metabarcoding of the bacterial 16S and fungal ITS regions to characterize the diversity and composition of the microbiome in 58 small carpenter bees, Ceratina calcarata, across urban land use gradients (study area 6,425 km2). By categorizing land use development, green space, precipitation, and temperature variables as indicators of habitat across the city, we found that land use variables can predict microbial diversity. Microbial composition was also found to vary across urban land use gradients, with certain microbes such as Acinetobacter and Apilactobacillus overrepresented in less urban locations and Penicillium more abundant in developed areas. Environmental features may also lead to differences in microbe interactions, as co-occurrences between bacteria and fungi varied across percent land use development, exemplified by the correlation between Methylobacterium and Sphingomonas being more prevalent in areas of higher urban development. Surrounding landscapes change the microbial landscape in wild bees and alter the relationships they have with their microbiome. As such, urban centres should consider the impact of growing cities on their pollinators' health and protect wild bees from the effects of anthropogenic activities.