Prevalence and Distribution of Three Bumblebee Pathogens from the Czech Republic

Bumblebees are significant pollinators for both wild plants and economically important crops. Due to the worldwide decrease in pollinators, it is crucial to monitor the prevalence and distribution of bumblebee pathogens. Field-caught bumblebee workers and males were examined for the presence of three pathogens during the summer months of the years 2015-2020 ( ) and 2015-2017 ( ). The greatest prevalence was in the case of , where significantly more workers (57%) of were infected than males (41%). Infection was also confirmed in 37% of workers. The average prevalence was very similar in the case of in workers (25%) and males (22%) of . In the case of , 17% of the workers were infected. The lowest number of infected individuals was for and the prevalence of infection was significantly higher for males (22%) than workers (8%) of . Only 3% of workers and 4% of males of were simultaneously infected with three types of pathogens, but no worker was infected with only a combination of and . The greatest prevalence of was found in urban or woodland areas.