Dear Colleagues,

The global decline in wild and domesticated pollinators is fueled by a multitude of interacting factors, one of which is disease-causing pathogens. A high diversity of pathogens infects different bee families, while others are shared with other hymenopteran, or even dipteran, pollinators. Often, research has focused on the role of single pathogens; however, to understand bee disease ecology, we have to embrace the reality of multi-host and multi-parasite systems.

The overall aim of this Special Issue is to provide a platform for new research data, assessing the current knowledge and challenging opinions on: (1) the role of co-infections and pathogen diversity present within the bee (or pollinator) hosts; (2) how tolerance and resistance mechanisms act in different hosts, and how this relates to the virulence of the pathogens; (3) how local- and global-scale stressors are intertwined with host pathology.

Dr. Niels Piot
Dr. Ivan Meeus
Guest Editors

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• multi-parasite systems
• multi-host parasites
• parasite tolerance
• parasite resistance
• parasite interactions