Flower sharing may be unsafe for bees

Wild pollinators are catching honeybee viruses, possibly from pollen

Eleven species of wild pollinators in the United States have turned up carrying some of the viruses known to menace domestic honeybees, possibly picked up via flower pollen.

RISKY JOB Groping around for pollen in a flower could expose a wild bumblebee such as Bombus ternarius, shown here, to infection by honeybee viruses.