Sample records for bee aggression supports
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Manipulation of colony environment modulates honey bee aggression and brain gene expression.
Rittschof, C C; Robinson, G E
2013-11-01
The social environment plays an essential role in shaping behavior for most animals. Social effects on behavior are often linked to changes in brain gene expression. In the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.), social modulation of individual aggression allows colonies to adjust the intensity with which they defend their hive in response to predation threat. Previous research has showed social effects on both aggression and aggression-related brain gene expression in honey bees, caused by alarm pheromone and unknown factors related to colony genotype. For example, some bees from less aggressive genetic stock reared in colonies with genetic predispositions toward increased aggression show both increased aggression and more aggressive-like brain gene expression profiles. We tested the hypothesis that exposure to a colony environment influenced by high levels of predation threat results in increased aggression and aggressive-like gene expression patterns in individual bees. We assessed gene expression using four marker genes. Experimentally induced predation threats modified behavior, but the effect was opposite of our predictions: disturbed colonies showed decreased aggression. Disturbed colonies also decreased foraging activity, suggesting that they did not habituate to threats; other explanations for this finding are discussed. Bees in disturbed colonies also showed changes in brain gene expression, some of which paralleled behavioral findings. These results show that bee aggression and associated molecular processes are subject to complex social influences. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd and International Behavioural and Neural Genetics Society.
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Intraspecific Aggression in Giant Honey Bees (Apis dorsata
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Frank Weihmann
2014-09-01
Full Text Available We investigated intraspecific aggression in experimental nests (expN1, expN2 of the giant honey bee Apis dorsata in Chitwan (Nepal, focusing on interactions between surface bees and two other groups of bees approaching the nest: (1 homing “nestmate” foragers landing on the bee curtain remained unmolested by guards; and (2 supposed “non-nestmate” bees, which were identified by their erratic flight patterns in front of the nest, such as hovering or sideways scanning and splaying their legs from their body, and were promptly attacked by the surface bees after landing. These supposed non-nestmate bees only occurred immediately before and after migration swarms, which had arrived in close vicinity (and were most likely scouting for a nesting site. In total, 231 of the “nestmate” foragers (fb and 102 approaches of such purported “non-nestmate” scouts (sc were analysed (total observation time expN1: 5.43 min regarding the evocation of shimmering waves (sh. During their landing the “nestmate” foragers provoked less shimmering waves (relnsh[fb] = 23/231 = 0.0996, relnsh[sc] = 75/102 = 0.7353; p <0.001, χ2-test with shorter duration (Dsh[fb] = 197 ± 17 ms, Dsh[sc] = 488 ± 16 ms; p <0.001; t-test than “non-nestmates”. Moreover, after having landed on the nest surface, the “non-nestmates” were attacked by the surface bees (expN1, expN2: observation time >18 min quite similarly to the defensive response against predatory wasps. Hence, the surface members of settled colonies respond differently to individual giant honey bees approaching the nest, depending on whether erratic flight patterns are displayed or not.
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Sullivan, Terri N; Garthe, Rachel C; Goncy, Elizabeth A; Carlson, Megan M; Behrhorst, Kathryn L
2017-05-01
Dating aggression occurs frequently in early to mid-adolescence and has negative repercussions for psychosocial adjustment and physical health. The patterns of behavior learned during this developmental timeframe may persist in future dating relationships, underscoring the need to identify risk factors for this outcome. The current study examined longitudinal relations between beliefs supporting aggression, anger regulation, and dating aggression. Participants were 176 middle school students in sixth, seventh, and eighth grade (50 % female; 82 % African American). No direct effects were found between beliefs supporting reactive or proactive aggression and dating aggression. Beliefs supporting reactive aggression predicted increased rates of anger dysregulation, and beliefs supporting proactive aggression led to subsequent increases in anger inhibition. Anger dysregulation and inhibition were associated with higher frequencies of dating aggression. An indirect effect was found for the relation between beliefs supporting reactive aggression and dating aggression via anger dysregulation. Another indirect effect emerged for the relation between beliefs supporting proactive aggression and dating aggression through anger inhibition. The study's findings suggested that beliefs supporting proactive and reactive aggression were differentially related to emotion regulation processes, and identified anger dysregulation and inhibition as risk factors for dating aggression among adolescents.
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Summer Flowering Cover Crops Support Wild Bees in Vineyards.
Wilson, Houston; Wong, Jessica S; Thorp, Robbin W; Miles, Albie F; Daane, Kent M; Altieri, Miguel A
2018-02-08
Agricultural expansion and intensification negatively affect pollinator populations and has led to reductions in pollination services across multiple cropping systems. As a result, growers and researchers have utilized the restoration of local and landscape habitat diversity to support pollinators, and wild bees in particular. Although a majority of studies to date have focussed on effects in pollinator-dependent crops such as almond, tomato, sunflower, and watermelon, supporting wild bees in self-pollinated crops, such as grapes, can contribute to broader conservation goals as well as provide other indirect benefits to growers. This study evaluates the influence of summer flowering cover crops and landscape diversity on the abundance and diversity of vineyard bee populations. We showed that diversity and abundance of wild bees were increased on the flowering cover crop, but were unaffected by changes in landscape diversity. These findings indicate that summer flowering cover crops can be used to support wild bees and this could be a useful strategy for grape growers interested in pollinator conservation as part of a broader farmscape sustainability agenda. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
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Hutchings, Jade N; Gannon, Theresa A; Gilchrist, Elizabeth
2010-04-01
A new pictorial assessment was developed to measure aggression-supportive cognitions among young aggressive male students. The assessment was comprised of 17 watercolor ambiguous sketches that could be interpreted in either an aggressive or a benign manner (e.g., two young people facing each other with their arms folded). The results showed that high trait aggressive male students were more likely to make hostile attributions of the pictures, providing significantly more themes of entitlement and power in the stories they generated about the pictures. Aggressive male students also endorsed significantly more aggression-supportive cognitions on a self-report measure and provided some supporting qualitative accounts of physically aggressive encounters. The results of this study are discussed and evaluated with reference to future work with young violent adolescents.
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Patient aggression perceived by community support workers.
Gale, Christopher; Hannah, Annette; Swain, Nicola; Gray, Andrew; Coverdale, John; Oud, Nico
2009-12-01
Objective: Aggression by patients is a known risk factor for hospital workers. Within New Zealand, the bulk of ongoing care for physical and mental disabilities and health issues is not hospital based, but contracted to various non-governmental agencies. The rate of client aggression towards care workers from these organizations, to our knowledge, has not been assessed. Method: Two hundred and forty-two support workers in non-governmental agencies caring for people with disabilities responded to an anonymous mailed survey on client aggression, personal distress, and communication style. Results: Most support workers did experience verbal forms of aggression or destructive behaviour, fewer experienced physical aggression, and a minority were injured, sexually harassed, stalked or harassed by means of formal complaint. The median total violence score was five (interquartile range 12.25). A higher total violence score (using the POPAS-NZ) was associated with age and gender, the primary disability of clients, and the numbers of hours worked. The length of time worked was not associated with total violence risk. Communication style, after correcting for other factors, was a predictor of aggression. Almost 6% of care workers reported distress symptoms at a level associated with clinically significant stress reactions. Conclusions: Patient aggression is common among care workers, and can cause distress in the minority. We suggest that further research to clarify risk factors and develop interventions for care workers is needed.
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Target Tracking and Interception by Aggressive Honeybees
2010-08-01
flat disc) of equal surface area . When aggressive bees are offered a choice between a hemispherical sphere and a flat disc (of equal diameter or...equal surface area ), the bees display a greater frequency of attacks toward the 3-D target when it has the same diameter as the 2-D target, but a...as 107 those carrying pollen on their hind legs. The bees were anesthetized in a refrigerator for 20-108 30 min, after which they were taken out
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African bees to control African elephants
Vollrath, Fritz; Douglas-Hamilton, Iain
2002-11-01
Numbers of elephants have declined in Africa and Asia over the past 30 years while numbers of humans have increased, both substantially. Friction between these two keystone species is reaching levels which are worryingly high from an ecological as well as a political viewpoint. Ways and means must be found to keep the two apart, at least in areas sensitive to each species' survival. The aggressive African bee might be one such method. Here we demonstrate that African bees deter elephants from damaging the vegetation and trees which house their hives. We argue that bees can be employed profitably to protect not only selected trees, but also selected areas, from elephant damage.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hui Liu
2016-06-01
Full Text Available The emerging field of sociogenomics explores the relations between social behavior and genome structure and function. An important question is the extent to which associations between social behavior and gene expression are conserved among the Metazoa. Prior experimental work in an invertebrate model of social behavior, the honey bee, revealed distinct brain gene expression patterns in African and European honey bees, and within European honey bees with different behavioral phenotypes. The present work is a computational study of these previous findings in which we analyze, by orthology determination, the extent to which genes that are socially regulated in honey bees are conserved across the Metazoa. We found that the differentially expressed gene sets associated with alarm pheromone response, the difference between old and young bees, and the colony influence on soldier bees, are enriched in widely conserved genes, indicating that these differences have genomic bases shared with many other metazoans. By contrast, the sets of differentially expressed genes associated with the differences between African and European forager and guard bees are depleted in widely conserved genes, indicating that the genomic basis for this social behavior is relatively specific to honey bees. For the alarm pheromone response gene set, we found a particularly high degree of conservation with mammals, even though the alarm pheromone itself is bee-specific. Gene Ontology identification of human orthologs to the strongly conserved honey bee genes associated with the alarm pheromone response shows overrepresentation of protein metabolism, regulation of protein complex formation, and protein folding, perhaps associated with remodeling of critical neural circuits in response to alarm pheromone. We hypothesize that such remodeling may be an adaptation of social animals to process and respond appropriately to the complex patterns of conspecific communication essential for
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Liu, Hui; Robinson, Gene E; Jakobsson, Eric
2016-06-01
The emerging field of sociogenomics explores the relations between social behavior and genome structure and function. An important question is the extent to which associations between social behavior and gene expression are conserved among the Metazoa. Prior experimental work in an invertebrate model of social behavior, the honey bee, revealed distinct brain gene expression patterns in African and European honey bees, and within European honey bees with different behavioral phenotypes. The present work is a computational study of these previous findings in which we analyze, by orthology determination, the extent to which genes that are socially regulated in honey bees are conserved across the Metazoa. We found that the differentially expressed gene sets associated with alarm pheromone response, the difference between old and young bees, and the colony influence on soldier bees, are enriched in widely conserved genes, indicating that these differences have genomic bases shared with many other metazoans. By contrast, the sets of differentially expressed genes associated with the differences between African and European forager and guard bees are depleted in widely conserved genes, indicating that the genomic basis for this social behavior is relatively specific to honey bees. For the alarm pheromone response gene set, we found a particularly high degree of conservation with mammals, even though the alarm pheromone itself is bee-specific. Gene Ontology identification of human orthologs to the strongly conserved honey bee genes associated with the alarm pheromone response shows overrepresentation of protein metabolism, regulation of protein complex formation, and protein folding, perhaps associated with remodeling of critical neural circuits in response to alarm pheromone. We hypothesize that such remodeling may be an adaptation of social animals to process and respond appropriately to the complex patterns of conspecific communication essential for social organization.
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Williams, Neal M; Ward, Kimiora L; Pope, Nathaniel; Isaacs, Rufus; Wilson, Julianna; May, Emily A; Ellis, Jamie; Daniels, Jaret; Pence, Akers; Ullmann, Katharina; Peters, Jeff
2015-12-01
Global trends in pollinator-dependent crops have raised awareness of the need to support managed and wild bee populations to ensure sustainable crop production. Provision of sufficient forage resources is a key element for promoting bee populations within human impacted landscapes, particularly those in agricultural lands where demand for pollination service is high and land use and management practices have reduced available flowering resources. Recent government incentives in North America and Europe support the planting of wildflowers to benefit pollinators; surprisingly, in North America there has been almost no rigorous testing of the performance of wildflower mixes, or their ability to support wild bee abundance and diversity. We tested different wildflower mixes in a spatially replicated, multiyear study in three regions of North America where production of pollinator-dependent crops is high: Florida, Michigan, and California. In each region, we quantified flowering among wildflower mixes composed of annual and perennial species, and with high and low relative diversity. We measured the abundance and species richness of wild bees, honey bees, and syrphid flies at each mix over two seasons. In each region, some but not all wildflower mixes provided significantly greater floral display area than unmanaged weedy control plots. Mixes also attracted greater abundance and richness of wild bees, although the identity of best mixes varied among regions. By partitioning floral display size from mix identity we show the importance of display size for attracting abundant and diverse wild bees. Season-long monitoring also revealed that designing mixes to provide continuous bloom throughout the growing season is critical to supporting the greatest pollinator species richness. Contrary to expectation, perennials bloomed in their first season, and complementarity in attraction of pollinators among annuals and perennials suggests that inclusion of functionally diverse
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Is Nocturnal Foraging in a Tropical Bee an Escape From Interference Competition?
Smith, Adam R; Kitchen, Shannon M; Toney, Ryan M; Ziegler, Christian
2017-01-01
Temporal niche partitioning may result from interference competition if animals shift their activity patterns to avoid aggressive competitors. If doing so also shifts food sources, it is difficult to distinguish the effects of interference and consumptive competition in selecting for temporal niche shift. Bees compete for pollen and nectar from flowers through both interference and consumptive competition, and some species of bees have evolved nocturnality. Here, we use tropical forest canopy towers to observe bees (the night-flying sweat bees Megalopta genalis and M. centralis [Halictidae], honey bees, and stingless bees [Apidae]) visiting flowers of the balsa tree (Ochroma pyramalidae, Malvaceae). Because Ochroma flowers are open in the late afternoon through the night we can test the relative influence of each competition type on temporal nice. Niche shift due to consumptive competition predicts that Megalopta forage when resources are available: from afternoon into the night. Niche shift due to interference competition predicts that Megalopta forage only in the absence of diurnal bees. We found no overlap between diurnal bees and Megalopta in the evening, and only one instance of overlap in the morning, despite the abundance of pollen and nectar in the late afternoon and evening. This supports the hypothesis that Megalopta are avoiding interference competition, but not the hypothesis that they are limited by consumptive competition. We propose that the release from interference competition enables Megalopta to provision cells quickly, and spend most of their time investing in nest defense. Thus, increases in foraging efficiency directly resulting from temporal shifts to escape interference competition may indirectly lead to reduced predation and parasitism. © The Authors 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America.
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Arsenio, William; Ramos-Marcuse, Fatima
2014-01-01
Children who attribute more positive emotions to hypothetical moral victimizers are typically more aggressive and have more behavior problems. Little is known, however, about when individual differences in these moral emotion attributions first emerge or about maternal correlates of these differences. In this study, 63 4-6-year-olds judged how they would feel after victimizing peers for gain and enacted event conclusions using narrative methods adapted from the MacArthur Story Stem Battery. In addition, children's mothers completed assessments of their disciplinary styles and social support, and children's aggressive tendencies were assessed based on ratings from mothers and a second familiar adult. Results revealed that most preschoolers expected to feel happy after their victimizing acts, but variations in happy victimization were unrelated to children's aggression. Several of children's narrative themes, including making amends (e.g., apologizing, reparations), aggressive acts, and mentions of death/killing, however, were related to children's aggression. Moreover, two maternal disciplinary dimensions, higher warmth and reasoning, as well as greater social support were also related to lower child aggression. Children's emotion attributions and moral narratives, however, were unrelated to maternal disciplinary practices or social support.
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Sullivan, Kieran T; Pasch, Lauri A; Lawrence, Erika; Bradbury, Thomas N
2015-12-01
The purpose of the present study was to test a relational spillover model of physical aggression whereby physical aggression affects marital outcomes due to its effects on how spouses ask for and provide support to one another. Newlywed couples (n = 172) reported levels of physical aggression over the past year and engaged in interactions designed to elicit social support; marital adjustment, and stability were assessed periodically over the first 10 years of marriage. Multilevel modeling revealed that negative support behavior mediated the relationship between physical aggression and 10-year marital adjustment levels whereas positive support behavior mediated the relationship between physical aggression and divorce status. These findings emphasize the need to look beyond conflict when explaining how aggression affects relationships and when working with couples with a history of physical aggression who are seeking to improve their relationships. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).
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Malka, O.; Shnieor, S.; Katzav-Gozansky, T.; Hefetz, A.
2008-06-01
In the honeybee, Apis mellifera, the queen monopolizes reproduction, while the sterile workers cooperate harmoniously in nest maintenance. However, under queenless (QL) conditions, cooperation collapses and reproductive competition among workers ensues. This is mediated through aggression and worker oviposition, as well as shifts in pheromones, from worker to queen-like composition. Many studies suggest a dichotomy between conflict resolution through aggression or through pheromonal signaling. In this paper, we demonstrate that both phenomena comprise essential components of reproductive competition and that pheromone signaling actually triggers the onset of aggression. We kept workers as QL groups until first aggression was observed and subsequently determined the contestants’ reproductive status and content of the mandibular (MG) and Dufour’s glands (DG). In groups in which aggression occurred early, the attacked bee had consistently more queen-like pheromone in both the MG and DG, although both contestants had undeveloped ovaries. In groups with late aggression, the attacked bee had consistently larger oocytes and more queen-like pheromone in the DG, but not the MG. We suggest that at early stages of competition, the MG secretion is utilized to establish dominance and that the DG provides an honest fertility signal. We further argue that it is the higher amount of DG pheromone that triggers aggression.
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Is Nocturnal Foraging in a Tropical Bee an Escape From Interference Competition?
Smith, Adam R.; Kitchen, Shannon M.; Toney, Ryan M.; Ziegler, Christian
2017-01-01
Temporal niche partitioning may result from interference competition if animals shift their activity patterns to avoid aggressive competitors. If doing so also shifts food sources, it is difficult to distinguish the effects of interference and consumptive competition in selecting for temporal niche shift. Bees compete for pollen and nectar from flowers through both interference and consumptive competition, and some species of bees have evolved nocturnality. Here, we use tropical forest canopy...
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Predictors of sexual aggression in adolescents: Gender dominance vs. rape supportive attitudes
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Nieves Moyano
2017-01-01
Full Text Available This study explored the relationship between sexual double standard and rape supportive attitudes in regard to an individual's likelihood to perpetrate sexual aggression. We examined an adolescent sample of 448 boys from Peru, of whom 148 (33.3% reported to have committed sexual aggression. Sexual contact with an unwilling partner was perpetrated by 24.8% of the total sample, sexual coercion by 14.3%, attempted rape by 12.5%, and finally, rape was perpetrated by 10.3%. In all these types of aggression, the most frequent victim was a dating partner. Compared to non-aggressors, male aggressors reported more sexual double standard and supportive attitudes towards rape. Logistic regression analyses revealed that the most relevant variable in the prediction of sexual aggression was the subject having been a victim of sexual abuse during adolescence and having rape supportive attitudes. Our findings suggest that violent attitudes are more important than the endorsement of non-egalitarian beliefs (sexual double standard in the perpetration of sexual violence. These findings provide data from Peru, which contribute to the worldwide data on risk factors for sexual aggression in adolescent males.
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Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database
Ernst, Ulrich R.
2016-01-01
Roč. 66, č. 10 (2016), s. 908-909 ISSN 0006-3568 Institutional support: RVO:61388963 Keywords : honeybees * bees * Apis mellifera * bee hunting * beeline Subject RIV: EG - Zoology Impact factor: 5.378, year: 2016
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Appetite for self-destruction: suicidal biting as a nest defense strategy in Trigona stingless bees.
Shackleton, Kyle; Al Toufailia, Hasan; Balfour, Nicholas J; Nascimento, Fabio S; Alves, Denise A; Ratnieks, Francis L W
Self-sacrificial behavior represents an extreme and relatively uncommon form of altruism in worker insects. It can occur, however, when inclusive fitness benefits are high, such as when defending the nest. We studied nest defense behaviors in stingless bees, which live in eusocial colonies subject to predation. We introduced a target flag to nest entrances to elicit defensive responses and quantified four measures of defensivity in 12 stingless bee species in São Paulo State, Brazil. These included three Trigona species, which are locally known for their aggression. Species varied significantly in their attack probability (cross species range = 0-1, P bees (3.5-508.7 s, P bee. Our results indicate that suicidal biting may be a widespread defense strategy in stingless bees, but it is not universal.
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Historical perspective and human consequences of Africanized bee stings in the Americas.
Ferreira, R S; Almeida, R A M B; Barraviera, S R C S; Barraviera, B
2012-01-01
In 1956, Africanized bees began to spread in the American continent from southern Brazil, where original African bees mated with European bees. A few years later, in 1990, these Africanized bees reached the United States and were found in Texas. Currently, these hybrid bees are found in several North American states and will probably reach the Canadian border in the future. Although the presence of Africanized bees had produced positive effects on Brazilian economy, including improvement in crop pollination and in honey production, turning Brazil into a major exporter, the negative impacts-such as swarming, aggressive behavior, and the ability to mass attack-resulted in serious and fatal envenomation with humans and animals. Victims of bee attacks usually develop a severe envenomation syndrome characterized by the release of a large amount of cytokines [interleukins (IL) IL-1, IL-6, IL-8], and tumor necrosis factor (TNF). Subsequently, such cytokines produce an acute inflammatory response that triggers adverse effects on skeletal muscles; bone marrow; hepatic and renal functions; and cardiovascular, central nervous, and immune systems. Finally, the aim of the present review is to study historical characteristics and current status of Africanized bees' spread, the composition of their venom, the impact of the bees on the Brazilian economy and ecology, and clinical aspects of their stings including immune response, and to suggest a protocol for bee sting management since there is no safe and effective antivenom available.
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Bee Alert: Africanized Honey Bee Facts
Lazaneo, Vincent
2002-01-01
Information on how to “bee prepared” for the movement of the Africanized honey bee into California. Includes tips on how to identify Africanized honey bees, bee-proofing your home, and what to do if stung.
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Yragui, Nanette L; Demsky, Caitlin A; Hammer, Leslie B; Van Dyck, Sarah; Neradilek, Moni B
2017-04-01
The present study examined the moderating effects of family-supportive supervisor behaviors (FSSB) on the relationship between two types of workplace aggression (i.e., patient-initiated physical aggression and coworker-initiated psychological aggression) and employee well-being and work outcomes. Data were obtained from a field sample of 417 healthcare workers in two psychiatric hospitals. Hypotheses were tested using moderated multiple regression analyses. Psychiatric care providers' perceptions of FSSB moderated the relationship between patient-initiated physical aggression and physical symptoms, exhaustion and cynicism. In addition, FSSB moderated the relationship between coworker-initiated psychological aggression and physical symptoms and turnover intentions. Based on our findings, family-supportive supervision is a plausible boundary condition for the relationship between workplace aggression and well-being and work outcomes. This study suggests that, in addition to directly addressing aggression prevention and reduction, family-supportive supervision is a trainable resource that healthcare organizations should facilitate to improve employee work and well-being in settings with high workplace aggression. This is the first study to examine the role of FSSB in influencing the relationship between two forms of workplace aggression: patient-initiated physical and coworker- initiated psychological aggression and employee outcomes.
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Roh, Chris; Gharib, Morteza
2016-11-01
When the weather gets hot, nursing honey bees nudge foragers to collect water for thermoregulation of their hive. While on their mission to collect water, foragers sometimes get trapped on the water surface, forced to interact with a different fluid environment. In this study, we present the survival strategy of the honey bees at the air-water interface. A high-speed videography and shadowgraph were used to record the honey bees swimming. A unique thrust mechanism through rapid vibration of their wings at 60 to 150 Hz was observed. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. CBET-1511414; additional support by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship under Grant No. DGE-1144469.
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SOCIAL COMPLEXITY AND LEARNING FORAGING TASKS IN BEES
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
AMAYA-MÁRQUEZ MARISOL
2008-12-01
Full Text Available Social complexity and models concerning central place foraging were tested with respect to learning predictions using the social honey bee (Apis mellifera and solitary blue orchard bee (Osmia lignaria when given foraging problems. Both species were presented the same foraging problems, where 1 only reward molarity varied between flower morphs, and 2 only reward volume varied between flower morphs. Experiments utilized blue vs. white flower patches to standardize rewards in each experimental situation. Although honey bees learned faster than blue orchard bees when given a molarity difference reward problem, there was no significant difference in learning rate when presented a volume difference reward problem. Further, the rate at which blue orchard bees learned the volume difference problem was not significantly different from that with which honey bees learned about reward molarity differences. The results do not support the predictions of the social complexity theory, but do support those of the central place model
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Complementary crops and landscape features sustain wild bee communities.
Martins, Kyle T; Albert, Cécile H; Lechowicz, Martin J; Gonzalez, Andrew
2018-06-01
Wild bees, which are important for commercial pollination, depend on floral and nesting resources both at farms and in the surrounding landscape. Mass-flowering crops are only in bloom for a few weeks and unable to support bee populations that persist throughout the year. Farm fields and orchards that flower in succession potentially can extend the availability of floral resources for pollinators. However, it is unclear whether the same bee species or genera will forage from one crop to the next, which bees specialize on particular crops, and to what degree inter-crop visitation patterns will be mediated by landscape context. We therefore studied local- and landscape-level drivers of bee diversity and species turnover in apple orchards, blueberry fields, and raspberry fields that bloom sequentially in southern Quebec, Canada. Despite the presence of high bee species turnover, orchards and small fruit fields complemented each other phenologically by supporting two bee genera essential to their pollination: mining bees (Andrena spp.) and bumble bees (Bombus spp.). A number of bee species specialized on apple, blueberry, or raspberry blossoms, suggesting that all three crops could be used to promote regional bee diversity. Bee diversity (rarefied richness, wild bee abundance) was highest across crops in landscapes containing hedgerows, meadows, and suburban areas that provide ancillary nesting and floral resources throughout the spring and summer. Promoting phenological complementarity in floral resources at the farmstead and landscape scales is essential to sustaining diverse wild bee populations. © 2018 by the Ecological Society of America.
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BEE VENOM TRAP DESIGN FOR PRODUCE BEE VENOM OF APIS MELLIFERA L. HONEY BEES
Budiaman
2015-01-01
Bee venom is one honey bee products are very expensive and are required in the pharmaceutical industry and as an anti-cancer known as nanobee, but the production technique is still done in the traditional way. The purpose of this study was to design a bee venom trap to produce bee venom of Apis mellifera L honey bees. The method used is to design several models of bee venom apparatus equipped weak current (DC current) with 3 variations of voltage, ie 12 volts, 15 volts and 18 volts coupled...
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Hong, Wei-Chiang
2011-01-01
Support vector regression (SVR), with hybrid chaotic sequence and evolutionary algorithms to determine suitable values of its three parameters, not only can effectively avoid converging prematurely (i.e., trapping into a local optimum), but also reveals its superior forecasting performance. Electric load sometimes demonstrates a seasonal (cyclic) tendency due to economic activities or climate cyclic nature. The applications of SVR models to deal with seasonal (cyclic) electric load forecasting have not been widely explored. In addition, the concept of recurrent neural networks (RNNs), focused on using past information to capture detailed information, is helpful to be combined into an SVR model. This investigation presents an electric load forecasting model which combines the seasonal recurrent support vector regression model with chaotic artificial bee colony algorithm (namely SRSVRCABC) to improve the forecasting performance. The proposed SRSVRCABC employs the chaotic behavior of honey bees which is with better performance in function optimization to overcome premature local optimum. A numerical example from an existed reference is used to elucidate the forecasting performance of the proposed SRSVRCABC model. The forecasting results indicate that the proposed model yields more accurate forecasting results than ARIMA and TF-ε-SVR-SA models. Therefore, the SRSVRCABC model is a promising alternative for electric load forecasting. -- Highlights: → Hybridizing the seasonal adjustment and the recurrent mechanism into an SVR model. → Employing chaotic sequence to improve the premature convergence of artificial bee colony algorithm. → Successfully providing significant accurate monthly load demand forecasting.
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Hemocyte-mediated phagocytosis differs between honey bee (Apis mellifera) worker castes.
Hystad, Eva Marit; Salmela, Heli; Amdam, Gro Vang; Münch, Daniel
2017-01-01
Honey bees as other insects rely on the innate immune system for protection against diseases. The innate immune system includes the circulating hemocytes (immune cells) that clear pathogens from hemolymph (blood) by phagocytosis, nodulation or encapsulation. Honey bee hemocyte numbers have been linked to hemolymph levels of vitellogenin. Vitellogenin is a multifunctional protein with immune-supportive functions identified in a range of species, including the honey bee. Hemocyte numbers can increase via mitosis, and this recruitment process can be important for immune system function and maintenance. Here, we tested if hemocyte mediated phagocytosis differs among the physiologically different honey bee worker castes (nurses, foragers and winter bees), and study possible interactions with vitellogenin and hemocyte recruitment. To this end, we adapted phagocytosis assays, which-together with confocal microscopy and flow cytometry-allow qualitative and quantitative assessment of hemocyte performance. We found that nurses are more efficient in phagocytic uptake than both foragers and winter bees. We detected vitellogenin within the hemocytes, and found that winter bees have the highest numbers of vitellogenin-positive hemocytes. Connections between phagocytosis, hemocyte-vitellogenin and mitosis were worker caste dependent. Our results demonstrate that the phagocytic performance of immune cells differs significantly between honey bee worker castes, and support increased immune competence in nurses as compared to forager bees. Our data, moreover, provides support for roles of vitellogenin in hemocyte activity.
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Hemocyte-mediated phagocytosis differs between honey bee (Apis mellifera worker castes.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Eva Marit Hystad
Full Text Available Honey bees as other insects rely on the innate immune system for protection against diseases. The innate immune system includes the circulating hemocytes (immune cells that clear pathogens from hemolymph (blood by phagocytosis, nodulation or encapsulation. Honey bee hemocyte numbers have been linked to hemolymph levels of vitellogenin. Vitellogenin is a multifunctional protein with immune-supportive functions identified in a range of species, including the honey bee. Hemocyte numbers can increase via mitosis, and this recruitment process can be important for immune system function and maintenance. Here, we tested if hemocyte mediated phagocytosis differs among the physiologically different honey bee worker castes (nurses, foragers and winter bees, and study possible interactions with vitellogenin and hemocyte recruitment. To this end, we adapted phagocytosis assays, which-together with confocal microscopy and flow cytometry-allow qualitative and quantitative assessment of hemocyte performance. We found that nurses are more efficient in phagocytic uptake than both foragers and winter bees. We detected vitellogenin within the hemocytes, and found that winter bees have the highest numbers of vitellogenin-positive hemocytes. Connections between phagocytosis, hemocyte-vitellogenin and mitosis were worker caste dependent. Our results demonstrate that the phagocytic performance of immune cells differs significantly between honey bee worker castes, and support increased immune competence in nurses as compared to forager bees. Our data, moreover, provides support for roles of vitellogenin in hemocyte activity.
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Flowers and Wild Megachilid Bees Share Microbes.
McFrederick, Quinn S; Thomas, Jason M; Neff, John L; Vuong, Hoang Q; Russell, Kaleigh A; Hale, Amanda R; Mueller, Ulrich G
2017-01-01
Transmission pathways have fundamental influence on microbial symbiont persistence and evolution. For example, the core gut microbiome of honey bees is transmitted socially and via hive surfaces, but some non-core bacteria associated with honey bees are also found on flowers, and these bacteria may therefore be transmitted indirectly between bees via flowers. Here, we test whether multiple flower and wild megachilid bee species share microbes, which would suggest that flowers may act as hubs of microbial transmission. We sampled the microbiomes of flowers (either bagged to exclude bees or open to allow bee visitation), adults, and larvae of seven megachilid bee species and their pollen provisions. We found a Lactobacillus operational taxonomic unit (OTU) in all samples but in the highest relative and absolute abundances in adult and larval bee guts and pollen provisions. The presence of the same bacterial types in open and bagged flowers, pollen provisions, and bees supports the hypothesis that flowers act as hubs of transmission of these bacteria between bees. The presence of bee-associated bacteria in flowers that have not been visited by bees suggests that these bacteria may also be transmitted to flowers via plant surfaces, the air, or minute insect vectors such as thrips. Phylogenetic analyses of nearly full-length 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that the Lactobacillus OTU dominating in flower- and megachilid-associated microbiomes is monophyletic, and we propose the name Lactobacillus micheneri sp. nov. for this bacterium.
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Fisher, Caroline A; Brown, Anahita
2017-09-01
Aggression is common in Huntington's disease. However, at present there are no standard guidelines for managing aggression in Huntington's sufferers due to a lack of empirical research. This paper presents a case study of the treatment of very high levels of aggression with sensory modulation and behaviour support intervention in a Huntington's sufferer. The client exhibited a range of aggressive behaviours, including physical aggression to people, furniture and objects, and verbal aggression. Following an eight week baseline phase, five weeks of sensory modulation intervention were employed. A behaviour support plan was then implemented as an adjunct to the sensory intervention, with aggressive behaviour systematically audited for a further 11 weeks. The results indicate a significant reduction in reported levels of aggression during the combined sensory modulation and behaviour support phase, compared to both the baseline and the sensory modulation therapy alone phases. This case study highlights the efficacy non-pharmacological interventions may have for reducing aggression in HD.
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Widespread occurrence of honey bee pathogens in solitary bees.
Ravoet, Jorgen; De Smet, Lina; Meeus, Ivan; Smagghe, Guy; Wenseleers, Tom; de Graaf, Dirk C
2014-10-01
Solitary bees and honey bees from a neighbouring apiary were screened for a broad set of putative pathogens including protists, fungi, spiroplasmas and viruses. Most sampled bees appeared to be infected with multiple parasites. Interestingly, viruses exclusively known from honey bees such as Apis mellifera Filamentous Virus and Varroa destructor Macula-like Virus were also discovered in solitary bees. A microsporidium found in Andrena vaga showed most resemblance to Nosema thomsoni. Our results suggest that bee hives represent a putative source of pathogens for other pollinators. Similarly, solitary bees may act as a reservoir of honey bee pathogens. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mohsen Sisakht
Full Text Available Abstract Glioblastoma is the most common malignant brain tumor representing with poor prognosis, therapy resistance and high metastasis rate. Increased expression and activity of matrix metalloproteinase-2, a member of matrix metalloproteinase family proteins, has been reported in many cancers including glioblastoma. Inhibition of matrix metalloproteinase-2 expression has resulted in reduced aggression of glioblastoma tumors in several reports. In the present study, we evaluated effect of bee venom on expression and activity of matrix metalloproteinase-2 as well as potential toxicity and apoptogenic properties of bee venom on glioblastoma cells. Human A172 glioblastoma cells were treated with increasing concentrations of bee venom. Then, cell viability, apoptosis, matrix metalloproteinase-2 expression, and matrix metalloproteinase-2 activity were measured using MMT assay, propidium iodide staining, real time-PCR, and zymography, respectively. The IC50 value of bee venom was 28.5 µg/ml in which it leads to decrease of cell viability and induction of apoptosis. Incubation with bee venom also decreased the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-2 in this cell line (p < 0.05. In zymography, there was a reverse correlation between bee venom concentration and total matrix metalloproteinase-2 activity. Induction of apoptosis as well as inhibition of matrix metalloproteinase-2 activity and expression can be suggested as molecular mechanisms involved in cytotoxic and antimetastatic effects of bee venom against glioblastoma cells.
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Engel, Philipp; Kwong, Waldan K.; McFrederick, Quinn; Anderson, Kirk E.; Barribeau, Seth Michael; Chandler, James Angus; Cornman, Robert S.; Dainat, Jacques; de Miranda, Joachim R.; Doublet, Vincent; Emery, Olivier; Evans, Jay D.; Farinelli, Laurent; Flenniken, Michelle L.; Granberg, Fredrik; Grasis, Juris A.; Gauthier, Laurent; Hayer, Juliette; Koch, Hauke; Kocher, Sarah; Martinson, Vincent G.; Moran, Nancy; Munoz-Torres, Monica; Newton, Irene; Paxton, Robert J.; Powell, Eli; Sadd, Ben M.; Schmid-Hempel, Paul; Schmid-Hempel, Regula; Song, Se Jin; Schwarz, Ryan S.; vanEngelsdorp, Dennis; Dainat, Benjamin
2016-01-01
As pollinators, bees are cornerstones for terrestrial ecosystem stability and key components in agricultural productivity. All animals, including bees, are associated with a diverse community of microbes, commonly referred to as the microbiome. The bee microbiome is likely to be a crucial factor affecting host health. However, with the exception of a few pathogens, the impacts of most members of the bee microbiome on host health are poorly understood. Further, the evolutionary and ecological forces that shape and change the microbiome are unclear. Here, we discuss recent progress in our understanding of the bee microbiome, and we present challenges associated with its investigation. We conclude that global coordination of research efforts is needed to fully understand the complex and highly dynamic nature of the interplay between the bee microbiome, its host, and the environment. High-throughput sequencing technologies are ideal for exploring complex biological systems, including host-microbe interactions. To maximize their value and to improve assessment of the factors affecting bee health, sequence data should be archived, curated, and analyzed in ways that promote the synthesis of different studies. To this end, the BeeBiome consortium aims to develop an online database which would provide reference sequences, archive metadata, and host analytical resources. The goal would be to support applied and fundamental research on bees and their associated microbes and to provide a collaborative framework for sharing primary data from different research programs, thus furthering our understanding of the bee microbiome and its impact on pollinator health.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Philipp Engel
2016-05-01
Full Text Available As pollinators, bees are cornerstones for terrestrial ecosystem stability and key components in agricultural productivity. All animals, including bees, are associated with a diverse community of microbes, commonly referred to as the microbiome. The bee microbiome is likely to be a crucial factor affecting host health. However, with the exception of a few pathogens, the impacts of most members of the bee microbiome on host health are poorly understood. Further, the evolutionary and ecological forces that shape and change the microbiome are unclear. Here, we discuss recent progress in our understanding of the bee microbiome, and we present challenges associated with its investigation. We conclude that global coordination of research efforts is needed to fully understand the complex and highly dynamic nature of the interplay between the bee microbiome, its host, and the environment. High-throughput sequencing technologies are ideal for exploring complex biological systems, including host-microbe interactions. To maximize their value and to improve assessment of the factors affecting bee health, sequence data should be archived, curated, and analyzed in ways that promote the synthesis of different studies. To this end, the BeeBiome consortium aims to develop an online database which would provide reference sequences, archive metadata, and host analytical resources. The goal would be to support applied and fundamental research on bees and their associated microbes and to provide a collaborative framework for sharing primary data from different research programs, thus furthering our understanding of the bee microbiome and its impact on pollinator health.
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Engel, Philipp; Kwong, Waldan K; McFrederick, Quinn; Anderson, Kirk E; Barribeau, Seth Michael; Chandler, James Angus; Cornman, R Scott; Dainat, Jacques; de Miranda, Joachim R; Doublet, Vincent; Emery, Olivier; Evans, Jay D; Farinelli, Laurent; Flenniken, Michelle L; Granberg, Fredrik; Grasis, Juris A; Gauthier, Laurent; Hayer, Juliette; Koch, Hauke; Kocher, Sarah; Martinson, Vincent G; Moran, Nancy; Munoz-Torres, Monica; Newton, Irene; Paxton, Robert J; Powell, Eli; Sadd, Ben M; Schmid-Hempel, Paul; Schmid-Hempel, Regula; Song, Se Jin; Schwarz, Ryan S; vanEngelsdorp, Dennis; Dainat, Benjamin
2016-04-26
As pollinators, bees are cornerstones for terrestrial ecosystem stability and key components in agricultural productivity. All animals, including bees, are associated with a diverse community of microbes, commonly referred to as the microbiome. The bee microbiome is likely to be a crucial factor affecting host health. However, with the exception of a few pathogens, the impacts of most members of the bee microbiome on host health are poorly understood. Further, the evolutionary and ecological forces that shape and change the microbiome are unclear. Here, we discuss recent progress in our understanding of the bee microbiome, and we present challenges associated with its investigation. We conclude that global coordination of research efforts is needed to fully understand the complex and highly dynamic nature of the interplay between the bee microbiome, its host, and the environment. High-throughput sequencing technologies are ideal for exploring complex biological systems, including host-microbe interactions. To maximize their value and to improve assessment of the factors affecting bee health, sequence data should be archived, curated, and analyzed in ways that promote the synthesis of different studies. To this end, the BeeBiome consortium aims to develop an online database which would provide reference sequences, archive metadata, and host analytical resources. The goal would be to support applied and fundamental research on bees and their associated microbes and to provide a collaborative framework for sharing primary data from different research programs, thus furthering our understanding of the bee microbiome and its impact on pollinator health. Copyright © 2016 Engel et al.
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Generalist Bee Species on Brazilian Bee-Plant Interaction Networks
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Astrid de Matos Peixoto Kleinert
2012-01-01
Full Text Available Determining bee and plant interactions has an important role on understanding general biology of bee species as well as the potential pollinating relationship between them. Bee surveys have been conducted in Brazil since the end of the 1960s. Most of them applied standardized methods and had identified the plant species where the bees were collected. To analyze the most generalist bees on Brazilian surveys, we built a matrix of bee-plant interactions. We estimated the most generalist bees determining the three bee species of each surveyed locality that presented the highest number of interactions. We found 47 localities and 39 species of bees. Most of them belong to Apidae (31 species and Halictidae (6 families and to Meliponini (14 and Xylocopini (6 tribes. However, most of the surveys presented Apis mellifera and/or Trigona spinipes as the most generalist species. Apis mellifera is an exotic bee species and Trigona spinipes, a native species, is also widespread and presents broad diet breath and high number of individuals per colony.
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QTL Mapping of Sex Determination Loci Supports an Ancient Pathway in Ants and Honey Bees.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Misato O Miyakawa
2015-11-01
Full Text Available Sex determination mechanisms play a central role in life-history characteristics, affecting mating systems, sex ratios, inbreeding tolerance, etc. Downstream components of sex determination pathways are highly conserved, but upstream components evolve rapidly. Evolutionary dynamics of sex determination remain poorly understood, particularly because mechanisms appear so diverse. Here we investigate the origins and evolution of complementary sex determination (CSD in ants and bees. The honey bee has a well-characterized CSD locus, containing tandemly arranged homologs of the transformer gene [complementary sex determiner (csd and feminizer (fem]. Such tandem paralogs appear frequently in aculeate hymenopteran genomes. However, only comparative genomic, but not functional, data support a broader role for csd/fem in sex determination, and whether species other than the honey bee use this pathway remains controversial. Here we used a backcross to test whether csd/fem acts as a CSD locus in an ant (Vollenhovia emeryi. After sequencing and assembling the genome, we computed a linkage map, and conducted a quantitative trait locus (QTL analysis of diploid male production using 68 diploid males and 171 workers. We found two QTLs on separate linkage groups (CsdQTL1 and CsdQTL2 that jointly explained 98.0% of the phenotypic variance. CsdQTL1 included two tandem transformer homologs. These data support the prediction that the same CSD mechanism has indeed been conserved for over 100 million years. CsdQTL2 had no similarity to CsdQTL1 and included a 236-kb region with no obvious CSD gene candidates, making it impossible to conclusively characterize it using our data. The sequence of this locus was conserved in at least one other ant genome that diverged >75 million years ago. By applying QTL analysis to ants for the first time, we support the hypothesis that elements of hymenopteran CSD are ancient, but also show that more remains to be learned about the
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Wild bees enhance honey bees' pollination of hybrid sunflower.
Greenleaf, Sarah S; Kremen, Claire
2006-09-12
Pollinators are required for producing 15-30% of the human food supply, and farmers rely on managed honey bees throughout the world to provide these services. Yet honey bees are not always the most efficient pollinators of all crops and are declining in various parts of the world. Crop pollination shortages are becoming increasingly common. We found that behavioral interactions between wild and honey bees increase the pollination efficiency of honey bees on hybrid sunflower up to 5-fold, effectively doubling honey bee pollination services on the average field. These indirect contributions caused by interspecific interactions between wild and honey bees were more than five times more important than the contributions wild bees make to sunflower pollination directly. Both proximity to natural habitat and crop planting practices were significantly correlated with pollination services provided directly and indirectly by wild bees. Our results suggest that conserving wild habitat at the landscape scale and altering selected farm management techniques could increase hybrid sunflower production. These findings also demonstrate the economic importance of interspecific interactions for ecosystem services and suggest that protecting wild bee populations can help buffer the human food supply from honey bee shortages.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Peng-Wei Wang
2013-04-01
Full Text Available The aims of this study were (1 to examine differences in the level of self-esteem among adolescents with different roles in aggression involvement (aggression perpetrators, victims, perpetrator-victims and neutrals according to gender and (2 to examine the moderating effects of depression and family support on association between aggression involvement and self-esteem. A total of 8085 adolescents in Taiwan completed questionnaires. The relationships between self-esteem and aggression involvement were examined by multiple regression analysis. The moderating effects of depression and family support on the association between aggression involvement and self-esteem were examined. The results showed that in females, aggression victims had lower self-esteem than those in the other three groups (t=−2.940 to 2.173, p0.05. In males, self-esteem in victims and perpetrator-victims was lower than in neutrals and perpetrators (t=−3.339 to −2.704, p0.05 or between perpetrators and neutrals (t=−1.396, p>0.05. Family support had a moderating effect on the association between self-esteem and victimization in males. Depression had a moderating effect on the association between self-esteem and perpetration-victimization and victimization in males. The results indicate that self-esteem in adolescents with different patterns of involvement in aggression is not the same as in those without involvement. The moderating effects of depression and family support should be considered when developing intervention strategies to raise self-esteem in adolescents with aggression involvement.
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Wang, Peng-Wei; Yang, Pin-Chen; Yeh, Yi-Chun; Lin, Huang-Chi; Ko, Chih-Hung; Liu, Tai-Ling; Yen, Cheng-Fang
2013-04-01
The aims of this study were (1) to examine differences in the level of self-esteem among adolescents with different roles in aggression involvement (aggression perpetrators, victims, perpetrator-victims and neutrals) according to gender and (2) to examine the moderating effects of depression and family support on association between aggression involvement and self-esteem. A total of 8085 adolescents in Taiwan completed questionnaires. The relationships between self-esteem and aggression involvement were examined by multiple regression analysis. The moderating effects of depression and family support on the association between aggression involvement and self-esteem were examined. The results showed that in females, aggression victims had lower self-esteem than those in the other three groups (t=-2.940 to 2.173, p0.05). In males, self-esteem in victims and perpetrator-victims was lower than in neutrals and perpetrators (t=-3.339 to -2.704, p0.05) or between perpetrators and neutrals (t=-1.396, p>0.05). Family support had a moderating effect on the association between self-esteem and victimization in males. Depression had a moderating effect on the association between self-esteem and perpetration-victimization and victimization in males. The results indicate that self-esteem in adolescents with different patterns of involvement in aggression is not the same as in those without involvement. The moderating effects of depression and family support should be considered when developing intervention strategies to raise self-esteem in adolescents with aggression involvement. Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier B.V.
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Do managed bees drive parasite spread and emergence in wild bees?
Graystock, Peter; Blane, Edward J; McFrederick, Quinn S; Goulson, Dave; Hughes, William O H
2016-04-01
Bees have been managed and utilised for honey production for centuries and, more recently, pollination services. Since the mid 20th Century, the use and production of managed bees has intensified with hundreds of thousands of hives being moved across countries and around the globe on an annual basis. However, the introduction of unnaturally high densities of bees to areas could have adverse effects. Importation and deployment of managed honey bee and bumblebees may be responsible for parasite introductions or a change in the dynamics of native parasites that ultimately increases disease prevalence in wild bees. Here we review the domestication and deployment of managed bees and explain the evidence for the role of managed bees in causing adverse effects on the health of wild bees. Correlations with the use of managed bees and decreases in wild bee health from territories across the globe are discussed along with suggestions to mitigate further health reductions in wild bees.
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Do managed bees drive parasite spread and emergence in wild bees?
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Peter Graystock
2016-04-01
Full Text Available Bees have been managed and utilised for honey production for centuries and, more recently, pollination services. Since the mid 20th Century, the use and production of managed bees has intensified with hundreds of thousands of hives being moved across countries and around the globe on an annual basis. However, the introduction of unnaturally high densities of bees to areas could have adverse effects. Importation and deployment of managed honey bee and bumblebees may be responsible for parasite introductions or a change in the dynamics of native parasites that ultimately increases disease prevalence in wild bees. Here we review the domestication and deployment of managed bees and explain the evidence for the role of managed bees in causing adverse effects on the health of wild bees. Correlations with the use of managed bees and decreases in wild bee health from territories across the globe are discussed along with suggestions to mitigate further health reductions in wild bees.
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Feasibility of Preparing Nesting Box and Luring Large Solitary Carpenter Bee, Xylocopa Valga
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Schulz Michał
2017-12-01
Full Text Available Xylocopa valga, commonly called the carpenter bee and the largest bee with metallicviolet hair cover, is extremely rarely observed in Poland. We hypothesize that a stable and possibly long-term population of X. valga can be maintained in Poland through the creation of suitable nesting conditions. X. valga has been observed since the spring of 2014 in Wisznice (south-eastern Poland. A nesting box made out of 25 wooden blocks with drilled holes was hung about 2.5 meters above the ground. X. valga were interested in the blocks made of willow wood but did not nest in the beech, alder and pine. The carpenter bees chose holes made with drill bits of 10, 15, 20 mm in diameter and a length of 10, 15 and 20 cm. X. valga flying in the same direction most often visited the flora taxa: Aquilegia vulgaris, Ballota nigra, Consolida ajacis, Delphinium consolida, Deutzia scabra, Catalpa spp., Wisteria spp., Robinia ambigua, Stachys spp. and Trifolium pretense. X. valga is a solitary bee, but unlike most other solitary bees it demonstrates aspects of social behavior. It was observed to display cohabitative behavior involving the use of a single hole by more than one female. The females showed aggressive defensive behavior and if approached too closely started buzzing loudly. The information obtained during the long-term observation shows that X. valga can be maintained in partly artificial conditions to increase and stabilize the bee population.
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Honey Bee Viruses in Wild Bees: Viral Prevalence, Loads, and Experimental Inoculation
Dolezal, Adam G.; Hendrix, Stephen D.; Scavo, Nicole A.; Carrillo-Tripp, Jimena; Harris, Mary A.; Wheelock, M. Joseph; O’Neal, Matthew E.; Toth, Amy L.
2016-01-01
Evidence of inter-species pathogen transmission from managed to wild bees has sparked concern that emerging diseases could be causing or exacerbating wild bee declines. While some pathogens, like RNA viruses, have been found in pollen and wild bees, the threat these viruses pose to wild bees is largely unknown. Here, we tested 169 bees, representing 4 families and 8 genera, for five common honey bee (Apis mellifera) viruses, finding that more than 80% of wild bees harbored at least one virus. We also quantified virus titers in these bees, providing, for the first time, an assessment of viral load in a broad spectrum of wild bees. Although virus detection was very common, virus levels in the wild bees were minimal—similar to or lower than foraging honey bees and substantially lower than honey bees collected from hives. Furthermore, when we experimentally inoculated adults of two different bee species (Megachile rotundata and Colletes inaequalis) with a mixture of common viruses that is lethal to honey bees, we saw no effect on short term survival. Overall, we found that honey bee RNA viruses can be commonly detected at low levels in many wild bee species, but we found no evidence that these pathogens cause elevated short-term mortality effects. However, more work on these viruses is greatly needed to assess effects on additional bee species and life stages. PMID:27832169
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Honey Bee Viruses in Wild Bees: Viral Prevalence, Loads, and Experimental Inoculation.
Dolezal, Adam G; Hendrix, Stephen D; Scavo, Nicole A; Carrillo-Tripp, Jimena; Harris, Mary A; Wheelock, M Joseph; O'Neal, Matthew E; Toth, Amy L
2016-01-01
Evidence of inter-species pathogen transmission from managed to wild bees has sparked concern that emerging diseases could be causing or exacerbating wild bee declines. While some pathogens, like RNA viruses, have been found in pollen and wild bees, the threat these viruses pose to wild bees is largely unknown. Here, we tested 169 bees, representing 4 families and 8 genera, for five common honey bee (Apis mellifera) viruses, finding that more than 80% of wild bees harbored at least one virus. We also quantified virus titers in these bees, providing, for the first time, an assessment of viral load in a broad spectrum of wild bees. Although virus detection was very common, virus levels in the wild bees were minimal-similar to or lower than foraging honey bees and substantially lower than honey bees collected from hives. Furthermore, when we experimentally inoculated adults of two different bee species (Megachile rotundata and Colletes inaequalis) with a mixture of common viruses that is lethal to honey bees, we saw no effect on short term survival. Overall, we found that honey bee RNA viruses can be commonly detected at low levels in many wild bee species, but we found no evidence that these pathogens cause elevated short-term mortality effects. However, more work on these viruses is greatly needed to assess effects on additional bee species and life stages.
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Watts, Stella; Sapir, Yuval; Segal, Bosmat; Dafni, Amots
2013-01-01
Background and Aims The coastal plain of Israel hosts the last few remaining populations of the endemic Iris atropurpurea (Iridaceae), a Red List species of high conservation priority. The flowers offer no nectar reward. Here the role of night-sheltering male solitary bees, honey-bees and female solitary bees as pollinators of I. atropurpurea is documented. Methods Breeding system, floral longevity, stigma receptivity, visitation rates, pollen loads, pollen deposition and removal and fruit- and seed-set were investigated. Key Results The main wild pollinators of this plant are male eucerine bees, and to a lesser extent, but with the potential to transfer pollen, female solitary bees. Honey-bees were found to be frequent diurnal visitors; they removed large quantities of pollen and were as effective as male sheltering bees at pollinating this species. The low density of pollen carried by male solitary bees was attributed to grooming activities, pollen displacement when bees aggregated together in flowers and pollen depletion by honey-bees. In the population free of honey-bee hives, male bees carried significantly more pollen grains on their bodies. Results from pollen analysis and pollen deposited on stigmas suggest that inadequate pollination may be an important factor limiting fruit-set. In the presence of honey-bees, eucerine bees were low removal–low deposition pollinators, whereas honey-bees were high removal–low deposition pollinators, because they removed large amounts into corbiculae and deposited relatively little onto receptive stigmas. Conclusions Even though overall, both bee taxa were equally effective pollinators, we suggest that honey-bees have the potential to reduce the amount of pollen available for plant reproduction, and to reduce the amount of resources available to solitary bee communities. The results of this study have potential implications for the conservation of this highly endangered plant species if hives are permitted inside
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Impact of managed honey bee viruses on wild bees.
Tehel, Anja; Brown, Mark Jf; Paxton, Robert J
2016-08-01
Several viruses found in the Western honey bee (Apis mellifera) have recently been detected in other bee species, raising the possibility of spill-over from managed to wild bee species. Alternatively, these viruses may be shared generalists across flower-visiting insects. Here we explore the former hypothesis, pointing out weaknesses in the current evidence, particularly in relation to deformed wing virus (DWV), and highlighting research areas that may help test it. Data so far suggest that DWV spills over from managed to wild bee species and has the potential to cause population decline. That DWV and other viruses of A. mellifera are found in other bee species needs to be considered for the sustainable management of bee populations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Martins, Aline C; Melo, Gabriel A R; Renner, Susanne S
2014-11-01
The economically most important group of bees is the "corbiculates", or pollen basket bees, some 890 species of honeybees (Apis), bumblebees (Bombus), stingless bees (Meliponini), and orchid bees (Euglossini). Molecular studies have indicated that the corbiculates are closest to the New World genera Centris, with 230 species, and Epicharis, with 35, albeit without resolving the precise relationships. Instead of concave baskets, these bees have hairy hind legs on which they transport pollen mixed with floral oil, collected with setae on the anterior and middle legs. We sampled two-thirds of all Epicharis, a third of all Centris, and representatives of the four lineages of corbiculates for four nuclear gene regions, obtaining a well-supported phylogeny that has the corbiculate bees nested inside the Centris/Epicharis clade. Fossil-calibrated molecular clocks, combined with a biogeographic reconstruction incorporating insights from the fossil record, indicate that the corbiculate clade arose in the New World and diverged from Centris 84 (72-95)mya. The ancestral state preceding corbiculae thus was a hairy hind leg, perhaps adapted for oil transport as in Epicharis and Centris bees. Its replacement by glabrous, concave baskets represents a key innovation, allowing efficient transport of plant resins and large pollen/nectar loads and freeing the corbiculate clade from dependence on oil-offering flowers. The transformation could have involved a novel function of Ubx, the gene known to change hairy into smooth pollen baskets in Apis and Bombus. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Poteat, V. Paul; Kimmel, Michael S.; Wilchins, Riki
2011-01-01
In 2 studies, beliefs supporting the use of violence moderated the association between normative masculine activities and aggressive behavior (Study 1) and normative masculine attitudes and aggressive and homophobic behavior (Study 2) among adolescent boys. These beliefs also moderated the association between normative masculine activities and…
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Kammerer, Melanie A; Biddinger, David J; Rajotte, Edwin G; Mortensen, David A
2016-02-01
Wild pollinators supply essential, historically undervalued pollination services to crops and other flowering plant communities with great potential to ensure agricultural production against the loss of heavily relied upon managed pollinators. Local plant communities provision wild bees with crucial floral and nesting resources, but the distribution of floristic diversity among habitat types in North American agricultural landscapes and its effect on pollinators are diverse and poorly understood, especially in orchard systems. We documented floristic diversity in typical mid-Atlantic commercial apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) orchards including the forest and orchard-forest edge ("edge") habitats surrounding orchards in a heterogeneous landscape in south-central Pennsylvania, USA. We also assessed the correlation between plant richness and orchard pollinator communities. In this apple production region, edge habitats are the most species rich, supporting 146 out of 202 plant species recorded in our survey. Plant species richness in the orchard and edge habitats were significant predictors of bee species richness and abundance in the orchard, as well as landscape area of the forest and edge habitats. Both the quantity and quality of forest and edges close to orchards play a significant role in provisioning a diverse wild bee community in this agroecosystem. © The Authors 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.
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Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) and bee age impact honey bee pathophysiology.
vanEngelsdorp, Dennis; Traynor, Kirsten S; Andree, Michael; Lichtenberg, Elinor M; Chen, Yanping; Saegerman, Claude; Cox-Foster, Diana L
2017-01-01
Honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies continue to experience high annual losses that remain poorly explained. Numerous interacting factors have been linked to colony declines. Understanding the pathways linking pathophysiology with symptoms is an important step in understanding the mechanisms of disease. In this study we examined the specific pathologies associated with honey bees collected from colonies suffering from Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) and compared these with bees collected from apparently healthy colonies. We identified a set of pathological physical characteristics that occurred at different rates in CCD diagnosed colonies prior to their collapse: rectum distension, Malpighian tubule iridescence, fecal matter consistency, rectal enteroliths (hard concretions), and venom sac color. The multiple differences in rectum symptomology in bees from CCD apiaries and colonies suggest effected bees had trouble regulating water. To ensure that pathologies we found associated with CCD were indeed pathologies and not due to normal changes in physical appearances that occur as an adult bee ages (CCD colonies are assumed to be composed mostly of young bees), we documented the changes in bees of different ages taken from healthy colonies. We found that young bees had much greater incidences of white nodules than older cohorts. Prevalent in newly-emerged bees, these white nodules or cellular encapsulations indicate an active immune response. Comparing the two sets of characteristics, we determined a subset of pathologies that reliably predict CCD status rather than bee age (fecal matter consistency, rectal distension size, rectal enteroliths and Malpighian tubule iridescence) and that may serve as biomarkers for colony health. In addition, these pathologies suggest that CCD bees are experiencing disrupted excretory physiology. Our identification of these symptoms is an important first step in understanding the physiological pathways that underlie CCD and factors
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Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD and bee age impact honey bee pathophysiology.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Dennis vanEngelsdorp
Full Text Available Honey bee (Apis mellifera colonies continue to experience high annual losses that remain poorly explained. Numerous interacting factors have been linked to colony declines. Understanding the pathways linking pathophysiology with symptoms is an important step in understanding the mechanisms of disease. In this study we examined the specific pathologies associated with honey bees collected from colonies suffering from Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD and compared these with bees collected from apparently healthy colonies. We identified a set of pathological physical characteristics that occurred at different rates in CCD diagnosed colonies prior to their collapse: rectum distension, Malpighian tubule iridescence, fecal matter consistency, rectal enteroliths (hard concretions, and venom sac color. The multiple differences in rectum symptomology in bees from CCD apiaries and colonies suggest effected bees had trouble regulating water. To ensure that pathologies we found associated with CCD were indeed pathologies and not due to normal changes in physical appearances that occur as an adult bee ages (CCD colonies are assumed to be composed mostly of young bees, we documented the changes in bees of different ages taken from healthy colonies. We found that young bees had much greater incidences of white nodules than older cohorts. Prevalent in newly-emerged bees, these white nodules or cellular encapsulations indicate an active immune response. Comparing the two sets of characteristics, we determined a subset of pathologies that reliably predict CCD status rather than bee age (fecal matter consistency, rectal distension size, rectal enteroliths and Malpighian tubule iridescence and that may serve as biomarkers for colony health. In addition, these pathologies suggest that CCD bees are experiencing disrupted excretory physiology. Our identification of these symptoms is an important first step in understanding the physiological pathways that underlie CCD and
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Johnson, Bonnie; Kil, Jenny; Evans, Elaine; Koomen, Michele Hollingsworth
2014-01-01
With their sunny stripes and fuzzy bodies, bees are beloved--but unfortunately, they are in trouble. Bee decline, of both wild bees as well as managed bees like honey bees, has been in the news for the last several years. Habitat loss, diseases, pests, and pesticides have made it difficult for bees to survive in many parts of our world (Walsh…
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Kim, Kyungmun; Kim, Ju Hyeon; Kim, Young Ho; Hong, Seong-Eui; Lee, Si Hyeock
2018-01-01
Perturbation of normal behaviors in honey bee colonies by any external factor can immediately reduce the colony's capacity for brood rearing, which can eventually lead to colony collapse. To investigate the effects of brood-rearing suppression on the biology of honey bee workers, gene-set enrichment analysis of the transcriptomes of worker bees with or without suppressed brood rearing was performed. When brood rearing was suppressed, pathways associated with both protein degradation and synthesis were simultaneously over-represented in both nurses and foragers, and their overall pathway representation profiles resembled those of normal foragers and nurses, respectively. Thus, obstruction of normal labor induced over-representation in pathways related with reshaping of worker bee physiology, suggesting that transition of labor is physiologically reversible. In addition, some genes associated with the regulation of neuronal excitability, cellular and nutritional stress and aggressiveness were over-expressed under brood rearing suppression perhaps to manage in-hive stress under unfavorable conditions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Chanpanitkitchote, Pichaya; Chen, Yanping; Evans, Jay D; Li, Wenfeng; Li, Jianghong; Hamilton, Michele; Chantawannakul, Panuwan
2018-01-01
Viruses, and especially RNA viruses, constantly change and adapt to new host species and vectors, posing a potential threat of new and reemerging infectious diseases. Honey bee Acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV) and Deformed wing virus (DWV) are two of the most common honey bee viruses found in European honey bees Apis mellifera and have been implicated in worldwide Varroa-associated bee colony losses. Previous studies have shown that DWV has jumped hosts several times in history causing infection in multiple host species. In the present study, we show that DWV infection could be detected in the Asian honey bee, A. cerana, and the parasitic mite Tropilaelaps mercedesae, confirming previous findings that DWV is a multi-host pathogen and supporting the notion that the high prevalence of DWV in honey bee host populations could be attributed to the high adaptability of this virus. Furthermore, our study provides the first evidence that ABPV occurs in both A. cerana and T. mercedesae in northern Thailand. The geographical proximity of host species likely played an important role in the initial exposure and the subsequent cross-species transmission of these viruses. Phylogenetic analyses suggest that ABPV might have moved from T. mercedesae to A. mellifera and to A. cerana while DWV might have moved in the opposite direction from A. cerana to A. mellifera and T. mercedesae. This result may reflect the differences in virus life history and virus-host interactions, warranting further investigation of virus transmission, epidemiology, and impacts of virus infections in the new hosts. The results from this study indicate that viral populations will continue to evolve and likely continue to expand host range, increasing the need for effective surveillance and control of virus infections in honey bee populations. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Adgaba, Nuru; Alghamdi, Ahmed; Sammoud, Rachid; Shenkute, Awraris; Tadesse, Yilma; Ansari, Mahammad J; Sharma, Deepak; Hepburn, Colleen
2017-07-01
In arid zones, the shortage of bee forage is critical and usually compels beekeepers to move their colonies in search of better forages. Identifying and mapping the spatiotemporal distribution of the bee forages over given area is important for better management of bee colonies. In this study honey bee plants in the target areas were inventoried following, ground inventory work supported with GIS applications. The study was conducted on 85 large plots of 50 × 50 m each. At each plot, data on species name, height, base diameter, crown height, crown diameter has been taken for each plant with their respective geographical positions. The data were stored, and processed using Trimble GPS supported with ArcGIS10 software program. The data were used to estimate the relative frequency, density, abundance and species diversity, species important value index and apicultural value of the species. In addition, Remotely Sensed Satellite Image of the area was obtained and processed using Hopfield Artificial Neural Network techniques. During the study, 182 species from 49 plant families were identified as bee forages of the target area. From the total number of species; shrubs, herbs and trees were accounting for 61%, 27.67%, and 11.53% respectively. Of which Ziziphus spina-christi , Acacia tortilis , Acacia origina , Acacia asak , Lavandula dentata , and Hypoestes forskaolii were the major nectar source plants of the area in their degree of importance. The average vegetation cover values of the study areas were low (GIS and satellite image processing techniques could be an important tool for characterizing and mapping the available bee forage resources leading to their efficient and sustainable utilization.
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LingoBee: Engaging Mobile Language Learners through Crowd-Sourcing
Petersen, Sobah Abbas; Procter-Legg, Emma; Cacchione, Annamaria
2014-01-01
This paper describes three case studies, where language learners were invited to use "LingoBee" as a means of supporting their language learning. LingoBee is a mobile app that provides user-generated language content in a cloud-based shared repository. Assuming that today's students are mobile savvy and "Digital Natives" able…
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Red mason bees cannot compete with honey bees for floral resources in a cage experiment.
Hudewenz, Anika; Klein, Alexandra-Maria
2015-11-01
Intensive beekeeping to mitigate crop pollination deficits and habitat loss may cause interspecific competition between bees. Studies show negative correlations between flower visitation of honey bees (Apis mellifera) and wild bees, but effects on the reproduction of wild bees were not proven. Likely reasons are that honey bees can hardly be excluded from controls and wild bee nests are generally difficult to detect in field experiments. The goal of this study was to investigate whether red mason bees (Osmia bicornis) compete with honey bees in cages in order to compare the reproduction of red mason bees under different honey bee densities. Three treatments were applied, each replicated in four cages of 18 m³ with 38 red mason bees in all treatments and 0, 100, and 300 honey bees per treatment with 10-20% being foragers. Within the cages, the flower visitation and interspecific displacements from flowers were observed. Niche breadths and resource overlaps of both bee species were calculated, and the reproduction of red mason bees was measured. Red mason bees visited fewer flowers when honey bees were present. Niche breadth of red mason bees decreased with increasing honey bee density while resource overlaps remained constant. The reproduction of red mason bees decreased in cages with honey bees. In conclusion, our experimental results show that in small and isolated flower patches, wild bees can temporarily suffer from competition with honey bees. Further research should aim to test for competition on small and isolated flower patches in real landscapes.
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Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
CHEN Jian; LI Jian-ke
2009-01-01
This study is to compare the protein composition of the high royal jelly producing bee (A. m. ligustica) with that of Carniolian bee (A. m. carnica) during their worker larval developmental stage. The experiment was carried out by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. The results showed that significant higher numbers of total proteins (283) were detected in larvae of high royal jelly producing bees (Jelly bee) than those of Camiolian bees (152) on 2-d-old larvae. Among them, 110 proteins were presented on both strains of bee larvae, whereas 173 proteins were specific to larvae of Jelly bees, and 42 proteins were exclusive to Carniolian larvae. However, on the 4th d, a significant higher number of total proteins (290) were detected in larvae of Jelly bees than those of Camiolian bees (240), 163 proteins resolved to both bee larvae, and 127 proteins were specific to Jelly bees and 77 proteins to Camiolian bees. Until the 6th d, also a significant higher number of total proteins (236) were detected in larvae of Jelly bees than those of Carniolian bees (180), 132 proteins were constantly expressed in two bee larvae, whereas 104 and 48 proteins are unique to Jelly bee and Camiolian bee larvae, respectively. We tentatively concluded that the metabolic rate and gene expression of Jelly bees larvae is higher than those of Carniolian bees based proteins detected as total proteins and proteins specific to each stage of two strains of bee larvae. Proteins constantly expressed on 3 stages of larval development with some significant differences between two bee strains, and proteins unique to each stage expressed differences in term of quality and quantity, indicating that larval development needed house keeping and specific proteins to regulate its growth at different development phage, but the expression mold is different between two strains of larval development.
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Honey bee pathology: current threats to honey bees and beekeeping.
Genersch, Elke
2010-06-01
Managed honey bees are the most important commercial pollinators of those crops which depend on animal pollination for reproduction and which account for 35% of the global food production. Hence, they are vital for an economic, sustainable agriculture and for food security. In addition, honey bees also pollinate a variety of wild flowers and, therefore, contribute to the biodiversity of many ecosystems. Honey and other hive products are, at least economically and ecologically rather, by-products of beekeeping. Due to this outstanding role of honey bees, severe and inexplicable honey bee colony losses, which have been reported recently to be steadily increasing, have attracted much attention and stimulated many research activities. Although the phenomenon "decline of honey bees" is far from being finally solved, consensus exists that pests and pathogens are the single most important cause of otherwise inexplicable colony losses. This review will focus on selected bee pathogens and parasites which have been demonstrated to be involved in colony losses in different regions of the world and which, therefore, are considered current threats to honey bees and beekeeping.
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The Status of Honey Bee Health in Italy: Results from the Nationwide Bee Monitoring Network.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Claudio Porrini
Full Text Available In Italy a nation-wide monitoring network was established in 2009 in response to significant honey bee colony mortality reported during 2008. The network comprised of approximately 100 apiaries located across Italy. Colonies were sampled four times per year, in order to assess the health status and to collect samples for pathogen, chemical and pollen analyses. The prevalence of Nosema ceranae ranged, on average, from 47-69% in 2009 and from 30-60% in 2010, with strong seasonal variation. Virus prevalence was higher in 2010 than in 2009. The most widespread viruses were BQCV, DWV and SBV. The most frequent pesticides in all hive contents were organophosphates and pyrethroids such as coumaphos and tau-fluvalinate. Beeswax was the most frequently contaminated hive product, with 40% of samples positive and 13% having multiple residues, while 27% of bee-bread and 12% of honey bee samples were contaminated. Colony losses in 2009/10 were on average 19%, with no major differences between regions of Italy. In 2009, the presence of DWV in autumn was positively correlated with colony losses. Similarly, hive mortality was higher in BQCV infected colonies in the first and second visits of the year. In 2010, colony losses were significantly related to the presence of pesticides in honey bees during the second sampling period. Honey bee exposure to poisons in spring could have a negative impact at the colony level, contributing to increase colony mortality during the beekeeping season. In both 2009 and 2010, colony mortality rates were positively related to the percentage of agricultural land surrounding apiaries, supporting the importance of land use for honey bee health.
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Disentangling urban habitat and matrix effects on wild bee species.
Fischer, Leonie K; Eichfeld, Julia; Kowarik, Ingo; Buchholz, Sascha
2016-01-01
In face of a dramatic decline of wild bee species in many rural landscapes, potential conservation functions of urban areas gain importance. Yet effects of urbanization on pollinators, and in particular on wild bees, remain ambiguous and not comprehensively understood. This is especially true for amenity grassland and extensively managed wastelands within large-scale residential housing areas. Using Berlin as a study region, we aimed to investigate (a) if these greenspaces are accepted by wild bee assemblages as foraging habitats; (b) how assemblage structure of bees and individual bee species are affected by different habitat (e.g., management, flower density) and urban matrix variables (e.g., isolation, urbanization); and (c) to what extent grassland restoration can promote bees in urban environments. In summer 2012, we collected 62 bee species belonging to more than 20% of the taxa known for Berlin. Urbanization significantly affected species composition of bees; 18 species were affiliated to different levels of urbanization. Most bee species were not affected by any of the environmental variables tested, and urbanization had a negative effect only for one bee species. Further, we determined that restoration of diverse grasslands positively affected bee species richnesss in urban environments. We conclude that differently structured and managed greenspaces in large-scale housing areas can provide additional foraging habitats and refuges for pollinators. This supports approaches towards a biodiversity friendly management within urban regions and may be of particular importance given that anthropogenic pressure is increasing in many rural landscapes.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Nuru Adgaba
2017-07-01
Full Text Available In arid zones, the shortage of bee forage is critical and usually compels beekeepers to move their colonies in search of better forages. Identifying and mapping the spatiotemporal distribution of the bee forages over given area is important for better management of bee colonies. In this study honey bee plants in the target areas were inventoried following, ground inventory work supported with GIS applications. The study was conducted on 85 large plots of 50 × 50 m each. At each plot, data on species name, height, base diameter, crown height, crown diameter has been taken for each plant with their respective geographical positions. The data were stored, and processed using Trimble GPS supported with ArcGIS10 software program. The data were used to estimate the relative frequency, density, abundance and species diversity, species important value index and apicultural value of the species. In addition, Remotely Sensed Satellite Image of the area was obtained and processed using Hopfield Artificial Neural Network techniques. During the study, 182 species from 49 plant families were identified as bee forages of the target area. From the total number of species; shrubs, herbs and trees were accounting for 61%, 27.67%, and 11.53% respectively. Of which Ziziphus spina-christi, Acacia tortilis, Acacia origina, Acacia asak, Lavandula dentata, and Hypoestes forskaolii were the major nectar source plants of the area in their degree of importance. The average vegetation cover values of the study areas were low (<30% with low Shannon’s species diversity indices (H′ of 0.5–1.52 for different sites. Based on the eco-climatological factors and the variations in their flowering period, these major bee forage species were found to form eight distinct spatiotemporal categories which allow beekeepers to migrate their colonies to exploit the resources at different seasons and place. The Remote Sensed Satellite Image analysis confirmed the spatial
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Floral abundance, richness, and spatial distribution drive urban garden bee communities.
Plascencia, M; Philpott, S M
2017-10-01
In urban landscapes, gardens provide refuges for bee diversity, but conservation potential may depend on local and landscape features. Foraging and population persistence of bee species, as well as overall pollinator community structure, may be supported by the abundance, richness, and spatial distribution of floral resources. Floral resources strongly differ in urban gardens. Using hand netting and pan traps to survey bees, we examined whether abundance, richness, and spatial distribution of floral resources, as well as ground cover and garden landscape surroundings influence bee abundance, species richness, and diversity on the central coast of California. Differences in floral abundance and spatial distribution, as well as urban cover in the landscape, predicted different bee community variables. Abundance of all bees and of honeybees (Apis mellifera) was lower in sites with more urban land cover surrounding the gardens. Honeybee abundance was higher in sites with patchy floral resources, whereas bee species richness and bee diversity was higher in sites with more clustered floral resources. Surprisingly, bee species richness and bee diversity was lower in sites with very high floral abundance, possibly due to interactions with honeybees. Other studies have documented the importance of floral abundance and landscape surroundings for bees in urban gardens, but this study is the first to document that the spatial arrangement of flowers strongly predicts bee abundance and richness. Based on these findings, it is likely that garden managers may promote bee conservation by managing for floral connectivity and abundance within these ubiquitous urban habitats.
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Negative effects of pesticides on wild bee communities can be buffered by landscape context
Park, Mia G.; Blitzer, E. J.; Gibbs, Jason; Losey, John E.; Danforth, Bryan N.
2015-01-01
Wild bee communities provide underappreciated but critical agricultural pollination services. Given predicted global shortages in pollination services, managing agroecosystems to support thriving wild bee communities is, therefore, central to ensuring sustainable food production. Benefits of natural (including semi-natural) habitat for wild bee abundance and diversity on farms are well documented. By contrast, few studies have examined toxicity of pesticides on wild bees, let alone effects of...
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Disentangling urban habitat and matrix effects on wild bee species
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Leonie K. Fischer
2016-11-01
Full Text Available In face of a dramatic decline of wild bee species in many rural landscapes, potential conservation functions of urban areas gain importance. Yet effects of urbanization on pollinators, and in particular on wild bees, remain ambiguous and not comprehensively understood. This is especially true for amenity grassland and extensively managed wastelands within large-scale residential housing areas. Using Berlin as a study region, we aimed to investigate (a if these greenspaces are accepted by wild bee assemblages as foraging habitats; (b how assemblage structure of bees and individual bee species are affected by different habitat (e.g., management, flower density and urban matrix variables (e.g., isolation, urbanization; and (c to what extent grassland restoration can promote bees in urban environments. In summer 2012, we collected 62 bee species belonging to more than 20% of the taxa known for Berlin. Urbanization significantly affected species composition of bees; 18 species were affiliated to different levels of urbanization. Most bee species were not affected by any of the environmental variables tested, and urbanization had a negative effect only for one bee species. Further, we determined that restoration of diverse grasslands positively affected bee species richnesss in urban environments. We conclude that differently structured and managed greenspaces in large-scale housing areas can provide additional foraging habitats and refuges for pollinators. This supports approaches towards a biodiversity friendly management within urban regions and may be of particular importance given that anthropogenic pressure is increasing in many rural landscapes.
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The importance of bees in natural and agricultural ecosystems
Paul Rhoades
2013-01-01
As the worldâs most important group of pollinators, bees are a crucial part of agricultural production and natural ecosystem function. Bees and the pollination they provide are relevant to the nursery industry because of their role in the performance of seed increase plots as well as the importance of pollination in supporting persistent plant communities in restored...
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LingoBee--Crowd-Sourced Mobile Language Learning in the Cloud
Petersen, Sobah Abbas; Procter-Legg, Emma; Cacchione, Annamaria
2013-01-01
This paper describes three case studies, where language learners were invited to use "LingoBee" as a means of supporting their language learning. LingoBee is a mobile app that provides user-generated language content in a cloud-based shared repository. Assuming that today's students are mobile savvy and "Digital Natives" able…
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Design of smart home gateway based on Wi-Fi and ZigBee
Li, Yang
2018-04-01
With the increasing demand for home lifestyle, the traditional smart home products have been unable to meet the needs of users. Aim at the complex wiring, high cost and difficult operation problems of traditional smart home system, this paper designs a home gateway for smart home system based on Wi-Fi and ZigBee. This paper first gives a smart home system architecture base on cloud server, Wi-Fi and ZigBee. This architecture enables users to access the smart home system remotely from Internet through the cloud server or through Wi-Fi at home. It also offers the flexibility and low cost of ZigBee wireless networking for home equipment. This paper analyzes the functional requirements of the home gateway, and designs a modular hardware architecture based on the RT5350 wireless gateway module and the CC2530 ZigBee coordinator module. Also designs the software of the home gateway, including the gateway master program and the ZigBee coordinator program. Finally, the smart home system and home gateway are tested in two kinds of network environments, internal network and external network. The test results show that the designed home gateway can meet the requirements, support remote and local access, support multi-user, support information security technology, and can timely report equipment status information.
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Do managed bees have negative effects on wild bees?: A systematic review of the literature.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Rachel E Mallinger
Full Text Available Managed bees are critical for crop pollination worldwide. As the demand for pollinator-dependent crops increases, so does the use of managed bees. Concern has arisen that managed bees may have unintended negative impacts on native wild bees, which are important pollinators in both agricultural and natural ecosystems. The goal of this study was to synthesize the literature documenting the effects of managed honey bees and bumble bees on wild bees in three areas: (1 competition for floral and nesting resources, (2 indirect effects via changes in plant communities, including the spread of exotic plants and decline of native plants, and (3 transmission of pathogens. The majority of reviewed studies reported negative effects of managed bees, but trends differed across topical areas. Of studies examining competition, results were highly variable with 53% reporting negative effects on wild bees, while 28% reported no effects and 19% reported mixed effects (varying with the bee species or variables examined. Equal numbers of studies examining plant communities reported positive (36% and negative (36% effects, with the remainder reporting no or mixed effects. Finally, the majority of studies on pathogen transmission (70% reported potential negative effects of managed bees on wild bees. However, most studies across all topical areas documented the potential for impact (e.g. reporting the occurrence of competition or pathogens, but did not measure direct effects on wild bee fitness, abundance, or diversity. Furthermore, we found that results varied depending on whether managed bees were in their native or non-native range; managed bees within their native range had lesser competitive effects, but potentially greater effects on wild bees via pathogen transmission. We conclude that while this field has expanded considerably in recent decades, additional research measuring direct, long-term, and population-level effects of managed bees is needed to understand
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Do managed bees have negative effects on wild bees?: A systematic review of the literature.
Mallinger, Rachel E; Gaines-Day, Hannah R; Gratton, Claudio
2017-01-01
Managed bees are critical for crop pollination worldwide. As the demand for pollinator-dependent crops increases, so does the use of managed bees. Concern has arisen that managed bees may have unintended negative impacts on native wild bees, which are important pollinators in both agricultural and natural ecosystems. The goal of this study was to synthesize the literature documenting the effects of managed honey bees and bumble bees on wild bees in three areas: (1) competition for floral and nesting resources, (2) indirect effects via changes in plant communities, including the spread of exotic plants and decline of native plants, and (3) transmission of pathogens. The majority of reviewed studies reported negative effects of managed bees, but trends differed across topical areas. Of studies examining competition, results were highly variable with 53% reporting negative effects on wild bees, while 28% reported no effects and 19% reported mixed effects (varying with the bee species or variables examined). Equal numbers of studies examining plant communities reported positive (36%) and negative (36%) effects, with the remainder reporting no or mixed effects. Finally, the majority of studies on pathogen transmission (70%) reported potential negative effects of managed bees on wild bees. However, most studies across all topical areas documented the potential for impact (e.g. reporting the occurrence of competition or pathogens), but did not measure direct effects on wild bee fitness, abundance, or diversity. Furthermore, we found that results varied depending on whether managed bees were in their native or non-native range; managed bees within their native range had lesser competitive effects, but potentially greater effects on wild bees via pathogen transmission. We conclude that while this field has expanded considerably in recent decades, additional research measuring direct, long-term, and population-level effects of managed bees is needed to understand their
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de Jong, Trynke R; Neumann, Inga D
2017-09-02
The neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) has a solid reputation as a facilitator of social interactions such as parental and pair bonding, trust, and empathy. The many results supporting a pro-social role of OT have generated the hypothesis that impairments in the endogenous OT system may lead to antisocial behavior, most notably social withdrawal or pathological aggression. If this is indeed the case, administration of exogenous OT could be the "serenic" treatment that psychiatrists have for decades been searching for.In the present review, we list and discuss the evidence for an endogenous "hypo-oxytocinergic state" underlying aggressive and antisocial behavior, derived from both animal and human studies. We furthermore examine the reported effects of synthetic OT administration on aggression in rodents and humans.Although the scientific findings listed in this review support, in broad lines, the link between a down-regulated or impaired OT system activity and increased aggression, the anti-aggressive effects of synthetic OT are less straightforward and require further research. The rather complex picture that emerges adds to the ongoing debate questioning the unidirectional pro-social role of OT, as well as the strength of the effects of intranasal OT administration in humans.
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Scale dependent drivers of wild bee diversity in tropical heterogeneous agricultural landscapes.
Basu, Parthiba; Parui, Arpan Kumar; Chatterjee, Soumik; Dutta, Aditi; Chakraborty, Pushan; Roberts, Stuart; Smith, Barbara
2016-10-01
Factors associated with agricultural intensification, for example, loss of seminatural vegetation and pesticide use has been shown to adversely affect the bee community. These factors may impact the bee community differently at different landscape scales. The scale dependency is expected to be more pronounced in heterogeneous landscapes. However, the scale-dependent response of the bee community to drivers of its decline is relatively understudied, especially in the tropics where the agricultural landscape is often heterogeneous. This study looked at effects of agricultural intensification on bee diversity at patch and landscape scales in a tropical agricultural landscape. Wild bees were sampled using 12 permanent pan trap stations. Patch and landscape characteristics were measured within a 100 m (patch scale) and a 500 m (landscape scale) radius of pan trap stations. Information on pesticide input was obtained from farmer surveys. Data on vegetation cover, productivity, and percentage of agricultural and fallow land (FL) were collected using satellite imagery. Intensive areas in a bee-site network were less specialized in terms of resources to attract rare bee species while the less intensive areas, which supported more rare species, were more vulnerable to disturbance. A combination of patch quality and diversity as well as pesticide use regulates species diversity at the landscape scale (500 m), whereas pesticide quantity drove diversity at the patch scale (100 m). At the landscape scale, specialization of each site in terms of resources for bees increased with increasing patch diversity and FL while at the patch scale specialization declined with increased pesticide use. Bee functional groups responded differentially to landscape characteristics as well as pesticide use. Wood nesting bees were negatively affected by the number of pesticides used but other bee functional groups were not sensitive to pesticides. Synthesis and Applications : Different factors
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The influence of classroom aggression and classroom climate on aggressive-disruptive behavior.
Thomas, Duane E; Bierman, Karen L; Powers, C J
2011-01-01
Research suggests that early classroom experiences influence the socialization of aggression. Tracking changes in the aggressive behavior of 4,179 children from kindergarten to second-grade (ages 5-8), this study examined the impact of 2 important features of the classroom context--aggregate peer aggression and climates characterized by supportive teacher-student interactions. The aggregate aggression scores of children assigned to first-grade classrooms predicted the level of classroom aggression (assessed by teacher ratings) and quality of classroom climate (assessed by observers) that emerged by the end of Grade 1. Hierarchical linear model analyses revealed that first-grade classroom aggression and quality of classroom climate made independent contributions to changes in student aggression, as students moved from kindergarten to second grade. Implications for policy and practice are discussed. © 2011 The Authors. Child Development © 2011 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.
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Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
TOM; HANCOCK
2011-01-01
The first bee landed on Dalin Wang at around one in the afternoon.Surrounded by3,000 onlookers,he wore a pair of trousers,black boots and two small cloth bags,each containing a queen bee.Wang watched the bees cover his chest,legs and arms,until every
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... for nutrition; as an appetite stimulant; to improve stamina and athletic performance; and for premature aging, premenstrual ... use bee pollen as a general tonic, to increase urine flow, and for alcohol intoxication. Bee pollen ...
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Joshua W. Campbell
2016-11-01
Full Text Available Intensively-managed pine (Pinus spp. have been shown to support diverse vertebrate communities, but their ability to support invertebrate communities, such as wild bees, has not been well-studied. Recently, researchers have examined intercropping switchgrass (Panicum virgatum, a native perennial, within intensively managed loblolly pine (P. taeda plantations as a potential source for cellulosic biofuels. To better understand potential effects of intercropping on bee communities, we investigated visitation of bees within three replicates of four treatments of loblolly pine in Mississippi, U.S.A.: 3–4 year old pine plantations and 9–10 year old pine plantations with and without intercropped switchgrass. We used colored pan traps to capture bees during the growing seasons of 2013 and 2014. We captured 2507 bees comprised of 18 different genera during the two-year study, with Lasioglossum and Ceratina being the most common genera captured. Overall, bee abundances were dependent on plantation age and not presence of intercropping. Our data suggests that switchgrass does not negatively impact or promote bee communities within intensively-managed loblolly pine plantations.
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Campbell, Joshua W; Miller, Darren A; Martin, James A
2016-11-04
Intensively-managed pine ( Pinus spp.) have been shown to support diverse vertebrate communities, but their ability to support invertebrate communities, such as wild bees, has not been well-studied. Recently, researchers have examined intercropping switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum ), a native perennial, within intensively managed loblolly pine ( P. taeda ) plantations as a potential source for cellulosic biofuels. To better understand potential effects of intercropping on bee communities, we investigated visitation of bees within three replicates of four treatments of loblolly pine in Mississippi, U.S.A.: 3-4 year old pine plantations and 9-10 year old pine plantations with and without intercropped switchgrass. We used colored pan traps to capture bees during the growing seasons of 2013 and 2014. We captured 2507 bees comprised of 18 different genera during the two-year study, with Lasioglossum and Ceratina being the most common genera captured. Overall, bee abundances were dependent on plantation age and not presence of intercropping. Our data suggests that switchgrass does not negatively impact or promote bee communities within intensively-managed loblolly pine plantations.
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Protein nutrition governs within-host race of honey bee pathogens.
Tritschler, Manuel; Vollmann, Jutta J; Yañez, Orlando; Chejanovsky, Nor; Crailsheim, Karl; Neumann, Peter
2017-11-08
Multiple infections are common in honey bees, Apis mellifera, but the possible role of nutrition in this regard is poorly understood. Microsporidian infections, which are promoted by protein-fed, can negatively correlate with virus infections, but the role of protein nutrition for the microsporidian-virus interface is unknown. Here, we challenged naturally deformed wing virus - B (DWV-B) infected adult honey bee workers fed with or without pollen ( = protein) in hoarding cages, with the microsporidian Nosema ceranae. Bee mortality was recorded for 14 days and N. ceranae spore loads and DWV-B titers were quantified. Amongst the groups inoculated with N. ceranae, more spores were counted in protein-fed bees. However, N. ceranae infected bees without protein-diet had reduced longevity compared to all other groups. N. ceranae infection had no effect on protein-fed bee's longevity, whereas bees supplied only with sugar-water showed reduced survival. Our data also support that protein-feeding can have a significant negative impact on virus infections in insects. The negative correlation between N. ceranae spore loads and DWV-B titers was stronger expressed in protein-fed hosts. Proteins not only enhance survival of infected hosts, but also significantly shape the microsporidian-virus interface, probably due to increased spore production and enhanced host immunity.
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Desynchronizations in bee-plant interactions cause severe fitness losses in solitary bees.
Schenk, Mariela; Krauss, Jochen; Holzschuh, Andrea
2018-01-01
Global warming can disrupt mutualistic interactions between solitary bees and plants when increasing temperature differentially changes the timing of interacting partners. One possible scenario is for insect phenology to advance more rapidly than plant phenology. However, empirical evidence for fitness consequences due to temporal mismatches is lacking for pollinators and it remains unknown if bees have developed strategies to mitigate fitness losses following temporal mismatches. We tested the effect of temporal mismatches on the fitness of three spring-emerging solitary bee species, including one pollen specialist. Using flight cages, we simulated (i) a perfect synchronization (from a bee perspective): bees and flowers occur simultaneously, (ii) a mismatch of 3 days and (iii) a mismatch of 6 days, with bees occurring earlier than flowers in the latter two cases. A mismatch of 6 days caused severe fitness losses in all three bee species, as few bees survived without flowers. Females showed strongly reduced activity and reproductive output compared to synchronized bees. Fitness consequences of a 3-day mismatch were species-specific. Both the early-spring species Osmia cornuta and the mid-spring species Osmia bicornis produced the same number of brood cells after a mismatch of 3 days as under perfect synchronization. However, O. cornuta decreased the number of female offspring, whereas O. bicornis spread the brood cells over fewer nests, which may increase offspring mortality, e.g. due to parasitoids. The late-spring specialist Osmia brevicornis produced fewer brood cells even after a mismatch of 3 days. Additionally, our results suggest that fitness losses after temporal mismatches are higher during warm than cold springs, as the naturally occurring temperature variability revealed that warm temperatures during starvation decreased the survival rate of O. bicornis. We conclude that short temporal mismatches can cause clear fitness losses in solitary bees
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Bees without Flowers: Before Peak Bloom, Diverse Native Bees Find Insect-Produced Honeydew Sugars.
Meiners, Joan M; Griswold, Terry L; Harris, David J; Ernest, S K Morgan
2017-08-01
Bee foragers respond to complex visual, olfactory, and extrasensory cues to optimize searches for floral rewards. Their abilities to detect and distinguish floral colors, shapes, volatiles, and ultraviolet signals and even gauge nectar availability from changes in floral humidity or electric fields are well studied. Bee foraging behaviors in the absence of floral cues, however, are rarely considered. We observed 42 species of wild bees visiting inconspicuous, nonflowering shrubs during early spring in a protected Mediterranean habitat. We determined experimentally that these bees were accessing sugary honeydew secretions from scale insects without the aid of standard cues. While honeydew use is known among some social Hymenoptera, its use across a diverse community of solitary bees is a novel observation. The widespread ability of native bees to locate and use unadvertised, nonfloral sugars suggests unappreciated sensory mechanisms and/or the existence of an interspecific foraging network among solitary bees that may influence how native bees cope with scarcity of floral resources and increasing environmental change.
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Evans, E C; Spivak, M
2006-06-01
Honey bees, Apis mellifera L., are frequently used to pollinate commercial cranberries, Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait., but information is lacking on the relative contribution of honey bees and native bees, the effects of surrounding vegetation on bee visitation, and on optimal timing for honey bee introduction. We begin with a descriptive study of numbers of honey bees, bumble bees, and other bees visiting cranberry blossoms, and their subsequent effect on cranberry yield, on three cranberry properties in 1999. The property surrounded by agricultural land, as opposed to wetlands and woodlands, had fewer numbers of all bee types. In 2000, one property did not introduce honey bee colonies, providing an opportunity to document the effect of lack of honey bees on yield. With no honey bees, plants along the edge of the bed had significantly higher berry weights compared with nonedge plants, suggesting that wild pollinators were only effective along the edge. Comparing the same bed between 1999, with three honey bee colonies per acre, and 2000, with no honey bees, we found a significant reduction in average berry size. In 2000, we compared stigma loading on properties with and without honey bees. Significantly more stigmas received the minimum number of tetrads required for fruit set on the property with honey bees. Significantly more tetrads were deposited during mid-bloom compared with early bloom, indicating that mid-bloom was the best time to have honey bees present. This study emphasizes the importance and effectiveness of honey bees as pollinators of commercial size cranberry plantings.
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Coneo, A M C; Thompson, A R; Lavda, A
2017-05-01
Individuals with visible skin conditions often experience stigmatization and discrimination. This may trigger maladaptive responses such as feelings of anger and hostility, with negative consequences to social interactions and relationships. To identify psychosocial factors contributing to aggression levels in dermatology patients. Data were obtained from 91 participants recruited from outpatient clinics in the north of England, U.K. This study used dermatology-specific data extracted from a large U.K. database of medical conditions collected by The Appearance Research Collaboration. This study looked at the impact of optimism, perceptions of social support and social acceptance, fear of negative evaluation, appearance concern, appearance discrepancy, social comparison and well-being on aggression levels in a sample of dermatology patients. In order to assess the relationship between variables, a hierarchical regression analysis was performed. Dispositional style (optimism) was shown to have a strong negative relationship with aggression (β = -0·37, t = -2·97, P = 0·004). Higher levels of perceived social support were significantly associated with lower levels of aggression (β = -0·26, t = -2·26, P = 0·02). Anxiety was also found to have a significant positive relationship with aggression (β = 0·36, t = 2·56, P = 0·01). This study provides evidence for the importance of perceived social support and optimism in psychological adjustment to skin conditions. Psychosocial interventions provided to dermatology patients might need to address aggression levels and seek to enhance social support and the ability to be optimistic. © 2016 British Association of Dermatologists.
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The bee tree of life: a supermatrix approach to apoid phylogeny and biogeography.
Hedtke, Shannon M; Patiny, Sébastien; Danforth, Bryan N
2013-07-03
Bees are the primary pollinators of angiosperms throughout the world. There are more than 16,000 described species, with broad variation in life history traits such as nesting habitat, diet, and social behavior. Despite their importance as pollinators, the evolution of bee biodiversity is understudied: relationships among the seven families of bees remain controversial, and no empirical global-level reconstruction of historical biogeography has been attempted. Morphological studies have generally suggested that the phylogeny of bees is rooted near the family Colletidae, whereas many molecular studies have suggested a root node near (or within) Melittidae. Previous molecular studies have focused on a relatively small sample of taxa (~150 species) and genes (seven at most). Public databases contain an enormous amount of DNA sequence data that has not been comprehensively analysed in the context of bee evolution. We downloaded, aligned, concatenated, and analysed all available protein-coding nuclear gene DNA sequence data in GenBank as of October, 2011. Our matrix consists of 20 genes, with over 17,000 aligned nucleotide sites, for over 1,300 bee and apoid wasp species, representing over two-thirds of bee genera. Whereas the matrix is large in terms of number of genes and taxa, there is a significant amount of missing data: only ~15% of the matrix is populated with data. The placement of the root as well as relationships between Andrenidae and other bee families remain ambiguous, as several alternative maximum-likelihood estimates fall within the statistically credible set. However, we recover strong bootstrap support for relationships among many families and for their monophyly. Ancestral geographic range reconstruction suggests a likely origin of bees in the southern hemisphere, with Melittidae ancestrally located within Africa, and Halictidae, Colletidae, and Apidae within the New World. Our study affirms the monophyly of each bee family, sister-taxa relationships
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ZigBee-2007 Security Essentials
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Yuksel, Ender; Nielson, Hanne Riis; Nielson, Flemming
2008-01-01
ZigBee is a fairly new but promising standard for wireless networks due to its low resource requirements. As in other wireless network standards, security is an important issue and each new version of the ZigBee Specification enhances the level of the ZigBee security. In this paper, we present...... the security essentials of the latest ZigBee Specification, ZigBee-2007. We explain the key concepts, protocols, and computations. In addition, we formulate the protocols using standard protocol narrations. Finally, we identify the key challenges to be considered for consolidating ZigBee....
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sujaya Rao
2010-01-01
Full Text Available There are widespread concerns about declining populations of bumble bees due to conversion of native habitats to agroecosystems. Certain cropping systems, however, provide enormous foraging resources, and are beneficial for population build up of native bees, especially eusocial bees such as bumble bees. In this review, we present evidence of a flourishing bumble bee fauna in the Willamette Valley in western Oregon which we believe is sustained by cultivation of bee-pollinated crops which bloom in sequence, and in synchrony with foraging by queens and workers of a complex of bumble bee species. In support of our perspective, we describe the Oregon landscape and ascribe the large bumble bee populations to the presence of a pollen source in spring (cultivated blueberries followed by one in summer (red clover seed crops. Based on our studies, we recommend integration into conservation approaches of multiple agroecosystems that bloom in sequence for sustaining and building bumble bee populations.
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Postincident Support for Healthcare Workers Experiencing Occupational Violence and Aggression.
Shea, Tracey; Cooper, Brian; De Cieri, Helen; Sheehan, Cathy; Donohue, Ross; Lindsay, Sarah
2018-05-10
To investigate the relative contributions of workplace type, occupational violence and aggression (OVA) strategies and interventions along with perceptions of the occupational health and safety (OHS) environment on the likelihood of receiving postincident support following the experience of OVA. We used a cross-sectional study design with an online survey to collect data from employees in nursing and midwifery in Victoria, Australia. Survey data collected from 3,072 members of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (Victorian branch) were analyzed using logistic regression. Of the 3,072 respondents who had experienced OVA in the preceding 12 months, 1,287 (42%) reported that they had received postincident support. Hierarchical logistic regression revealed that the OHS environment was the dominant factor that predicted the likelihood of workers receiving postincident support. Working in a positive OHS environment characterized by higher levels of leading indicators of OHS, prioritization of OHS, supervisor support for safety, and team psychological safety was the stronger predictor of postincident support. Being employed in a workplace that offered training in the management and prevention of OVA also increased the likelihood of receiving postincident support. While training in the management and prevention of OVA contributed to the likelihood of receiving postincident support, a greater emphasis on the OHS environment was more important in predicting the likelihood that workers received support. This study identifies workplace practices that facilitate the provision of postincident support for healthcare workers. Facilitating effective postincident support could improve outcomes for workers, their patients and workplaces, and society in general. © 2018 Sigma Theta Tau International.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Euclides Braga Malheiros
2013-12-01
Full Text Available Crops have different levels of dependence on pollinators; this holds true even for cultivars of the same species, as in the case of cucumber (Cucumis sativus. The aim of this research was to assess the attractiveness of flowers of three Japanese parthenocarpic cucumber cultivars and evaluate the importance of Africanized bees (Apis mellifera, and the Brazilian native stingless bees, Jataí (Tetragonisca angustula and Iraí (Nannotrigona testaceicornis on fruit production. Several parameters, including frequency of bee visits to flowers as well as duration of nectar collection and fruit set were examined; additionally, fruit weight, length and diameter were evaluated. Three greenhouses located in Ribeirão Preto, SP, were used for planting three cucumber cultivars (Hokushin, Yoshinari and Soudai. The female flowers were more attractive than male flowers; however, Jataí bees were not observed visiting the flowers. The Africanized and the Iraí bees collected only nectar, with a visitation peak between 10 and 12h. Visits to female flowers had a longer duration than visits to male flower visits in all three cultivars. Africanized bee colonies declined due to loss of bees while in the greenhouse; the native stingless bee colonies did not suffer these losses. When bees were excluded, fruit set was 78%; however, when bees had access to the flowers, fruit set was significantly (19.2% higher. Fruit size and weight did not differ with and without bees. This demonstrates that even in parthenocarpic cucumber cultivars, which do not require pollination in order to from fruits, fruit production is significantly increased by bee pollination.
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Honey bee surveillance: a tool for understanding and improving honey bee health.
Lee, Kathleen; Steinhauer, Nathalie; Travis, Dominic A; Meixner, Marina D; Deen, John; vanEngelsdorp, Dennis
2015-08-01
Honey bee surveillance systems are increasingly used to characterize honey bee health and disease burdens of bees in different regions and/or over time. In addition to quantifying disease prevalence, surveillance systems can identify risk factors associated with colony morbidity and mortality. Surveillance systems are often observational, and prove particularly useful when searching for risk factors in real world complex systems. We review recent examples of surveillance systems with particular emphasis on how these efforts have helped increase our understanding of honey bee health. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Strang, Emily; Peterson, Zoë D
2013-12-01
Researching the correlates of men's sexually aggressive behavior (i.e., verbal coercion and rape) is critical to both understanding and preventing sexual aggression. This study examined 120 men who completed an anonymous online questionnaire. The study aimed to determine the relative importance of two potential correlates of men's self-reported use of sexual aggression: (a) perceptions that male peers use and support sexual aggression and (b) perceptions of punishment likelihood associated with sexual aggression. Results revealed that perceptions of male friends' acceptance of sexual aggression were strongly associated with individual men's reports of using verbal coercion and rape. Perceptions of punishment likelihood were negatively correlated with verbal coercion but not with rape through intoxication and force. Implications for sexual aggression prevention are discussed.
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van Dooremalen, Coby; Gerritsen, Lonne; Cornelissen, Bram; van der Steen, Jozef J. M.; van Langevelde, Frank; Blacquière, Tjeerd
2012-01-01
Background Recent elevated winter loss of honey bee colonies is a major concern. The presence of the mite Varroa destructor in colonies places an important pressure on bee health. V. destructor shortens the lifespan of individual bees, while long lifespan during winter is a primary requirement to survive until the next spring. We investigated in two subsequent years the effects of different levels of V. destructor infestation during the transition from short-lived summer bees to long-lived winter bees on the lifespan of individual bees and the survival of bee colonies during winter. Colonies treated earlier in the season to reduce V. destructor infestation during the development of winter bees were expected to have longer bee lifespan and higher colony survival after winter. Methodology/Principal Findings Mite infestation was reduced using acaricide treatments during different months (July, August, September, or not treated). We found that the number of capped brood cells decreased drastically between August and November, while at the same time, the lifespan of the bees (marked cohorts) increased indicating the transition to winter bees. Low V. destructor infestation levels before and during the transition to winter bees resulted in an increase in lifespan of bees and higher colony survival compared to colonies that were not treated and that had higher infestation levels. A variety of stress-related factors could have contributed to the variation in longevity and winter survival that we found between years. Conclusions/Significance This study contributes to theory about the multiple causes for the recent elevated colony losses in honey bees. Our study shows the correlation between long lifespan of winter bees and colony loss in spring. Moreover, we show that colonies treated earlier in the season had reduced V. destructor infestation during the development of winter bees resulting in longer bee lifespan and higher colony survival after winter. PMID:22558421
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POTENSI LILIN LEBAH HUTAN THE POTENTIAL BEES WAXS FROM WILD BEE
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Muhammad Junus
2017-11-01
Full Text Available This research was carried out to examine the ability of forest resources in producing total (amount nest, hive comb lowering and beeswax of giant honey bee. The method used in this research was survey method. This research was conducted in July 2015 in Sialang Honey Community Cooperative (KOPMAS located in Sungai Pagar village, Riau province. The result indicated that a. The research location was suitable for giant honey bee (Apis dorsata development, b. The number of hive combs lowering from 15 trees was 411 combs with 67 times lowering, c. The average of hive comb weight in every lowering was around 40.6 kg. d. Beeswax production at every harvest time was 273.6 kg. The conclusions from this research were: 1. The number of giant honey bee hive combs from various trees and the weight of hive combs were not the same. 2. The amount of beeswax was equivalent to the production of bee hive comb. It is suggested that: 1. The utilization of giant honey bees wax should be designed so it can be used as a commodity to increase people’s incomes. 2. Certain policies are needed to develop giant honey bee activity around forest areas in order to produce more hive comb and beeswax.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Joong chul An
2006-12-01
Full Text Available Objectives : This study was conducted to compare antibacterial activities and free radical scavenging activity between the Bee Venom and Sweet Bee Venom in which the allergy-causing enzyme is removed. Methods : To evaluate antibacterial activities of the test samples, gram negative E. coli and gram positive St. aureus were compared using the paper disc method. For comparison of the antioxidant effects, DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl free radical scavenging assay and Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances (TBARS assay were conducted. Results : 1. Antibacterial activity against gram negative E. coli was greater in the Sweet Bee Venom group than the Bee Venom group. 2. Antibacterial activity against gram positive St. aureus was similar between the Bee Venom and Sweet Bee Venom groups. 3. DPPH free radical scavenging activity of the Bee Venom group showed 2.8 times stronger than that of the Sweet Bee Venom group. 4. Inhibition of lipid peroxidation of the Bee Venom group showed 782 times greater than that of the Sweet Bee Venom group. Conclusions : The Bee Venom group showed outstanding antibacterial activity against gram positive St. aureus, and allergen-removed Sweet Bee Venom group showed outstanding antibacterial activity against both gram negative E. coli and gram positive St. aureus. For antioxidant effects, the Bee Venom was superior over the Sweet Bee Venom and the superiority was far more apparent for lipid peroxidation.
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Park, Joon Soo; Lee, Min Jung; Chung, Ki Hun; Ko, Dong Kyun; Chung, Hyun
2013-12-01
Live bee acupuncture (Bong-Chim) dermatitis is an iatrogenic disease induced by so-called live bee acupuncture therapy, which applies the honeybee (Apis cerana) stinger directly into the lesion to treat various diseases in Korea. We present two cases of live bee acupuncture dermatitis and review previously published articles about this disease. We classify this entity into three stages: acute, subacute, and chronic. The acute stage is an inflammatory reaction, such as anaphylaxis or urticaria. In the chronic stage, a foreign body granuloma may develop from the remaining stingers, similar to that of a bee sting reaction. However, in the subacute stage, unlike bee stings, we see the characteristic histological "flame" figures resulting from eosinophilic stimulation induced by excessive bee venom exposure. We consider this stage to be different from the adverse skin reaction of accidental bee sting. © 2013 The International Society of Dermatology.
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Vasquez Guerrero, Desi Alonzo
2009-01-01
This study examines the relationships between hypermasculinity, sexual aggression, intimate partner violence, social support, and child maltreatment risk among heterosexual fathers completing parenting classes. Hypermasculinity scores were found to be significant predictors of study participants' reported verbal, physical, and sexual aggression toward their intimate partners. Only lack of social support, operationalized as the reported frequency of participants' conversations with friends, relatives, or neighbors about their problems, was found to be a significant predictor of child maltreatment risk. Alcohol frequency, education, and monthly income were not found to be unique, significant predictors of any dependent variables. Implications for clinical practice and research as well as limitations to the current study are discussed.
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ECOLOGICAL IMPACT ON NATIVE BEES BY THE INVASIVE AFRICANIZED HONEY BEE
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
DAVID ROUBIK
2009-05-01
Full Text Available ABSTRACT Very little effort has been made to investigate bee population dynamics among intact wilderness areas. The presence of newly-arrived feral Africanized honey bee (AHB, Apis mellifera (Apidae, populations was studied for 10-17 years in areas previously with few or no escaped European apiary honey bees. Here I describe and interpret the major results from studies in three neotropical forests: French Guiana, Panama and Yucatan, Mexico (5° to 19° N. latitude. The exotic Africanized honey bees did not produce a negative effect on native bees, including species that were solitary or highly eusocial. Major differences over time were found in honey bee abundance on flowers near habitat experiencing the greatest degree of disturbance, compared to deep forest areas. At the population level, sampled at nest blocks, or at flower patches, or at light traps, there was no sudden decline in bees after AHB arrival, and relatively steady or sinusoidal population dynamics. However, the native bees shifted their foraging time or floral species. A principal conclusion is that such competition is silent, in floristically rich habitats, because bees compensate behaviorally for competition. Other factors limit their populations. Key words: Africanized honey bee, native bees, competition, population dynamics, neotropical forests RESUMEN Pocos estudios han considerado la dinámica de poblaciones de abejas en bosques o hábitats no alterados por el hombre. La presencia de abejas silvestres Africanizadas de Apis mellifera (Apidae fue estudiado por 10-17 años en áreas previamente sin esta especie. Aquí presento e interpreto resultados de tres bosques neotropicales: Guyana Francesa, Panamá y Yucatán, México (5° a 19° N. latitud. La abeja Africanizada exótica no produjo efecto negativo en las abejas nativas, incluyendo especies altamente sociales y solitarias. Diferencias mayores a través del tiempo fueron encontradas en la abundancia de las abejas de miel
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Climate-associated phenological advances in bee pollinators and bee-pollinated plants
Bartomeus, Ignasi; Ascher, John S.; Wagner, David; Danforth, Bryan N.; Colla, Sheila; Kornbluth, Sarah; Winfree, Rachael
2011-01-01
The phenology of many ecological processes is modulated by temperature, making them potentially sensitive to climate change. Mutualistic interactions may be especially vulnerable because of the potential for phenological mismatching if the species involved do not respond similarly to changes in temperature. Here we present an analysis of climate-associated shifts in the phenology of wild bees, the most important pollinators worldwide, and compare these shifts to published studies of bee-pollinated plants over the same time period. We report that over the past 130 y, the phenology of 10 bee species from northeastern North America has advanced by a mean of 10.4 ± 1.3 d. Most of this advance has taken place since 1970, paralleling global temperature increases. When the best available data are used to estimate analogous rates of advance for plants, these rates are not distinguishable from those of bees, suggesting that bee emergence is keeping pace with shifts in host-plant flowering, at least among the generalist species that we investigated. PMID:22143794
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The conservation and restoration of wild bees.
Winfree, Rachael
2010-05-01
Bees pollinate most of the world's wild plant species and provide economically valuable pollination services to crops; yet knowledge of bee conservation biology lags far behind other taxa such as vertebrates and plants. There are few long-term data on bee populations, which makes their conservation status difficult to assess. The best-studied groups are the genus Bombus (the bumble bees), and bees in the EU generally; both of these are clearly declining. However, it is not known to what extent these groups represent the approximately 20,000 species of bees globally. As is the case for insects in general, bees are underrepresented in conservation planning and protection efforts. For example, only two bee species are on the global IUCN Red List, and no bee is listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, even though many bee species are known to be in steep decline or possibly extinct. At present, bee restoration occurs mainly in agricultural contexts, funded by government programs such as agri-environment schemes (EU) and the Farm Bill (USA). This is a promising approach given that many bee species can use human-disturbed habitats, and bees provide valuable pollination services to crops. However, agricultural restorations only benefit species that persist in agricultural landscapes, and they are more expensive than preserving natural habitat elsewhere. Furthermore, such restorations benefit bees in only about half of studied cases. More research is greatly needed in many areas of bee conservation, including basic population biology, bee restoration in nonagricultural contexts, and the identification of disturbance-sensitive bee species.
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Influence of pollen nutrition on honey bee health: do pollen quality and diversity matter?
Di Pasquale, Garance; Salignon, Marion; Le Conte, Yves; Belzunces, Luc P; Decourtye, Axel; Kretzschmar, André; Suchail, Séverine; Brunet, Jean-Luc; Alaux, Cédric
2013-01-01
Honey bee colonies are highly dependent upon the availability of floral resources from which they get the nutrients (notably pollen) necessary to their development and survival. However, foraging areas are currently affected by the intensification of agriculture and landscape alteration. Bees are therefore confronted to disparities in time and space of floral resource abundance, type and diversity, which might provide inadequate nutrition and endanger colonies. The beneficial influence of pollen availability on bee health is well-established but whether quality and diversity of pollen diets can modify bee health remains largely unknown. We therefore tested the influence of pollen diet quality (different monofloral pollens) and diversity (polyfloral pollen diet) on the physiology of young nurse bees, which have a distinct nutritional physiology (e.g. hypopharyngeal gland development and vitellogenin level), and on the tolerance to the microsporidian parasite Nosemaceranae by measuring bee survival and the activity of different enzymes potentially involved in bee health and defense response (glutathione-S-transferase (detoxification), phenoloxidase (immunity) and alkaline phosphatase (metabolism)). We found that both nurse bee physiology and the tolerance to the parasite were affected by pollen quality. Pollen diet diversity had no effect on the nurse bee physiology and the survival of healthy bees. However, when parasitized, bees fed with the polyfloral blend lived longer than bees fed with monofloral pollens, excepted for the protein-richest monofloral pollen. Furthermore, the survival was positively correlated to alkaline phosphatase activity in healthy bees and to phenoloxydase activities in infected bees. Our results support the idea that both the quality and diversity (in a specific context) of pollen can shape bee physiology and might help to better understand the influence of agriculture and land-use intensification on bee nutrition and health.
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Influence of pollen nutrition on honey bee health: do pollen quality and diversity matter?
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Garance Di Pasquale
Full Text Available Honey bee colonies are highly dependent upon the availability of floral resources from which they get the nutrients (notably pollen necessary to their development and survival. However, foraging areas are currently affected by the intensification of agriculture and landscape alteration. Bees are therefore confronted to disparities in time and space of floral resource abundance, type and diversity, which might provide inadequate nutrition and endanger colonies. The beneficial influence of pollen availability on bee health is well-established but whether quality and diversity of pollen diets can modify bee health remains largely unknown. We therefore tested the influence of pollen diet quality (different monofloral pollens and diversity (polyfloral pollen diet on the physiology of young nurse bees, which have a distinct nutritional physiology (e.g. hypopharyngeal gland development and vitellogenin level, and on the tolerance to the microsporidian parasite Nosemaceranae by measuring bee survival and the activity of different enzymes potentially involved in bee health and defense response (glutathione-S-transferase (detoxification, phenoloxidase (immunity and alkaline phosphatase (metabolism. We found that both nurse bee physiology and the tolerance to the parasite were affected by pollen quality. Pollen diet diversity had no effect on the nurse bee physiology and the survival of healthy bees. However, when parasitized, bees fed with the polyfloral blend lived longer than bees fed with monofloral pollens, excepted for the protein-richest monofloral pollen. Furthermore, the survival was positively correlated to alkaline phosphatase activity in healthy bees and to phenoloxydase activities in infected bees. Our results support the idea that both the quality and diversity (in a specific context of pollen can shape bee physiology and might help to better understand the influence of agriculture and land-use intensification on bee nutrition and health.
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BeeDoctor, a versatile MLPA-based diagnostic tool for screening bee viruses.
De Smet, Lina; Ravoet, Jorgen; de Miranda, Joachim R; Wenseleers, Tom; Mueller, Matthias Y; Moritz, Robin F A; de Graaf, Dirk C
2012-01-01
The long-term decline of managed honeybee hives in the world has drawn significant attention to the scientific community and bee-keeping industry. A high pathogen load is believed to play a crucial role in this phenomenon, with the bee viruses being key players. Most of the currently characterized honeybee viruses (around twenty) are positive stranded RNA viruses. Techniques based on RNA signatures are widely used to determine the viral load in honeybee colonies. High throughput screening for viral loads necessitates the development of a multiplex polymerase chain reaction approach in which different viruses can be targeted simultaneously. A new multiparameter assay, called "BeeDoctor", was developed based on multiplex-ligation probe dependent amplification (MLPA) technology. This assay detects 10 honeybee viruses in one reaction. "BeeDoctor" is also able to screen selectively for either the positive strand of the targeted RNA bee viruses or the negative strand, which is indicative for active viral replication. Due to its sensitivity and specificity, the MLPA assay is a useful tool for rapid diagnosis, pathogen characterization, and epidemiology of viruses in honeybee populations. "BeeDoctor" was used for screening 363 samples from apiaries located throughout Flanders; the northern half of Belgium. Using the "BeeDoctor", virus infections were detected in almost eighty percent of the colonies, with deformed wing virus by far the most frequently detected virus and multiple virus infections were found in 26 percent of the colonies.
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BeeDoctor, a versatile MLPA-based diagnostic tool for screening bee viruses.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Lina De Smet
Full Text Available The long-term decline of managed honeybee hives in the world has drawn significant attention to the scientific community and bee-keeping industry. A high pathogen load is believed to play a crucial role in this phenomenon, with the bee viruses being key players. Most of the currently characterized honeybee viruses (around twenty are positive stranded RNA viruses. Techniques based on RNA signatures are widely used to determine the viral load in honeybee colonies. High throughput screening for viral loads necessitates the development of a multiplex polymerase chain reaction approach in which different viruses can be targeted simultaneously. A new multiparameter assay, called "BeeDoctor", was developed based on multiplex-ligation probe dependent amplification (MLPA technology. This assay detects 10 honeybee viruses in one reaction. "BeeDoctor" is also able to screen selectively for either the positive strand of the targeted RNA bee viruses or the negative strand, which is indicative for active viral replication. Due to its sensitivity and specificity, the MLPA assay is a useful tool for rapid diagnosis, pathogen characterization, and epidemiology of viruses in honeybee populations. "BeeDoctor" was used for screening 363 samples from apiaries located throughout Flanders; the northern half of Belgium. Using the "BeeDoctor", virus infections were detected in almost eighty percent of the colonies, with deformed wing virus by far the most frequently detected virus and multiple virus infections were found in 26 percent of the colonies.
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Fault Tolerance in ZigBee Wireless Sensor Networks
Alena, Richard; Gilstrap, Ray; Baldwin, Jarren; Stone, Thom; Wilson, Pete
2011-01-01
Wireless sensor networks (WSN) based on the IEEE 802.15.4 Personal Area Network standard are finding increasing use in the home automation and emerging smart energy markets. The network and application layers, based on the ZigBee 2007 PRO Standard, provide a convenient framework for component-based software that supports customer solutions from multiple vendors. This technology is supported by System-on-a-Chip solutions, resulting in extremely small and low-power nodes. The Wireless Connections in Space Project addresses the aerospace flight domain for both flight-critical and non-critical avionics. WSNs provide the inherent fault tolerance required for aerospace applications utilizing such technology. The team from Ames Research Center has developed techniques for assessing the fault tolerance of ZigBee WSNs challenged by radio frequency (RF) interference or WSN node failure.
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Viral diseases in honey bee queens
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Francis, Roy Mathew
Honey bees are important insects for human welfare, due to pollination as well as honey production. Viral diseases strongly impact honey bee health, especially since the spread of varroa mites. This dissertation deals with the interactions between honey bees, viruses and varroa mites. A new tool...... was developed to diagnose three viruses in honey bees. Quantitative PCR was used to investigate the distribution of two popular viruses in five different tissues of 86 honey bee queens. Seasonal variation of viral infection in honey bee workers and varroa mites were determined by sampling 23 colonies under...
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The Honey Bee Pathosphere of Mongolia: European Viruses in Central Asia.
Tsevegmid, Khaliunaa; Neumann, Peter; Yañez, Orlando
2016-01-01
Parasites and pathogens are apparent key factors for the detrimental health of managed European honey bee subspecies, Apis mellifera. Apicultural trade is arguably the main factor for the almost global distribution of most honey bee diseases, thereby increasing chances for multiple infestations/infections of regions, apiaries, colonies and even individual bees. This imposes difficulties to evaluate the effects of pathogens in isolation, thereby creating demand to survey remote areas. Here, we conducted the first comprehensive survey for 14 honey bee pathogens in Mongolia (N = 3 regions, N = 9 locations, N = 151 colonies), where honey bee colonies depend on humans to overwinter. In Mongolia, honey bees, Apis spp., are not native and colonies of European A. mellifera subspecies have been introduced ~60 years ago. Despite the high detection power and large sample size across Mongolian regions with beekeeping, the mite Acarapis woodi, the bacteria Melissococcus plutonius and Paenibacillus larvae, the microsporidian Nosema apis, Acute bee paralysis virus, Kashmir bee virus, Israeli acute paralysis virus and Lake Sinai virus strain 2 were not detected, suggesting that they are either very rare or absent. The mite Varroa destructor, Nosema ceranae and four viruses (Sacbrood virus, Black queen cell virus, Deformed wing virus (DWV) and Chronic bee paralysis virus) were found with different prevalence. Despite the positive correlation between the prevalence of V. destructor mites and DWV, some areas had only mites, but not DWV, which is most likely due to the exceptional isolation of apiaries (up to 600 km). Phylogenetic analyses of the detected viruses reveal their clustering and European origin, thereby supporting the role of trade for pathogen spread and the isolation of Mongolia from South-Asian countries. In conclusion, this survey reveals the distinctive honey bee pathosphere of Mongolia, which offers opportunities for exciting future research.
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The Honey Bee Pathosphere of Mongolia: European Viruses in Central Asia.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Khaliunaa Tsevegmid
Full Text Available Parasites and pathogens are apparent key factors for the detrimental health of managed European honey bee subspecies, Apis mellifera. Apicultural trade is arguably the main factor for the almost global distribution of most honey bee diseases, thereby increasing chances for multiple infestations/infections of regions, apiaries, colonies and even individual bees. This imposes difficulties to evaluate the effects of pathogens in isolation, thereby creating demand to survey remote areas. Here, we conducted the first comprehensive survey for 14 honey bee pathogens in Mongolia (N = 3 regions, N = 9 locations, N = 151 colonies, where honey bee colonies depend on humans to overwinter. In Mongolia, honey bees, Apis spp., are not native and colonies of European A. mellifera subspecies have been introduced ~60 years ago. Despite the high detection power and large sample size across Mongolian regions with beekeeping, the mite Acarapis woodi, the bacteria Melissococcus plutonius and Paenibacillus larvae, the microsporidian Nosema apis, Acute bee paralysis virus, Kashmir bee virus, Israeli acute paralysis virus and Lake Sinai virus strain 2 were not detected, suggesting that they are either very rare or absent. The mite Varroa destructor, Nosema ceranae and four viruses (Sacbrood virus, Black queen cell virus, Deformed wing virus (DWV and Chronic bee paralysis virus were found with different prevalence. Despite the positive correlation between the prevalence of V. destructor mites and DWV, some areas had only mites, but not DWV, which is most likely due to the exceptional isolation of apiaries (up to 600 km. Phylogenetic analyses of the detected viruses reveal their clustering and European origin, thereby supporting the role of trade for pathogen spread and the isolation of Mongolia from South-Asian countries. In conclusion, this survey reveals the distinctive honey bee pathosphere of Mongolia, which offers opportunities for exciting future research.
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Henriksen, Casper Christian I
use as a proxy at four different scales (250, 500, 750 and 1000 m). In 2012, the effect of a four-fold larger area of organic arable fields in simple, homogeneous landscapes on bumblebees and solitary bees was investigated in eight circular landscapes (radius 1000 m). Bumblebees and solitary bees were......Summary: The effects of farming system, flower resources and semi-natural habitats on bumblebees and solitary bees in intensively cultivated landscapes in Denmark were investigated in two sets of studies, in 2011 and 2012. The pan trap colour preferences of bumblebees and solitary bees were also...... assessed. In 2011, bumblebees and solitary bees were trapped in road verges bordering 14 organic (organic sites) and 14 conventional (conventional sites) winter wheat fields. The quantity and quality of local flower resources in the road verge and adjacent field headland were estimated as overall density...
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Interactions between Cooccurring Lactic Acid Bacteria in Honey Bee Hives.
Rokop, Z P; Horton, M A; Newton, I L G
2015-10-01
In contrast to the honey bee gut, which is colonized by a few characteristic bacterial clades, the hive of the honey bee is home to a diverse array of microbes, including many lactic acid bacteria (LAB). In this study, we used culture, combined with sequencing, to sample the LAB communities found across hive environments. Specifically, we sought to use network analysis to identify microbial hubs sharing nearly identical operational taxonomic units, evidence which may indicate cooccurrence of bacteria between environments. In the process, we identified interactions between noncore bacterial members (Fructobacillus and Lactobacillaceae) and honey bee-specific "core" members. Both Fructobacillus and Lactobacillaceae colonize brood cells, bee bread, and nectar and may serve the role of pioneering species, establishing an environment conducive to the inoculation by honey bee core bacteria. Coculture assays showed that these noncore bacterial members promote the growth of honey bee-specific bacterial species. Specifically, Fructobacillus by-products in spent medium supported the growth of the Firm-5 honey bee-specific clade in vitro. Metabolic characterization of Fructobacillus using carbohydrate utilization assays revealed that this strain is capable of utilizing the simple sugars fructose and glucose, as well as the complex plant carbohydrate lignin. We tested Fructobacillus for antibiotic sensitivity and found that this bacterium, which may be important for establishment of the microbiome, is sensitive to the commonly used antibiotic tetracycline. Our results point to the possible significance of "noncore" and environmental microbial community members in the modulation of honey bee microbiome dynamics and suggest that tetracycline use by beekeepers should be limited. Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
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Country-specific effects of neonicotinoid pesticides on honey bees and wild bees.
Woodcock, B A; Bullock, J M; Shore, R F; Heard, M S; Pereira, M G; Redhead, J; Ridding, L; Dean, H; Sleep, D; Henrys, P; Peyton, J; Hulmes, S; Hulmes, L; Sárospataki, M; Saure, C; Edwards, M; Genersch, E; Knäbe, S; Pywell, R F
2017-06-30
Neonicotinoid seed dressings have caused concern world-wide. We use large field experiments to assess the effects of neonicotinoid-treated crops on three bee species across three countries (Hungary, Germany, and the United Kingdom). Winter-sown oilseed rape was grown commercially with either seed coatings containing neonicotinoids (clothianidin or thiamethoxam) or no seed treatment (control). For honey bees, we found both negative (Hungary and United Kingdom) and positive (Germany) effects during crop flowering. In Hungary, negative effects on honey bees (associated with clothianidin) persisted over winter and resulted in smaller colonies in the following spring (24% declines). In wild bees ( Bombus terrestris and Osmia bicornis ), reproduction was negatively correlated with neonicotinoid residues. These findings point to neonicotinoids causing a reduced capacity of bee species to establish new populations in the year following exposure. Copyright © 2017 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.
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Field-level sublethal effects of approved bee hive chemicals on Honey Bees (Apis mellifera L).
Berry, Jennifer A; Hood, W Michael; Pietravalle, Stéphane; Delaplane, Keith S
2013-01-01
In a study replicated across two states and two years, we tested the sublethal effects on honey bees of the miticides Apistan (tau fluvalinate) and Check Mite+ (coumaphos) and the wood preservative copper naphthenate applied at label rates in field conditions. A continuous covariate, a colony Varroa mite index, helped us disambiguate the effects of the chemicals on bees while adjusting for a presumed benefit of controlling mites. Mite levels in colonies treated with Apistan or Check Mite+ were not different from levels in non-treated controls. Experimental chemicals significantly decreased 3-day brood survivorship and increased construction of queen supercedure cells compared to non-treated controls. Bees exposed to Check Mite+ as immatures had higher legacy mortality as adults relative to non-treated controls, whereas bees exposed to Apistan had improved legacy mortality relative to non-treated controls. Relative to non-treated controls, Check Mite+ increased adult emergence weight. Although there was a treatment effect on a test of associative learning, it was not possible to statistically separate the treatment means, but bees treated with Apistan performed comparatively well. And finally, there were no detected effects of bee hive chemical on colony bee population, amount of brood, amount of honey, foraging rate, time required for marked released bees to return to their nest, percentage of released bees that return to the nest, and colony Nosema spore loads. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine sublethal effects of bee hive chemicals applied at label rates under field conditions while disambiguating the results from mite control benefits realized from the chemicals. Given the poor performance of the miticides at reducing mites and their inconsistent effects on the host, these results defend the use of bee health management practices that minimize use of exotic hive chemicals.
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Field-level sublethal effects of approved bee hive chemicals on Honey Bees (Apis mellifera L.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jennifer A Berry
Full Text Available In a study replicated across two states and two years, we tested the sublethal effects on honey bees of the miticides Apistan (tau fluvalinate and Check Mite+ (coumaphos and the wood preservative copper naphthenate applied at label rates in field conditions. A continuous covariate, a colony Varroa mite index, helped us disambiguate the effects of the chemicals on bees while adjusting for a presumed benefit of controlling mites. Mite levels in colonies treated with Apistan or Check Mite+ were not different from levels in non-treated controls. Experimental chemicals significantly decreased 3-day brood survivorship and increased construction of queen supercedure cells compared to non-treated controls. Bees exposed to Check Mite+ as immatures had higher legacy mortality as adults relative to non-treated controls, whereas bees exposed to Apistan had improved legacy mortality relative to non-treated controls. Relative to non-treated controls, Check Mite+ increased adult emergence weight. Although there was a treatment effect on a test of associative learning, it was not possible to statistically separate the treatment means, but bees treated with Apistan performed comparatively well. And finally, there were no detected effects of bee hive chemical on colony bee population, amount of brood, amount of honey, foraging rate, time required for marked released bees to return to their nest, percentage of released bees that return to the nest, and colony Nosema spore loads. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine sublethal effects of bee hive chemicals applied at label rates under field conditions while disambiguating the results from mite control benefits realized from the chemicals. Given the poor performance of the miticides at reducing mites and their inconsistent effects on the host, these results defend the use of bee health management practices that minimize use of exotic hive chemicals.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Syahid Anuar
2016-10-01
Full Text Available The artificial bee colony (ABC is one of the swarm intelligence algorithms used to solve optimization problems which is inspired by the foraging behaviour of the honey bees. In this paper, artificial bee colony with the rate of change technique which models the behaviour of scout bee to improve the performance of the standard ABC in terms of exploration is introduced. The technique is called artificial bee colony rate of change (ABC-ROC because the scout bee process depends on the rate of change on the performance graph, replace the parameter limit. The performance of ABC-ROC is analysed on a set of benchmark problems and also on the effect of the parameter colony size. Furthermore, the performance of ABC-ROC is compared with the state of the art algorithms.
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Negative effects of pesticides on wild bee communities can be buffered by landscape context.
Park, Mia G; Blitzer, E J; Gibbs, Jason; Losey, John E; Danforth, Bryan N
2015-06-22
Wild bee communities provide underappreciated but critical agricultural pollination services. Given predicted global shortages in pollination services, managing agroecosystems to support thriving wild bee communities is, therefore, central to ensuring sustainable food production. Benefits of natural (including semi-natural) habitat for wild bee abundance and diversity on farms are well documented. By contrast, few studies have examined toxicity of pesticides on wild bees, let alone effects of farm-level pesticide exposure on entire bee communities. Whether beneficial natural areas could mediate effects of harmful pesticides on wild bees is also unknown. Here, we assess the effect of conventional pesticide use on the wild bee community visiting apple (Malus domestica) within a gradient of percentage natural area in the landscape. Wild bee community abundance and species richness decreased linearly with increasing pesticide use in orchards one year after application; however, pesticide effects on wild bees were buffered by increasing proportion of natural habitat in the surrounding landscape. A significant contribution of fungicides to observed pesticide effects suggests deleterious properties of a class of pesticides that was, until recently, considered benign to bees. Our results demonstrate extended benefits of natural areas for wild pollinators and highlight the importance of considering the landscape context when weighing up the costs of pest management on crop pollination services. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.
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BEE VENOM TRAP DESIGN OF APIS MELLIFERA L. AND APIS CERANA F. HONEY BEES
Budiaman
2015-01-01
The nectar and pollen of flowers which are abundance have not been taken into account for any purpose in forest, agriculture and plantation area. Honey bees such as Apis mellifera L. and Apis cerana F. had known as biological pollinators which could converted the flower components to be high economy products in the forms of honey, royal jelly, propolis, bee wax and bee venom. Among the products, bee venom has the best selling value, but the method of it???s optimal production has not been ext...
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[Lorenz was right, or does aggressive energy accumulate?].
Kudriavtseva, N N
2004-06-01
Evidence supporting the fact that inherited mechanisms of regulation of aggressive behavior as a result of a repeated experience of aggression ending in victories are transformed into pathological mechanisms based on accumulation of neurochemical shifts in the brain, enhancing aggressiveness, and forming aggressive motivation in aggressive winners. This confirms the concept by Lorenz on the existence of a mechanism (but not instinct) of a spontaneous accumulation of aggressive energy that needs a discharge and formation of permanent attraction to manifestation of aggression.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Parrinello Hughes
2011-10-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Malnutrition is a major factor affecting animal health, resistance to disease and survival. In honey bees (Apis mellifera, pollen, which is the main dietary source of proteins, amino acids and lipids, is essential to adult bee physiological development while reducing their susceptibility to parasites and pathogens. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying pollen's nutritive impact on honey bee health remained to be determined. For that purpose, we investigated the influence of pollen nutrients on the transcriptome of worker bees parasitized by the mite Varroa destructor, known for suppressing immunity and decreasing lifespan. The 4 experimental groups (control bees without a pollen diet, control bees fed with pollen, varroa-parasitized bees without a pollen diet and varroa-parasitized bees fed with pollen were analyzed by performing a digital gene expression (DGE analysis on bee abdomens. Results Around 36, 000 unique tags were generated per DGE-tag library, which matched about 8, 000 genes (60% of the genes in the honey bee genome. Comparing the transcriptome of bees fed with pollen and sugar and bees restricted to a sugar diet, we found that pollen activates nutrient-sensing and metabolic pathways. In addition, those nutrients had a positive influence on genes affecting longevity and the production of some antimicrobial peptides. However, varroa parasitism caused the development of viral populations and a decrease in metabolism, specifically by inhibiting protein metabolism essential to bee health. This harmful effect was not reversed by pollen intake. Conclusions The DGE-tag profiling methods used in this study proved to be a powerful means for analyzing transcriptome variation related to nutrient intake in honey bees. Ultimately, with such an approach, applying genomics tools to nutrition research, nutrigenomics promises to offer a better understanding of how nutrition influences body homeostasis and may help reduce
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The Barrier within: Relational Aggression among Women
Brock, Barbara L.
2010-01-01
Relational aggression among women presents an overlooked barrier to women's quest for advancement in the workplace. Although research on women's leadership extols their ability to collaborate and form lasting, supportive relationships, one cannot assume that all women are supportive of other women. Research reveals that relational aggression,…
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Radzevičiūtė, Rita; Theodorou, Panagiotis; Husemann, Martin; Japoshvili, George; Kirkitadze, Giorgi; Zhusupbaeva, Aigul; Paxton, Robert J
2017-06-01
The essential ecosystem service of pollination is provided largely by insects, which are considered threatened by diverse biotic and abiotic global change pressures. RNA viruses are one such pressure, and have risen in prominence as a major threat for honey bees (Apis mellifera) and global apiculture, as well as a risk factor for other bee species through pathogen spill-over between managed honey bees and sympatric wild pollinator communities. Yet despite their potential role in global bee decline, the prevalence of honey bee-associated RNA viruses in wild bees is poorly known from both geographic and taxonomic perspectives. We screened members of pollinator communities (honey bees, bumble bees and other wild bees belonging to four families) collected from apple orchards in Georgia, Germany and Kyrgyzstan for six common honey bee-associated RNA virus complexes encompassing nine virus targets. The Deformed wing virus complex (DWV genotypes A and B) had the highest prevalence across all localities and host species and was the only virus complex found in wild bee species belonging to all four studied families. Based on amplification of negative-strand viral RNA, we found evidence for viral replication in wild bee species of DWV-A/DWV-B (hosts: Andrena haemorrhoa and several Bombus spp.) and Black queen cell virus (hosts: Anthophora plumipes, several Bombus spp., Osmia bicornis and Xylocopa spp.). Viral amplicon sequences revealed that DWV-A and DWV-B are regionally distinct but identical in two or more bee species at any one site, suggesting virus is shared amongst sympatric bee taxa. This study demonstrates that honey bee associated RNA viruses are geographically and taxonomically widespread, likely infective in wild bee species, and shared across bee taxa. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Neonicotinoids and bees: The case of the European regulatory risk assessment.
Auteri, Domenica; Arena, Maria; Barmaz, Stefania; Ippolito, Alessio; Linguadoca, Alberto; Molnar, Tunde; Sharp, Rachel; Szentes, Csaba; Vagenende, Benedicte; Verani, Alessia
2017-02-01
Neonicotinoid insecticides are systemic pesticides authorised in Europe since 1991. From their introduction on the market, they have received significant attention from the scientific community, particularly regarding the assessment of lethal and sublethal effects on bees. The availability of scientific evidence alongside some concerns raised on the bee health led to the development of more articulate risk assessment methodologies for pesticides. To support the European Commission in its decision-making process, since 2012 EFSA has been requested to evaluate the risk to bees posed by the exposure to neonicotinoids. The outcome of the EFSA evaluations has been used by risk managers to revise the approval conditions of the substances clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam and to impose severe restrictions on their use. Meanwhile, a number of new studies have been carried out. EFSA is evaluating these data in order to further support the decision-making process with updated scientific assessments. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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dos Santos, S A Bispo; Roselino, A C; Hrncir, M; Bego, L R
2009-06-30
The pollination effectiveness of the stingless bee Melipona quadrifasciata and the honey bee Apis mellifera was tested in tomato plots. The experiment was conducted in four greenhouses as well as in an external open plot in Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil. The tomato plants were exposed to visits by M. quadrifasciata in one greenhouse and to A. mellifera in another; two greenhouses were maintained without bees (controls) and an open field plot was exposed to pollinators in an area where both honey bee and stingless bee colonies are abundant. We counted the number of tomatoes produced in each plot. Two hundred tomatoes from each plot were weighed, their vertical and transversal circumferences were measured, and the seeds were counted. We collected 253 Chrysomelidae, 17 Halictidae, one Paratrigona sp, and one honey bee from the flowers of the tomato plants in the open area. The largest number of fruits (1414 tomatoes), the heaviest and largest tomatoes, and the ones with the most seed were collected from the greenhouse with stingless bees. Fruits cultivated in the greenhouse with honey bees had the same weight and size as those produced in one of the control greenhouses. The stingless bee, M. quadrifasciata, was significantly more efficient than honey bees in pollinating greenhouse tomatoes.
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Reproduction and survival of a solitary bee along native and exotic floral resource gradients.
Palladini, Jennifer D; Maron, John L
2014-11-01
Native bee abundance has long been assumed to be limited by floral resources. This paradigm has been established in large measure because more bees are often found in areas supporting greater floral abundance. This could result from attraction to resource-rich sites as well as greater local demographic performance in sites supporting high floral abundance; however, demographic performance is usually unknown. Factors other than floral resources such as availability of nest sites, pressure from natural enemies, or whether floral resources are from a mixed native or mostly monodominant exotic assemblage might influence survival or fecundity and hence abundance. We examined how the survival and fecundity of the native solitary bee Osmia lignaria varied along a gradient in floral resource abundance. We released bees alongside a nest block at 27 grassland sites in Montana (USA) that varied in floral abundance and the extent of invasion by exotic forbs. We monitored nest construction and the fate of offspring within each nest. The number of nests established was positively related to native forb abundance and was negatively related to exotic forb species richness. Fecundity was positively related to native forb species richness; however, offspring mortality caused by the brood parasite Tricrania stansburyi was significantly greater in native-dominated sites. These results suggest that native floral resources can positively influence bee populations, but that the relationship between native floral resources and bee population performance is not straightforward. Rather, bees may face a trade-off between high offspring production and low offspring survival in native-dominated sites.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Marzanna Agnieszka Farnicka
2017-10-01
Full Text Available Background The study results presented below lie within a field of study which seeks to identify appropriate risk indicators for risky behaviours in the group of adolescents. The study drew on the tenets of developmental psychopathology. Adaptation assessment was performed on the basis of an objective indicator which comprised adolescents’ problems with social functioning. Participants and procedure The main determinants of the observed changes in behaviour and the development of adaptation pathways during the period of adolescence were considered to include bio-psycho-social temperamental factors (Buss & Plomin, 1984, attachment patterns (Armsden & Greenberg, 1987, trait of aggressiveness (Buss & Perry, 1992, conditions created by the environment (support of family members, peers and teachers [Malecki & Demaray, 2002] as well as previous experiences such as being a victim of violence (Osterman & Bjorqvist, 2008 or the level of school success. The final study group comprised a total of 140 positively and 140 negatively adapted teenagers (N = 280 between the ages of 12 and 19. The study was carried out in Poland. Results The study confirmed the gender effect, demonstrating a higher frequency of involvement in risky behaviours among boys. The results from searching for differences between positively and negatively adapted teens showed that in the negatively adapted group there were lower grades at school and more frequent aggressive behaviour. Conclusions The main conclusion that can be drawn from the study is that the potential prophylactic and therapeutic interventions require consideration of factors such as age, educational success, aggressiveness and social support.
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2010-01-01
... 7 Agriculture 5 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Dead bees. 322.29 Section 322.29 Agriculture..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE BEES, BEEKEEPING BYPRODUCTS, AND BEEKEEPING EQUIPMENT Importation and Transit of Restricted Articles § 322.29 Dead bees. (a) Dead bees imported into or transiting the United States must be...
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Hemichorea after multiple bee stings.
An, Jin Young; Kim, Ji Seon; Min, Jin Hong; Han, Kyu Hong; Kang, Jun Ho; Lee, Suk Woo; Kim, Hoon; Park, Jung Soo
2014-02-01
Bee sting is one of the most commonly encountered insect bites in the world. Despite the common occurrence of local and systemic allergic reactions, there are few reports of ischemic stroke after bee stings. To the best our knowledge, there have been no reports on involuntary hyperkinetic movement disorders after multiple bee stings. We report the case of a 50-year-old man who developed involuntary movements of the left leg 24 hours after multiple bee stings, and the cause was confirmed to be a right temporal infarction on a diffusion magnetic resonance imaging scan. Thus, we concluded that the involuntary movement disorder was caused by right temporal infarction that occurred after multiple bee stings.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Min-Ki Kim
2007-12-01
Full Text Available Objectives : The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of Bee Venom and Sweet Bee Venom to the primary cultured preadipocyte, adipocytes, and localized fat tissue. Methods : Decreased preadipocyte proliferation and decreased lipogenesis are mechanisms to reduce obesity. So, preadipocytes and adipocytes were performed on cell cultures using Sprague-Dawley Rats and treated with 0.01-1mg/㎖ Bee Venom and Sweet Bee Venom. And porcine skin including fat tissue after treated Bee Venom and Sweet Bee Venom according to the dosage dependent variation are investigated the histologic changes after injection of these Pharmacopuncture. Result : Following results were obtained from the preadipocyte proliferation and lipolysis of adipocyte and histologic investigation of fat tissue. 1. Bee Venom and Sweet Bee Venom showed the effect of decreased preadipocyte proliferation depend on concentration. 2. Bee Venom and Sweet Bee Venom showed the effect of decreased the activity of glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase(GPDH significantly. 3. Bee Venom was not showed the effect of lipolysis, but Sweet Bee Venom was increased in low dosage and decreased in high dosage. 4. Investigated the histologic changes in porcine fat tissue after treated Bee Venom and Sweet Bee Venom, we knew that these Pharmacopuncture was activated nonspecific lysis of cell membranes depend on concentration. Conclusion : These results suggest that Bee Venom and Sweet Bee Venom efficiently induces decreased proliferation of preadipocyte and lipolysis in adipose tissue
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Africanized bees extend their distribution in California.
Lin, Wei; McBroome, Jakob; Rehman, Mahwish; Johnson, Brian R
2018-01-01
Africanized honey bees (Apis mellifera) arrived in the western hemisphere in the 1950s and quickly spread north reaching California in the 1990s. These bees are highly defensive and somewhat more difficult to manage for commercial purposes than the European honey bees traditionally kept. The arrival of these bees and their potentially replacing European bees over much of the state is thus of great concern. After a 25 year period of little systematic sampling, a recent small scale study found Africanized honey bees in the Bay Area of California, far north of their last recorded distribution. The purpose of the present study was to expand this study by conducting more intensive sampling of bees from across northern California. We found Africanized honey bees as far north as Napa and Sacramento. We also found Africanized bees in all counties south of these counties. Africanized honey bees were particularly abundant in parts of the central valley and Monterey. This work suggests the northern spread of Africanized honey bees may not have stopped. They may still be moving north at a slow rate, although due to the long gaps in sampling it is currently impossible to tell for certain. Future work should routinely monitor the distribution of these bees to distinguish between these two possibilities.
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When do normative beliefs about aggression predict aggressive behavior? An application of I3 theory.
Li, Jian-Bin; Nie, Yan-Gang; Boardley, Ian D; Dou, Kai; Situ, Qiao-Min
2015-01-01
I(3) theory assumes that aggressive behavior is dependent on three orthogonal processes (i.e., Instigator, Impellance, and Inhibition). Previous studies showed that Impellance (trait aggressiveness, retaliation tendencies) better predicted aggression when Instigator was strong and Inhibition was weak. In the current study, we predicted that another Impellance (i.e., normative beliefs about aggression) might predict aggression when Instigator was absent and Inhibition was high (i.e., the perfect calm proposition). In two experiments, participants first completed the normative beliefs about aggression questionnaire. Two weeks later, participants' self-control resources were manipulated either using the Stroop task (study 1, N = 148) or through an "e-crossing" task (study 2, N = 180). Afterwards, with or without being provoked, participants played a game with an ostensible partner where they had a chance to aggress against them. Study 1 found that normative beliefs about aggression negatively and significantly predicted aggressive behavior only when provocation was absent and self-control resources were not depleted. In Study 2, normative beliefs about aggression negatively predicted aggressive behavior at marginal significance level only in the "no-provocation and no-depletion" condition. In conclusion, the current study provides partial support for the perfect calm proposition and I(3) theory. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Special Issue: Honey Bee Viruses
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sebastian Gisder
2015-10-01
Full Text Available Pollination of flowering plants is an important ecosystem service provided by wild insect pollinators and managed honey bees. Hence, losses and declines of pollinating insect species threaten human food security and are of major concern not only for apiculture or agriculture but for human society in general. Honey bee colony losses and bumblebee declines have attracted intensive research interest over the last decade and although the problem is far from being solved we now know that viruses are among the key players of many of these bee losses and bumblebee declines. With this special issue on bee viruses we, therefore, aimed to collect high quality original papers reflecting the current state of bee virus research. To this end, we focused on newly discovered viruses (Lake Sinai viruses, bee macula-like virus, or a so far neglected virus species (Apis mellifera filamentous virus, and cutting edge technologies (mass spectrometry, RNAi approach applied in the field.
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Special Issue: Honey Bee Viruses
Gisder, Sebastian; Genersch, Elke
2015-01-01
Pollination of flowering plants is an important ecosystem service provided by wild insect pollinators and managed honey bees. Hence, losses and declines of pollinating insect species threaten human food security and are of major concern not only for apiculture or agriculture but for human society in general. Honey bee colony losses and bumblebee declines have attracted intensive research interest over the last decade and although the problem is far from being solved we now know that viruses are among the key players of many of these bee losses and bumblebee declines. With this special issue on bee viruses we, therefore, aimed to collect high quality original papers reflecting the current state of bee virus research. To this end, we focused on newly discovered viruses (Lake Sinai viruses, bee macula-like virus), or a so far neglected virus species (Apis mellifera filamentous virus), and cutting edge technologies (mass spectrometry, RNAi approach) applied in the field. PMID:26702462
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Complementary habitat use by wild bees in agro-natural landscapes.
Mandelik, Yael; Winfree, Rachael; Neeson, Thomas; Kremen, Claire
2012-07-01
Human activity causes abrupt changes in resource availability across the landscape. In order to persist in human-altered landscapes organisms need to shift their habitat use accordingly. Little is known about the mechanisms by which whole communities persist in human-altered landscapes, including the role of complementary habitat use. We define complementary habitat use as the use of different habitats at different times by the same group of species during the course of their activity period. We hypothesize that complementary habitat use is a mechanism through which native bee species persist in human-altered landscapes. To test this idea, we studied wild bee communities in agro-natural landscapes and explored their community-level patterns of habitat and resource use over space and time. The study was conducted in six agro-natural landscapes in the eastern United States, each containing three main bee habitat types (natural habitat, agricultural fields, and old fields). Each of the three habitats exhibited a unique seasonal pattern in amount, diversity, and composition of floral resources, and together they created phenological complementarity in foraging resources for bees. Individual bee species as well as the bee community responded to these spatiotemporal patterns in floral availability and exhibited a parallel pattern of complementary habitat use. The majority of wild bee species, including all the main crop visitors, used fallow areas within crops early in the season, shifted to crops in mid-season, and used old-field habitats later in the season. The natural-forest habitat supported very limited number of bees, mostly visitors of non-crop plants. Old fields are thus an important feature in these arable landscapes for maintaining crop pollination services. Our study provides a detailed examination of how shifts in habitat and resource use may enable bees to persist in highly dynamic agro-natural landscapes, and points to the need for a broad cross
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Olivia M. Bernauer
2015-06-01
Full Text Available Bees provide vital pollination services to the majority of flowering plants in both natural and agricultural systems. Unfortunately, both native and managed bee populations are experiencing declines, threatening the persistence of these plants and crops. Agricultural chemicals are one possible culprit contributing to bee declines. Even fungicides, generally considered safe for bees, have been shown to disrupt honey bee development and impair bumble bee behavior. Little is known, however, how fungicides may affect bumble bee colony growth. We conducted a controlled cage study to determine the effects of fungicide exposure on colonies of a native bumble bee species (Bombus impatiens. Colonies of B. impatiens were exposed to flowers treated with field-relevant levels of the fungicide chlorothalonil over the course of one month. Colony success was assessed by the number and biomass of larvae, pupae, and adult bumble bees. Bumble bee colonies exposed to fungicide produced fewer workers, lower total bee biomass, and had lighter mother queens than control colonies. Our results suggest that fungicides negatively affect the colony success of a native bumble bee species and that the use of fungicides during bloom has the potential to severely impact the success of native bumble bee populations foraging in agroecosystems.
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Guerrero-Molina, Cristina; Correa-Benítez, Adriana; Hamiduzzaman, Mollah Md; Guzman-Novoa, Ernesto
2016-11-01
This study was conducted to identify Nosema spp. and to determine their infection levels in honey bee (Apis mellifera) samples collected in Mexico in 1995-1996. Samples of historical surveys from different countries are of particular interest to support or challenge the hypothesis that the microsporidium Nosema ceranae is a new parasite of A. mellifera that has recently dispersed across the world. We demonstrate that N. ceranae has parasitized honey bees in Mexico since at least 1995 and that the infection levels of this parasite during summer and fall, exceed the threshold at which treatment of honey bee colonies is recommended. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Lecocq, Antoine
and descriptive work at the colony, smaller social group and individual levels as well as in a greater pollinator context. Its aim is to confirm and deepen our understanding of the biology and life-history of the Western honey bee, Apis mellifera. In an ever-changing landscape of flower patches and increase...... long term data based on the daily weight of colonies spread around Denmark, we showed that colonies in urban landscapes, surrounded by parks and private gardens are more productive than their counterparts in agricultural landscapes, surrounded by large monocultures and virtual foraging deserts for much...... pathogens to other pollinators. The threat of inter-specific pathogen transmission appears to be real, and testing the infectivity of honey bee pathogens on other bee pollinators, represents a logical step following on from the recent detection of those pathogens using molecular methods. The preliminary...
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Anderson, C A; Bushman, B J
2001-09-01
Research on exposure to television and movie violence suggests that playing violent video games will increase aggressive behavior. A metaanalytic review of the video-game research literature reveals that violent video games increase aggressive behavior in children and young adults. Experimental and nonexperimental studies with males and females in laboratory and field settings support this conclusion. Analyses also reveal that exposure to violent video games increases physiological arousal and aggression-related thoughts and feelings. Playing violent video games also decreases prosocial behavior.
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Polychlorinated biphenyls in honey bees
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Morse, R.A.; Culliney, T.W.; Gutenmann, W.H.; Littman, C.B.; Lisk, D.J.
1987-02-01
Honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) may traverse a radius of several miles from their hives and contact innumerable surfaces during their collection of nectar, pollen, propolis and water. In the process, they may become contaminated with surface constituents which are indicative of the type of environmental pollution in their particular foraging area. Honey has also been analyzed as a possible indicator of heavy metal pollution. Insecticides used in the vicinity of bee hives have been found in bees and honey. It has been recently reported that appreciable concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been found in honey bees sampled throughout Connecticut. In the work reported here, an analytical survey was conducted on PCBs in honey bees, honey, propolis and related samples in several states to learn the extent of contamination and possible sources.
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Carne, Charlotte; Wiper, Sue; Semple, Stuart
2011-11-01
Evidence from a range of primate species indicates that grooming can be exchanged either for itself or for other rank-related "commodities," such as agonistic support, feeding tolerance, or reduced aggression. Patterns of exchange behavior have been found to vary considerably between species, and understanding the causes of this variation is central to the study of the evolution of primate social systems. It is, therefore, essential that exchange behavior is examined in a wide range of species and settings. This article is the first to explore the reciprocation and interchange of grooming in the Barbary macaque (Macaca sylvanus). We collected focal data on semi-free-ranging adult female Barbary macaques at Trentham Monkey Forest, England, and analyzed dyadic data using Generalized Linear Mixed Models. We found evidence for the reciprocal exchange of grooming and for the interchange of grooming for agonistic support and tolerance while feeding. There was no evidence that grooming was traded for a reduction in aggression; indeed, we found a positive relationship between aggression given and grooming received. This may reflect the "extortion" of grooming from subordinates by dominant animals. These results will facilitate comparative analyses of exchange behavior by adding to the current database a new species, characterized by a different social style from those macaque species previously investigated. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Queens and Workers Contribute Differently to Adaptive Evolution in Bumble Bees and Honey Bees.
Harpur, Brock A; Dey, Alivia; Albert, Jennifer R; Patel, Sani; Hines, Heather M; Hasselmann, Martin; Packer, Laurence; Zayed, Amro
2017-09-01
Eusociality represents a major transition in evolution and is typified by cooperative brood care and reproductive division of labor between generations. In bees, this division of labor allows queens and workers to phenotypically specialize. Worker traits associated with helping are thought to be crucial to the fitness of a eusocial lineage, and recent studies of honey bees (genus Apis) have found that adaptively evolving genes often have worker-biased expression patterns. It is unclear however if worker-biased genes are disproportionately acted on by strong positive selection in all eusocial insects. We undertook a comparative population genomics study of bumble bees (Bombus) and honey bees to quantify natural selection on queen- and worker-biased genes across two levels of social complexity. Despite sharing a common eusocial ancestor, genes, and gene groups with the highest levels of positive selection were often unique within each genus, indicating that life history and the environment, but not sociality per se, drives patterns of adaptive molecular evolution. We uncovered differences in the contribution of queen- and worker-biased genes to adaptive evolution in bumble bees versus honey bees. Unlike honey bees, where worker-biased genes are enriched for signs of adaptive evolution, genes experiencing positive selection in bumble bees were predominately expressed by reproductive foundresses during the initial solitary-founding stage of colonies. Our study suggests that solitary founding is a major selective pressure and that the loss of queen totipotency may cause a change in the architecture of selective pressures upon the social insect genome. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.
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The relationship between managed bees and the prevalence of parasites in bumblebees.
Graystock, Peter; Goulson, Dave; Hughes, William O H
2014-01-01
Honey bees and, more recently, bumblebees have been domesticated and are now managed commercially primarily for crop pollination, mixing with wild pollinators during foraging on shared flower resources. There is mounting evidence that managed honey bees or commercially produced bumblebees may affect the health of wild pollinators such as bumblebees by increasing competition for resources and the prevalence of parasites in wild bees. Here we screened 764 bumblebees from around five greenhouses that either used commercially produced bumblebees or did not, as well as bumblebees from 10 colonies placed at two sites either close to or far from a honey bee apiary, for the parasites Apicystis bombi, Crithidia bombi, Nosema bombi, N. ceranae, N. apis and deformed wing virus. We found that A. bombi and C. bombi were more prevalent around greenhouses using commercially produced bumblebees, while C. bombi was 18% more prevalent in bumblebees at the site near to the honey bee apiary than those at the site far from the apiary. Whilst these results are from only a limited number of sites, they support previous reports of parasite spillover from commercially produced bumblebees to wild bumblebees, and suggest that the impact of stress from competing with managed bees or the vectoring of parasites by them on parasite prevalence in wild bees needs further investigation. It appears increasingly likely that the use of managed bees comes at a cost of increased parasites in wild bumblebees, which is not only a concern for bumblebee conservation, but which may impact other pollinators as well.
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The relationship between managed bees and the prevalence of parasites in bumblebees
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Peter Graystock
2014-08-01
Full Text Available Honey bees and, more recently, bumblebees have been domesticated and are now managed commercially primarily for crop pollination, mixing with wild pollinators during foraging on shared flower resources. There is mounting evidence that managed honey bees or commercially produced bumblebees may affect the health of wild pollinators such as bumblebees by increasing competition for resources and the prevalence of parasites in wild bees. Here we screened 764 bumblebees from around five greenhouses that either used commercially produced bumblebees or did not, as well as bumblebees from 10 colonies placed at two sites either close to or far from a honey bee apiary, for the parasites Apicystis bombi, Crithidia bombi, Nosema bombi, N. ceranae, N. apis and deformed wing virus. We found that A. bombi and C. bombi were more prevalent around greenhouses using commercially produced bumblebees, while C. bombi was 18% more prevalent in bumblebees at the site near to the honey bee apiary than those at the site far from the apiary. Whilst these results are from only a limited number of sites, they support previous reports of parasite spillover from commercially produced bumblebees to wild bumblebees, and suggest that the impact of stress from competing with managed bees or the vectoring of parasites by them on parasite prevalence in wild bees needs further investigation. It appears increasingly likely that the use of managed bees comes at a cost of increased parasites in wild bumblebees, which is not only a concern for bumblebee conservation, but which may impact other pollinators as well.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Lutao Liu
2018-04-01
Full Text Available In this paper, a system for identifying eight kinds of radar waveforms is explored. The waveforms are the binary phase shift keying (BPSK, Costas codes, linear frequency modulation (LFM and polyphase codes (including P1, P2, P3, P4 and Frank codes. The features of power spectral density (PSD, moments and cumulants, instantaneous properties and time-frequency analysis are extracted from the waveforms and three new features are proposed. The classifier is support vector machine (SVM, which is optimized by artificial bee colony (ABC algorithm. The system shows well robustness, excellent computational complexity and high recognition rate under low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR situation. The simulation results indicate that the overall recognition rate is 92% when SNR is −4 dB.
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Indian Academy of Sciences (India)
Geok Bee Teh. Articles written in Sadhana. Volume 35 Issue 1 February 2010 pp 87-95. Preparation and characterization of plasticized high molecular weight PVC-based polymer electrolytes · S Ramesh Geok Bee Teh Rong-Fuh Louh Yong Kong Hou Pung Yen Sin Lim Jing Yi · More Details Abstract Fulltext PDF.
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Olfactory interference during inhibitory backward pairing in honey bees.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Matthieu Dacher
Full Text Available Restrained worker honey bees are a valuable model for studying the behavioral and neural bases of olfactory plasticity. The proboscis extension response (PER; the proboscis is the mouthpart of honey bees is released in response to sucrose stimulation. If sucrose stimulation is preceded one or a few times by an odor (forward pairing, the bee will form a memory for this association, and subsequent presentations of the odor alone are sufficient to elicit the PER. However, backward pairing between the two stimuli (sucrose, then odor has not been studied to any great extent in bees, although the vertebrate literature indicates that it elicits a form of inhibitory plasticity.If hungry bees are fed with sucrose, they will release a long lasting PER; however, this PER can be interrupted if an odor is presented 15 seconds (but not 7 or 30 seconds after the sucrose (backward pairing. We refer to this previously unreported process as olfactory interference. Bees receiving this 15 second backward pairing show reduced performance after a subsequent single forward pairing (excitatory conditioning trial. Analysis of the results supported a relationship between olfactory interference and a form of backward pairing-induced inhibitory learning/memory. Injecting the drug cimetidine into the deutocerebrum impaired olfactory interference.Olfactory interference depends on the associative link between odor and PER, rather than between odor and sucrose. Furthermore, pairing an odor with sucrose can lead either to association of this odor to PER or to the inhibition of PER by this odor. Olfactory interference may provide insight into processes that gate how excitatory and inhibitory memories for odor-PER associations are formed.
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Balancing Control and Complexity in Field Studies of Neonicotinoids and Honey Bee Health
Suryanarayanan, Sainath
2013-01-01
Amidst ongoing declines in honey bee health, the contributory role of the newer systemic insecticides continues to be intensely debated. Scores of toxicological field experiments, which bee scientists and regulators in the United States have looked to for definitive causal evidence, indicate a lack of support. This paper analyzes the methodological norms that shape the design and interpretation of field toxicological studies. I argue that contemporary field studies of honey bees and pesticides are underpinned by a “control-oriented” approach, which precludes a serious investigation of the indirect and multifactorial ways in which pesticides could drive declines in honey bee health. I trace the historical rise to prominence of this approach in honey bee toxicology to the development of entomology as a science of insecticide development in the United States. Drawing on “complexity-oriented” knowledge practices in ecology, epidemiology, beekeeping and sociology, I suggest an alternative socio-ecological systems approach, which would entail in situ studies that are less concerned with isolating individual factors and more attentive to the interactive and place-based mix of factors affecting honey bee health. PMID:26466800
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Way-finding in displaced clock-shifted bees proves bees use a cognitive map.
Cheeseman, James F; Millar, Craig D; Greggers, Uwe; Lehmann, Konstantin; Pawley, Matthew D M; Gallistel, Charles R; Warman, Guy R; Menzel, Randolf
2014-06-17
Mammals navigate by means of a metric cognitive map. Insects, most notably bees and ants, are also impressive navigators. The question whether they, too, have a metric cognitive map is important to cognitive science and neuroscience. Experimentally captured and displaced bees often depart from the release site in the compass direction they were bent on before their capture, even though this no longer heads them toward their goal. When they discover their error, however, the bees set off more or less directly toward their goal. This ability to orient toward a goal from an arbitrary point in the familiar environment is evidence that they have an integrated metric map of the experienced environment. We report a test of an alternative hypothesis, which is that all the bees have in memory is a collection of snapshots that enable them to recognize different landmarks and, associated with each such snapshot, a sun-compass-referenced home vector derived from dead reckoning done before and after previous visits to the landmark. We show that a large shift in the sun-compass rapidly induced by general anesthesia does not alter the accuracy or speed of the homeward-oriented flight made after the bees discover the error in their initial postrelease flight. This result rules out the sun-referenced home-vector hypothesis, further strengthening the now extensive evidence for a metric cognitive map in bees.
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From silkworms to bees: Diseases of beneficial insects
The diseases of the silkworm (Bombyx mori) and managed bees, including the honey bee (Apis mellifera), bumbles bees (Bombus spp.), the alfalfa leafcutting bee (Megachile rotundata), and mason bees (Osmia spp.) are reviewed, with diagnostic descriptions and a summary of control methods for production...
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Metatranscriptomic analyses of honey bee colonies.
Tozkar, Cansu Ö; Kence, Meral; Kence, Aykut; Huang, Qiang; Evans, Jay D
2015-01-01
Honey bees face numerous biotic threats from viruses to bacteria, fungi, protists, and mites. Here we describe a thorough analysis of microbes harbored by worker honey bees collected from field colonies in geographically distinct regions of Turkey. Turkey is one of the World's most important centers of apiculture, harboring five subspecies of Apis mellifera L., approximately 20% of the honey bee subspecies in the world. We use deep ILLUMINA-based RNA sequencing to capture RNA species for the honey bee and a sampling of all non-endogenous species carried by bees. After trimming and mapping these reads to the honey bee genome, approximately 10% of the sequences (9-10 million reads per library) remained. These were then mapped to a curated set of public sequences containing ca. Sixty megabase-pairs of sequence representing known microbial species associated with honey bees. Levels of key honey bee pathogens were confirmed using quantitative PCR screens. We contrast microbial matches across different sites in Turkey, showing new country recordings of Lake Sinai virus, two Spiroplasma bacterium species, symbionts Candidatus Schmidhempelia bombi, Frischella perrara, Snodgrassella alvi, Gilliamella apicola, Lactobacillus spp.), neogregarines, and a trypanosome species. By using metagenomic analysis, this study also reveals deep molecular evidence for the presence of bacterial pathogens (Melissococcus plutonius, Paenibacillus larvae), Varroa destructor-1 virus, Sacbrood virus, and fungi. Despite this effort we did not detect KBV, SBPV, Tobacco ringspot virus, VdMLV (Varroa Macula like virus), Acarapis spp., Tropilaeleps spp. and Apocephalus (phorid fly). We discuss possible impacts of management practices and honey bee subspecies on microbial retinues. The described workflow and curated microbial database will be generally useful for microbial surveys of healthy and declining honey bees.
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Insulin-like peptide response to nutritional input in honey bee workers.
Ihle, Kate E; Baker, Nicholas A; Amdam, Gro V
2014-10-01
The rise in metabolic disorders in the past decades has heightened focus on achieving a healthy dietary balance in humans. This is also an increasingly important issue in the management of honey bees (Apis mellifera) where poor nutrition has negative effects on health and productivity in agriculture, and nutrition is suggested as a contributing factor in the recent global declines in honey bee populations. As in other organisms, the insulin/insulin-like signaling (IIS) pathway is likely involved in maintaining nutrient homeostasis in honey bees. Honey bees have two insulin-like peptides (Ilps) with differing spatial expression patterns in the fat body suggesting that AmIlp1 potentially functions in lipid metabolism while AmIlp2 is a more general indicator of nutritional status. We fed caged worker bees artificial diets high in carbohydrates, proteins or lipids and measured expression of AmIlp1, AmIlp2, and the insulin receptor substrate (IRS) to test their responses to dietary macronutrients. We also measured lifespan, worker weight and gustatory sensitivity to sugar as measures of individual physical condition. We found that expression of AmIlp1 was affected by diet composition and was highest on a diet high in protein. Expression of AmIlp2 and AmIRS were not affected by diet. Workers lived longest on a diet high in carbohydrates and low in protein and lipids. However, bees fed this diet weighed less than those that received a diet high in protein and low in carbohydrates and lipids. Bees fed the high carbohydrates diet were also more responsive to sugar, potentially indicating greater levels of hunger. These results support a role for AmIlp1 in nutritional homeostasis and provide new insight into how unbalanced diets impact individual honey bee health. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Barbosa, Wagner F; Tomé, Hudson Vaner V; Bernardes, Rodrigo C; Siqueira, Maria Augusta L; Smagghe, Guy; Guedes, Raul Narciso C
2015-09-01
Because of their natural origin, biopesticides are assumed to be less harmful to beneficial insects, including bees, and therefore their use has been widely encouraged for crop protection. There is little evidence, however, to support this ingrained notion of biopesticide safety to pollinators. Because larval exposure is still largely unexplored in ecotoxicology and risk assessment on bees, an investigation was performed on the lethal and sublethal effects of a diet treated with 2 bioinsecticides, azadirachtin and spinosad, on the stingless bee, Melipona quadrifasciata, which is one of the most important pollinators in the Neotropics. Survival of stingless bee larvae was significantly compromised at doses above 210 ng a.i./bee for azadirachtin and 114 ng a.i./bee for spinosad. No sublethal effect was observed on larvae developmental time, but doses of both compounds negatively affected pupal body mass. Azadirachtin produced deformed pupae and adults as a result of its insect growth regulator properties, but spinosad was more harmful and produced greater numbers of deformed individuals. Only spinosad compromised walking activity of the adult workers at doses as low as 2.29 ng a.i./bee, which is 1/5000 of the maximum field recommended rate. In conclusion, the results demonstrated that bioinsecticides can pose significant risks to native pollinators with lethal and sublethal effects; future investigations are needed on the likelihood of such effects under field conditions. © 2015 SETAC.
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STIMULATION OF RESISTANCE OF BEE FAMILIES DURING WINTERING
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
nicolae eremia
2013-10-01
Full Text Available Honey bees use as food nectar, honey, pollen and bee bread. They collect nectar and pollen on flowers, that process in food - honey and bee bread. Food provides the bees body with energy due to carbohydrates, proteins, enzymes, lipids, vitamins, minerals. The goal of the studies was to stimulate the bees’ resistance during wintering against nesemosa disease in bee families’ survival after winter time and productivity increasing. There was established that the optimal dose of feed additive Pramix Bionorm P (symbiotic complex, in reserves supplementing of food of bee families during autumn is 150 mg of sugar syrup. There was revealed that using of the feed additive Pramix Bionorm P (symbiotic complex, in bees feeding for reserves supplementing of bees food ensures a stimulating of resistance at wintering of bees, decreases the quantity of used honey during wintering at one space between honey combs populated with bees, as well increases the productivity.
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Gao, Lingyun; Ye, Mingquan; Wu, Changrong
2017-11-29
Intelligent optimization algorithms have advantages in dealing with complex nonlinear problems accompanied by good flexibility and adaptability. In this paper, the FCBF (Fast Correlation-Based Feature selection) method is used to filter irrelevant and redundant features in order to improve the quality of cancer classification. Then, we perform classification based on SVM (Support Vector Machine) optimized by PSO (Particle Swarm Optimization) combined with ABC (Artificial Bee Colony) approaches, which is represented as PA-SVM. The proposed PA-SVM method is applied to nine cancer datasets, including five datasets of outcome prediction and a protein dataset of ovarian cancer. By comparison with other classification methods, the results demonstrate the effectiveness and the robustness of the proposed PA-SVM method in handling various types of data for cancer classification.
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Honey bee hemocyte profiling by flow cytometry.
Marringa, William J; Krueger, Michael J; Burritt, Nancy L; Burritt, James B
2014-01-01
Multiple stress factors in honey bees are causing loss of bee colonies worldwide. Several infectious agents of bees are believed to contribute to this problem. The mechanisms of honey bee immunity are not completely understood, in part due to limited information about the types and abundances of hemocytes that help bees resist disease. Our study utilized flow cytometry and microscopy to examine populations of hemolymph particulates in honey bees. We found bee hemolymph includes permeabilized cells, plasmatocytes, and acellular objects that resemble microparticles, listed in order of increasing abundance. The permeabilized cells and plasmatocytes showed unexpected differences with respect to properties of the plasma membrane and labeling with annexin V. Both permeabilized cells and plasmatocytes failed to show measurable mitochondrial membrane potential by flow cytometry using the JC-1 probe. Our results suggest hemolymph particulate populations are dynamic, revealing significant differences when comparing individual hive members, and when comparing colonies exposed to diverse conditions. Shifts in hemocyte populations in bees likely represent changing conditions or metabolic differences of colony members. A better understanding of hemocyte profiles may provide insight into physiological responses of honey bees to stress factors, some of which may be related to colony failure.
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Chemical Ecology of Stingless Bees.
Leonhardt, Sara Diana
2017-04-01
Stingless bees (Hymenoptera, Apidae: Meliponini) represent a highly diverse group of social bees confined to the world's tropics and subtropics. They show a striking diversity of structural and behavioral adaptations and are important pollinators of tropical plants. Despite their diversity and functional importance, their ecology, and especially chemical ecology, has received relatively little attention, particularly compared to their relative the honeybee, Apis mellifera. Here, I review various aspects of the chemical ecology of stingless bees, from communication over resource allocation to defense. I list examples in which functions of specific compounds (or compound groups) have been demonstrated by behavioral experiments, and show that many aspects (e.g., queen-worker interactions, host-parasite interactions, neuronal processing etc.) remain little studied. This review further reveals that the vast majority of studies on the chemical ecology of stingless bees have been conducted in the New World, whereas studies on Old World stingless bees are still comparatively rare. Given the diversity of species, behaviors and, apparently, chemical compounds used, I suggest that stingless bees provide an ideal subject for studying how functional context and the need for species specificity may interact to shape pheromone diversification in social insects.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Zhenghua Xie
Full Text Available Bee species interactions can benefit plant pollination through synergistic effects and complementary effects, or can be of detriment to plant pollination through competition effects by reducing visitation by effective pollinators. Since specific bee interactions influence the foraging performance of bees on flowers, they also act as drivers to regulate the assemblage of flower visitors. We selected squash (Cucurbita pepo L. and its pollinators as a model system to study the foraging response of honey bees to the occurrence of bumble bees at two types of sites surrounded by a high amount of natural habitats (≥ 58% of land cover and a low amount of natural habitats (≤ 12% of land cover in a highland agricultural ecosystem in China. At the individual level, we measured the elapsed time from the departure of prior pollinator(s to the arrival of another pollinator, the selection of honey bees for flowers occupied by bumble bees, and the length of time used by honey bees to explore floral resources at the two types of sites. At the community level, we explored the effect of bumble bee visitation on the distribution patterns of honey bees on squash flowers. Conclusively, bumble bee visitation caused an increase in elapsed time before flowers were visited again by a honey bee, a behavioral avoidance by a newly-arriving honey bee to select flowers occupied by bumble bees, and a shortened length of time the honey bee takes to examine and collect floral resources. The number of overall bumble bees on squash flowers was the most important factor explaining the difference in the distribution patterns of honey bees at the community level. Furthermore, decline in the number of overall bumble bees on the squash flowers resulted in an increase in the number of overall honey bees. Therefore, our study suggests that bee interactions provide an opportunity to enhance the resilience of ecosystem pollination services against the decline in pollinator diversity.
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Xie, Zhenghua; Pan, Dongdong; Teichroew, Jonathan; An, Jiandong
2016-01-01
Bee species interactions can benefit plant pollination through synergistic effects and complementary effects, or can be of detriment to plant pollination through competition effects by reducing visitation by effective pollinators. Since specific bee interactions influence the foraging performance of bees on flowers, they also act as drivers to regulate the assemblage of flower visitors. We selected squash (Cucurbita pepo L.) and its pollinators as a model system to study the foraging response of honey bees to the occurrence of bumble bees at two types of sites surrounded by a high amount of natural habitats (≥ 58% of land cover) and a low amount of natural habitats (≤ 12% of land cover) in a highland agricultural ecosystem in China. At the individual level, we measured the elapsed time from the departure of prior pollinator(s) to the arrival of another pollinator, the selection of honey bees for flowers occupied by bumble bees, and the length of time used by honey bees to explore floral resources at the two types of sites. At the community level, we explored the effect of bumble bee visitation on the distribution patterns of honey bees on squash flowers. Conclusively, bumble bee visitation caused an increase in elapsed time before flowers were visited again by a honey bee, a behavioral avoidance by a newly-arriving honey bee to select flowers occupied by bumble bees, and a shortened length of time the honey bee takes to examine and collect floral resources. The number of overall bumble bees on squash flowers was the most important factor explaining the difference in the distribution patterns of honey bees at the community level. Furthermore, decline in the number of overall bumble bees on the squash flowers resulted in an increase in the number of overall honey bees. Therefore, our study suggests that bee interactions provide an opportunity to enhance the resilience of ecosystem pollination services against the decline in pollinator diversity.
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Dong, Xiaofeng; Armstrong, Stuart D.; Xia, Dong; Makepeace, Benjamin L.; Darby, Alistair C.; Kadowaki, Tatsuhiko
2017-01-01
Abstract The number of managed honey bee colonies has considerably decreased in many developed countries in recent years and ectoparasitic mites are considered as major threats to honey bee colonies and health. However, their general biology remains poorly understood. We sequenced the genome of Tropilaelaps mercedesae, the prevalent ectoparasitic mite infesting honey bees in Asia, and predicted 15?190 protein-coding genes that were well supported by the mite transcriptomes and proteomic data....
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Russo, Laura; Park, Mia; Gibbs, Jason; Danforth, Bryan
2015-01-01
Bees are important pollinators of agricultural crops, and bee diversity has been shown to be closely associated with pollination, a valuable ecosystem service. Higher functional diversity and species richness of bees have been shown to lead to higher crop yield. Bees simultaneously represent a mega-diverse taxon that is extremely challenging to sample thoroughly and an important group to understand because of pollination services. We sampled bees visiting apple blossoms in 28 orchards over 6 years. We used species rarefaction analyses to test for the completeness of sampling and the relationship between species richness and sampling effort, orchard size, and percent agriculture in the surrounding landscape. We performed more than 190 h of sampling, collecting 11,219 specimens representing 104 species. Despite the sampling intensity, we captured wild bees did not appear to be a factor, as we found no correlation between honeybee and wild bee abundance. Our study shows that the pollinator fauna of agroecosystems can be diverse and challenging to thoroughly sample. We demonstrate that there is high temporal variation in community composition and that sites vary widely in the sampling effort required to fully describe their diversity. In order to maximize pollination services provided by wild bee species, we must first accurately estimate species richness. For researchers interested in providing this estimate, we recommend multiyear studies and rarefaction analyses to quantify the gap between observed and expected species richness. PMID:26380684
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Contributing factors in the manifestation of aggression in preschoolers with hyperactivity.
Stormont-Spurgin, M; Zentall, S S
1995-03-01
This study examined family characteristics of preschoolers with hyperactivity. We assessed child-rearing practices, maternal depression, marital conflict, and social support. Sixty-three preschool boys were placed in a hyperactivity-aggressive, hyperactive, aggressive or comparison group based on behavioral ratings. Parents were given questionnaires, mothers were interviewed, and children were administered the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery and were observed playing. Compared to preschoolers with hyperactivity, preschoolers with hyperactivity plus aggression had families with (a) more restrictive fathers, (b) siblings who retaliated aggressively, and (c) mothers who reported more physical aggression directed to their partners and more verbal aggression received. Follow-forward aggression ratings were predicted by initial child manageability and maternal depression, perceived support, and low income.
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Prospective Evaluation of Self-Reported Aggression in Transgender Persons.
Defreyne, Justine; T'Sjoen, Guy; Bouman, Walter Pierre; Brewin, Nicola; Arcelus, Jon
2018-05-01
Although research on the relation between testosterone and aggression in humans is inconclusive, guidelines (including the World Professional Association for Transgender Health Standards of Care, edition 7) have warned for an increase in aggression in transgender men taking testosterone treatment. To investigate the association between levels of testosterone and aggression in treatment-seeking transgender people and explore the role of mental health psychopathology (anxiety and depressive symptoms) and social support in aggression in this population. Every transgender person invited for assessment at a national transgender health clinic in the United Kingdom during a 3-year period (2012-2015) completed self-report measures for interpersonal problems, including levels of aggression (Inventory of Interpersonal Problems [IIP-32]), symptoms of anxiety and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale [HADS]), social support (Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support), and experiences of transphobia before and 1 year after the initiation of gender-affirming hormonal therapy. Correlations between prospective scores for the IIP-32 factor "too aggressive" and prospective levels of sex steroids, prospective psychological (HADS), and baseline psychosocial measurements were tested. Prospective scores for the factor "too aggressive" were not correlated to prospective serum testosterone levels. Results of 140 people (56 transgender men, 84 transgender women) were analyzed. A prospective increase in scores for the factor "too aggressive" of the IIP-32 in transgender men 1 year after being treated with testosterone treatment or a decrease of the IIP-32 aggression scores in transgender women 1 year after gender-affirming hormonal therapy was not found. However, a positive correlation was found between increasing HADS anxiety scores and increasing scores for the IIP-32 "too aggressive" score in the entire study population and a positive correlation with lower support
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No apparent correlation between honey bee forager gut microbiota and honey production.
Horton, Melissa A; Oliver, Randy; Newton, Irene L
2015-01-01
One of the best indicators of colony health for the European honey bee (Apis mellifera) is its performance in the production of honey. Recent research into the microbial communities naturally populating the bee gut raise the question as to whether there is a correlation between microbial community structure and colony productivity. In this work, we used 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to explore the microbial composition associated with forager bees from honey bee colonies producing large amounts of surplus honey (productive) and compared them to colonies producing less (unproductive). As supported by previous work, the honey bee microbiome was found to be dominated by three major phyla: the Proteobacteria, Bacilli and Actinobacteria, within which we found a total of 23 different bacterial genera, including known "core" honey bee microbiome members. Using discriminant function analysis and correlation-based network analysis, we identified highly abundant members (such as Frischella and Gilliamella) as important in shaping the bacterial community; libraries from colonies with high quantities of these Orbaceae members were also likely to contain fewer Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus species (such as Firm-4). However, co-culture assays, using isolates from these major clades, were unable to confirm any antagonistic interaction between Gilliamella and honey bee gut bacteria. Our results suggest that honey bee colony productivity is associated with increased bacterial diversity, although this mechanism behind this correlation has yet to be determined. Our results also suggest researchers should not base inferences of bacterial interactions solely on correlations found using sequencing. Instead, we suggest that depth of sequencing and library size can dramatically influence statistically significant results from sequence analysis of amplicons and should be cautiously interpreted.
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Food consumption and food exchange of caged honey bees using a radioactive labelled sugar solution.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Robert Brodschneider
Full Text Available We measured the distribution of sugar solution within groups of caged honey bees (Apis mellifera under standard in vitro laboratory conditions using 14C polyethylene glycol as a radioactive marker to analyze ingestion by individual bees after group feeding. We studied the impact of different experimental setups by varying the number of bees, age of bees, origin of bees, duration of experiment, the amount of available diet, and the influence of the neurotoxic pesticide imidacloprid in the diet on the feeding and food sharing behavior (trophallaxis. Sugar solution was non-uniformly distributed in bees in 36 out of 135 cages. As a measure of the extent to which the sugar diet was equally distributed between caged bees, we calculated the (inner 80% intake ratio by dividing the intake of the 90th percentile bee by the intake of the 10th percentile bee. This intake ratio ranged from 1.3 to 94.8 in 133 individual cages, further supporting a non-uniform distribution of food among caged bees. We can expect a cage with 10 or 30 bees containing one bee that ingests, on average, the 8.8-fold of the bee in the same cage ingesting the smallest quantity of food. Inner 80% intake ratios were lower in experiments with a permanent or chronic offering of labelled sugar solution compared to temporary or acute feedings. After pooling the data of replicates to achieve a higher statistical power we compared different experimental setups. We found that uniform food distribution is best approached with 10 newly emerged bees per cage, which originate from a brood comb from a single colony. We also investigated the trophallaxis between caged honey bees which originally consumed the diet and newly added bees. Color marked bees were starved and added to the cages in a ratio of 10:5 or 20:20 after the initial set of bees consumed all the labelled sugar solution. The distribution of the labelled sugar solution by trophallaxis within 48 hours to added bees was 25% (10:5 or 45
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Food consumption and food exchange of caged honey bees using a radioactive labelled sugar solution.
Brodschneider, Robert; Libor, Anika; Kupelwieser, Vera; Crailsheim, Karl
2017-01-01
We measured the distribution of sugar solution within groups of caged honey bees (Apis mellifera) under standard in vitro laboratory conditions using 14C polyethylene glycol as a radioactive marker to analyze ingestion by individual bees after group feeding. We studied the impact of different experimental setups by varying the number of bees, age of bees, origin of bees, duration of experiment, the amount of available diet, and the influence of the neurotoxic pesticide imidacloprid in the diet on the feeding and food sharing behavior (trophallaxis). Sugar solution was non-uniformly distributed in bees in 36 out of 135 cages. As a measure of the extent to which the sugar diet was equally distributed between caged bees, we calculated the (inner 80%) intake ratio by dividing the intake of the 90th percentile bee by the intake of the 10th percentile bee. This intake ratio ranged from 1.3 to 94.8 in 133 individual cages, further supporting a non-uniform distribution of food among caged bees. We can expect a cage with 10 or 30 bees containing one bee that ingests, on average, the 8.8-fold of the bee in the same cage ingesting the smallest quantity of food. Inner 80% intake ratios were lower in experiments with a permanent or chronic offering of labelled sugar solution compared to temporary or acute feedings. After pooling the data of replicates to achieve a higher statistical power we compared different experimental setups. We found that uniform food distribution is best approached with 10 newly emerged bees per cage, which originate from a brood comb from a single colony. We also investigated the trophallaxis between caged honey bees which originally consumed the diet and newly added bees. Color marked bees were starved and added to the cages in a ratio of 10:5 or 20:20 after the initial set of bees consumed all the labelled sugar solution. The distribution of the labelled sugar solution by trophallaxis within 48 hours to added bees was 25% (10:5) or 45% (20:20) of the
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Kimberly Stoner
2016-12-01
Full Text Available Recent research has demonstrated colony-level sublethal effects of imidacloprid on bumble bees, affecting foraging and food consumption, and thus colony growth and reproduction, at lower pesticide concentrations than for honey bee colonies. However, these studies may not reflect the full effects of neonicotinoids on bumble bees because bumble bee life cycles are different from those of honey bees. Unlike honey bees, bumble bees live in colonies for only a few months each year. Assessing the sublethal effects of systemic insecticides only on the colony level is appropriate for honey bees, but for bumble bees, this approach addresses just part of their annual life cycle. Queens are solitary from the time they leave their home colonies in fall until they produce their first workers the following year. Queens forage for pollen and nectar, and are thus exposed to more risk of direct pesticide exposure than honey bee queens. Almost no research has been done on pesticide exposure to and effects on bumble bee queens. Additional research should focus on critical periods in a bumble bee queen’s life which have the greatest nutritional demands, foraging requirements, and potential for exposure to pesticides, particularly the period during and after nest establishment in the spring when the queen must forage for the nutritional needs of her brood and for her own needs while she maintains an elevated body temperature in order to incubate the brood.
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Antiviral Defense Mechanisms in Honey Bees
Brutscher, Laura M.; Daughenbaugh, Katie F.; Flenniken, Michelle L.
2015-01-01
Honey bees are significant pollinators of agricultural crops and other important plant species. High annual losses of honey bee colonies in North America and in some parts of Europe have profound ecological and economic implications. Colony losses have been attributed to multiple factors including RNA viruses, thus understanding bee antiviral defense mechanisms may result in the development of strategies that mitigate colony losses. Honey bee antiviral defense mechanisms include RNA-interference, pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP) triggered signal transduction cascades, and reactive oxygen species generation. However, the relative importance of these and other pathways is largely uncharacterized. Herein we review the current understanding of honey bee antiviral defense mechanisms and suggest important avenues for future investigation. PMID:26273564
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Bees prefer foods containing neonicotinoid pesticides
Kessler, Sébastien C.; Tiedeken, Erin Jo; Simcock, Kerry L.; Derveau, Sophie; Mitchell, Jessica; Softley, Samantha; Stout, Jane C.; Wright, Geraldine A.
2015-05-01
The impact of neonicotinoid insecticides on insect pollinators is highly controversial. Sublethal concentrations alter the behaviour of social bees and reduce survival of entire colonies. However, critics argue that the reported negative effects only arise from neonicotinoid concentrations that are greater than those found in the nectar and pollen of pesticide-treated plants. Furthermore, it has been suggested that bees could choose to forage on other available flowers and hence avoid or dilute exposure. Here, using a two-choice feeding assay, we show that the honeybee, Apis mellifera, and the buff-tailed bumblebee, Bombus terrestris, do not avoid nectar-relevant concentrations of three of the most commonly used neonicotinoids, imidacloprid (IMD), thiamethoxam (TMX), and clothianidin (CLO), in food. Moreover, bees of both species prefer to eat more of sucrose solutions laced with IMD or TMX than sucrose alone. Stimulation with IMD, TMX and CLO neither elicited spiking responses from gustatory neurons in the bees' mouthparts, nor inhibited the responses of sucrose-sensitive neurons. Our data indicate that bees cannot taste neonicotinoids and are not repelled by them. Instead, bees preferred solutions containing IMD or TMX, even though the consumption of these pesticides caused them to eat less food overall. This work shows that bees cannot control their exposure to neonicotinoids in food and implies that treating flowering crops with IMD and TMX presents a sizeable hazard to foraging bees.
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Bees prefer foods containing neonicotinoid pesticides.
Kessler, Sébastien; Tiedeken, Erin Jo; Simcock, Kerry L; Derveau, Sophie; Mitchell, Jessica; Softley, Samantha; Stout, Jane C; Wright, Geraldine A
2015-05-07
The impact of neonicotinoid insecticides on insect pollinators is highly controversial. Sublethal concentrations alter the behaviour of social bees and reduce survival of entire colonies. However, critics argue that the reported negative effects only arise from neonicotinoid concentrations that are greater than those found in the nectar and pollen of pesticide-treated plants. Furthermore, it has been suggested that bees could choose to forage on other available flowers and hence avoid or dilute exposure. Here, using a two-choice feeding assay, we show that the honeybee, Apis mellifera, and the buff-tailed bumblebee, Bombus terrestris, do not avoid nectar-relevant concentrations of three of the most commonly used neonicotinoids, imidacloprid (IMD), thiamethoxam (TMX), and clothianidin (CLO), in food. Moreover, bees of both species prefer to eat more of sucrose solutions laced with IMD or TMX than sucrose alone. Stimulation with IMD, TMX and CLO neither elicited spiking responses from gustatory neurons in the bees' mouthparts, nor inhibited the responses of sucrose-sensitive neurons. Our data indicate that bees cannot taste neonicotinoids and are not repelled by them. Instead, bees preferred solutions containing IMD or TMX, even though the consumption of these pesticides caused them to eat less food overall. This work shows that bees cannot control their exposure to neonicotinoids in food and implies that treating flowering crops with IMD and TMX presents a sizeable hazard to foraging bees.
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Bromenshenk, Jerry J; Henderson, Colin B; Seccomb, Robert A; Welch, Phillip M; Debnam, Scott E; Firth, David R
2015-10-30
This review focuses on critical milestones in the development path for the use of bees, mainly honey bees and bumble bees, as sentinels and biosensors. These keystone species comprise the most abundant pollinators of agro-ecosystems. Pollinating 70%-80% of flowering terrestrial plants, bees and other insects propel the reproduction and survival of plants and themselves, as well as improve the quantity and quality of seeds, nuts, and fruits that feed birds, wildlife, and us. Flowers provide insects with energy, nutrients, and shelter, while pollinators are essential to global ecosystem productivity and stability. A rich and diverse milieu of chemical signals establishes and maintains this intimate partnership. Observations of bee odor search behavior extend back to Aristotle. In the past two decades great strides have been made in methods and instrumentation for the study and exploitation of bee search behavior and for examining intra-organismal chemical communication signals. In particular, bees can be trained to search for and localize sources for a variety of chemicals, which when coupled with emerging tracking and mapping technologies create novel potential for research, as well as bee and crop management.
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Bromenshenk, Jerry J.; Henderson, Colin B.; Seccomb, Robert A.; Welch, Phillip M.; Debnam, Scott E.; Firth, David R.
2015-01-01
This review focuses on critical milestones in the development path for the use of bees, mainly honey bees and bumble bees, as sentinels and biosensors. These keystone species comprise the most abundant pollinators of agro-ecosystems. Pollinating 70%–80% of flowering terrestrial plants, bees and other insects propel the reproduction and survival of plants and themselves, as well as improve the quantity and quality of seeds, nuts, and fruits that feed birds, wildlife, and us. Flowers provide insects with energy, nutrients, and shelter, while pollinators are essential to global ecosystem productivity and stability. A rich and diverse milieu of chemical signals establishes and maintains this intimate partnership. Observations of bee odor search behavior extend back to Aristotle. In the past two decades great strides have been made in methods and instrumentation for the study and exploitation of bee search behavior and for examining intra-organismal chemical communication signals. In particular, bees can be trained to search for and localize sources for a variety of chemicals, which when coupled with emerging tracking and mapping technologies create novel potential for research, as well as bee and crop management. PMID:26529030
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jerry J. Bromenshenk
2015-10-01
Full Text Available This review focuses on critical milestones in the development path for the use of bees, mainly honey bees and bumble bees, as sentinels and biosensors. These keystone species comprise the most abundant pollinators of agro-ecosystems. Pollinating 70%–80% of flowering terrestrial plants, bees and other insects propel the reproduction and survival of plants and themselves, as well as improve the quantity and quality of seeds, nuts, and fruits that feed birds, wildlife, and us. Flowers provide insects with energy, nutrients, and shelter, while pollinators are essential to global ecosystem productivity and stability. A rich and diverse milieu of chemical signals establishes and maintains this intimate partnership. Observations of bee odor search behavior extend back to Aristotle. In the past two decades great strides have been made in methods and instrumentation for the study and exploitation of bee search behavior and for examining intra-organismal chemical communication signals. In particular, bees can be trained to search for and localize sources for a variety of chemicals, which when coupled with emerging tracking and mapping technologies create novel potential for research, as well as bee and crop management.
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Biology of Paenibacillus larvae, a deadly pathogen of honey bee larvae.
Ebeling, Julia; Knispel, Henriette; Hertlein, Gillian; Fünfhaus, Anne; Genersch, Elke
2016-09-01
The gram-positive bacterium Paenibacillus larvae is the etiological agent of American Foulbrood of honey bees, a notifiable disease in many countries. Hence, P. larvae can be considered as an entomopathogen of considerable relevance in veterinary medicine. P. larvae is a highly specialized pathogen with only one established host, the honey bee larva. No other natural environment supporting germination and proliferation of P. larvae is known. Over the last decade, tremendous progress in the understanding of P. larvae and its interactions with honey bee larvae at a molecular level has been made. In this review, we will present the recent highlights and developments in P. larvae research and discuss the impact of some of the findings in a broader context to demonstrate what we can learn from studying "exotic" pathogens.
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Macivor, J Scott; Salehi, Baharak
2014-08-01
Artificial nests (e.g., nest boxes) for bees are increasingly being used to contribute to nesting habitat enhancement for bees that use preexisting cavities to provision brood. They usually incorporate additional nesting materials that vary by species. Cavity-nesting bees are susceptible to brood parasitoids that recognize their host(s) using visual and chemical cues. Understanding the range of cues that attract parasitoids to bee nests, including human-made analogues, is important if we wish to control parasitism and increase the potential value of artificial nests as habitat-enhancement strategies. In this study, we investigated the cues associated with the orientation of the generalist brood parasitoid Monodontomerus obscurus Westwood (Hymenoptera: Torymidae) to the nests of a common cavity-nesting resin bee Megachile campanulae (Robertson) (Megachilidae). The parasitoids were reared from previously infested M. campanulae brood cells and placed into choice trials where they were presented with pairs of different nest material cues. Among different materials tested, we found that Mo. obscurus was most attracted to fresh resin collected directly from Pinus strobus trees followed by previously used resin collected from the bee nest. The parasitoid also attacked other bee species in the same nest boxes, including those that do not use resin for nesting. Our findings suggest that M. campanulae could act as a magnet, drawing parasites away from other bee hosts co-occurring in nest boxes, or, as an attractant of Mo. obscurus to nest boxes, increasing attacks on co-occurring host bee species, potentially undermining bee diversity enhancement initiatives.
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Graybill, Daniel; And Others
1985-01-01
Examines effects of playing violent and nonviolent video games on children's aggressive ideation. Children played a violent or nonviolent video game for eight minutes. Provides initial support, at least on a short-term basis, for notion that the playing of video games affects children's aggression fantasies. (Author/DST)
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Decline and conservation of bumble bees.
Goulson, D; Lye, G C; Darvill, B
2008-01-01
Declines in bumble bee species in the past 60 years are well documented in Europe, where they are driven primarily by habitat loss and declines in floral abundance and diversity resulting from agricultural intensification. Impacts of habitat degradation and fragmentation are likely to be compounded by the social nature of bumble bees and their largely monogamous breeding system, which renders their effective population size low. Hence, populations are susceptible to stochastic extinction events and inbreeding. In North America, catastrophic declines of some bumble bee species since the 1990s are probably attributable to the accidental introduction of a nonnative parasite from Europe, a result of global trade in domesticated bumble bee colonies used for pollination of greenhouse crops. Given the importance of bumble bees as pollinators of crops and wildflowers, steps must be taken to prevent further declines. Suggested measures include tight regulation of commercial bumble bee use and targeted use of environmentally comparable schemes to enhance floristic diversity in agricultural landscapes.
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Mapping sleeping bees within their nest: spatial and temporal analysis of worker honey bee sleep.
Klein, Barrett Anthony; Stiegler, Martin; Klein, Arno; Tautz, Jürgen
2014-01-01
Patterns of behavior within societies have long been visualized and interpreted using maps. Mapping the occurrence of sleep across individuals within a society could offer clues as to functional aspects of sleep. In spite of this, a detailed spatial analysis of sleep has never been conducted on an invertebrate society. We introduce the concept of mapping sleep across an insect society, and provide an empirical example, mapping sleep patterns within colonies of European honey bees (Apis mellifera L.). Honey bees face variables such as temperature and position of resources within their colony's nest that may impact their sleep. We mapped sleep behavior and temperature of worker bees and produced maps of their nest's comb contents as the colony grew and contents changed. By following marked bees, we discovered that individuals slept in many locations, but bees of different worker castes slept in different areas of the nest relative to position of the brood and surrounding temperature. Older worker bees generally slept outside cells, closer to the perimeter of the nest, in colder regions, and away from uncapped brood. Younger worker bees generally slept inside cells and closer to the center of the nest, and spent more time asleep than awake when surrounded by uncapped brood. The average surface temperature of sleeping foragers was lower than the surface temperature of their surroundings, offering a possible indicator of sleep for this caste. We propose mechanisms that could generate caste-dependent sleep patterns and discuss functional significance of these patterns.
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Late Onset of Acute Urticaria after Bee Stings
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Yuko Asai
2016-12-01
Full Text Available Here we report the cases of five patients with a late onset of acute urticaria after a bee sting. The ages of the five Japanese patients ranged from 33 to 86 years (median: 61. All patients had no history of an allergic reaction to bee stings. The onset of urticaria was 6–14 days (median: 10 after a bee sting. Although four of the patients did not describe experiencing a bee sting at their presentation, the subsequent examination detected anti-bee-specific IgE antibodies. So, we think a history of a bee sting should thus be part of the medical interview sheet for patients with acute urticaria, and an examination of IgE for bees may help prevent a severe bee-related anaphylactic reaction in the future.
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Rhabdomyolysis Secondary to Bee Sting
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Okhan Akdur
2013-01-01
Full Text Available Insect stings belonging to Hymenoptera defined as wasps, yellow jackets, bees, or hornets by human usually result in unserious clinical pictures that go with pain. Rhabdomyolysis following a bee sting is a rare condition. This paper emphasizes “rhabdomyolysis” as a rare complication of this frequently observed envenomation. Rare but severe clinical results may occur due to multiple bee stings, such as intravascular hemolysis, rhabdomyolysis, acute renal insufficiency, and hepatic dysfunction. In bee stings as in our case, clinicians should be alert for rhabdomyolysis in cases with generalized body and muscle pain. Early onset alkaline diuresis and management in patients with rhabdomyolysis are vital in protecting the renal functions and preventing morbidity and mortality.
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Dooremalen, van C.; Gerritsen, L.J.M.; Cornelissen, B.; Steen, van der J.J.M.; Langevelde, van F.; Blacquiere, T.
2012-01-01
Background: Recent elevated winter loss of honey bee colonies is a major concern. The presence of the mite Varroa destructor in colonies places an important pressure on bee health. V. destructor shortens the lifespan of individual bees, while long lifespan during winter is a primary requirement to
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The neglected bee trees: European beech forests as a home for feral honey bee colonies
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Patrick Laurenz Kohl
2018-04-01
Full Text Available It is a common belief that feral honey bee colonies (Apis mellifera L. were eradicated in Europe through the loss of habitats, domestication by man and spread of pathogens and parasites. Interestingly, no scientific data are available, neither about the past nor the present status of naturally nesting honeybee colonies. We expected near-natural beech (Fagus sylvatica L. forests to provide enough suitable nest sites to be a home for feral honey bee colonies in Europe. Here, we made a first assessment of their occurrence and density in two German woodland areas based on two methods, the tracing of nest sites based on forager flight routes (beelining technique, and the direct inspection of potential cavity trees. Further, we established experimental swarms at forest edges and decoded dances for nest sites performed by scout bees in order to study how far swarms from beekeeper-managed hives would potentially move into a forest. We found that feral honey bee colonies regularly inhabit tree cavities in near-natural beech forests at densities of at least 0.11–0.14 colonies/km2. Colonies were not confined to the forest edges; they were also living deep inside the forests. We estimated a median distance of 2,600 m from the bee trees to the next apiaries, while scout bees in experimental swarms communicated nest sites in close distances (median: 470 m. We extrapolate that there are several thousand feral honey bee colonies in German woodlands. These have to be taken in account when assessing the role of forest areas in providing pollination services to the surrounding land, and their occurrence has implications for the species’ perception among researchers, beekeepers and conservationists. This study provides a starting point for investigating the life-histories and the ecological interactions of honey bees in temperate European forest environments.
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The neglected bee trees: European beech forests as a home for feral honey bee colonies.
Kohl, Patrick Laurenz; Rutschmann, Benjamin
2018-01-01
It is a common belief that feral honey bee colonies ( Apis mellifera L.) were eradicated in Europe through the loss of habitats, domestication by man and spread of pathogens and parasites. Interestingly, no scientific data are available, neither about the past nor the present status of naturally nesting honeybee colonies. We expected near-natural beech ( Fagus sylvatica L.) forests to provide enough suitable nest sites to be a home for feral honey bee colonies in Europe. Here, we made a first assessment of their occurrence and density in two German woodland areas based on two methods, the tracing of nest sites based on forager flight routes (beelining technique), and the direct inspection of potential cavity trees. Further, we established experimental swarms at forest edges and decoded dances for nest sites performed by scout bees in order to study how far swarms from beekeeper-managed hives would potentially move into a forest. We found that feral honey bee colonies regularly inhabit tree cavities in near-natural beech forests at densities of at least 0.11-0.14 colonies/km 2 . Colonies were not confined to the forest edges; they were also living deep inside the forests. We estimated a median distance of 2,600 m from the bee trees to the next apiaries, while scout bees in experimental swarms communicated nest sites in close distances (median: 470 m). We extrapolate that there are several thousand feral honey bee colonies in German woodlands. These have to be taken in account when assessing the role of forest areas in providing pollination services to the surrounding land, and their occurrence has implications for the species' perception among researchers, beekeepers and conservationists. This study provides a starting point for investigating the life-histories and the ecological interactions of honey bees in temperate European forest environments.
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Watson, J C; Wolf, A T; Ascher, J S
2011-06-01
Wild bees provide vital pollination services for many native and agricultural plant species, yet the landscape conditions needed to support wild bee populations are not well understood or appreciated. We assessed the influence of landscape composition on bee abundance and species richness in apple (Malus spp.) orchards of northeastern Wisconsin during the spring flowering period. A diverse community of bee species occurs in these apple orchards, dominated by wild bees in the families Andrenidae and Halictidae and the honey bee, Apis mellifera L. Proportion of forest area in the surrounding landscape was a significant positive predictor of wild bee abundance in orchards, with strongest effects at a GIS (Geographic Information Systems) buffer distance of 1,000 m or greater. Forest area also was positively associated with species richness, showing strongest effects at a buffer distance of 2,000 m. Nonagricultural developed land (homes, lawns, etcetera) was significantly negatively associated with species richness at buffer distances >750 m and wild bee abundance in bowl traps at all distances. Other landscape variables statistically associated with species richness or abundance of wild bees included proportion area of pasture (positive) and proportion area of roads (negative). Forest area was not associated with honey bee abundance at any buffer distance. These results provide clear evidence that the landscape surrounding apple orchards, especially the proportion of forest area, affects richness and abundance of wild bees during the spring flowering period and should be a part of sustainable land management strategies in agro-ecosystems of northeastern Wisconsin and other apple growing regions.
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Francis, Roy Mathew; Kryger, Per
2012-01-01
A new RT-PCR primer pair designed to identify Acute Bee Paralysis Virus (ABPV), Kashmir Bee Virus (KBV) or Israeli Acute Bee Paralysis Virus (IAPV) of honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) in a single assay is described. These primers are used to screen samples for ABPV, KBV, or IAPV in a single RT-PCR ......-PCR reaction saving time and money. The primers are located in the predicted overlapping gene (pog/ORFX) which is highly conserved across ABPV, KBV, IAPV and other dicistroviruses of social insects. This study has also identified the first case of IAPV in Denmark....
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Pasupuleti Visweswara Rao
Full Text Available ABSTRACT Honey is a natural product produced by both honey bees and stingless bees. Both types of honey contain unique and distinct types of phenolic and flavonoid compounds of variable biological and clinical importance. Honey is one of the most effective natural products used for wound healing. In this review, the traditional uses and clinical applications of both honey bee and stingless bee honey – such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antihyperlipidemic, and cardioprotective properties; the treatment of eye disorders, gastrointestinal tract diseases, neurological disorders, and fertility disorders and wound healing activity are described.
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Non-bee insects are important contributors to global crop pollination.
Rader, Romina; Bartomeus, Ignasi; Garibaldi, Lucas A; Garratt, Michael P D; Howlett, Brad G; Winfree, Rachael; Cunningham, Saul A; Mayfield, Margaret M; Arthur, Anthony D; Andersson, Georg K S; Bommarco, Riccardo; Brittain, Claire; Carvalheiro, Luísa G; Chacoff, Natacha P; Entling, Martin H; Foully, Benjamin; Freitas, Breno M; Gemmill-Herren, Barbara; Ghazoul, Jaboury; Griffin, Sean R; Gross, Caroline L; Herbertsson, Lina; Herzog, Felix; Hipólito, Juliana; Jaggar, Sue; Jauker, Frank; Klein, Alexandra-Maria; Kleijn, David; Krishnan, Smitha; Lemos, Camila Q; Lindström, Sandra A M; Mandelik, Yael; Monteiro, Victor M; Nelson, Warrick; Nilsson, Lovisa; Pattemore, David E; Pereira, Natália de O; Pisanty, Gideon; Potts, Simon G; Reemer, Menno; Rundlöf, Maj; Sheffield, Cory S; Scheper, Jeroen; Schüepp, Christof; Smith, Henrik G; Stanley, Dara A; Stout, Jane C; Szentgyörgyi, Hajnalka; Taki, Hisatomo; Vergara, Carlos H; Viana, Blandina F; Woyciechowski, Michal
2016-01-05
Wild and managed bees are well documented as effective pollinators of global crops of economic importance. However, the contributions by pollinators other than bees have been little explored despite their potential to contribute to crop production and stability in the face of environmental change. Non-bee pollinators include flies, beetles, moths, butterflies, wasps, ants, birds, and bats, among others. Here we focus on non-bee insects and synthesize 39 field studies from five continents that directly measured the crop pollination services provided by non-bees, honey bees, and other bees to compare the relative contributions of these taxa. Non-bees performed 25-50% of the total number of flower visits. Although non-bees were less effective pollinators than bees per flower visit, they made more visits; thus these two factors compensated for each other, resulting in pollination services rendered by non-bees that were similar to those provided by bees. In the subset of studies that measured fruit set, fruit set increased with non-bee insect visits independently of bee visitation rates, indicating that non-bee insects provide a unique benefit that is not provided by bees. We also show that non-bee insects are not as reliant as bees on the presence of remnant natural or seminatural habitat in the surrounding landscape. These results strongly suggest that non-bee insect pollinators play a significant role in global crop production and respond differently than bees to landscape structure, probably making their crop pollination services more robust to changes in land use. Non-bee insects provide a valuable service and provide potential insurance against bee population declines.
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Recent Honey Bee Colony Declines
2007-06-20
podcasts.psu.edu/taxonomy/term/62]. Staple crops such as wheat , corn, and rice do not rely on insect pollination and are mostly wind pollinated...are interacting to weaken bee colonies and are allowing stress-related pathogens, such as fungi , thus causing a final collapse.27 Others note the...possible role of miticide resistance in bees. High levels of bacteria, viruses, and fungi have been found in the guts of the recoverable dead bees
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Bee++: An Object-Oriented, Agent-Based Simulator for Honey Bee Colonies
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Matthew Betti
2017-03-01
Full Text Available We present a model and associated simulation package (www.beeplusplus.ca to capture the natural dynamics of a honey bee colony in a spatially-explicit landscape, with temporally-variable, weather-dependent parameters. The simulation tracks bees of different ages and castes, food stores within the colony, pollen and nectar sources and the spatial position of individual foragers outside the hive. We track explicitly the intake of pesticides in individual bees and their ability to metabolize these toxins, such that the impact of sub-lethal doses of pesticides can be explored. Moreover, pathogen populations (in particular, Nosema apis, Nosema cerenae and Varroa mites have been included in the model and may be introduced at any time or location. The ability to study interactions among pesticides, climate, biodiversity and pathogens in this predictive framework should prove useful to a wide range of researchers studying honey bee populations. To this end, the simulation package is written in open source, object-oriented code (C++ and can be easily modified by the user. Here, we demonstrate the use of the model by exploring the effects of sub-lethal pesticide exposure on the flight behaviour of foragers.
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Hygienic behaviour in Brazilian stingless bees
Alves, Denise A.; Bento, José M. S.; Marchini, Luis C.; Ratnieks, Francis L. W.
2016-01-01
ABSTRACT Social insects have many defence mechanisms against pests and pathogens. One of these is hygienic behaviour, which has been studied in detail in the honey bee, Apis mellifera. Hygienic honey bee workers remove dead and diseased larvae and pupae from sealed brood cells, thereby reducing disease transfer within the colony. Stingless bees, Meliponini, also rear broods in sealed cells. We investigated hygienic behaviour in three species of Brazilian stingless bees (Melipona scutellaris, Scaptotrigona depilis, Tetragonisca angustula) in response to freeze-killed brood. All three species had high mean levels of freeze-killed brood removal after 48 h ∼99% in M. scutellaris, 80% in S. depilis and 62% in T. angustula (N=8 colonies per species; three trials per colony). These levels are greater than in unselected honey bee populations, ∼46%. In S. depilis there was also considerable intercolony variation, ranging from 27% to 100% removal after 2 days. Interestingly, in the S. depilis colony with the slowest removal of freeze-killed brood, 15% of the adult bees emerging from their cells had shrivelled wings indicating a disease or disorder, which is as yet unidentified. Although the gross symptoms resembled the effects of deformed wing virus in the honey bee, this virus was not detected in the samples. When brood comb from the diseased colony was introduced to the other S. depilis colonies, there was a significant negative correlation between freeze-killed brood removal and the emergence of deformed worker bees (P=0.001), and a positive correlation with the cleaning out of brood cells (P=0.0008). This shows that the more hygienic colonies were detecting and removing unhealthy brood prior to adult emergence. Our results indicate that hygienic behaviour may play an important role in colony health in stingless bees. The low levels of disease normally seen in stingless bees may be because they have effective mechanisms of disease management, not because they lack
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Hygienic behaviour in Brazilian stingless bees
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hasan Al Toufailia
2016-11-01
Full Text Available Social insects have many defence mechanisms against pests and pathogens. One of these is hygienic behaviour, which has been studied in detail in the honey bee, Apis mellifera. Hygienic honey bee workers remove dead and diseased larvae and pupae from sealed brood cells, thereby reducing disease transfer within the colony. Stingless bees, Meliponini, also rear broods in sealed cells. We investigated hygienic behaviour in three species of Brazilian stingless bees (Melipona scutellaris, Scaptotrigona depilis, Tetragonisca angustula in response to freeze-killed brood. All three species had high mean levels of freeze-killed brood removal after 48 h ∼99% in M. scutellaris, 80% in S. depilis and 62% in T. angustula (N=8 colonies per species; three trials per colony. These levels are greater than in unselected honey bee populations, ∼46%. In S. depilis there was also considerable intercolony variation, ranging from 27% to 100% removal after 2 days. Interestingly, in the S. depilis colony with the slowest removal of freeze-killed brood, 15% of the adult bees emerging from their cells had shrivelled wings indicating a disease or disorder, which is as yet unidentified. Although the gross symptoms resembled the effects of deformed wing virus in the honey bee, this virus was not detected in the samples. When brood comb from the diseased colony was introduced to the other S. depilis colonies, there was a significant negative correlation between freeze-killed brood removal and the emergence of deformed worker bees (P=0.001, and a positive correlation with the cleaning out of brood cells (P=0.0008. This shows that the more hygienic colonies were detecting and removing unhealthy brood prior to adult emergence. Our results indicate that hygienic behaviour may play an important role in colony health in stingless bees. The low levels of disease normally seen in stingless bees may be because they have effective mechanisms of disease management, not because
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Min-Ki Kim; Si Hyeong, Lee; Jo Young Shin; Kang San Kim; Nam Guen Cho; Ki Rok Kwon; Tae Jin Rhim
2007-01-01
Objectives : The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of Bee Venom and Sweet Bee Venom to the primary cultured preadipocyte, adipocytes, and localized fat tissue. Methods : Decreased preadipocyte proliferation and decreased lipogenesis are mechanisms to reduce obesity. So, preadipocytes and adipocytes were performed on cell cultures using Sprague-Dawley Rats and treated with 0.01-1mg/㎖ Bee Venom and Sweet Bee Venom. And porcine skin including fat tissue after treated Bee Ve...
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Genetic stock identification of Russian honey bees.
Bourgeois, Lelania; Sheppard, Walter S; Sylvester, H Allen; Rinderer, Thomas E
2010-06-01
A genetic stock certification assay was developed to distinguish Russian honey bees from other European (Apis mellifera L.) stocks that are commercially produced in the United States. In total, 11 microsatellite and five single-nucleotide polymorphism loci were used. Loci were selected for relatively high levels of homogeneity within each group and for differences in allele frequencies between groups. A baseline sample consisted of the 18 lines of Russian honey bees released to the Russian Bee Breeders Association and bees from 34 queen breeders representing commercially produced European honey bee stocks. Suitability tests of the baseline sample pool showed high levels of accuracy. The probability of correct assignment was 94.2% for non-Russian bees and 93.3% for Russian bees. A neighbor-joining phenogram representing genetic distance data showed clear distinction of Russian and non-Russian honey bee stocks. Furthermore, a test of appropriate sample size showed a sample of eight bees per colony maximizes accuracy and consistency of the results. An additional 34 samples were tested as blind samples (origin unknown to those collecting data) to determine accuracy of individual assignment tests. Only one of these samples was incorrectly assigned. The 18 current breeding lines were represented among the 2009 blind sampling, demonstrating temporal stability of the genetic stock identification assay. The certification assay will be used through services provided by a service laboratory, by the Russian Bee Breeders Association to genetically certify their stock. The genetic certification will be used in conjunction with continued selection for favorable traits, such as honey production and varroa and tracheal mite resistance.
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Mapping Sleeping Bees within Their Nest: Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Worker Honey Bee Sleep
Klein, Barrett Anthony; Stiegler, Martin; Klein, Arno; Tautz, Jürgen
2014-01-01
Patterns of behavior within societies have long been visualized and interpreted using maps. Mapping the occurrence of sleep across individuals within a society could offer clues as to functional aspects of sleep. In spite of this, a detailed spatial analysis of sleep has never been conducted on an invertebrate society. We introduce the concept of mapping sleep across an insect society, and provide an empirical example, mapping sleep patterns within colonies of European honey bees (Apis mellifera L.). Honey bees face variables such as temperature and position of resources within their colony's nest that may impact their sleep. We mapped sleep behavior and temperature of worker bees and produced maps of their nest's comb contents as the colony grew and contents changed. By following marked bees, we discovered that individuals slept in many locations, but bees of different worker castes slept in different areas of the nest relative to position of the brood and surrounding temperature. Older worker bees generally slept outside cells, closer to the perimeter of the nest, in colder regions, and away from uncapped brood. Younger worker bees generally slept inside cells and closer to the center of the nest, and spent more time asleep than awake when surrounded by uncapped brood. The average surface temperature of sleeping foragers was lower than the surface temperature of their surroundings, offering a possible indicator of sleep for this caste. We propose mechanisms that could generate caste-dependent sleep patterns and discuss functional significance of these patterns. PMID:25029445
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Mapping sleeping bees within their nest: spatial and temporal analysis of worker honey bee sleep.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Barrett Anthony Klein
Full Text Available Patterns of behavior within societies have long been visualized and interpreted using maps. Mapping the occurrence of sleep across individuals within a society could offer clues as to functional aspects of sleep. In spite of this, a detailed spatial analysis of sleep has never been conducted on an invertebrate society. We introduce the concept of mapping sleep across an insect society, and provide an empirical example, mapping sleep patterns within colonies of European honey bees (Apis mellifera L.. Honey bees face variables such as temperature and position of resources within their colony's nest that may impact their sleep. We mapped sleep behavior and temperature of worker bees and produced maps of their nest's comb contents as the colony grew and contents changed. By following marked bees, we discovered that individuals slept in many locations, but bees of different worker castes slept in different areas of the nest relative to position of the brood and surrounding temperature. Older worker bees generally slept outside cells, closer to the perimeter of the nest, in colder regions, and away from uncapped brood. Younger worker bees generally slept inside cells and closer to the center of the nest, and spent more time asleep than awake when surrounded by uncapped brood. The average surface temperature of sleeping foragers was lower than the surface temperature of their surroundings, offering a possible indicator of sleep for this caste. We propose mechanisms that could generate caste-dependent sleep patterns and discuss functional significance of these patterns.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Lukáš Hleba
2013-10-01
Full Text Available In this study we researched antimicrobial activity of bee pollen extracts to Enterobacteriaceae genera isolated from chicken intestinal tract after application of bee collected pollen in their feeding. We used well plate agar diffusion method for antimicrobial testing of bee pollen extract and disc diffusion method for antibiotic susceptibility testing of bacteria by EUCAST. Identification of bacteria was done by test kit Enterotest 24. We identified tree bacterial strains: E. coli, P. mirabilis and K. oxytoca. We determined that K. oxytoca was resistant to ampicillin only and others identified strain were sensitive to used antibiotics. Also we determined antimicrobial effect of bee pollen extract to all tested strains of Enterobacteriaceae genera which were isolated from intestinal tract of chicken after application of bee collected pollen extract in their feeding. From obtained results we could be conclude that bacteria isolated from chicken after application of bee pollen extract had more resistance to bee collected pollen extract in in vitro experiment as E. coli CCM 3988, which did not be in contact with bee pollen extract.
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Stindl, Reinhard; Stindl, Wolfgang
2010-10-01
Einstein is often quoted to have said that without the bee, mankind would have but 4years to live. It is highly unlikely that he made this comment, which was even mentioned in a Lancet article on honey bees. However, the current vanishing of the bees can have serious consequences for human health, because 35% of the human diet is thought to benefit from pollination. Colony collapse disorder (CCD) in honey bees is characterized by the rapid decline of the adult bee population, leaving the brood and the queen poorly or completely unattended, with no dead bodies in or around the hive. A large study found no evidence that the presence or amount of any individual pesticide or infectious agent occurred more frequently or abundantly in CCD-affected colonies. The growing consensus is that honey bees are suffering from comprised immune systems, which allow various infectious pathogens to invade. The question remains, what causes immunosuppression in many colonies of Apis mellifera in North America and Europe? Telomeres are protective DNA structures located at eukaryotic chromosome tips that shorten in the somatic tissues of animals with age. Lifelong tissue regeneration takes place in Apis mellifera, and worker bees have been shown to senesce. In humans, a vast amount of literature has accumulated on exhausted telomere reserves causing impaired tissue regeneration and age-associated diseases, specifically cancer and immunosuppression. Therefore, we propose a new causative mechanism for the vanishing of the bees: critically short telomeres in long-lived winter bees. We term this the telomere premature aging syndrome. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Imidacloprid Alters Foraging and Decreases Bee Avoidance of Predators
Tan, Ken; Chen, Weiwen; Dong, Shihao; Liu, Xiwen; Wang, Yuchong; Nieh, James C.
2014-01-01
Concern is growing over the effects of neonicotinoid pesticides, which can impair honey bee cognition. We provide the first demonstration that sublethal concentrations of imidacloprid can harm honey bee decision-making about danger by significantly increasing the probability of a bee visiting a dangerous food source. Apis cerana is a native bee that is an important pollinator of agricultural crops and native plants in Asia. When foraging on nectar containing 40 µg/L (34 ppb) imidacloprid, honey bees (Apis cerana) showed no aversion to a feeder with a hornet predator, and 1.8 fold more bees chose the dangerous feeder as compared to control bees. Control bees exhibited significant predator avoidance. We also give the first evidence that foraging by A. cerana workers can be inhibited by sublethal concentrations of the pesticide, imidacloprid, which is widely used in Asia. Compared to bees collecting uncontaminated nectar, 23% fewer foragers returned to collect the nectar with 40 µg/L imidacloprid. Bees that did return respectively collected 46% and 63% less nectar containing 20 µg/L and 40 µg/L imidacloprid. These results suggest that the effects of neonicotinoids on honey bee decision-making and other advanced cognitive functions should be explored. Moreover, research should extend beyond the classic model, the European honey bee (A. mellifera), to other important bee species. PMID:25025334
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Imidacloprid alters foraging and decreases bee avoidance of predators.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ken Tan
Full Text Available Concern is growing over the effects of neonicotinoid pesticides, which can impair honey bee cognition. We provide the first demonstration that sublethal concentrations of imidacloprid can harm honey bee decision-making about danger by significantly increasing the probability of a bee visiting a dangerous food source. Apis cerana is a native bee that is an important pollinator of agricultural crops and native plants in Asia. When foraging on nectar containing 40 µg/L (34 ppb imidacloprid, honey bees (Apis cerana showed no aversion to a feeder with a hornet predator, and 1.8 fold more bees chose the dangerous feeder as compared to control bees. Control bees exhibited significant predator avoidance. We also give the first evidence that foraging by A. cerana workers can be inhibited by sublethal concentrations of the pesticide, imidacloprid, which is widely used in Asia. Compared to bees collecting uncontaminated nectar, 23% fewer foragers returned to collect the nectar with 40 µg/L imidacloprid. Bees that did return respectively collected 46% and 63% less nectar containing 20 µg/L and 40 µg/L imidacloprid. These results suggest that the effects of neonicotinoids on honey bee decision-making and other advanced cognitive functions should be explored. Moreover, research should extend beyond the classic model, the European honey bee (A. mellifera, to other important bee species.
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What currency do bumble bees maximize?
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Nicholas L Charlton
2010-08-01
Full Text Available In modelling bumble bee foraging, net rate of energetic intake has been suggested as the appropriate currency. The foraging behaviour of honey bees is better predicted by using efficiency, the ratio of energetic gain to expenditure, as the currency. We re-analyse several studies of bumble bee foraging and show that efficiency is as good a currency as net rate in terms of predicting behaviour. We suggest that future studies of the foraging of bumble bees should be designed to distinguish between net rate and efficiency maximizing behaviour in an attempt to discover which is the more appropriate currency.
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Elieh Ali Komi, Daniel; Shafaghat, Farzaneh; Zwiener, Ricardo D
2017-01-20
Bee venom is a blend of biochemicals ranging from small peptides and enzymes to biogenic amines. It is capable of triggering severe immunologic reactions owing to its allergenic fraction. Venom components are presented to the T cells by antigen-presenting cells within the skin. These Th2 type T cells then release IL-4 and IL-13 which subsequently direct B cells to class switch to production of IgE. Generating venom-specific IgE and crosslinking FcεR1(s) on the surface of mast cells complete the sensitizing stage in allergic individuals who are most likely to experience severe and even fatal allergic reactions after being stung. Specific IgE for bee venom is a double-edged sword as it is a powerful mediator in triggering allergic events but is also applied successfully in diagnosis of the venom allergic patient. The healing capacity of bee venom has been rediscovered under laboratory-controlled conditions using animal models and cell cultures. The potential role of enzymatic fraction of bee venom including phospholipase A2 in the initiation and development of immune responses also has been studied in numerous research settings. Undoubtedly, having insights into immunologic interactions between bee venom components and innate/specific immune cells both locally and systematically will contribute to the development of immunologic strategies in specific and epitope-based immunotherapy especially in individuals with Hymenoptera venom allergy.
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Relational aggression: the voices of primary school learners
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Johan Botha
2014-06-01
Full Text Available The aim of this research was to explore and describe primary school learners' experiences of relational aggression at school. This was done within a qualitative research design with a phenomenological approach. In order to give a voice to primary school learners' lived experiences of relational aggression, 25 individual interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of learners from two primary schools in the Dr Kenneth Kaunda District, North-West Province. Data analysis was done using Tesch's systematic open coding process. Social Learning Theory underscored the theoretical foundation that emphasises relational aggression as a socially learned phenomenon through observation. Although existing theory supports the findings, the reality, however, is that the effects of relational aggression impede negatively on learners' social and academic development and well-being. This jeopardises schools' endeavours to effectively socialise learners in order to establish and maintain effective personal and social relationships. Curtailing relational aggression has the possibility of reducing other forms of aggression in schools and will enhance the creation of effective teaching-learning environments that are conducive to teaching and learning that will support the task of schooling, which is the socialisation of learners to optimally achieve their potential in schools. The article provides some suggestions to assist teachers in endeavours to effectively curtail relational aggression.
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Burritt, Nancy L; Foss, Nicole J; Neeno-Eckwall, Eric C; Church, James O; Hilger, Anna M; Hildebrand, Jacob A; Warshauer, David M; Perna, Nicole T; Burritt, James B
2016-01-01
Global loss of honey bee colonies is threatening the human food supply. Diverse pathogens reduce honey bee hardiness needed to sustain colonies, especially in winter. We isolated a free-living Gram negative bacillus from hemolymph of worker honey bees (Apis mellifera) found separated from winter clusters. In some hives, greater than 90% of the dying bees detached from the winter cluster were found to contain this bacterium in their hemolymph. Throughout the year, the same organism was rarely found in bees engaged in normal hive activities, but was detected in about half of Varroa destructor mites obtained from colonies that housed the septic bees. Flow cytometry of hemolymph from septic bees showed a significant reduction of plasmatocytes and other types of hemocytes. Interpretation of the16S rRNA sequence of the bacterium indicated that it belongs to the Serratia genus of Gram-negative Gammaproteobacteria, which has not previously been implicated as a pathogen of adult honey bees. Complete genome sequence analysis of the bacterium supported its classification as a novel strain of Serratia marcescens, which was designated as S. marcescens strain sicaria (Ss1). When compared with other strains of S. marcescens, Ss1 demonstrated several phenotypic and genetic differences, including 65 genes not previously found in other Serratia genomes. Some of the unique genes we identified in Ss1 were related to those from bacterial insect pathogens and commensals. Recovery of this organism extends a complex pathosphere of agents which may contribute to failure of honey bee colonies.
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Burritt, Nancy L.; Foss, Nicole J.; Neeno-Eckwall, Eric C.; Church, James O.; Hildebrand, Jacob A.; Warshauer, David M.; Perna, Nicole T.; Burritt, James B.
2016-01-01
Global loss of honey bee colonies is threatening the human food supply. Diverse pathogens reduce honey bee hardiness needed to sustain colonies, especially in winter. We isolated a free-living Gram negative bacillus from hemolymph of worker honey bees (Apis mellifera) found separated from winter clusters. In some hives, greater than 90% of the dying bees detached from the winter cluster were found to contain this bacterium in their hemolymph. Throughout the year, the same organism was rarely found in bees engaged in normal hive activities, but was detected in about half of Varroa destructor mites obtained from colonies that housed the septic bees. Flow cytometry of hemolymph from septic bees showed a significant reduction of plasmatocytes and other types of hemocytes. Interpretation of the16S rRNA sequence of the bacterium indicated that it belongs to the Serratia genus of Gram-negative Gammaproteobacteria, which has not previously been implicated as a pathogen of adult honey bees. Complete genome sequence analysis of the bacterium supported its classification as a novel strain of Serratia marcescens, which was designated as S. marcescens strain sicaria (Ss1). When compared with other strains of S. marcescens, Ss1 demonstrated several phenotypic and genetic differences, including 65 genes not previously found in other Serratia genomes. Some of the unique genes we identified in Ss1 were related to those from bacterial insect pathogens and commensals. Recovery of this organism extends a complex pathosphere of agents which may contribute to failure of honey bee colonies. PMID:28002470
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Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus in Honeybee Queens
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Amiri, Esmaeil; Meixner, Marina; Büchler, Ralph
2014-01-01
Chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV) is known as a disease of worker honey bees. To investigate pathogenesis of the CBPV on the queen, the sole reproductive individual in a colony, we conducted experiments regarding the susceptibility of queens to CBPV. Results from susceptibility experiment showed...... a similar disease progress in the queens compared to worker bees after infection. Infected queens exhibit symptoms by Day 6 post infection and virus levels reach 1011 copies per head. In a transmission experiment we showed that social interactions may affect the disease progression. Queens with forced...... contact to symptomatic worker bees acquired an overt infection with up to 1011 virus copies per head in six days. In contrast, queens in contact with symptomatic worker bees, but with a chance to receive food from healthy bees outside the cage appeared healthy. The virus loads did not exceed 107...
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Habitat Fragmentation and Native Bees: a Premature Verdict?
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
James H. Cane
2001-06-01
Full Text Available Few studies directly address the consequences of habitat fragmentation for communities of pollinating insects, particularly for the key pollinator group, bees (Hymenoptera: Apiformes. Bees typically live in habitats where nesting substrates and bloom are patchily distributed and spatially dissociated. Bee studies have all defined habitat fragments as remnant patches of floral hosts or forests, overlooking the nesting needs of bees. Several authors conclude that habitat fragmentation is broadly deleterious, but their own data show that some native species proliferate in sampled fragments. Other studies report greater densities and comparable diversities of native bees at flowers in some fragment size classes relative to undisrupted habitats, but find dramatic shifts in species composition. Insightful studies of habitat fragmentation and bees will consider fragmentation, alteration, and loss of nesting habitats, not just patches of forage plants, as well as the permeability of the surrounding matrix to interpatch movement. Inasmuch as the floral associations and nesting habits of bees are often attributes of species or subgenera, ecological interpretations hinge on authoritative identifications. Study designs must accommodate statistical problems associated with bee community samples, especially non-normal data and frequent zero values. The spatial scale of fragmentation must be appreciated: bees of medium body size can regularly fly 1-2 km from nest site to forage patch. Overall, evidence for prolonged persistence of substantial diversity and abundances of native bee communities in habitat fragments of modest size promises practical solutions for maintaining bee populations. Provided that reserve selection, design, and management can address the foraging and nesting needs of bees, networks of even small reserves may hold hope for sustaining considerable pollinator diversity and the ecological services pollinators provide.
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Boonekamp, P.M.
2011-01-01
Alarm bells are ringing all over the world about the death of bee populations. Although it is not known exactly how severe the decline is, it is important to take the problem seriously. The signals are alarming and the bee is important, not just for natural ecosystems but also for the pollination of
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Bui Tat Minh, B.
2015-01-01
This project aims to build up a common ZigBee test framework. The common test framework can be used by teams developing devices using ZigBee. The objective is to reuse of the test infrastructure, test xtures as well as to simplify the exchange of test engineers between teams. In this project, we
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Apiculture and Bee Health in Central Sweden
Larne, Olof
2014-01-01
Pollination necessary for the agricultural crop production affects the functions of the ecosystems on earth. In landscapes where wild pollinators are decreasing, honey bees promote the maintenance of plant species, therefore honey bee losses are of great concern. Current honey bee colony losses (Apis mellifera) worldwide are caused by Colony collapse disorder, the mite Varroa destructor and pesticides. This results in the honey bees weakened immune defenses making them susceptible to differen...
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ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY OF VARIOUS QUEEN BEES MAINTENANCE SYSTEMS
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A POPESCU
2003-10-01
Full Text Available The modern queens maintenance systems are based on the use of artificial insemination, queens’ maintenance in the so called „queens bank” , in this way assuring an increased economic efficiency in beekeeping. This study aimed to compare the economic efficiency of the implementation of A.I. to various queen bees maintenance systems. Three alternatives have been taken into account: V1-a queen bee in a cage together with her bees, V2- a queen bank system and V3 – a queen bee in a nucleus. For each queen bee maintenance alternative have been evaluated the most important indicators such as: expenses, incomes, profit, number of marketable inseminated and selected queen bees, honey production, cost/queen, revenue/queen, profit/queen, profit rate. The most effective alternative was the queen bank system assuring 2,400 marketable queen bees and 20 kg honey delivered yearly, USD 12,442 incomes, USD 3,400 expenses, USD 9,042 profit, that is USD 3.77/queen bee and 265.72 % profit rate under the condition as A.I. costs are just USD 1,058, representing 31.1 % of total queen bees maintenance costs.
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Campbell, Joshua W; Daniels, Jaret C; Ellis, James D
2018-04-02
Pollinators provide essential services for watermelon, Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.; Cucurbitales: Cucurbitaceae). Managed bumble bees, Bombus impatiens (Cresson; Hymenoptera: Apidae), have been shown to be a useful watermelon pollinator in some areas. However, the exact contribution bumble bees make to watermelon pollination and how their contribution compares to that of other bees is unclear. We used large cages (5.4 × 2.5 × 2.4 m) to confine bumble bee hives to watermelon plants and compared fruit set in those cages to cages containing watermelons but no pollinators, and to open areas of field next to cages (allows all pollinators). We also collected data on single visit pollen deposition onto watermelon stigmas by managed bumble bees, honey bees, and wild bees. Overall, more fruit formed within the open cages than in cages of the other two treatment groups. B. impatiens and Melissodes spp. deposited the most pollen onto watermelon stigmas per visit, but all bee species observed visiting watermelon flowers were capable of depositing ample pollen to watermelon stigmas. Although B. impatiens did deposit large quantities of pollen to stigmas, they were not common within the field (i.e., outside the cages) as they were readily drawn to flowering plants outside of the watermelon field. Overall, bumble bees can successfully pollinate watermelon, but may be useful in greenhouses or high tunnels where watermelon flowers have no competition from other flowering plants that could draw bumble bees away from watermelon.
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The Big Island of Hawaii, USA, supports an important honey bee (Apis mellifera) queen rearing industry that has been threatened by Varroa destructor since 2008. Miticides widely used to manage mites are known to interfere with queen rearing and sperm production. We investigated whether bees bred for...
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Environmental and genetic influences on flight metabolic rate in the honey bee, Apis mellifera.
Harrison, Jon F; Fewell, Jennifer H
2002-10-01
Flying honey bees demonstrate highly variable metabolic rates. The lowest reported values (approximately 0.3 Wg(-1)) occur in tethered bees generating the minimum lift to support their body weight, free-flying 2-day old bees, winter bees, or bees flying at high air temperatures (45 degrees C). The highest values (approximately 0.8 Wg(-1)) occur in foragers that are heavily loaded or flying in low-density air. In different studies, flight metabolic rate has increased, decreased, or remained constant with air temperature. Current research collectively suggests that this variation occurs because flight metabolic rates decrease at thorax temperatures above or below 38 degrees C. At 30 degrees C, approximately 30% of colonial energy is spent during typical foraging, so variation in flight metabolic rate can strongly affect colony-level energy balance. Higher air temperatures tend to increase colonial net gain rates, efficiencies and honey storage rates due to lower metabolic rates during flight and in the hive. Variation in flight metabolism has a clear genetic basis. Different genetic strains of honey bees often differ in flight metabolic rate, and these differences in flight physiology can be correlated with foraging effort, suggesting a possible pathway for selection effects on flight metabolism.
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Smart, Matthew; Pettis, Jeff S.; Euliss, Ned H. Jr.; Spivak, Marla S.
2016-01-01
The Northern Great Plains region of the US annually hosts a large portion of commercially managed U.S. honey bee colonies each summer. Changing land use patterns over the last several decades have contributed to declines in the availability of bee forage across the region, and the future sustainability of the region to support honey bee colonies is unclear. We examined the influence of varying land use on the survivorship and productivity of honey bee colonies located in six apiaries within the Northern Great Plains state of North Dakota, an area of intensive agriculture and high density of beekeeping operations. Land use surrounding the apiaries was quantified over three years, 2010–2012, and survival and productivity of honey bee colonies were determined in response to the amount of bee forage land within a 3.2-km radius of each apiary. The area of uncultivated forage land (including pasture, USDA conservation program fields, fallow land, flowering woody plants, grassland, hay land, and roadside ditches) exerted a positive impact on annual apiary survival and honey production. Taxonomic diversity of bee-collected pollen and pesticide residues contained therein varied seasonally among apiaries, but overall were not correlated to large-scale land use patterns or survival and honey production. The predominant flowering plants utilized by honey bee colonies for pollen were volunteer species present in unmanaged (for honey bees), and often ephemeral, lands; thus placing honey bee colonies in a precarious situation for acquiring forage and nutrients over the entire growing season. We discuss the implications for land management, conservation, and beekeeper site selection in the Northern Great Plains to adequately support honey bee colonies and insure long term security for pollinator-dependent crops across the entire country.
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Spivak, Marla S; Browning, Zac; Goblirsch, Mike; Lee, Katie; Otto, Clint R.; Smart, Matthew; Wu-Smart, Judy
2017-01-01
A colony of honey bees is an amazing organism when it is healthy; it is a superorganism in many senses of the word. As with any organism, maintaining a state of health requires cohesiveness and interplay among cells and tissues and, in the case of a honey bee colony, the bees themselves. The individual bees that make up a honey bee colony deliver to the superorganism what it needs: pollen and nectar collected from flowering plants that contain nutrients necessary for growth and survival. Honey bees with access to better and more complete nutrition exhibit improved immune system function and behavioral defenses for fighting off effects of pathogens and pesticides (Evans and Spivak 2010; Mao, Schuler, and Berenbaum 2013; Wahl and Ulm 1983). Sadly, as this story is often told in the headlines, the focus is rarely about what it means for a honey bee colony to be healthy and is instead primarily focused on colony survival rates. Bee colonies are chronically exposed to parasitic mites, viruses, diseases, miticides, pesticides, and poor nutrition, which weaken and make innate defenses insufficient at overcoming these combined stressors. Colonies that are chronically weakened can be even more susceptible to infections and levels of pesticide exposure that might otherwise be innocuous, further promoting a downward spiral of health. Sick and weakened bees diminish the colony’s resiliency, ultimately leading to a breakdown in the social structure, production, efficiency, immunity, and reproduction of the colony, and eventual or sudden colony death.
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Bee Hive management and colonisation: a practical approach ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
The managerial issues include the method of approaching the bees and hives, feeding of the bees and prevention of predators. Exploitation of the colony for bee products is usually done with special tools that ensure no disturbance of the inhabitants while also protecting the harvester. The market for bee products varies ...
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Individual and peer group normative beliefs about relational aggression.
Werner, Nicole E; Hill, Laura G
2010-01-01
Studies show that children who use relational aggression process social information in unique ways; however, findings have been inconsistent and limited by methodological weaknesses. This short-term longitudinal study examined developmental changes in 245 (49% female; ages 8-13) 3rd through 8th graders' normative beliefs about relational aggression and tested the hypothesis that individual and classroom-level norms predict relational aggression 1 year later. Results showed that the transition to middle school was marked by increased approval of relational aggression, and individual norms predicted future relational aggression. Importantly, a contextual model showed that students in peer groups highly supportive of relational aggression became increasingly aggressive. Findings extend social information processing theories of relational aggression to focus on the role of peer group cognitions.
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Can We Disrupt the Sensing of Honey Bees by the Bee Parasite Varroa destructor?
Eliash, Nurit; Singh, Nitin Kumar; Kamer, Yosef; Pinnelli, Govardhana Reddy; Plettner, Erika; Soroker, Victoria
2014-01-01
Background The ectoparasitic mite, Varroa destructor, is considered to be one of the most significant threats to apiculture around the world. Chemical cues are known to play a significant role in the host-finding behavior of Varroa. The mites distinguish between bees from different task groups, and prefer nurses over foragers. We examined the possibility of disrupting the Varroa – honey bee interaction by targeting the mite's olfactory system. In particular, we examined the effect of volatile compounds, ethers of cis 5-(2′-hydroxyethyl) cyclopent-2-en-1-ol or of dihydroquinone, resorcinol or catechol. We tested the effect of these compounds on the Varroa chemosensory organ by electrophysiology and on behavior in a choice bioassay. The electrophysiological studies were conducted on the isolated foreleg. In the behavioral bioassay, the mite's preference between a nurse and a forager bee was evaluated. Principal findings We found that in the presence of some compounds, the response of the Varroa chemosensory organ to honey bee headspace volatiles significantly decreased. This effect was dose dependent and, for some of the compounds, long lasting (>1 min). Furthermore, disruption of the Varroa volatile detection was accompanied by a reversal of the mite's preference from a nurse to a forager bee. Long-term inhibition of the electrophysiological responses of mites to the tested compounds was a good predictor for an alteration in the mite's host preference. Conclusions These data indicate the potential of the selected compounds to disrupt the Varroa - honey bee associations, thus opening new avenues for Varroa control. PMID:25226388
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Can we disrupt the sensing of honey bees by the bee parasite Varroa destructor?
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Nurit Eliash
Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The ectoparasitic mite, Varroa destructor, is considered to be one of the most significant threats to apiculture around the world. Chemical cues are known to play a significant role in the host-finding behavior of Varroa. The mites distinguish between bees from different task groups, and prefer nurses over foragers. We examined the possibility of disrupting the Varroa--honey bee interaction by targeting the mite's olfactory system. In particular, we examined the effect of volatile compounds, ethers of cis 5-(2'-hydroxyethyl cyclopent-2-en-1-ol or of dihydroquinone, resorcinol or catechol. We tested the effect of these compounds on the Varroa chemosensory organ by electrophysiology and on behavior in a choice bioassay. The electrophysiological studies were conducted on the isolated foreleg. In the behavioral bioassay, the mite's preference between a nurse and a forager bee was evaluated. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We found that in the presence of some compounds, the response of the Varroa chemosensory organ to honey bee headspace volatiles significantly decreased. This effect was dose dependent and, for some of the compounds, long lasting (>1 min. Furthermore, disruption of the Varroa volatile detection was accompanied by a reversal of the mite's preference from a nurse to a forager bee. Long-term inhibition of the electrophysiological responses of mites to the tested compounds was a good predictor for an alteration in the mite's host preference. CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate the potential of the selected compounds to disrupt the Varroa--honey bee associations, thus opening new avenues for Varroa control.
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Can we disrupt the sensing of honey bees by the bee parasite Varroa destructor?
Eliash, Nurit; Singh, Nitin Kumar; Kamer, Yosef; Pinnelli, Govardhana Reddy; Plettner, Erika; Soroker, Victoria
2014-01-01
The ectoparasitic mite, Varroa destructor, is considered to be one of the most significant threats to apiculture around the world. Chemical cues are known to play a significant role in the host-finding behavior of Varroa. The mites distinguish between bees from different task groups, and prefer nurses over foragers. We examined the possibility of disrupting the Varroa--honey bee interaction by targeting the mite's olfactory system. In particular, we examined the effect of volatile compounds, ethers of cis 5-(2'-hydroxyethyl) cyclopent-2-en-1-ol or of dihydroquinone, resorcinol or catechol. We tested the effect of these compounds on the Varroa chemosensory organ by electrophysiology and on behavior in a choice bioassay. The electrophysiological studies were conducted on the isolated foreleg. In the behavioral bioassay, the mite's preference between a nurse and a forager bee was evaluated. We found that in the presence of some compounds, the response of the Varroa chemosensory organ to honey bee headspace volatiles significantly decreased. This effect was dose dependent and, for some of the compounds, long lasting (>1 min). Furthermore, disruption of the Varroa volatile detection was accompanied by a reversal of the mite's preference from a nurse to a forager bee. Long-term inhibition of the electrophysiological responses of mites to the tested compounds was a good predictor for an alteration in the mite's host preference. These data indicate the potential of the selected compounds to disrupt the Varroa--honey bee associations, thus opening new avenues for Varroa control.
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Sequence and expression pattern of the germ line marker vasa in honey bees and stingless bees
2009-01-01
Queens and workers of social insects differ in the rates of egg laying. Using genomic information we determined the sequence of vasa, a highly conserved gene specific to the germ line of metazoans, for the honey bee and four stingless bees. The vasa sequence of social bees differed from that of other insects in two motifs. By RT-PCR we confirmed the germ line specificity of Amvasa expression in honey bees. In situ hybridization on ovarioles showed that Amvasa is expressed throughout the germarium, except for the transition zone beneath the terminal filament. A diffuse vasa signal was also seen in terminal filaments suggesting the presence of germ line cells. Oocytes showed elevated levels of Amvasa transcripts in the lower germarium and after follicles became segregated. In previtellogenic follicles, Amvasa transcription was detected in the trophocytes, which appear to supply its mRNA to the growing oocyte. A similar picture was obtained for ovarioles of the stingless bee Melipona quadrifasciata, except that Amvasa expression was higher in the oocytes of previtellogenic follicles. The social bees differ in this respect from Drosophila, the model system for insect oogenesis, suggesting that changes in the sequence and expression pattern of vasa may have occurred during social evolution. PMID:21637523
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Sequence and expression pattern of the germ line marker vasa in honey bees and stingless bees
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Érica Donato Tanaka
2009-01-01
Full Text Available Queens and workers of social insects differ in the rates of egg laying. Using genomic information we determined the sequence of vasa, a highly conserved gene specific to the germ line of metazoans, for the honey bee and four stingless bees. The vasa sequence of social bees differed from that of other insects in two motifs. By RT-PCR we confirmed the germ line specificity of Amvasa expression in honey bees. In situ hybridization on ovarioles showed that Amvasa is expressed throughout the germarium, except for the transition zone beneath the terminal filament. A diffuse vasa signal was also seen in terminal filaments suggesting the presence of germ line cells. Oocytes showed elevated levels of Amvasa transcripts in the lower germarium and after follicles became segregated. In previtellogenic follicles, Amvasa transcription was detected in the trophocytes, which appear to supply its mRNA to the growing oocyte. A similar picture was obtained for ovarioles of the stingless bee Melipona quadrifasciata, except that Amvasa expression was higher in the oocytes of previtellogenic follicles. The social bees differ in this respect from Drosophila, the model system for insect oogenesis, suggesting that changes in the sequence and expression pattern of vasa may have occurred during social evolution.
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Studies on Bee Venom and Its Medical Uses
Ali, Mahmoud Abdu Al-Samie Mohamed
2012-07-01
Use of honey and other bee products in human treatments traced back thousands of years and healing properties are included in many religious texts including the Veda, Bible and Quran. Apitherapy is the use of honey bee products for medical purposes, this include bee venom, raw honey, royal jelly, pollen, propolis, and beeswax. Whereas bee venom therapy is the use of live bee stings (or injectable venom) to treat various diseases such as arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis (MS), lupus, sciatica, low back pain, and tennis elbow to name a few. It refers to any use of venom to assist the body in healing itself. Bee venom contains at least 18 pharmacologically active components including various enzymes, peptides and amines. Sulfur is believed to be the main element in inducing the release of cortisol from the adrenal glands and in protecting the body from infections. Contact with bee venom produces a complex cascade of reactions in the human body. The bee venom is safe for human treatments, the median lethal dose (LD50) for an adult human is 2.8 mg of venom per kg of body weight, i.e. a person weighing 60 kg has a 50% chance of surviving injections totaling 168 mg of bee venom. Assuming each bee injects all its venom and no stings are quickly removed at a maximum of 0.3 mg venom per sting, 560 stings could well be lethal for such a person. For a child weighing 10 kg, as little as 93.33 stings could be fatal. However, most human deaths result from one or few bee stings due to allergic reactions, heart failure or suffocation from swelling around the neck or the mouth. As compare with other human diseases, accidents and other unusual cases, the bee venom is very safe for human treatments.
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Engelhardt, Christopher R; Mazurek, Micah O; Hilgard, Joseph; Rouder, Jeffrey N; Bartholow, Bruce D
2015-08-01
Recent mass shootings have prompted the idea among some members of the public that exposure to violent video games can have a pronounced effect on individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Empirical evidence for or against this claim has been missing, however. To address this issue, we assigned adults with and without ASD to play a violent or nonviolent version of a customized first-person shooter video game. After they played the game, we assessed three aggression-related outcome variables (aggressive behavior, aggressive-thought accessibility, and aggressive affect). Results showed strong evidence that adults with ASD, compared with typically developing adults, are not differentially affected by acute exposure to violent video games. Moreover, model comparisons provided modest evidence against any effect of violent game content whatsoever. Findings from this experiment suggest that societal concerns that exposure to violent games may have a unique effect on adults with autism are not supported by evidence. © The Author(s) 2015.
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Aging and body size in solitary bees
Solitary bees are important pollinators of crops and non-domestic plants. Osmia lignaria is a native, commercially-reared solitary bee used to maximize pollination in orchard crops. In solitary bees, adult body size is extremely variable depending on the nutritional resources available to the develo...
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Gloss, colour and grip: multifunctional epidermal cell shapes in bee- and bird-pollinated flowers.
Papiorek, Sarah; Junker, Robert R; Lunau, Klaus
2014-01-01
Flowers bear the function of filters supporting the attraction of pollinators as well as the deterrence of floral antagonists. The effect of epidermal cell shape on the visual display and tactile properties of flowers has been evaluated only recently. In this study we quantitatively measured epidermal cell shape, gloss and spectral reflectance of flowers pollinated by either bees or birds testing three hypotheses: The first two hypotheses imply that bee-pollinated flowers might benefit from rough surfaces on visually-active parts produced by conical epidermal cells, as they may enhance the colour signal of flowers as well as the grip on flowers for bees. In contrast, bird-pollinated flowers might benefit from flat surfaces produced by flat epidermal cells, by avoiding frequent visitation from non-pollinating bees due to a reduced colour signal, as birds do not rely on specific colour parameters while foraging. Moreover, flat petal surfaces in bird-pollinated flowers may hamper grip for bees that do not touch anthers and stigmas while consuming nectar and thus, are considered as nectar thieves. Beside this, the third hypothesis implies that those flower parts which are vulnerable to nectar robbing of bee- as well as bird-pollinated flowers benefit from flat epidermal cells, hampering grip for nectar robbing bees. Our comparative data show in fact that conical epidermal cells are restricted to visually-active parts of bee-pollinated flowers, whereas robbing-sensitive parts of bee-pollinated as well as the entire floral surface of bird-pollinated flowers possess on average flat epidermal cells. However, direct correlations between epidermal cell shape and colour parameters have not been found. Our results together with published experimental studies show that epidermal cell shape as a largely neglected flower trait might act as an important feature in pollinator attraction and avoidance of antagonists, and thus may contribute to the partitioning of flower-visitors.
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Gloss, colour and grip: multifunctional epidermal cell shapes in bee- and bird-pollinated flowers.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sarah Papiorek
Full Text Available Flowers bear the function of filters supporting the attraction of pollinators as well as the deterrence of floral antagonists. The effect of epidermal cell shape on the visual display and tactile properties of flowers has been evaluated only recently. In this study we quantitatively measured epidermal cell shape, gloss and spectral reflectance of flowers pollinated by either bees or birds testing three hypotheses: The first two hypotheses imply that bee-pollinated flowers might benefit from rough surfaces on visually-active parts produced by conical epidermal cells, as they may enhance the colour signal of flowers as well as the grip on flowers for bees. In contrast, bird-pollinated flowers might benefit from flat surfaces produced by flat epidermal cells, by avoiding frequent visitation from non-pollinating bees due to a reduced colour signal, as birds do not rely on specific colour parameters while foraging. Moreover, flat petal surfaces in bird-pollinated flowers may hamper grip for bees that do not touch anthers and stigmas while consuming nectar and thus, are considered as nectar thieves. Beside this, the third hypothesis implies that those flower parts which are vulnerable to nectar robbing of bee- as well as bird-pollinated flowers benefit from flat epidermal cells, hampering grip for nectar robbing bees. Our comparative data show in fact that conical epidermal cells are restricted to visually-active parts of bee-pollinated flowers, whereas robbing-sensitive parts of bee-pollinated as well as the entire floral surface of bird-pollinated flowers possess on average flat epidermal cells. However, direct correlations between epidermal cell shape and colour parameters have not been found. Our results together with published experimental studies show that epidermal cell shape as a largely neglected flower trait might act as an important feature in pollinator attraction and avoidance of antagonists, and thus may contribute to the partitioning of
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BEE FORAGE MAPPING BASED ON MULTISPECTRAL IMAGES LANDSAT
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
A. Moskalenko
2016-10-01
Full Text Available Possibilities of bee forage identification and mapping based on multispectral images have been shown in the research. Spectral brightness of bee forage has been determined with the use of satellite images. The effectiveness of some methods of image classification for mapping of bee forage is shown. Keywords: bee forage, mapping, multispectral images, image classification.
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Influence of school-level and family-level variables on Chinese college students' aggression.
Zhou, Jiawei; Yang, Jiarun; Yu, Yunmiao; Wang, Lin; Han, Dong; Zhu, Xiongzhao; He, Jincai; Qiu, Xiaohui; Yang, Xiuxian; Qiao, Zhengxue; Sui, Hong; Yang, Yanjie
2017-08-01
With the frequent occurrence of campus violence, scholars have devoted increasing attention to college students' aggression. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of aggression in Chinese university students and identify factors that could influence their aggression. We can thus find methods to reduce the incidence of college students' aggression in the future. A multi-stage stratified sampling procedure was used to select university students (N = 4565) aged 16-25 years in Harbin. The Aggression Questionnaire, the Adolescent Self-Rating Life Events Checklist and the Social Support Revalued Scale were used to collect data. Females reported lower levels of aggression than males (p aggression, and the model was highly significant (R 2 = .233, Ad R 2 = .230, p aggression is affected by gender, family-level and school-level variables. Aggression scores are significantly correlated with not only family-level or school-level variables independently, but their combination as well. We find that the risk factors for aggression include a dissatisfying profession, higher levels of study pressure, poor parental relationships, poor interpersonal relationships, the presence of siblings, punishment, health maladjustment, less subjective support, and lower levels of utilization of social support.
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Stakeholder Conference on Bee Health
USDA and EPA released a comprehensive scientific report on honey bee health in May 2013. The report points to multiple factors playing a role in honey bee colony declines, including parasites and disease, genetics, poor nutrition, and pesticide exposure.
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ProtoBee: Hierarchical classification and annotation of the honey bee proteome
Kaplan, Noam; Linial, Michal
2006-01-01
The recently sequenced genome of the honey bee (Apis mellifera) has produced 10,157 predicted protein sequences, calling for a computational effort to extract biological insights from them. We have applied an unsupervised hierarchical protein-clustering method, which was previously used in the ProtoNet system, to nearly 200,000 proteins consisting of the predicted honey bee proteins, the SWISS-PROT protein database, and the complete set of proteins of the mouse (Mus musculus) and the fruit fl...
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'Bee hotels' as tools for native pollinator conservation: a premature verdict?
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
J Scott MacIvor
Full Text Available Society is increasingly concerned with declining wild bee populations. Although most bees nest in the ground, considerable effort has centered on installing 'bee hotels'--also known as nest boxes or trap nests--which artificially aggregate nest sites of above ground nesting bees. Campaigns to 'save the bees' often promote these devices despite the absence of data indicating they have a positive effect. From a survey of almost 600 bee hotels set up over a period of three years in Toronto, Canada, introduced bees nested at 32.9% of sites and represented 24.6% of more than 27,000 total bees and wasps recorded (47.1% of all bees recorded. Native bees were parasitized more than introduced bees and females of introduced bee species provisioned nests with significantly more female larva each year. Native wasps were significantly more abundant than both native and introduced bees and occupied almost 3/4 of all bee hotels each year; further, introduced wasps were the only group to significantly increase in relative abundance year over year. More research is needed to elucidate the potential pitfalls and benefits of using bee hotels in the conservation and population dynamics of wild native bees.
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'Bee hotels' as tools for native pollinator conservation: a premature verdict?
MacIvor, J Scott; Packer, Laurence
2015-01-01
Society is increasingly concerned with declining wild bee populations. Although most bees nest in the ground, considerable effort has centered on installing 'bee hotels'--also known as nest boxes or trap nests--which artificially aggregate nest sites of above ground nesting bees. Campaigns to 'save the bees' often promote these devices despite the absence of data indicating they have a positive effect. From a survey of almost 600 bee hotels set up over a period of three years in Toronto, Canada, introduced bees nested at 32.9% of sites and represented 24.6% of more than 27,000 total bees and wasps recorded (47.1% of all bees recorded). Native bees were parasitized more than introduced bees and females of introduced bee species provisioned nests with significantly more female larva each year. Native wasps were significantly more abundant than both native and introduced bees and occupied almost 3/4 of all bee hotels each year; further, introduced wasps were the only group to significantly increase in relative abundance year over year. More research is needed to elucidate the potential pitfalls and benefits of using bee hotels in the conservation and population dynamics of wild native bees.
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Iridovirus and microsporidian linked to honey bee colony decline.
Bromenshenk, Jerry J; Henderson, Colin B; Wick, Charles H; Stanford, Michael F; Zulich, Alan W; Jabbour, Rabih E; Deshpande, Samir V; McCubbin, Patrick E; Seccomb, Robert A; Welch, Phillip M; Williams, Trevor; Firth, David R; Skowronski, Evan; Lehmann, Margaret M; Bilimoria, Shan L; Gress, Joanna; Wanner, Kevin W; Cramer, Robert A
2010-10-06
In 2010 Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), again devastated honey bee colonies in the USA, indicating that the problem is neither diminishing nor has it been resolved. Many CCD investigations, using sensitive genome-based methods, have found small RNA bee viruses and the microsporidia, Nosema apis and N. ceranae in healthy and collapsing colonies alike with no single pathogen firmly linked to honey bee losses. We used Mass spectrometry-based proteomics (MSP) to identify and quantify thousands of proteins from healthy and collapsing bee colonies. MSP revealed two unreported RNA viruses in North American honey bees, Varroa destructor-1 virus and Kakugo virus, and identified an invertebrate iridescent virus (IIV) (Iridoviridae) associated with CCD colonies. Prevalence of IIV significantly discriminated among strong, failing, and collapsed colonies. In addition, bees in failing colonies contained not only IIV, but also Nosema. Co-occurrence of these microbes consistently marked CCD in (1) bees from commercial apiaries sampled across the U.S. in 2006-2007, (2) bees sequentially sampled as the disorder progressed in an observation hive colony in 2008, and (3) bees from a recurrence of CCD in Florida in 2009. The pathogen pairing was not observed in samples from colonies with no history of CCD, namely bees from Australia and a large, non-migratory beekeeping business in Montana. Laboratory cage trials with a strain of IIV type 6 and Nosema ceranae confirmed that co-infection with these two pathogens was more lethal to bees than either pathogen alone. These findings implicate co-infection by IIV and Nosema with honey bee colony decline, giving credence to older research pointing to IIV, interacting with Nosema and mites, as probable cause of bee losses in the USA, Europe, and Asia. We next need to characterize the IIV and Nosema that we detected and develop management practices to reduce honey bee losses.
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Tremblay, Paul F; Mihic, Ljiljana; Graham, Kathryn; Jelley, Jennifer
2007-01-01
Little attention has been paid to the motivation to respond to provocation and to the interaction between this motivation, alcohol, the drinking environment, and individual characteristics. Undergraduates at six Canadian universities (N = 1,232) read three vignettes describing conflict situations with social environmental manipulations while imagining themselves as either sober or intoxicated. Self-ratings assessed likelihood of assertive and aggressive responses and motivational indices of anger, offensiveness of the instigator's actions, and importance to respond to the provocation. Respondents also completed a measure of trait aggression. Multi-group structural equation models supported the hypothesis that perceived likelihood of reactive aggression is influenced by perceived alcohol intoxication, gender, trait aggression, social environmental factors, and motivation to respond to the provocation. In addition, a number of interactions were found among the predictors. These results provide insight into the types of factors that may influence aggression in drinking situations. Copyright 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
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Wild bees enhance honey bees’ pollination of hybrid sunflower
Greenleaf, Sarah S.; Kremen, Claire
2006-01-01
Pollinators are required for producing 15–30% of the human food supply, and farmers rely on managed honey bees throughout the world to provide these services. Yet honey bees are not always the most efficient pollinators of all crops and are declining in various parts of the world. Crop pollination shortages are becoming increasingly common. We found that behavioral interactions between wild and honey bees increase the pollination efficiency of honey bees on hybrid sunflower up to 5-fold, effectively doubling honey bee pollination services on the average field. These indirect contributions caused by interspecific interactions between wild and honey bees were more than five times more important than the contributions wild bees make to sunflower pollination directly. Both proximity to natural habitat and crop planting practices were significantly correlated with pollination services provided directly and indirectly by wild bees. Our results suggest that conserving wild habitat at the landscape scale and altering selected farm management techniques could increase hybrid sunflower production. These findings also demonstrate the economic importance of interspecific interactions for ecosystem services and suggest that protecting wild bee populations can help buffer the human food supply from honey bee shortages. PMID:16940358
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Manić Marija
2014-01-01
Full Text Available Honey bees are the most significant pollinators of plants worlwide. Importance of plant pollination widely exceeds all other economic benefits of modern beekeeping such as production of honey, Royal jelly, propolis, beeswax, honeybee venom etc. The issues concerning bees diseases are of extreme importance in modern commercial beekeeping. That especially regards to the fact that the number of disease agents in bees has considerably increased in recent decades. Using international transport, export or import of bees and their products, the possibility of entering various agents (parasites, bacterias, viruses and fungi into bee colonies. In recent years one of the biggest problems in beekeeping in Asia has become tropilaelaps - ectoparasitic bee disease caused by mites of the genus Tropilaelaps. But because of prevalent interest in parasites Varroa destructor and Acarapis woodi, the threat of mites from Tropileaps family has not been familiar for a long period of time. Today, Tropilaelaps is on the list of diseases endangering the whole world, made by OIE. There is a real risk of its spreading, mostly through trade, that is import of bees, swarms, queen bees, bee products and equipment. In the Republic of Serbia, this disease was described for the first time in April-May 1981 in bumblebees and bees in which a mass infestation with until then unknown parasites was detected. By additional analysis there was found out that the parasite in question was from Laelapidae (Mesostigmata family, Tropilaelaps.
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Pesticide residues and bees--a risk assessment.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Francisco Sanchez-Bayo
Full Text Available Bees are essential pollinators of many plants in natural ecosystems and agricultural crops alike. In recent years the decline and disappearance of bee species in the wild and the collapse of honey bee colonies have concerned ecologists and apiculturalists, who search for causes and solutions to this problem. Whilst biological factors such as viral diseases, mite and parasite infections are undoubtedly involved, it is also evident that pesticides applied to agricultural crops have a negative impact on bees. Most risk assessments have focused on direct acute exposure of bees to agrochemicals from spray drift. However, the large number of pesticide residues found in pollen and honey demand a thorough evaluation of all residual compounds so as to identify those of highest risk to bees. Using data from recent residue surveys and toxicity of pesticides to honey and bumble bees, a comprehensive evaluation of risks under current exposure conditions is presented here. Standard risk assessments are complemented with new approaches that take into account time-cumulative effects over time, especially with dietary exposures. Whilst overall risks appear to be low, our analysis indicates that residues of pyrethroid and neonicotinoid insecticides pose the highest risk by contact exposure of bees with contaminated pollen. However, the synergism of ergosterol inhibiting fungicides with those two classes of insecticides results in much higher risks in spite of the low prevalence of their combined residues. Risks by ingestion of contaminated pollen and honey are of some concern for systemic insecticides, particularly imidacloprid and thiamethoxam, chlorpyrifos and the mixtures of cyhalothrin and ergosterol inhibiting fungicides. More attention should be paid to specific residue mixtures that may result in synergistic toxicity to bees.
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Schoonvaere, Karel; Smagghe, Guy; Francis, Frédéric; de Graaf, Dirk C
2018-01-01
Bees are associated with a remarkable diversity of microorganisms, including unicellular parasites, bacteria, fungi, and viruses. The application of next-generation sequencing approaches enables the identification of this rich species composition as well as the discovery of previously unknown associations. Using high-throughput polyadenylated ribonucleic acid (RNA) sequencing, we investigated the metatranscriptome of eight wild bee species ( Andrena cineraria, Andrena fulva, Andrena haemorrhoa, Bombus terrestris, Bombus cryptarum, Bombus pascuorum, Osmia bicornis , and Osmia cornuta ) sampled from four different localities in Belgium. Across the RNA sequencing libraries, 88-99% of the taxonomically informative reads were of the host transcriptome. Four viruses with homology to insect pathogens were found including two RNA viruses (belonging to the families Iflaviridae and Tymoviridae that harbor already viruses of honey bees), a double stranded DNA virus (family Nudiviridae ) and a single stranded DNA virus (family Parvoviridae ). In addition, we found genomic sequences of 11 unclassified arthropod viruses (related to negeviruses, sobemoviruses, totiviruses, rhabdoviruses, and mononegaviruses), seven plant pathogenic viruses, and one fungal virus. Interestingly, nege-like viruses appear to be widespread, host-specific, and capable of attaining high copy numbers inside bees. Next to viruses, three novel parasite associations were discovered in wild bees, including Crithidia pragensis and a tubulinosematid and a neogregarine parasite. Yeasts of the genus Metschnikowia were identified in solitary bees. This study gives a glimpse of the microorganisms and viruses associated with social and solitary wild bees and demonstrates that their diversity exceeds by far the subset of species first discovered in honey bees.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Karel Schoonvaere
2018-02-01
Full Text Available Bees are associated with a remarkable diversity of microorganisms, including unicellular parasites, bacteria, fungi, and viruses. The application of next-generation sequencing approaches enables the identification of this rich species composition as well as the discovery of previously unknown associations. Using high-throughput polyadenylated ribonucleic acid (RNA sequencing, we investigated the metatranscriptome of eight wild bee species (Andrena cineraria, Andrena fulva, Andrena haemorrhoa, Bombus terrestris, Bombus cryptarum, Bombus pascuorum, Osmia bicornis, and Osmia cornuta sampled from four different localities in Belgium. Across the RNA sequencing libraries, 88–99% of the taxonomically informative reads were of the host transcriptome. Four viruses with homology to insect pathogens were found including two RNA viruses (belonging to the families Iflaviridae and Tymoviridae that harbor already viruses of honey bees, a double stranded DNA virus (family Nudiviridae and a single stranded DNA virus (family Parvoviridae. In addition, we found genomic sequences of 11 unclassified arthropod viruses (related to negeviruses, sobemoviruses, totiviruses, rhabdoviruses, and mononegaviruses, seven plant pathogenic viruses, and one fungal virus. Interestingly, nege-like viruses appear to be widespread, host-specific, and capable of attaining high copy numbers inside bees. Next to viruses, three novel parasite associations were discovered in wild bees, including Crithidia pragensis and a tubulinosematid and a neogregarine parasite. Yeasts of the genus Metschnikowia were identified in solitary bees. This study gives a glimpse of the microorganisms and viruses associated with social and solitary wild bees and demonstrates that their diversity exceeds by far the subset of species first discovered in honey bees.
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Chávez-Galarza, Julio; Henriques, Dora; Johnston, J Spencer; Carneiro, Miguel; Rufino, José; Patton, John C; Pinto, M Alice
2015-06-01
Dissecting diversity patterns of organisms endemic to Iberia has been truly challenging for a variety of taxa, and the Iberian honey bee is no exception. Surveys of genetic variation in the Iberian honey bee are among the most extensive for any honey bee subspecies. From these, differential and complex patterns of diversity have emerged, which have yet to be fully resolved. Here, we used a genome-wide data set of 309 neutrally tested single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), scattered across the 16 honey bee chromosomes, which were genotyped in 711 haploid males. These SNPs were analysed along with an intergenic locus of the mtDNA, to reveal historical patterns of population structure across the entire range of the Iberian honey bee. Overall, patterns of population structure inferred from nuclear loci by multiple clustering approaches and geographic cline analysis were consistent with two major clusters forming a well-defined cline that bisects Iberia along a northeastern-southwestern axis, a pattern that remarkably parallels that of the mtDNA. While a mechanism of primary intergradation or isolation by distance could explain the observed clinal variation, our results are more consistent with an alternative model of secondary contact between divergent populations previously isolated in glacial refugia, as proposed for a growing list of other Iberian taxa. Despite current intense honey bee management, human-mediated processes have seemingly played a minor role in shaping Iberian honey bee genetic structure. This study highlights the complexity of the Iberian honey bee patterns and reinforces the importance of Iberia as a reservoir of Apis mellifera diversity. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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Thomason, Rhonda
2009-01-01
Bees are a vital part of the ecology. People of conscience are a vital part of society. In Nina Frenkel's "One World" poster, the bee is also a metaphor for the role of the individual in a diverse society. This article presents a lesson that uses Frenkel's poster to help early-grades students connect these ideas and explore both the importance of…
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Bee venom therapy: Potential mechanisms and therapeutic applications.
Zhang, Shuai; Liu, Yi; Ye, Yang; Wang, Xue-Rui; Lin, Li-Ting; Xiao, Ling-Yong; Zhou, Ping; Shi, Guang-Xia; Liu, Cun-Zhi
2018-04-11
Bee venom is a very complex mixture of natural products extracted from honey bee which contains various pharmaceutical properties such as peptides, enzymes, biologically active amines and nonpeptide components. The use of bee venom into the specific points is so called bee venom therapy, which is widely used as a complementary and alternative therapy for 3000 years. A growing number of evidence has demonstrated the anti-inflammation, the anti-apoptosis, the anti-fibrosis and the anti-arthrosclerosis effects of bee venom therapy. With these pharmaceutical characteristics, bee venom therapy has also been used as the therapeutic method in treating rheumatoid arthritis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, liver fibrosis, atherosclerosis, pain and others. Although widely used, several cases still reported that bee venom therapy might cause some adverse effects, such as local itching or swelling. In this review, we summarize its potential mechanisms, therapeutic applications, and discuss its existing problems. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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RNAi and Antiviral Defense in the Honey Bee
Brutscher, Laura M.; Flenniken, Michelle L.
2015-01-01
Honey bees play an important agricultural and ecological role as pollinators of numerous agricultural crops and other plant species. Therefore, investigating the factors associated with high annual losses of honey bee colonies in the US is an important and active area of research. Pathogen incidence and abundance correlate with Colony Collapse Disorder- (CCD-) affected colonies in the US and colony losses in the US and in some European countries. Honey bees are readily infected by single-stranded positive sense RNA viruses. Largely dependent on the host immune response, virus infections can either remain asymptomatic or result in deformities, paralysis, or death of adults or larvae. RNA interference (RNAi) is an important antiviral defense mechanism in insects, including honey bees. Herein, we review the role of RNAi in honey bee antiviral defense and highlight some parallels between insect and mammalian immune systems. A more thorough understanding of the role of pathogens on honey bee health and the immune mechanisms bees utilize to combat infectious agents may lead to the development of strategies that enhance honey bee health and result in the discovery of additional mechanisms of immunity in metazoans. PMID:26798663
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RNAi and Antiviral Defense in the Honey Bee
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Laura M. Brutscher
2015-01-01
Full Text Available Honey bees play an important agricultural and ecological role as pollinators of numerous agricultural crops and other plant species. Therefore, investigating the factors associated with high annual losses of honey bee colonies in the US is an important and active area of research. Pathogen incidence and abundance correlate with Colony Collapse Disorder- (CCD- affected colonies in the US and colony losses in the US and in some European countries. Honey bees are readily infected by single-stranded positive sense RNA viruses. Largely dependent on the host immune response, virus infections can either remain asymptomatic or result in deformities, paralysis, or death of adults or larvae. RNA interference (RNAi is an important antiviral defense mechanism in insects, including honey bees. Herein, we review the role of RNAi in honey bee antiviral defense and highlight some parallels between insect and mammalian immune systems. A more thorough understanding of the role of pathogens on honey bee health and the immune mechanisms bees utilize to combat infectious agents may lead to the development of strategies that enhance honey bee health and result in the discovery of additional mechanisms of immunity in metazoans.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mary W. Gikungu
2010-09-01
Full Text Available Flower scarcity outside coffee flowering periods leads to a decline of pollinators’ abundance and diversity possibly through death or migration. The objective of this study was to assess whether other flowering plants within and around coffee farms act as alternative floral resources that may impact on abundance and diversity of pollinators of coffee flowers. Bee pollinators of coffee were assessed and identified for a period of 27 months. Their abundance and diversity were examined within and around organically and conventionally managed coffee farms in Kiambu District in Kenya. This study provides evidence that 42 plant species from 19 families were alternative floral resources for bees that pollinate coffee. Bee pollinators of coffee were observed to visit coffee flowers as well as other flowering plants close by. Significant relationship existed between plant species and bee species richness in the organic farming (R2=0.5918; P<0.0001 and in conventional farming (R2=0.6744; P<0.0001. Therefore in coffee monocultures, presence of other flowering plants should be encouraged to support bee pollinators when coffee is not flowering and to enhance abundance and diversity of bees visiting coffee flowers.
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Detection of chronic bee paralysis virus and acute bee paralysis virus in Uruguayan honeybees.
Antúnez, Karina; D' Alessandro, Bruno; Corbella, Eduardo; Zunino, Pablo
2005-09-01
Chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV) causes a disease characterized by trembling, flightless, and crawling bees, while Acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV) is commonly detected in apparently healthy colonies, usually associated to Varroa destructor. Both viruses had been detected in most regions of the world, except in South America. In this work, we detected CBPV and ABPV in samples of Uruguayan honeybees by RT-PCR. The detection of both viruses in different provinces and the fact that most of the analyzed samples were infected, suggest that, they are widely spread in the region. This is the first record of the presence of CBPV and ABPV in Uruguay and South America.
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The antiquity and evolutionary history of social behavior in bees.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sophie Cardinal
Full Text Available A long-standing controversy in bee social evolution concerns whether highly eusocial behavior has evolved once or twice within the corbiculate Apidae. Corbiculate bees include the highly eusocial honey bees and stingless bees, the primitively eusocial bumble bees, and the predominantly solitary or communal orchid bees. Here we use a model-based approach to reconstruct the evolutionary history of eusociality and date the antiquity of eusocial behavior in apid bees, using a recent molecular phylogeny of the Apidae. We conclude that eusociality evolved once in the common ancestor of the corbiculate Apidae, advanced eusociality evolved independently in the honey and stingless bees, and that eusociality was lost in the orchid bees. Fossil-calibrated divergence time estimates reveal that eusociality first evolved at least 87 Mya (78 to 95 Mya in the corbiculates, much earlier than in other groups of bees with less complex social behavior. These results provide a robust new evolutionary framework for studies of the organization and genetic basis of social behavior in honey bees and their relatives.
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The Role of Cultural Factors on Dating Aggression and Delinquency Among Latino Youth.
Cuevas, Carlos A; Sabina, Chiara; Fahlberg, Anjuli; Espinola, Maria
2018-02-01
There is limited research comparatively evaluating delinquency and dating aggression among Latino youth. This analysis examines the rates and cultural correlates associated with delinquency and dating aggression among Latino youth using data from the Dating Violence Among Latino Adolescents study. The study surveyed 1,525 Latino adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18 years about past-year dating aggression perpetration and delinquency. Dating aggression perpetration and delinquency rates and relative risk ratios are presented. Logistic regression analyses examined the role of cultural factors on the perpetration of dating aggression and delinquent behaviors. Results showed that cultural factors had differential influence on dating aggression versus delinquency. Specifically, victimization, acculturation, and familial support were associated with dating aggression whereas only victimization and familial support were associated with delinquency. The results provide guidance for intervention and prevention efforts with Latino youth, particularly on the need for cultural consideration and the supportive role family can play in addressing these behaviors.
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Seed coating with a neonicotinoid insecticide negatively affects wild bees.
Rundlöf, Maj; Andersson, Georg K S; Bommarco, Riccardo; Fries, Ingemar; Hederström, Veronica; Herbertsson, Lina; Jonsson, Ove; Klatt, Björn K; Pedersen, Thorsten R; Yourstone, Johanna; Smith, Henrik G
2015-05-07
Understanding the effects of neonicotinoid insecticides on bees is vital because of reported declines in bee diversity and distribution and the crucial role bees have as pollinators in ecosystems and agriculture. Neonicotinoids are suspected to pose an unacceptable risk to bees, partly because of their systemic uptake in plants, and the European Union has therefore introduced a moratorium on three neonicotinoids as seed coatings in flowering crops that attract bees. The moratorium has been criticized for being based on weak evidence, particularly because effects have mostly been measured on bees that have been artificially fed neonicotinoids. Thus, the key question is how neonicotinoids influence bees, and wild bees in particular, in real-world agricultural landscapes. Here we show that a commonly used insecticide seed coating in a flowering crop can have serious consequences for wild bees. In a study with replicated and matched landscapes, we found that seed coating with Elado, an insecticide containing a combination of the neonicotinoid clothianidin and the non-systemic pyrethroid β-cyfluthrin, applied to oilseed rape seeds, reduced wild bee density, solitary bee nesting, and bumblebee colony growth and reproduction under field conditions. Hence, such insecticidal use can pose a substantial risk to wild bees in agricultural landscapes, and the contribution of pesticides to the global decline of wild bees may have been underestimated. The lack of a significant response in honeybee colonies suggests that reported pesticide effects on honeybees cannot always be extrapolated to wild bees.
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29 CFR 780.123 - Raising of bees.
2010-07-01
... 29 Labor 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Raising of bees. 780.123 Section 780.123 Labor Regulations... Raising of Livestock, Bees, Fur-Bearing Animals, Or Poultry § 780.123 Raising of bees. The term “raising of * * * bees” refers to all of those activities customarily performed in connection with the...
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Smith, A A; Bentley, M; Reynolds, H L
2013-02-01
Wild bees that provide pollination services to vegetable crops depend on forage resources, nesting sites, and overwintering sites in the agricultural landscape. The scale at which crop-visiting bees use resources in the landscape can vary regionally, and has not been characterized in the Midwestern United States. We investigated the effects of seminatural land cover on wild bee visitation frequency to cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) and on wild bee species richness on 10 organic farms in Indiana. We estimated the spatial scale at which the effects of land cover were strongest, and also examined the effects of nonlandscape factors on wild bees. The visitation frequency of wild bees to cucumber was positively related to the proportion of seminatural land in the surrounding landscape, and this relationship was strongest within 250 m of the cucumber patch. The species richness of wild cucumber visitors was not affected by land cover at any spatial scale, nor by any of the nonlandscape factors we considered. Our results indicate that wild, crop visiting bees benefit from seminatural areas in the agricultural landscape, and benefit most strongly from seminatural areas within 250 m of the crop field. This suggests that setting aside natural areas in the near vicinity of vegetable fields may be an effective way to support wild, crop-visiting bees and secure their pollination services.
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Yoder, Jay A; Jajack, Andrew J; Rosselot, Andrew E; Smith, Terrance J; Yerke, Mary Clare; Sammataro, Diana
2013-01-01
Fermentation by fungi converts stored pollen into bee bread that is fed to honey bee larvae, Apis mellifera, so the diversity of fungi in bee bread may be related to its food value. To explore the relationship between fungicide exposure and bee bread fungi, samples of bee bread collected from bee colonies pollinating orchards from 7 locations over 2 years were analyzed for fungicide residues and fungus composition. There were detectable levels of fungicides from regions that were sprayed before bloom. An organic orchard had the highest quantity and variety of fungicides, likely due to the presence of treated orchards within bees' flight range. Aspergillus, Penicillium, Rhizopus, and Cladosporium (beneficial fungi) were the primary fungal isolates found, regardless of habitat differences. There was some variation in fungal components amongst colonies, even within the same apiary. The variable components were Absidia, Alternaria, Aureobasidium, Bipolaris, Fusarium, Geotrichum, Mucor, Nigrospora, Paecilomyces, Scopulariopsis, and Trichoderma. The number of fungal isolates was reduced as an effect of fungicide contamination. Aspergillus abundance was particularly affected by increased fungicide levels, as indicated by Simpson's diversity index. Bee bread showing fungicide contamination originated from colonies, many of which showed chalkbrood symptoms.
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Metabolism of Toxic Sugars by Strains of the Bee Gut Symbiont Gilliamella apicola
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hao Zheng
2016-11-01
Full Text Available Social bees collect carbohydrate-rich food to support their colonies, and yet, certain carbohydrates present in their diet or produced through the breakdown of pollen are toxic to bees. The gut microbiota of social bees is dominated by a few core bacterial species, including the Gram-negative species Gilliamella apicola. We isolated 42 strains of G. apicola from guts of honey bees and bumble bees and sequenced their genomes. All of the G. apicola strains share high 16S rRNA gene similarity, but they vary extensively in gene repertoires related to carbohydrate metabolism. Predicted abilities to utilize different sugars were verified experimentally. Some strains can utilize mannose, arabinose, xylose, or rhamnose (monosaccharides that can cause toxicity in bees as their sole carbon and energy source. All of the G. apicola strains possess a manO-associated mannose family phosphotransferase system; phylogenetic analyses suggest that this was acquired from Firmicutes through horizontal gene transfer. The metabolism of mannose is specifically dependent on the presence of mannose-6-phosphate isomerase (MPI. Neither growth rates nor the utilization of glucose and fructose are affected in the presence of mannose when the gene encoding MPI is absent from the genome, suggesting that mannose is not taken up by G. apicola strains which harbor the phosphotransferase system but do not encode the MPI. Given their ability to simultaneously utilize glucose, fructose, and mannose, as well as the ability of many strains to break down other potentially toxic carbohydrates, G. apicola bacteria may have key roles in improving dietary tolerances and maintaining the health of their bee hosts.
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Learning context modulates aversive taste strength in honey bees.
de Brito Sanchez, Maria Gabriela; Serre, Marion; Avarguès-Weber, Aurore; Dyer, Adrian G; Giurfa, Martin
2015-03-01
The capacity of honey bees (Apis mellifera) to detect bitter substances is controversial because they ingest without reluctance different kinds of bitter solutions in the laboratory, whereas free-flying bees avoid them in visual discrimination tasks. Here, we asked whether the gustatory perception of bees changes with the behavioral context so that tastes that are less effective as negative reinforcements in a given context become more effective in a different context. We trained bees to discriminate an odorant paired with 1 mol l(-1) sucrose solution from another odorant paired with either distilled water, 3 mol l(-1) NaCl or 60 mmol l(-1) quinine. Training was either Pavlovian [olfactory conditioning of the proboscis extension reflex (PER) in harnessed bees], or mainly operant (olfactory conditioning of free-walking bees in a Y-maze). PER-trained and maze-trained bees were subsequently tested both in their original context and in the alternative context. Whereas PER-trained bees transferred their choice to the Y-maze situation, Y-maze-trained bees did not respond with a PER to odors when subsequently harnessed. In both conditioning protocols, NaCl and distilled water were the strongest and the weakest aversive reinforcement, respectively. A significant variation was found for quinine, which had an intermediate aversive effect in PER conditioning but a more powerful effect in the Y-maze, similar to that of NaCl. These results thus show that the aversive strength of quinine varies with the learning context, and reveal the plasticity of the bee's gustatory system. We discuss the experimental constraints of both learning contexts and focus on stress as a key modulator of taste in the honey bee. Further explorations of bee taste are proposed to understand the physiology of taste modulation in bees. © 2015. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.
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Bumble bees at home and at school
Kwak, MM
1997-01-01
Do you know how bumble bees live and what they need? You can discover a lot about bumble bees if you watch them while they visit flowers. This article is a shortened version of a chapter from the IBRA publication Bumble bees for pleasure and profit*, and gives you information on how to do
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Fournier, Alice; Rollin, Orianne; Le Féon, Violette; Decourtye, Axel; Henry, Mickaël
2014-02-01
Recent scientific literature and reports from official sanitary agencies have pointed out the deficiency of current pesticide risk assessment processes regarding sublethal effects on pollinators. Sublethal effects include troubles in learning performance, orientation skills, or mobility, with possible contribution to substantial dysfunction at population scale. However, the study of sublethal effects is currently limited by considerable knowledge gaps, particularly for the numerous pollinators other than the honey bee Apis mellifera L.--the traditional model for pesticide risk assessment in pollinators. Here, we propose to use the crop-emptying time as a rule of thumb to guide the design of oral exposure experiments in the honey bee and wild bees. The administration of contaminated sucrose solutions is typically followed by a fasting time lapse to allow complete assimilation before the behavioral tests. The fasting duration should at least encompass the crop-emptying time, because no absorption takes place in the crop. We assessed crop-emptying rate in fasted bees and how it relates 1) with sucrose solution concentration in the honey bee and 2) with body mass in wild bees. Fasting duration required for complete crop emptying in honey bees fed 20 microl of a 50% sucrose solution was nearly 2 h. Actual fasting durations are usually shorter in toxicological studies, suggesting incomplete crop emptying, and therefore partial assimilation of experimental solutions that could imply underestimation of sublethal effects. We also found faster crop-emptying rates in large wild bees compared with smaller wild bees, and suggest operative rules to adapt sublethal assessment schemes accordingly.
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Xu, Y M; Zhu, X P; Xiao, Z; Yu, L; Zhao, X
2014-01-01
To investigate the influence of the early postnatal aggressive nutritional support on the very low birth weight infants (VLBWI) during hospitalization. Surviving premature infants without obvious deformity, with gestational age more than 28 weeks and less than 32 weeks, birth weight 1,000 g to 1,500 g, admitted in NICU in Affiliated Children's Hospital of Suzhou University during 12 hours after birth and stay for two weeks or more from January 2008 to December 2011 were selected, including 44 cases (admitted from September 2010 to December 2011) in the observation group and 36 cases in the control group (admitted from January 2008 and September 2010). The infants in the observation group were treated by aggressive nutritional management, while traditional nutritional management for infants in the control group. The variations of nutritional intake, weight gain, jaundice index, blood biochemistry, serum electrolytes indexes, and complications were compared between the two groups. Compared to the control group, the average growth rate and the albumin (ALB) and prealbumin (PA) levels two week after birth and before leaving hospital of the infants in the observation group was significantly higher (p nutrition, liver function, blood lipid levels, blood glucose, blood PH, serum creatinine, urea nitrogen, and electrolytes of the first day and the seventh day after birth and the in- cidence of parenteral nutrition-associated cholestasis (PNAC) and necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) between the two group had no difference (p > 0.05). The implementation of aggressive nutritional management on the with VLBWI was safe and effective.
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Ecology and Economics of Using Native Managed Bees for Almond Pollination.
Koh, Insu; Lonsdorf, Eric V; Artz, Derek R; Pitts-Singer, Theresa L; Ricketts, Taylor H
2018-02-09
Native managed bees can improve crop pollination, but a general framework for evaluating the associated economic costs and benefits has not been developed. We conducted a cost-benefit analysis to assess how managing blue orchard bees (Osmia lignaria Say [Hymenoptera: Megachildae]) alongside honey bees (Apis mellifera Linnaeus [Hymenoptera: Apidae]) can affect profits for almond growers in California. Specifically, we studied how adjusting three strategies can influence profits: (1) number of released O. lignaria bees, (2) density of artificial nest boxes, and (3) number of nest cavities (tubes) per box. We developed an ecological model for the effects of pollinator activity on almond yields, validated the model with published data, and then estimated changes in profits for different management strategies. Our model shows that almond yields increase with O. lignaria foraging density, even where honey bees are already in use. Our cost-benefit analysis shows that profit ranged from -US$1,800 to US$2,800/acre given different combinations of the three strategies. Adding nest boxes had the greatest effect; we predict an increase in profit between low and high nest box density strategies (2.5 and 10 boxes/acre). In fact, the number of released bees and the availability of nest tubes had relatively small effects in the high nest box density strategies. This suggests that growers could improve profits by simply adding more nest boxes with moderate number of tubes in each. Our approach can support grower decisions regarding integrated crop pollination and highlight the importance of a comprehensive ecological economic framework for assessing these decisions. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
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Experimental evaluation of BZ-GW (BACnet-ZigBee smart grid gateway) for demand response in buildings
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Hong, Seung Ho; Kim, Se Hwan; Kim, Gi Myung; Kim, Hyung Lae
2014-01-01
The SG (smart grid) is a modernized and a future-oriented electric grid that deals with the whole energy chain, from generation to consumer. Among the SG applications, DR (demand response) is an important control mechanism to manage the electricity consumption of the customer in response to supply conditions. In buildings, DR is managed through installed communication networks which support DR applications. BACnet is an international standard communication protocol for building automation and control systems. BACnet uses ZigBee as a wireless communication protocol. Both BACnet and ZigBee have their own DR applications. In this study, we developed a BACnet-ZigBee gateway that maps the DR application of BACnet to that of ZigBee and vice versa. In addition, we developed an experimental facility to demonstrate how the BACnet-ZigBee gateway can be implemented for DR applications in buildings. We also measured the communication delay to verify that the BZ-GW (BACnet-ZigBee smart grid gateway) developed here satisfies the requirements of real-time DR service in buildings. - Highlights: • Developed a gateway that maps the DR application of BACnet to that of ZigBee. • Verified satisfaction for real-time requirement using experimental facility. • The gateway and other device will play a infrastructure role in buildings. • The implementation method could become a reference model for future similar
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Varroa-Virus Interaction in Collapsing Honey Bee Colonies
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Francis, Roy Mathew; Nielsen, Steen L.; Kryger, Per
2013-01-01
Varroa mites and viruses are the currently the high-profile suspects in collapsing bee colonies. Therefore, seasonal variation in varroa load and viruses (Acute-Kashmir-Israeli complex (AKI) and Deformed Wing Virus (DWV)) were monitored in a year-long study. We investigated the viral titres...... in honey bees and varroa mites from 23 colonies (15 apiaries) under three treatment conditions: Organic acids (11 colonies), pyrethroid (9 colonies) and untreated (3 colonies). Approximately 200 bees were sampled every month from April 2011 to October 2011, and April 2012. The 200 bees were split to 10...... subsamples of 20 bees and analysed separately, which allows us to determine the prevalence of virus-infected bees. The treatment efficacy was often low for both treatments. In colonies where varroa treatment reduced the mite load, colonies overwintered successfully, allowing the mites and viruses...
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Psychosocial antecedents and consequences of workplace aggression for hospital nurses.
Demir, Defne; Rodwell, John
2012-12-01
To test a full model of the antecedents to and consequences of various forms of workplace aggression, considering psychosocial factors, for hospital nursing staff. Cross-sectional survey design. Two hundred and seven nurses and midwives working across wards within a medium to large Australian hospital completed the survey. The survey response rate was 26.9%. High frequencies of nurses reported exposure to workplace bullying and internal and external emotional abuse violence types. In terms of antecedents, bullying was linked to high negative affectivity (NA), as well as low supervisor support and coworker support. Internal emotional abuse was associated with low levels of these support variables, as well as high outside work support and low job control. External threat of assault was related to high job demands and NA. In terms of consequences, bullying and verbal sexual harassment were linked to increased psychological distress levels. Bullying and internal emotional abuse were related to lowered organizational commitment. Changes in job satisfaction were not found for any of the workplace aggression types. NA was a significant covariate for all analyses examining consequences of aggression. Different combinations of work conditions (job demands-resources) and individual levels of NA predicted certain types of aggression. Further, nurse perceptions of psychological distress and organizational commitment were affected by exposure to several types of aggression, even after controlling for NA as a potential perceptual bias. This study therefore extends previous research on workplace bullying as a stressor to other types of workplace aggression for nurses. The findings highlight factors that are important in considering effective prevention and intervention of workplace aggression among nursing staff, particularly those working in hospital settings. © 2012 Sigma Theta Tau International.
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Pollution monitoring of puget sound with honey bees.
Bromenshenk, J J; Carlson, S R; Simpson, J C; Thomas, J M
1985-02-08
To show that honey bees are effective biological monitors of environmental contaminants over large geographic areas, beekeepers of Puget Sound, Washington, collected pollen and bees for chemical analysis. From these data, kriging maps of arsenic, cadmium, and fluoride were generated. Results, based on actual concentrations of contaminants in bee tissues, show that the greatest concentrations of contaminants occur close to Commencement Bay and that honey bees are effective as large-scale monitors.
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How bees distinguish black from white
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Horridge A
2014-10-01
Full Text Available Adrian Horridge Biological Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, AustraliaAbstract: Bee eyes have photoreceptors for ultraviolet, green, and blue wavelengths that are excited by reflected white but not by black. With ultraviolet reflections excluded by the apparatus, bees can learn to distinguish between black, gray, and white, but theories of color vision are clearly of no help in explaining how they succeed. Human vision sidesteps the issue by constructing black and white in the brain. Bees have quite different and accessible mechanisms. As revealed by extensive tests of trained bees, bees learned two strong signals displayed on either target. The first input was the position and a measure of the green receptor modulation at the vertical edges of a black area, which included a measure of the angular width between the edges of black. They also learned the average position and total amount of blue reflected from white areas. These two inputs were sufficient to help decide which of two targets held the reward of sugar solution, but the bees cared nothing for the black or white as colors, or the direction of contrast at black/white edges. These findings provide a small step toward understanding, modeling, and implementing in silicon the anti-intuitive visual system of the honeybee, in feeding behavior. Keywords: vision, detectors, black/white, color, visual processing
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Reducing proactive aggression through non-invasive brain stimulation
Schuhmann, Teresa; Lobbestael, Jill; Arntz, Arnoud; Brugman, Suzanne; Sack, Alexander T.
2015-01-01
Aggressive behavior poses a threat to human collaboration and social safety. It is of utmost importance to identify the functional mechanisms underlying aggression and to develop potential interventions capable of reducing dysfunctional aggressive behavior already at a brain level. We here experimentally shifted fronto-cortical asymmetry to manipulate the underlying motivational emotional states in both male and female participants while assessing the behavioral effects on proactive and reactive aggression. Thirty-two healthy volunteers received either anodal transcranial direct current stimulation to increase neural activity within right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, or sham stimulation. Aggressive behavior was measured with the Taylor Aggression Paradigm. We revealed a general gender effect, showing that men displayed more behavioral aggression than women. After the induction of right fronto-hemispheric dominance, proactive aggression was reduced in men. This study demonstrates that non-invasive brain stimulation can reduce aggression in men. This is a relevant and promising step to better understand how cortical brain states connect to impulsive actions and to examine the causal role of the prefrontal cortex in aggression. Ultimately, such findings could help to examine whether the brain can be a direct target for potential supportive interventions in clinical settings dealing with overly aggressive patients and/or violent offenders. PMID:25680991
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Local bumble bee decline linked to recovery of honey bees, drought effects on floral resources.
Thomson, Diane M
2016-10-01
Time series of abundances are critical for understanding how abiotic factors and species interactions affect population dynamics, but are rarely linked with experiments and also scarce for bee pollinators. This gap is important given concerns about declines in some bee species. I monitored honey bee (Apis mellifera) and bumble bee (Bombus spp.) foragers in coastal California from 1999, when feral A. mellifera populations were low due to Varroa destructor, until 2014. Apis mellifera increased substantially, except between 2006 and 2011, coinciding with declines in managed populations. Increases in A. mellifera strongly correlated with declines in Bombus and reduced diet overlap between them, suggesting resource competition consistent with past experimental results. Lower Bombus numbers also correlated with diminished floral resources. Declines in floral abundances were associated with drought and reduced spring rainfall. These results illustrate how competition with an introduced species may interact with climate to drive local decline of native pollinators. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.
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Urlacher, Elodie; Devaud, Jean-Marc; Mercer, Alison R
2017-01-01
As honey bee populations worldwide are declining there is an urgent need for a deeper understanding of stress reactivity in these important insects. Our data indicate that stress responses in bees (Apis mellifera L.) may be mediated by neuropeptides identified, on the basis of sequence similarities, as allatostatins (ASTA, ASTC and ASTCC). Effects of allatostatin injection are compared with stress-related changes in learning performance induced by the honeybee alarm pheromone, isopentylacetate (IPA). We find that bees can exhibit two markedly different responses to IPA, with opposing effects on learning behaviour and memory generalisation, and that strikingly similar responses can be elicited by allatostatins, in particular ASTCC. These findings lend support to the hypothesis that allatostatins mediate stress reactivity in honey bees and suggest responses to stress in these insects are state dependent.
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Microbial communities of three sympatric Australian stingless bee species.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sara D Leonhardt
Full Text Available Bacterial symbionts of insects have received increasing attention due to their prominent role in nutrient acquisition and defense. In social bees, symbiotic bacteria can maintain colony homeostasis and fitness, and the loss or alteration of the bacterial community may be associated with the ongoing bee decline observed worldwide. However, analyses of microbiota associated with bees have been largely confined to the social honeybees (Apis mellifera and bumblebees (Bombus spec., revealing--among other taxa--host-specific lactic acid bacteria (LAB, genus Lactobacillus that are not found in solitary bees. Here, we characterized the microbiota of three Australian stingless bee species (Apidae: Meliponini of two phylogenetically distant genera (Tetragonula and Austroplebeia. Besides common plant bacteria, we find LAB in all three species, showing that LAB are shared by honeybees, bumblebees and stingless bees across geographical regions. However, while LAB of the honeybee-associated Firm4-5 clusters were present in Tetragonula, they were lacking in Austroplebeia. Instead, we found a novel clade of likely host-specific LAB in all three Australian stingless bee species which forms a sister clade to a large cluster of Halictidae-associated lactobacilli. Our findings indicate both a phylogenetic and geographical signal of host-specific LAB in stingless bees and highlight stingless bees as an interesting group to investigate the evolutionary history of the bee-LAB association.
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Microbial Communities of Three Sympatric Australian Stingless Bee Species
Leonhardt, Sara D.; Kaltenpoth, Martin
2014-01-01
Bacterial symbionts of insects have received increasing attention due to their prominent role in nutrient acquisition and defense. In social bees, symbiotic bacteria can maintain colony homeostasis and fitness, and the loss or alteration of the bacterial community may be associated with the ongoing bee decline observed worldwide. However, analyses of microbiota associated with bees have been largely confined to the social honeybees (Apis mellifera) and bumblebees (Bombus spec.), revealing – among other taxa – host-specific lactic acid bacteria (LAB, genus Lactobacillus) that are not found in solitary bees. Here, we characterized the microbiota of three Australian stingless bee species (Apidae: Meliponini) of two phylogenetically distant genera (Tetragonula and Austroplebeia). Besides common plant bacteria, we find LAB in all three species, showing that LAB are shared by honeybees, bumblebees and stingless bees across geographical regions. However, while LAB of the honeybee-associated Firm4–5 clusters were present in Tetragonula, they were lacking in Austroplebeia. Instead, we found a novel clade of likely host-specific LAB in all three Australian stingless bee species which forms a sister clade to a large cluster of Halictidae-associated lactobacilli. Our findings indicate both a phylogenetic and geographical signal of host-specific LAB in stingless bees and highlight stingless bees as an interesting group to investigate the evolutionary history of the bee-LAB association. PMID:25148082
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Learning at old age: a study on winter bees
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Andreas Behrends
2010-04-01
Full Text Available Ageing is often accompanied by a decline in learning and memory abilities across the animal kingdom. Understanding age-related changes in cognitive abilities is therefore a major goal of current research. The honey bee is emerging as a novel model organism for age-related changes in brain function, because learning and memory can easily be studied in bees under controlled laboratory conditions. In addition, genetically similar workers naturally display life expectancies from six weeks (summer bees to six months (winter bees. We studied whether in honey bees, extreme longevity leads to a decline in cognitive functions. Six-month-old winter bees were conditioned either to odours or to tactile stimuli. Afterwards, long-term memory and discrimination abilities were analysed. Winter bees were kept under different conditions (flight /no flight opportunity to test for effects of foraging activity on learning performance. Despite their extreme age, winter bees did not display an age-related decline in learning or discrimination abilities, but had a slightly impaired olfactory long-term memory. The opportunity to forage indoors led to a slight decrease in learning performance. This suggests that in honey bees, unlike in most other animals, age per se does not impair associative learning. Future research will show which mechanisms protect winter bees from age-related deficits in learning.
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Tonnaer, F.; Cima, M.; Arntz, A.R.; Cima, M.
2016-01-01
Aggression, violence and deviant behavior are terms frequently used interchangeable, but relate to different theoretical concepts. Therefore, this chapter starts with a definition of aggression. Furthermore, several theories regarding the development of aggression will be presented. According to
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The honey bee parasite Nosema ceranae: transmissible via food exchange?
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Michael L Smith
Full Text Available Nosema ceranae, a newly introduced parasite of the honey bee, Apis mellifera, is contributing to worldwide colony losses. Other Nosema species, such as N. apis, tend to be associated with increased defecation and spread via a fecal-oral pathway, but because N. ceranae does not induce defecation, it may instead be spread via an oral-oral pathway. Cages that separated older infected bees from young uninfected bees were used to test whether N. ceranae can be spread during food exchange. When cages were separated by one screen, food could be passed between the older bees and the young bees, but when separated by two screens, food could not be passed between the two cages. Young uninfected bees were also kept isolated in cages, as a solitary control. After 4 days of exposure to the older bees, and 10 days to incubate infections, young bees were more likely to be infected in the 1-Screen Test treatment vs. the 2-Screen Test treatment (P=0.0097. Young bees fed by older bees showed a 13-fold increase in mean infection level relative to young bees not fed by older bees (1-Screen Test 40.8%; 2-Screen Test 3.4%; Solo Control 2.8%. Although fecal-oral transmission is still possible in this experimental design, oral-oral infectivity could help explain the rapid spread of N. ceranae worldwide.
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Tropilaelaps mite: an emerging threat to European honey bee.
Chantawannakul, Panuwan; Ramsey, Samuel; vanEngelsdorp, Dennis; Khongphinitbunjong, Kitiphong; Phokasem, Patcharin
2018-04-01
The risk of transmission of honey bee parasites has increased substantially as a result of trade globalization and technical developments in transportation efficacy. Great concern over honey bee decline has accelerated research on newly emerging bee pests and parasites. These organisms are likely to emerge from Asia as it is the only region where all 10 honey bee species co-occur. Varroa destructor, an ectoparasitic mite, is a classic example of a pest that has shifted from A. cerana, a cavity nesting Asian honey bee to A. mellifera, the European honey bee. In this review, we will describe the potential risks to global apiculture of the global expansion of Tropilaelaps mercedesae, originally a parasite of the open-air nesting Asian giant honey bee, compared to the impact of V. destructor. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Putra, Ramadhani Eka; Kinasih, Ida
2014-01-01
Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) is considered as one of major agricultural commodity of Indonesia farming. However, monthly production is unstable due to lack of pollination services. Common pollinator agent of tomatoes is bumblebees which is unsuitable for tropical climate of Indonesia and the possibility of alteration of local wild plant interaction with their pollinator. Indonesia is rich with wild bees and some of the species already domesticated for years with prospect as pollinating agent for tomatoes. This research aimed to assess the efficiency of local honey bee (Apis cerana L.) and stingless bee (Trigona iridipennis), as pollinator of tomato. During this research, total visitation rate and total numbers of pollinated flowers by honey bee and stingless bee were compared between them with bagged flowers as control. Total fruit production, average weight and size also measured in order to correlated pollination efficiency with quantity and quality of fruit produced. Result of this research showed that A. cerana has slightly higher rate of visitation (p>0.05) and significantly shorter handling time (p tomato flowers. However, honey bee pollinated tomato flowers more efficient pollinator than stingless bee (80.3 and 70.2% efficiency, respectively; p tomatoes were similar (p>0.05). Based on the results, it is concluded that the use of Apis cerana and Trigona spp., for pollinating tomatoes in tropical climates could be an alternative to the use of non-native Apis mellifera and bumblebees (Bombus spp.). However, more researches are needed to evaluate the cost/benefit on large-scale farming and greenhouse pollination using both bees against other bee species and pollination methods.
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Flight of the bumble bee: Buzzes predict pollination services.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Nicole E Miller-Struttmann
Full Text Available Multiple interacting factors drive recent declines in wild and managed bees, threatening their pollination services. Widespread and intensive monitoring could lead to more effective management of wild and managed bees. However, tracking their dynamic populations is costly. We tested the effectiveness of an inexpensive, noninvasive and passive acoustic survey technique for monitoring bumble bee behavior and pollination services. First, we assessed the relationship between the first harmonic of the flight buzz (characteristic frequency and pollinator functional traits that influence pollination success using flight cage experiments and a literature search. We analyzed passive acoustic survey data from three locations on Pennsylvania Mountain, Colorado to estimate bumble bee activity. We developed an algorithm based on Computational Auditory Scene Analysis that identified and quantified the number of buzzes recorded in each location. We then compared visual and acoustic estimates of bumble bee activity. Using pollinator exclusion experiments, we tested the power of buzz density to predict pollination services at the landscape scale for two bumble bee pollinated alpine forbs (Trifolium dasyphyllum and T. parryi. We found that the characteristic frequency was correlated with traits known to affect pollination efficacy, explaining 30-52% of variation in body size and tongue length. Buzz density was highly correlated with visual estimates of bumble bee density (r = 0.97, indicating that acoustic signals are predictive of bumble bee activity. Buzz density predicted seed set in two alpine forbs when bumble bees were permitted access to the flowers, but not when they were excluded from visiting. Our results indicate that acoustic signatures of flight can be deciphered to monitor bee activity and pollination services to bumble bee pollinated plants. We propose that applications of this technique could assist scientists and farmers in rapidly detecting and
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Parasite infection accelerates age polyethism in young honey bees
Lecocq, Antoine; Jensen, Annette Bruun; Kryger, Per; Nieh, James C.
2016-01-01
Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are important pollinators and their health is threatened worldwide by persistent exposure to a wide range of factors including pesticides, poor nutrition, and pathogens. Nosema ceranae is a ubiquitous microsporidian associated with high colony mortality. We used lab micro-colonies of honey bees and video analyses to track the effects of N. ceranae infection and exposure on a range of individual and social behaviours in young adult bees. We provide detailed data showing that N. ceranae infection significantly accelerated the age polyethism of young bees, causing them to exhibit behaviours typical of older bees. Bees with high N. ceranae spore counts had significantly increased walking rates and decreased attraction to queen mandibular pheromone. Infected bees also exhibited higher rates of trophallaxis (food exchange), potentially reflecting parasite manipulation to increase colony infection. However, reduction in queen contacts could help bees limit the spread of infection. Such accelerated age polyethism may provide a form of behavioural immunity, particularly if it is elicited by a wide variety of pathogens. PMID:26912310
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Parasite infection accelerates age polyethism in young honey bees.
Lecocq, Antoine; Jensen, Annette Bruun; Kryger, Per; Nieh, James C
2016-02-25
Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are important pollinators and their health is threatened worldwide by persistent exposure to a wide range of factors including pesticides, poor nutrition, and pathogens. Nosema ceranae is a ubiquitous microsporidian associated with high colony mortality. We used lab micro-colonies of honey bees and video analyses to track the effects of N. ceranae infection and exposure on a range of individual and social behaviours in young adult bees. We provide detailed data showing that N. ceranae infection significantly accelerated the age polyethism of young bees, causing them to exhibit behaviours typical of older bees. Bees with high N. ceranae spore counts had significantly increased walking rates and decreased attraction to queen mandibular pheromone. Infected bees also exhibited higher rates of trophallaxis (food exchange), potentially reflecting parasite manipulation to increase colony infection. However, reduction in queen contacts could help bees limit the spread of infection. Such accelerated age polyethism may provide a form of behavioural immunity, particularly if it is elicited by a wide variety of pathogens.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mareike eAugsburger
2015-11-01
Full Text Available This study investigated the impact of violent experiences during childhood, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD and appetitive aggression on everyday violent behavior in Burundian females with varying participation in war. Moreover, group differences in trauma-related and aggression variables were expected. Appetitive aggression describes the perception of violence perpetration as fascinating and appealing and is a common phenomenon in former combatants. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 157 females, either former combatants, supporters of armed forces or civilians during the civil war in Burundi. The PTSD Symptom Scale Interview was used to assess PTSD symptom severity, the Appetitive Aggression Scale to measure appetitive aggression and the Domestic and Community Violence Checklist to assess both childhood maltreatment and recent aggressive behavior. Former combatants had experienced more traumatic events, perpetrated more violence and reported higher levels of appetitive aggression than supporters and civilians. They also suffered more severely from PTSD symptoms than civilians but not than supporters. The groups did not differ regarding childhood maltreatment. Both appetitive aggression and childhood violence predicted ongoing aggressive behavior, whereas the latter outperformed PTSD symptom severity. These findings support current research showing that adverse childhood experiences and a positive attitude towards aggression serve as the basis for aggressive behavior and promote an ongoing cycle of violence in post-conflict regions. Female members of armed groups are in need of demobilization procedures including trauma-related care and interventions addressing appetitive aggression.
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Poisoning of bees by industrial arsenic emissions
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Jaroslav, S
1962-01-01
Massive poisoning of bees by industrial arsenic emissions in Czechoslovakia are reviewed. Arsenic emissions from an ore processing plant in Tesin were responsible for massive bee deaths after World War I. Massive death of bees was observed in 1938 in the Krompach region around a copper ore smelting plant which emitted arsenic. Other accidents were reported in 1954 and 1957 in areas around industrial plants and power plants using arsenopyrite-containing low-grade coal or lignite. Arsenic was emitted bound in fly-ash in the form of arsenic trioxide or, in the case of coals containing alkaline chlorides, in the form of arsenic trichloride. The arsenic contamination extended to areas within a radius of 3 to 7 km. Settled fly-ash contained 0.0004 to 0.75 percent arsenic, which was soluble in a citrate-hydrochloric acid solution of pH 3.9, which corresponds to the gastric acid of bees. The arsenic uptake by the bees from pollen was calculated to amount to 1 microgram daily, against a toxic dose of 0.37 microgram. The toxic effect of arsenic on bees can be abated by adding colloidal iron hydroxide to the sugar solution which they are fed.
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Poisoning of bees by industrial arsenic emissions
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Svoboda, J
1962-01-01
Massive poisoning of bees by industrial arsenic emissions in Czechoslovakia are reviewed. Arsenic emissions from an ore processing plant in Tesin were responsible for massive bee deaths after World War I. Massive death of bees was observed in 1938 in the Krompach region around a copper ore smelting plant which emitted arsenic. Other accidents were reported in 1954 and 1957 in areas around industrial plants and power plants using arsenopyrite-containing low-grade coal or lignite. Arsenic was emitted bound in fly-ash in the form of arsenic trioxide or, in the case of coals containing alkaline chlorides, in the form of arsenic trichloride. The arsenic contamination extended to areas within a radius of 3-7 km. Settled fly-ash contained 0.0004-0.75% arsenic, which was soluble in a citrate-hydrochloric acid solution of pH 3.9, which corresponds to the gastric acid of bees. The arsenic uptake by the bees from pollen was calculated to amount to 1 microgram daily, against a toxic dose of 0.37 microgram. The toxic effect of arsenic on bees can be abated by adding colloidal iron hydroxide to the sugar solution which they are fed. 5 references.
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Pharmacological evaluation of bee venom and melittin
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Camila G. Dantas
Full Text Available The objective of this study was to identify the pharmacological effects of bee venom and its major component, melittin, on the nervous system of mice. For the pharmacological analysis, mice were treated once with saline, 0.1 or 1.2 mg/kg of bee venom and 0.1 mg/kg of melittin, subcutaneously, 30 min before being submitted to behavioral tests: locomotor activity and grooming (open-field, catalepsy, anxiety (elevated plus-maze, depression (forced swimming test and apomorphine-induced stereotypy. Haloperidol, imipramine and diazepam were administered alone (positive control or as a pre-treatment (haloperidol.The bee venom reduced motor activity and promoted cataleptic effect, in a similar manner to haloperidol.These effects were decreased by the pretreatment with haloperidol. Both melittin and bee venom decreased the apomorphine-induced stereotypies. The data indicated the antipsychotic activity of bee venom and melittin in a murine model.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Lise Hansted
2012-12-01
Full Text Available Low fruit set, despite normally-developed flowers, is often a significant contributor to poor yield of the self-fertile sour cherry (Prunus cerasus cultivar ‘Stevnsbaer’ in Denmark. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of insect, and particularly, bee pollination on the fruit set of this cultivar, in order to provide orchard management information for both Danish ‘Stevnsbaer’ growers and beekeepers. Visits to cherry flowers by honey bees (Apis mellifera, Bombus species and solitary bees, were recorded during the flowering of ‘Stevnsbaer’ in five separate Danish orchards. The results indicate that there is a significantly higher fruit set on open pollinated branches when compared to caged branches, where bees and other pollinating insects where excluded. The results were qualitatively consistent over three different seasons (2007, 2009 and 2010. A period of prolonged cold, humid weather before and during early flowering probably reduced fruit set significantly in 2010 compared to 2009. Regarding the apparent benefits of bee pollination on fruit set and subsequent implications for yield, we recommend placing honeybees in ‘Stevnsbaer’ orchards during flowering to sustain commercially viable production. Another valuable management strategy would be to improve foraging and nesting conditions to support both honey and wild bees in and around the orchards.
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Medicinal and cosmetic uses of Bee's Honey - A review.
Ediriweera, E R H S S; Premarathna, N Y S
2012-04-01
Bee's honey is one of the most valued and appreciated natural substances known to mankind since ancient times. There are many types of bee's honey mentioned in Ayurveda. Their effects differ and 'Makshika' is considered medicinally the best. According to modern scientific view, the best bee's honey is made by Apis mellifera (Family: Apidae). In Sri Lanka, the predominant honey-maker bee is Apis cerana. The aim of this survey is to emphasize the importance of bee's honey and its multitude of medicinal, cosmetic and general values. Synonyms, details of formation, constitution, properties, and method of extraction and the usages of bee's honey are gathered from text books, traditional and Ayurvedic physicians of Western and Southern provinces, villagers of 'Kalahe' in Galle district of Sri Lanka and from few search engines. Fresh bee's honey is used in treatment of eye diseases, throat infections, bronchial asthma, tuberculosis, hiccups, thirst, dizziness, fatigue, hepatitis, worm infestation, constipation, piles, eczema, healing of wounds, ulcers and used as a nutritious, easily digestible food for weak people. It promotes semen, mental health and used in cosmetic purposes. Old bee's honey is used to treat vomiting, diarrhea, rheumatoid arthritis, obesity, diabetes mellitus and in preserving meat and fruits. Highly popular in cosmetic treatment, bee's honey is used in preparing facial washes, skin moisturizers, hair conditioners and in treatment of pimples. Bee's honey could be considered as one of the finest products of nature that has a wide range of beneficial uses.
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Thi Qar Bee Farm Thi Qar, Iraq
2010-04-01
vegetation and fields where bees once gathered pollen and beekeepers face hardships from droughts and lack of financial assistance. 1...of equipment, and provided training to the bee farmers. General topography of the area was flat with vacant or agricultural land extending for a...OFFICE OF THE SPECIAL INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR IRAQ RECONSTRUCTION THI QAR BEE FARM THI QAR, IRAQ SIGIR PA--09--188
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Bee sting after seizure and ischemic attack
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Aynur Yurtseven
2015-09-01
Full Text Available Insect bites, bee stings are the most frequently encountered. Often seen after bee stings usually only local allergic reactions. Sometimes with very serious clinical condition may also be confronted. Of this rare clinical findings; polyneuritis, parkinsonism, encephalitis, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, Guillain-Barre syndrome, myocardial infarction, pulmonary edema, hemorrhage, hemolytic anemia and renal disease has. Here a rare convulsions after a bee sting is presented.
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Impacts of Austrian Climate Variability on Honey Bee Mortality
Switanek, Matt; Brodschneider, Robert; Crailsheim, Karl; Truhetz, Heimo
2015-04-01
Global food production, as it is today, is not possible without pollinators such as the honey bee. It is therefore alarming that honey bee populations across the world have seen increased mortality rates in the last few decades. The challenges facing the honey bee calls into question the future of our food supply. Beside various infectious diseases, Varroa destructor is one of the main culprits leading to increased rates of honey bee mortality. Varroa destructor is a parasitic mite which strongly depends on honey bee brood for reproduction and can wipe out entire colonies. However, climate variability may also importantly influence honey bee breeding cycles and bee mortality rates. Persistent weather events affects vegetation and hence foraging possibilities for honey bees. This study first defines critical statistical relationships between key climate indicators (e.g., precipitation and temperature) and bee mortality rates across Austria, using 6 consecutive years of data. Next, these leading indicators, as they vary in space and time, are used to build a statistical model to predict bee mortality rates and the respective number of colonies affected. Using leave-one-out cross validation, the model reduces the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) by 21% with respect to predictions made with the mean mortality rate and the number of colonies. Furthermore, a Monte Carlo test is used to establish that the model's predictions are statistically significant at the 99.9% confidence level. These results highlight the influence of climate variables on honey bee populations, although variability in climate, by itself, cannot fully explain colony losses. This study was funded by the Austrian project 'Zukunft Biene'.
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An Adlerian Model for the Etiology of Aggression in Adjudicated Adolescents.
Smith, Sandy; Mullis, Fran; Kern, Roy M.; Brack, Greg
1999-01-01
Investigates perceived parental rejection, family cohesion and adaptability, and levels of trait anger and anxiety in adolescents and their relationship to the etiology of aggression in adolescents who have been adjudicated for assaultive crimes. Study supports Adler's aggression theory, which established that aggression might begin with feelings…
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jana Habermannová
Full Text Available Specialization makes resource use more efficient and should therefore be a common process in animal evolution. However, this process is not as universal in nature as one might expect. Our study shows that Sphecodes (Halictidae cuckoo bees frequently change their host over the course of their evolution. To test the evolutionary scenario of host specialization in cuckoo bees, we constructed well-supported phylogenetic trees based on partial sequences of five genes for subtribe Sphecodina (Halictini. We detected up to 17 host switches during Sphecodes evolution based on 37 ingroup species subject to mapping analysis of the hosts associated with the cuckoo bee species. We also examine the direction of evolution of host specialization in Sphecodes using the likelihood ratio test and obtain results to support the bidirectional evolutionary scenario in which specialists can arise from generalists, and vice versa. We explain the existence of generalist species in Sphecodes based on their specialization at the individual level, which is recently known in two species. Our findings suggest flexible host choice and frequent host switches in the evolution of Sphecodes cuckoo bees. This scenario leads us to propose an individual choice constancy hypothesis based on the individual specialization strategy in cuckoo bees. Choice constancy has a close relationship to flower constancy in bees and might be an extension of the latter. Our analysis also shows relationships among the genera Microsphecodes, Eupetersia, Sphecodes and Austrosphecodes, a formerly proposed Sphecodes subgenus. Austrosphecodes species form a basal lineage of the subtribe, and Microsphecodes makes it paraphyletic.
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Urlacher, Elodie; Monchanin, Coline; Rivière, Coraline; Richard, Freddie-Jeanne; Lombardi, Christie; Michelsen-Heath, Sue; Hageman, Kimberly J; Mercer, Alison R
2016-02-01
Chlorpyrifos is an organophosphate pesticide used around the world to protect food crops against insects and mites. Despite guidelines for chlorpyrifos usage, including precautions to protect beneficial insects, such as honeybees from spray drift, this pesticide has been detected in bees in various countries, indicating that exposure still occurs. Here, we examined chlorpyrifos levels in bees collected from 17 locations in Otago, New Zealand, and compared doses of this pesticide that cause sub-lethal effects on learning performance under laboratory conditions with amounts of chlorpyrifos detected in the bees in the field. The pesticide was detected at 17 % of the sites sampled and in 12 % of the colonies examined. Amounts detected ranged from 35 to 286 pg.bee(-1), far below the LD50 of ~100 ng.bee(-1). We detected no adverse effect of chlorpyrifos on aversive learning, but the formation and retrieval of appetitive olfactory memories was severely affected. Chlorpyrifos fed to bees in amounts several orders of magnitude lower than the LD50, and also lower than levels detected in bees, was found to slow appetitive learning and reduce the specificity of memory recall. As learning and memory play a central role in the behavioral ecology and communication of foraging bees, chlorpyrifos, even in sublethal doses, may threaten the success and survival of this important insect pollinator.
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Gruber, Karl; Schöning, Caspar; Otte, Marianne; Kinuthia, Wanja; Hasselmann, Martin
2013-09-01
Identifying the forces shaping intraspecific phenotypic and genotypic divergence are of key importance in evolutionary biology. Phenotypic divergence may result from local adaptation or, especially in species with strong gene flow, from pronounced phenotypic plasticity. Here, we examine morphological and genetic divergence among populations of the western honey bee Apis mellifera in the topographically heterogeneous East African region. The currently accepted "mountain refugia hypothesis" states that populations living in disjunct montane forests belong to a different lineage than those in savanna habitats surrounding these forests. We obtained microsatellite data, mitochondrial sequences, and morphometric data from worker honey bees collected from feral colonies in three montane forests and corresponding neighboring savanna regions in Kenya. Honey bee colonies from montane forests showed distinct worker morphology compared with colonies in savanna areas. Mitochondrial sequence data did not support the existence of the two currently accepted subspecies. Furthermore, analyses of the microsatellite data with a Bayesian clustering method did not support the existence of two source populations as it would be expected under the mountain refugia scenario. Our findings suggest that phenotypic plasticity rather than distinct ancestry is the leading cause behind the phenotypic divergence observed between montane forest and savanna honey bees. Our study thus corroborates the idea that high gene flow may select for increased plasticity.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Elodie Urlacher
Full Text Available As honey bee populations worldwide are declining there is an urgent need for a deeper understanding of stress reactivity in these important insects. Our data indicate that stress responses in bees (Apis mellifera L. may be mediated by neuropeptides identified, on the basis of sequence similarities, as allatostatins (ASTA, ASTC and ASTCC. Effects of allatostatin injection are compared with stress-related changes in learning performance induced by the honeybee alarm pheromone, isopentylacetate (IPA. We find that bees can exhibit two markedly different responses to IPA, with opposing effects on learning behaviour and memory generalisation, and that strikingly similar responses can be elicited by allatostatins, in particular ASTCC. These findings lend support to the hypothesis that allatostatins mediate stress reactivity in honey bees and suggest responses to stress in these insects are state dependent.
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Institutional climate and aggression in a secure psychiatric setting
Ros, N.; van der Helm, P.; Wissink, I.; Stams, G.J.; Schaftenaar, P.
2013-01-01
The number of aggressive incidents committed by patients in (secure) mental health care is high. The present study examined the relation between institutional climate (support, growth, atmosphere, and repression) and aggressive incidents using data of 72 patients in a secure (forensic) mental health
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Pesticide Residues and Bees – A Risk Assessment
Sanchez-Bayo, Francisco; Goka, Koichi
2014-01-01
Bees are essential pollinators of many plants in natural ecosystems and agricultural crops alike. In recent years the decline and disappearance of bee species in the wild and the collapse of honey bee colonies have concerned ecologists and apiculturalists, who search for causes and solutions to this problem. Whilst biological factors such as viral diseases, mite and parasite infections are undoubtedly involved, it is also evident that pesticides applied to agricultural crops have a negative impact on bees. Most risk assessments have focused on direct acute exposure of bees to agrochemicals from spray drift. However, the large number of pesticide residues found in pollen and honey demand a thorough evaluation of all residual compounds so as to identify those of highest risk to bees. Using data from recent residue surveys and toxicity of pesticides to honey and bumble bees, a comprehensive evaluation of risks under current exposure conditions is presented here. Standard risk assessments are complemented with new approaches that take into account time-cumulative effects over time, especially with dietary exposures. Whilst overall risks appear to be low, our analysis indicates that residues of pyrethroid and neonicotinoid insecticides pose the highest risk by contact exposure of bees with contaminated pollen. However, the synergism of ergosterol inhibiting fungicides with those two classes of insecticides results in much higher risks in spite of the low prevalence of their combined residues. Risks by ingestion of contaminated pollen and honey are of some concern for systemic insecticides, particularly imidacloprid and thiamethoxam, chlorpyrifos and the mixtures of cyhalothrin and ergosterol inhibiting fungicides. More attention should be paid to specific residue mixtures that may result in synergistic toxicity to bees. PMID:24718419
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Parallel inputs to memory in bee colour vision.
Horridge, Adrian
2016-03-01
In the 19(th) century, it was found that attraction of bees to light was controlled by light intensity irrespective of colour, and a few critical entomologists inferred that vision of bees foraging on flowers was unlike human colour vision. Therefore, quite justly, Professor Carl von Hess concluded in his book on the Comparative Physiology of Vision (1912) that bees do not distinguish colours in the way that humans enjoy. Immediately, Karl von Frisch, an assistant in the Zoology Department of the same University of Münich, set to work to show that indeed bees have colour vision like humans, thereby initiating a new research tradition, and setting off a decade of controversy that ended only at the death of Hess in 1923. Until 1939, several researchers continued the tradition of trying to untangle the mechanism of bee vision by repeatedly testing trained bees, but made little progress, partly because von Frisch and his legacy dominated the scene. The theory of trichromatic colour vision further developed after three types of receptors sensitive to green, blue, and ultraviolet (UV), were demonstrated in 1964 in the bee. Then, until the end of the century, all data was interpreted in terms of trichromatic colour space. Anomalies were nothing new, but eventually after 1996 they led to the discovery that bees have a previously unknown type of colour vision based on a monochromatic measure and distribution of blue and measures of modulation in green and blue receptor pathways. Meanwhile, in the 20(th) century, search for a suitable rationalization, and explorations of sterile culs-de-sac had filled the literature of bee colour vision, but were based on the wrong theory.
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Peters, Jacob M; Gravish, Nick; Combes, Stacey A
2017-06-15
Honey bees ( Apis mellifera ) are remarkable fliers that regularly carry heavy loads of nectar and pollen, supported by a flight system - the wings, thorax and flight muscles - that one might assume is optimized for aerial locomotion. However, honey bees also use this system to perform other crucial tasks that are unrelated to flight. When ventilating the nest, bees grip the surface of the comb or nest entrance and fan their wings to drive airflow through the nest, and a similar wing-fanning behavior is used to disperse volatile pheromones from the Nasonov gland. In order to understand how the physical demands of these impeller-like behaviors differ from those of flight, we quantified the flapping kinematics and compared the frequency, amplitude and stroke plane angle during these non-flight behaviors with values reported for hovering honey bees. We also used a particle-based flow visualization technique to determine the direction and speed of airflow generated by a bee performing Nasonov scenting behavior. We found that ventilatory fanning behavior is kinematically distinct from both flight and scenting behavior. Both impeller-like behaviors drive flow parallel to the surface to which the bees are clinging, at typical speeds of just under 1 m s -1 We observed that the wings of fanning and scenting bees frequently contact the ground during the ventral stroke reversal, which may lead to wing wear. Finally, we observed that bees performing Nasonov scenting behavior sometimes display 'clap-and-fling' motions, in which the wings contact each other during the dorsal stroke reversal and fling apart at the start of the downstroke. We conclude that the wings and flight motor of honey bees comprise a multifunctional system, which may be subject to competing selective pressures because of its frequent use as both a propeller and an impeller. © 2017. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.
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Boys’ and Girls’ Relational and Physical Aggression in Nine Countries.
Lansford, Jennifer E; Skinner, Ann T; Sorbring, Emma; Di Giunta, Laura; Deater-Deckard, Kirby; Dodge, Kenneth A; Malone, Patrick S; Oburu, Paul; Pastorelli, Concetta; Tapanya, Sombat; Tirado, Liliana Maria Uribe; Zelli, Arnaldo; Al-Hassan, Suha M; Alampay, Liane Peña; Bacchini, Dario; Bombi, Anna Silvia; Bornstein, Marc H; Chang, Lei
2012-01-01
Distinguishing between relational and physical aggression has become a key feature of many developmental studies in North America and Western Europe, but very little information is available on relational and physical aggression in more diverse cultural contexts. This study examined the factor structure of, associations between, and gender differences in relational and physical aggression in China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and the United States. Children ages 7–10 years (N = 1,410) reported on their relationally and physically aggressive behavior. Relational and physical aggression shared a common factor structure across countries. In all nine countries, relational and physical aggression were significantly correlated (average r = .49). Countries differed in the mean levels of both relational and physical aggression that children reported using and with respect to whether children reported using more physical than relational aggression or more relational than physical aggression. Boys reported being more physically aggressive than girls across all nine countries; no consistent gender differences emerged in relational aggression. Despite mean-level differences in relational and physical aggression across countries, the findings provided support for cross-country similarities in associations between relational and physical aggression as well as links between gender and aggression.
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Aggressive behavior: an alternative model of resting heart rate and sensation seeking.
Wilson, Laura C; Scarpa, Angela
2014-01-01
Low resting heart rate is a well-replicated biological correlate of aggression, and sensation seeking is frequently cited as the underlying causal explanation. However, little empirical evidence supports this mediating relationship. Furthermore, the biosocial model of violence and social push theory suggest sensation seeking may moderate the relationship between heart rate and aggression. In a sample of 128 college students (82.0% White; 73.4% female), the current study tested a moderation model as an alternative relationship between resting heart rate and sensation seeking in regard to aggression. Overall, the findings partially supported an interaction effect, whereby the relationship between heart rate and aggression was moderated by sensation seeking. Specifically, the oft-noted relationship between low resting heart rate and increased aggression was found, but only for individuals with low levels of sensation seeking. If replication supports this finding, the results may better inform prevention and intervention work. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Pattern recognition in bees : orientation discrimination
Hateren, J.H. van; Srinivasan, M.V.; Wait, P.B.
1990-01-01
Honey bees (Apis mellifera, worker) were trained to discriminate between two random gratings oriented perpendicularly to each other. This task was quickly learned with vertical, horizontal, and oblique gratings. After being trained on perpendicularly-oriented random gratings, bees could discriminate
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Bee Mite ID - an online resource on identification of mites associated with bees of the World
Parasitic mites are known to be a factor in recent declines in bee pollinator populations. In particular, Varroa destructor, an introduced parasite and disease vector, has decimated colonies of the western honey bee, one of the most important agricultural pollinators in the world. Further, global tr...
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Adolescents’ Aggression to Parents: Longitudinal Links with Parents’ Physical Aggression
Margolin, Gayla; Baucom, Brian R.
2014-01-01
Purpose To investigate whether parents’ previous physical aggression (PPA) exhibited during early adolescence is associated with adolescents’ subsequent parent-directed aggression even beyond parents’ concurrent physical aggression (CPA); to investigate whether adolescents’ emotion dysregulation and attitudes condoning child-to-parent aggression moderate associations. Methods Adolescents (N = 93) and their parents participated in a prospective, longitudinal study. Adolescents and parents reported at waves 1–3 on four types of parents’ PPA (mother-to-adolescent, father-to-adolescent, mother-to-father, father-to-mother). Wave 3 assessments also included adolescents’ emotion dysregulation, attitudes condoning aggression, and externalizing behaviors. At waves 4 and 5, adolescents and parents reported on adolescents’ parent-directed physical aggression, property damage, and verbal aggression, and on parents’ CPA Results Parents’ PPA emerged as a significant indicator of adolescents’ parent-directed physical aggression (odds ratio [OR]: 1.25, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.0–1.55; p = .047), property damage (OR: 1.29, 95% CI: 1.1–1.5, p = .002), and verbal aggression (OR: 1.35, 95% CI: 1.15–1.6, p controlling for adolescents’ sex, externalizing behaviors, and family income. When controlling for parents’ CPA, previous mother-to-adolescent aggression still predicted adolescents’ parent-directed physical aggression (OR: 5.56, 95% CI: 1.82–17.0, p = .003), and father-to-mother aggression predicted adolescents’ parent-directed verbal aggression (OR: 1.86, 95% CI: 1.0–3.3, p = .036). Emotion dysregulation and attitudes condoning aggression did not produce direct or moderated effects. Conclusions Adolescents’ parent-directed aggression deserves greater attention in discourse about lasting, adverse effects of even minor forms of parents’ physical aggression. Future research should investigate parent-directed aggression as an early
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Adolescents' aggression to parents: longitudinal links with parents' physical aggression.
Margolin, Gayla; Baucom, Brian R
2014-11-01
To investigate whether parents' previous physical aggression (PPA) exhibited during early adolescence is associated with adolescents' subsequent parent-directed aggression even beyond parents' concurrent physical aggression (CPA) and to investigate whether adolescents' emotion dysregulation and attitudes condoning child-to-parent aggression moderate associations. Adolescents (N = 93) and their parents participated in a prospective longitudinal study. Adolescents and parents reported at waves 1-3 on four types of parents' PPA (mother to adolescent, father to adolescent, mother to father, and father to mother). Wave 3 assessments also included adolescents' emotion dysregulation, attitudes condoning aggression, and externalizing behaviors. At waves 4 and 5, adolescents and parents reported on adolescents' parent-directed physical aggression, property damage, and verbal aggression and on parents' CPA. Parents' PPA emerged as a significant indicator of adolescents' parent-directed physical aggression (odds ratio [OR]: 1.25, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.0-1.55; p = .047), property damage (OR: 1.29, 95% CI: 1.1-1.5, p = .002), and verbal aggression (OR: 1.35, 95% CI: 1.15-1.6, p controlling for adolescents' sex, externalizing behaviors, and family income. When controlling for parents' CPA, previous mother-to-adolescent aggression still predicted adolescents' parent-directed physical aggression (OR: 5.56, 95% CI: 1.82-17.0, p = .003), and father-to-mother aggression predicted adolescents' parent-directed verbal aggression (OR: 1.86, 95% CI: 1.0-3.3, p = .036). Emotion dysregulation and attitudes condoning aggression did not produce direct or moderated the effects. Adolescents' parent-directed aggression deserves greater attention in discourse about lasting, adverse effects of even minor forms of parents' physical aggression. Future research should investigate parent-directed aggression as an early signal of aggression into adulthood. Copyright © 2014 Society for
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‘Bee Hotels’ as Tools for Native Pollinator Conservation: A Premature Verdict?
MacIvor, J. Scott; Packer, Laurence
2015-01-01
Society is increasingly concerned with declining wild bee populations. Although most bees nest in the ground, considerable effort has centered on installing ‘bee hotels’—also known as nest boxes or trap nests—which artificially aggregate nest sites of above ground nesting bees. Campaigns to ‘save the bees’ often promote these devices despite the absence of data indicating they have a positive effect. From a survey of almost 600 bee hotels set up over a period of three years in Toronto, Canada, introduced bees nested at 32.9% of sites and represented 24.6% of more than 27,000 total bees and wasps recorded (47.1% of all bees recorded). Native bees were parasitized more than introduced bees and females of introduced bee species provisioned nests with significantly more female larva each year. Native wasps were significantly more abundant than both native and introduced bees and occupied almost 3/4 of all bee hotels each year; further, introduced wasps were the only group to significantly increase in relative abundance year over year. More research is needed to elucidate the potential pitfalls and benefits of using bee hotels in the conservation and population dynamics of wild native bees. PMID:25785609
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Gardening and landscaping practices for nesting native bees
Bees have two primary needs in life: pollen and nectar to feed themselves and their offspring, and a suitable place to nest. Guidance is increasingly available about garden flowers to plant for native bees. We know far less about accommodating the nesting needs of our native bees, but there are cer...
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Lateralisation of aggressive displays in a tephritid fly
Benelli, Giovanni; Donati, Elisa; Romano, Donato; Stefanini, Cesare; Messing, Russell H.; Canale, Angelo
2015-02-01
Lateralisation (i.e. different functional and/or structural specialisations of the left and right sides of the brain) of aggression has been examined in several vertebrate species, while evidence for invertebrates is scarce. In this study, we investigated lateralisation of aggressive displays (boxing with forelegs and wing strikes) in the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata. We attempted to answer the following questions: (1) do medflies show lateralisation of aggressive displays at the population-level; (2) are there sex differences in lateralisation of aggressive displays; and (3) does lateralisation of aggression enhance fighting success? Results showed left-biased population-level lateralisation of aggressive displays, with no consistent differences among sexes. In both male-male and female-female conflicts, aggressive behaviours performed with left body parts led to greater fighting success than those performed with right body parts. As we found left-biased preferential use of body parts for both wing strikes and boxing, we predicted that the left foreleg/wing is quicker in exploring/striking than the right one. We characterised wing strike and boxing using high-speed videos, calculating mean velocity of aggressive displays. For both sexes, aggressive displays that led to success were faster than unsuccessful ones. However, left wing/legs were not faster than right ones while performing aggressive acts. Further research is needed on proximate causes allowing enhanced fighting success of lateralised aggressive behaviour. This is the first report supporting the adaptive role of lateralisation of aggressive displays in insects.
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The bacterial communities associated with honey bee (Apis mellifera foragers.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Vanessa Corby-Harris
Full Text Available The honey bee is a key pollinator species in decline worldwide. As part of a commercial operation, bee colonies are exposed to a variety of agricultural ecosystems throughout the year and a multitude of environmental variables that may affect the microbial balance of individuals and the hive. While many recent studies support the idea of a core microbiota in guts of younger in-hive bees, it is unknown whether this core is present in forager bees or the pollen they carry back to the hive. Additionally, several studies hypothesize that the foregut (crop, a key interface between the pollination environment and hive food stores, contains a set of 13 lactic acid bacteria (LAB that inoculate collected pollen and act in synergy to preserve pollen stores. Here, we used a combination of 454 based 16S rRNA gene sequencing of the microbial communities of forager guts, crops, and corbicular pollen and crop plate counts to show that (1 despite a very different diet, forager guts contain a core microbiota similar to that found in younger bees, (2 corbicular pollen contains a diverse community dominated by hive-specific, environmental or phyllosphere bacteria that are not prevalent in the gut or crop, and (3 the 13 LAB found in culture-based studies are not specific to the crop but are a small subset of midgut or hindgut specific bacteria identified in many recent 454 amplicon-based studies. The crop is dominated by Lactobacillus kunkeei, and Alpha 2.2 (Acetobacteraceae, highly osmotolerant and acid resistant bacteria found in stored pollen and honey. Crop taxa at low abundance include core hindgut bacteria in transit to their primary niche, and potential pathogens or food spoilage organisms seemingly vectored from the pollination environment. We conclude that the crop microbial environment is influenced by worker task, and may function in both decontamination and inoculation.
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Chem I Supplement: Bee Sting: The Chemistry of an Insect Venom.
O'Connor, Rod; Peck, Larry
1980-01-01
Considers various aspects of bee stings including the physical mechanism of the venom apparatus in the bee, categorization of physiological responses of nonprotected individuals to bee sting, chemical composition of bee venom and the mechanisms of venom action, and areas of interest in the synthesis of bee venom. (CS)
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Bee Venom Phospholipase A2: Yesterday's Enemy Becomes Today's Friend.
Lee, Gihyun; Bae, Hyunsu
2016-02-22
Bee venom therapy has been used to treat immune-related diseases such as arthritis for a long time. Recently, it has revealed that group III secretory phospholipase A2 from bee venom (bee venom group III sPLA2) has in vitro and in vivo immunomodulatory effects. A growing number of reports have demonstrated the therapeutic effects of bee venom group III sPLA2. Notably, new experimental data have shown protective immune responses of bee venom group III sPLA2 against a wide range of diseases including asthma, Parkinson's disease, and drug-induced organ inflammation. It is critical to evaluate the beneficial and adverse effects of bee venom group III sPLA2 because this enzyme is known to be the major allergen of bee venom that can cause anaphylactic shock. For many decades, efforts have been made to avoid its adverse effects. At high concentrations, exposure to bee venom group III sPLA2 can result in damage to cellular membranes and necrotic cell death. In this review, we summarized the current knowledge about the therapeutic effects of bee venom group III sPLA2 on several immunological diseases and described the detailed mechanisms of bee venom group III sPLA2 in regulating various immune responses and physiopathological changes.
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The sound and the fury--bees hiss when expecting danger.
Wehmann, Henja-Niniane; Gustav, David; Kirkerud, Nicholas H; Galizia, C Giovanni
2015-01-01
Honey bees are important model systems for the investigation of learning and memory and for a better understanding of the neuronal basics of brain function. Honey bees also possess a rich repertoire of tones and sounds, from queen piping and quacking to worker hissing and buzzing. In this study, we tested whether the worker bees' sounds can be used as a measure of learning. We therefore conditioned honey bees aversively to odours in a walking arena and recorded both their sound production and their movement. Bees were presented with two odours, one of which was paired with an electric shock. Initially, the bees did not produce any sound upon odour presentation, but responded to the electric shock with a strong hissing response. After learning, many bees hissed at the presentation of the learned odour, while fewer bees hissed upon presentation of another odour. We also found that hissing and movement away from the conditioned odour are independent behaviours that can co-occur but do not necessarily do so. Our data suggest that hissing can be used as a readout for learning after olfactory conditioning, but that there are large individual differences between bees concerning their hissing reaction. The basis for this variability and the possible ecological relevance of the bees' hissing remain to be investigated.
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Recovery Act: Water Heater ZigBee Open Standard Wireless Controller
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Butler, William P. [Emerson Electric Co., St. Louis, MO (United States); Buescher, Tom [Emerson Electric Co., St. Louis, MO (United States)
2014-04-30
The objective of Emerson's Water Heater ZigBee Open Standard Wireless Controller is to support the DOE's AARA priority for Clean, Secure Energy by designing a water heater control that levels out residential and small business peak electricity demand through thermal energy storage in the water heater tank.
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Optimizing ZigBee Security using Stochastic Model Checking
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Yuksel, Ender; Nielson, Hanne Riis; Nielson, Flemming
, we identify an important gap in the specification on key updates, and present a methodology for determining optimal key update policies and security parameters. We exploit the stochastic model checking approach using the probabilistic model checker PRISM, and assess the security needs for realistic......ZigBee is a fairly new but promising wireless sensor network standard that offers the advantages of simple and low resource communication. Nevertheless, security is of great concern to ZigBee, and enhancements are prescribed in the latest ZigBee specication: ZigBee-2007. In this technical report...
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Video Tracking Protocol to Screen Deterrent Chemistries for Honey Bees.
Larson, Nicholas R; Anderson, Troy D
2017-06-12
The European honey bee, Apis mellifera L., is an economically and agriculturally important pollinator that generates billions of dollars annually. Honey bee colony numbers have been declining in the United States and many European countries since 1947. A number of factors play a role in this decline, including the unintentional exposure of honey bees to pesticides. The development of new methods and regulations are warranted to reduce pesticide exposures to these pollinators. One approach is the use of repellent chemistries that deter honey bees from a recently pesticide-treated crop. Here, we describe a protocol to discern the deterrence of honey bees exposed to select repellent chemistries. Honey bee foragers are collected and starved overnight in an incubator 15 h prior to testing. Individual honey bees are placed into Petri dishes that have either a sugar-agarose cube (control treatment) or sugar-agarose-compound cube (repellent treatment) placed into the middle of the dish. The Petri dish serves as the arena that is placed under a camera in a light box to record the honey bee locomotor activities using video tracking software. A total of 8 control and 8 repellent treatments were analyzed for a 10 min period with each treatment was duplicated with new honey bees. Here, we demonstrate that honey bees are deterred from the sugar-agarose cubes with a compound treatment whereas honey bees are attracted to the sugar-agarose cubes without an added compound.
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... page: //medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002847.htm Bee poison To use the sharing features on this page, ... Time of the sting Location of the sting Poison Control Your local poison center can be reached ...
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Authoritative school climate, aggression toward teachers, and teacher distress in middle school.
Berg, Juliette K; Cornell, Dewey
2016-03-01
Aggression toward teachers is linked to burnout and disengagement from teaching, but a positive school climate may reduce aggression and associated teacher distress. Using authoritative school climate theory, the study examined whether schools with high disciplinary structure and student support were associated with less aggression and less distress. The sample of 9,134 teachers in 389 middle schools came from the Virginia Secondary School Climate Survey, a statewide survey administered to all public schools with 7th and 8th grade enrollment. The majority of teachers (75%) were female. More than half (53%) reported that they had more than 10 years of teaching experience; 23% reported 6 to 10 years; 24% reported 1 to 5 years. Students reported on the degree to which their schools were structured and supportive. Teachers reported on their experiences of aggression by students, their level of distress, and their feelings of safety. Staff-related infractions computed from Department of Education records were also used. Multilevel modeling revealed that teachers in authoritative schools experienced less aggression and felt safer and less distressed. Lower aggression by students mediated the association between more authoritative schools and lower distress such that more structured and supportive schools had greater teacher safety and, in turn, less distress. The findings support the idea that more structured and supportive schools relate to greater safety for teachers and, in turn, less distress. Research limitations and implications for practice are discussed. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).
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Ovarian control of nectar collection in the honey bee (Apis mellifera.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Adam J Siegel
Full Text Available Honey bees are a model system for the study of division of labor. Worker bees demonstrate a foraging division of labor (DOL by biasing collection towards carbohydrates (nectar or protein (pollen. The Reproductive ground-plan hypothesis of Amdam et al. proposes that foraging DOL is regulated by the networks that controlled foraging behavior during the reproductive life cycle of honey bee ancestors. Here we test a proposed mechanism through which the ovary of the facultatively sterile worker impacts foraging bias. The proposed mechanism suggests that the ovary has a regulatory effect on sucrose sensitivity, and sucrose sensitivity impacts nectar loading. We tested this mechanism by measuring worker ovary size (ovariole number, sucrose sensitivity, and sucrose solution load size collected from a rate-controlled artificial feeder. We found a significant interaction between ovariole number and sucrose sensitivity on sucrose solution load size when using low concentration nectar. This supports our proposed mechanism. As nectar and pollen loading are not independent, a mechanism impacting nectar load size would also impact pollen load size.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Aihui Shao
Full Text Available This study used the latent class analysis (LCA to identify and classify Chinese adolescent children's aggressive behaviors. It was found that (1 Adolescent children could be divided into four categories: general children, aggressive children, victimized children and aggressive victimized children. (2 There were significant gender differences among the aggressive victimized children, the aggressive children and the general children. Specifically, aggressive victimized children and aggressive children had greater probabilities of being boys; victimized children had equal probabilities of being boys or girls. (3 Significant differences in loneliness, depression, anxiety and academic achievement existed among the aggressive victims, the aggressor, the victims and the general children, in which the aggressive victims scored the worst in all questionnaires. (4 As protective factors, peer and teacher supports had important influences on children's aggressive and victimized behaviors. Relative to general children, aggressive victims, aggressive children and victimized children had lower probabilities of receiving peer supports. On the other hand, compared to general children, aggressive victims had lower probabilities of receiving teacher supports; while significant differences in the probability of receiving teacher supports did not exist between aggressive children and victimized children.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hyoung-Seok Yun
2000-07-01
Full Text Available In order to study Bee venom and Pain, We searched Journals and Internet. The results were as follows: 1. The domestic papers were total 13. 4 papers were published at The journal of korean acupuncture & moxibustion society, 3 papers were published at The journal of korean oriental medical society, Each The journal of KyoungHee University Oriental Medicine and The journal of korean sports oriental medical society published 1 papers and Unpublished desertations were 3. The clinical studies were 4 and the experimental studies were 9. 2. The domestic clinical studies reported that Bee venom Herbal Acupuncture therapy was effective on HIVD, Subacute arthritis of Knee Joint and Sequale of sprain. In the domestic experimental studies, 5 were related to analgesic effect of Bee vnom and 4 were related to mechanism of analgesia. 3. The journals searched by PubMed were total 18. 5 papers were published at Pain, Each 2 papers were published at Neurosci Lett. and Br J Pharmacol, and Each Eur J Pain, J Rheumatol, Brain Res, Neuroscience, Nature and Toxicon et al published 1 paper. 4. In the journals searched by PubMed, Only the experimental studies were existed. 8 papers used Bee Venom as pain induction substance and 1 paper was related to analgesic effects of Bee venom. 5. 15 webpage were searched by internet related to Bee Venom and pain. 11 were the introduction related to arthritis, 1 was the advertisement, 1 was the patient's experience, 1 was the case report on RA, 1 was review article.
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Management of Corneal Bee Sting Injuries.
Rai, Ruju R; Gonzalez-Gonzalez, Luis A; Papakostas, Thanos D; Siracuse-Lee, Donna; Dunphy, Robert; Fanciullo, Lisa; Cakiner-Egilmez, Tulay; Daly, Mary K
2017-01-01
To review the management of keratitis after corneal bee stings and to report a case of deep stromal corneal infiltrate secondary to a retained bee stinger managed conservatively in a patient who presented three days after unsanitary manipulation of the stinger apparatus. Case report and review of literature. A 57-year-old male beekeeper was evaluated for pain, blurry vision, and photosensitivity after a corneal bee sting. Of note, the venom sac had been removed with dirty tweezers three days prior to his visit. On exam, a focal infiltrate with diffuse edema was seen surrounding a retained bee stinger in the peripheral cornea. Trace cells in the anterior chamber were also noted. Based on a high suspicion for infectious keratitis, a conservative treatment strategy was elected. Administration of broad-spectrum topical antibiotics with concomitant abstention of corticosteroids led to rapid resolution of the symptoms. Over 16 months of follow-up, the stinger has remained in situ without migration and the patient has maintained 20/20 visual acuity without complications. There is debate on the preferred method for the management of corneal injury secondary to bee stings, especially when it is associated with a retained stinger. We herein present our findings in our appraisal of reported cases. In the aftermath of an ocular bee sting, close surveillance for inflammation and infection is essential. Individual manifestations of these injuries vary in timing, type, and severity; therefore, the accessibility of the stinger and the evolving clinical picture should guide therapeutic decisions.
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Hackett, Erla
This guide is designed to provide elementary school teachers with safe learning activities concerning bees and wasps. The following topics are included: (1) the importance of a positive teacher attitude towards bees and wasps; (2) special problems posed by paper wasps; (3) what to do when a child is bothered by a wasp; (4) what to do if a wasp…
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Comparative bioacoustical studies on flight and buzzing of neotropical bees
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Andreas Burkart
2012-01-01
Full Text Available The presence of bees is typically accompanied by the humming sound of their flight. Bees of several tribes are also capable of pollen collecting by vibration, known as buzzing behaviour, which produces a buzzing sound, different from the flight sound. An open question is whether bee species have species-specific buzzing patterns or frequencies dependent of the bees' morphology or are capable to adjust their indivudual buzzing sound to optimize pollen return. The investigations to approach this issue were performed in northeastern Brazil near Recife in the state of Pernambuco. We present a new field method using a commercially available portable system able to record the sound of bees during flight and buzzing at flowers. Further, we describe computer linguistical algorithms to analyse the frequency of the recorded sound sequences. With this method, we recorded the flight and buzzing sequences of 59 individual bees out of 12 species visiting the flowers of Solanum stramoniifolium and S. paniculatum. Our findings demonstrate a typical frequency range for the sounds produced by the bees of a species. Our statistical analysis shows a strong correlation of bee size and flight frequency and demonstrate that bee species use different frequency patterns.
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Media Violence and Other Aggression Risk Factors in Seven Nations.
Anderson, Craig A; Suzuki, Kanae; Swing, Edward L; Groves, Christopher L; Gentile, Douglas A; Prot, Sara; Lam, Chun Pan; Sakamoto, Akira; Horiuchi, Yukiko; Krahé, Barbara; Jelic, Margareta; Liuqing, Wei; Toma, Roxana; Warburton, Wayne A; Zhang, Xue-Min; Tajima, Sachi; Qing, Feng; Petrescu, Poesis
2017-07-01
Cultural generality versus specificity of media violence effects on aggression was examined in seven countries (Australia, China, Croatia, Germany, Japan, Romania, the United States). Participants reported aggressive behaviors, media use habits, and several other known risk and protective factors for aggression. Across nations, exposure to violent screen media was positively associated with aggression. This effect was partially mediated by aggressive cognitions and empathy. The media violence effect on aggression remained significant even after statistically controlling a number of relevant risk and protective factors (e.g., abusive parenting, peer delinquency), and was similar in magnitude to effects of other risk factors. In support of the cumulative risk model, joint effects of different risk factors on aggressive behavior in each culture were larger than effects of any individual risk factor.
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Toledo-Hernández, R A; Ruíz-Toledo, J; Toledo, J; Sánchez, D
2016-05-04
Development of alternative strategies for pest control with reduced effect on beneficial organisms is a priority given the increasing global loss of biodiversity. Biological control with entomopathogenic fungi arises as a viable option to control insect pests. However, few studies have focused on the consequences of using these organisms on pollinators other than the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) or bumble bees (Bombus spp). We evaluated the pathogenicity of commercial formulations of three widely used entomopathogenic fungi, Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschnikoff) Sorokin, Beauveria bassiana Vuillemin, and Isaria fumosorosea (Wize), to three species of stingless bees: Tetragonisca angustula Latreille, Scaptotrigona mexicana Guérin-Meneville, and Melipona beecheii Bennett. Bioassays consisted of exposing groups of bees to the recommended field concentration of each fungus using a microspray tower under laboratory conditions. Susceptibility to fungi varied greatly among species. Isaria fumosorosea (strain Ifu-lu 01) and the two formulations of B. bassiana (Bea-TNK and BotanicGard) caused entomopathogenic fungi on stingless bees, further field studies are required to support this finding. © The Authors 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.
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Physiology and biochemistry of honey bees
Despite their tremendous economic importance, honey bees are not a typical model system for studying general questions of insect physiology. This is primarily due to the fact that honey bees live in complex social settings which impact their physiological and biochemical characteristics. Not surpris...
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Meeting wild bees' needs on rangelands
Some arid rangeland regions, notably those with warm dry climates of the temperate zones, host great diversities of native bees, primarily non-social species among which are many floral specialists. Rangeland bee faunas are threatened indirectly by invasive exotic weeds wherever these displace nat...
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Bee bread - perspective source of bioactive compounds for future
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Eva Ivanišová
2015-12-01
Full Text Available Bee bread is product with long history used mainly in folk medicine. Nowadays, bee bread is growing in commercial interest due to its high nutritional properties. The objective of this study was to determine biological activity of ethanolic extract of bee bread obtained from selected region of Ukraine - Poltava oblast, Kirovohrad oblast, Vinnica oblast, Kyiv oblast, Dnepropetrovsk oblast. The antioxidant activity was measured with the radical scavenging assays using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH radical as well as phosphomolybdenum assay. Total polyphenol content was determined with Folin-Ciocalteau reagent and total flavonoid content by aluminium-chloride method. Secondary was also evaluated antimicrobial activity in bee bread samples with disc diffusion method and minimum inhibitory concentrations. Antioxidant activity expressed as mg TEAC per g of dry weight (Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity was the highest in bee bread from Poltava oblast in DPPH and also phosphomolybdenum method. Samples of bee bread contained high levels of total polyphenols (12.36 - 18.24 mg GAE - gallic acid equivalent per g of dry weight and flavonoids (13.56 - 18.24 μg QE - quercetin equivalent per g of dry weight with the best values of bee bread from Poltava oblast. An elevated level of antioxidant potential in the bee bread determines its biological properties, which conditioned of the biological active substances. The best antibacterial activity of bee bred with disc diffusion method was found against Bacillus thuringiensis CCM 19. The antibacterial activity inhibited by the bee bread extract in the present study indicate that best minimal inhibition concentration was against bacteria Escherichia coli CCM 3988 and Salmonella enterica subs. enterica CCM 3807.
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Climate change: impact on honey bee populations and diseases.
Le Conte, Y; Navajas, M
2008-08-01
The European honey bee, Apis mellifera, is the most economically valuable pollinator of agricultural crops worldwide. Bees are also crucial in maintaining biodiversity by pollinating numerous plant species whose fertilisation requires an obligatory pollinator. Apis mellifera is a species that has shown great adaptive potential, as it is found almost everywhere in the world and in highly diverse climates. In a context of climate change, the variability of the honey bee's life-history traits as regards temperature and the environment shows that the species possesses such plasticity and genetic variability that this could give rise to the selection of development cycles suited to new environmental conditions. Although we do not know the precise impact of potential environmental changes on honey bees as a result of climate change, there is a large body of data at our disposal indicating that environmental changes have a direct influence on honey bee development. In this article, the authors examine the potential impact of climate change on honey bee behaviour, physiology and distribution, as well as on the evolution of the honey bee's interaction with diseases. Conservation measures will be needed to prevent the loss of this rich genetic diversity of honey bees and to preserve ecotypes that are so valuable for world biodiversity.
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Honey Bee Infecting Lake Sinai Viruses.
Daughenbaugh, Katie F; Martin, Madison; Brutscher, Laura M; Cavigli, Ian; Garcia, Emma; Lavin, Matt; Flenniken, Michelle L
2015-06-23
Honey bees are critical pollinators of important agricultural crops. Recently, high annual losses of honey bee colonies have prompted further investigation of honey bee infecting viruses. To better characterize the recently discovered and very prevalent Lake Sinai virus (LSV) group, we sequenced currently circulating LSVs, performed phylogenetic analysis, and obtained images of LSV2. Sequence analysis resulted in extension of the LSV1 and LSV2 genomes, the first detection of LSV4 in the US, and the discovery of LSV6 and LSV7. We detected LSV1 and LSV2 in the Varroa destructor mite, and determined that a large proportion of LSV2 is found in the honey bee gut, suggesting that vector-mediated, food-associated, and/or fecal-oral routes may be important for LSV dissemination. Pathogen-specific quantitative PCR data, obtained from samples collected during a small-scale monitoring project, revealed that LSV2, LSV1, Black queen cell virus (BQCV), and Nosema ceranae were more abundant in weak colonies than strong colonies within this sample cohort. Together, these results enhance our current understanding of LSVs and illustrate the importance of future studies aimed at investigating the role of LSVs and other pathogens on honey bee health at both the individual and colony levels.
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Honey Bee Infecting Lake Sinai Viruses
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Katie F. Daughenbaugh
2015-06-01
Full Text Available Honey bees are critical pollinators of important agricultural crops. Recently, high annual losses of honey bee colonies have prompted further investigation of honey bee infecting viruses. To better characterize the recently discovered and very prevalent Lake Sinai virus (LSV group, we sequenced currently circulating LSVs, performed phylogenetic analysis, and obtained images of LSV2. Sequence analysis resulted in extension of the LSV1 and LSV2 genomes, the first detection of LSV4 in the US, and the discovery of LSV6 and LSV7. We detected LSV1 and LSV2 in the Varroa destructor mite, and determined that a large proportion of LSV2 is found in the honey bee gut, suggesting that vector-mediated, food-associated, and/or fecal-oral routes may be important for LSV dissemination. Pathogen-specific quantitative PCR data, obtained from samples collected during a small-scale monitoring project, revealed that LSV2, LSV1, Black queen cell virus (BQCV, and Nosema ceranae were more abundant in weak colonies than strong colonies within this sample cohort. Together, these results enhance our current understanding of LSVs and illustrate the importance of future studies aimed at investigating the role of LSVs and other pathogens on honey bee health at both the individual and colony levels.
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The sound and the fury--bees hiss when expecting danger.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Henja-Niniane Wehmann
Full Text Available Honey bees are important model systems for the investigation of learning and memory and for a better understanding of the neuronal basics of brain function. Honey bees also possess a rich repertoire of tones and sounds, from queen piping and quacking to worker hissing and buzzing. In this study, we tested whether the worker bees' sounds can be used as a measure of learning. We therefore conditioned honey bees aversively to odours in a walking arena and recorded both their sound production and their movement. Bees were presented with two odours, one of which was paired with an electric shock. Initially, the bees did not produce any sound upon odour presentation, but responded to the electric shock with a strong hissing response. After learning, many bees hissed at the presentation of the learned odour, while fewer bees hissed upon presentation of another odour. We also found that hissing and movement away from the conditioned odour are independent behaviours that can co-occur but do not necessarily do so. Our data suggest that hissing can be used as a readout for learning after olfactory conditioning, but that there are large individual differences between bees concerning their hissing reaction. The basis for this variability and the possible ecological relevance of the bees' hissing remain to be investigated.
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Nutritional status influences socially regulated foraging ontogeny in honey bees.
Toth, Amy L; Kantarovich, Sara; Meisel, Adam F; Robinson, Gene E
2005-12-01
In many social insects, including honey bees, worker energy reserve levels are correlated with task performance in the colony. Honey bee nest workers have abundant stored lipid and protein while foragers are depleted of these reserves; this depletion precedes the shift from nest work to foraging. The first objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that lipid depletion has a causal effect on the age at onset of foraging in honey bees (Apis mellifera L.). We found that bees treated with a fatty acid synthesis inhibitor (TOFA) were more likely to forage precociously. The second objective of this study was to determine whether there is a relationship between social interactions, nutritional state and behavioral maturation. Since older bees are known to inhibit the development of young bees into foragers, we asked whether this effect is mediated nutritionally via the passage of food from old to young bees. We found that bees reared in social isolation have low lipid stores, but social inhibition occurs in colonies in the field, whether young bees are starved or fed. These results indicate that although social interactions affect the nutritional status of young bees, social and nutritional factors act independently to influence age at onset of foraging. Our findings suggest that mechanisms linking internal nutritional physiology to foraging in solitary insects have been co-opted to regulate altruistic foraging in a social context.
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Does Humor Explain Why Relationally Aggressive Adolescents Are Popular?
Bowker, Julie C.; Etkin, Rebecca G.
2013-01-01
The association between relational aggression and popularity during early adolescence is well established. Yet, little is known about why, exactly, relationally aggressive young adolescents are able to achieve and maintain high popular status among peers. The present study investigated the mediating role of humor in the association between relational aggression and popularity during early adolescence. Also considered was whether the association between relational aggression and humor varies according to adolescents’ gender and their friends’ levels of relational aggression. Participants were 265 sixth-grade students (48% female; 41% racial/ethnic minority; Mage = 12.04 years) who completed peer nomination and friendship measures in their classrooms at two time points (Wave 1: February; Wave 2: May). The results indicated that Wave 1 relational aggression was related to Wave 1 and 2 popularity indirectly through Wave 1 humor, after accounting for the effects of Wave 1 physical aggression, ethnicity, and gender. Additional analyses showed that relational aggression and humor were related significantly only for boys and for young adolescents with highly relationally aggressive friends. The results support the need for further research on humor and aggression during early adolescence and other mechanisms by which relationally aggressive youth achieve high popular status. PMID:24136377
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Dickson, Daniel J.; Richmond, Ashley; Brendgen, Mara; Vitaro, Frank; Laursen, Brett; Dionne, Ginette; Boivin, Michel
2015-01-01
The present study examined sibling influence over reactive and proactive aggression in a sample of 452 same-sex twins (113 male dyads, 113 female dyads). Between and within siblings influence processes were examined as a function of relative levels of parental coercion and hostility to test the hypothesis that aggression contagion between twins occurs only among dyads who experience parental coerciveness. Teacher reports of reactive and proactive aggression were collected for each twin in kindergarten (M = 6.04 years; SD = 0.27) and in first grade (M = 7.08 years; SD = 0.27). Families were divided into relatively low, average, and relatively high parental coercion-hostility groups on the basis of maternal reports collected when the children were 5 years old. In families with relatively high levels of parental coercion-hostility, there was evidence of between-sibling influence, such that one twin’s reactive aggression at age 6 predicted increases in the other twin’s reactive aggression from ages 6 to 7, and one twin’s proactive aggression at age 6 predicted increases in the other twin’s proactive aggression from ages 6 to 7. There was also evidence of within-sibling influence such that a child’s level of reactive aggression at age 6 predicted increases in the same child’s proactive aggression at age 7, regardless of parental coercion-hostility. The findings provide new information about the etiology of reactive and proactive aggression and individual differences in their developmental interplay. PMID:25683448
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Selenium toxicity to honey bee (Apis mellifera L. pollinators: effects on behaviors and survival.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Kristen R Hladun
Full Text Available We know very little about how soil-borne pollutants such as selenium (Se can impact pollinators, even though Se has contaminated soils and plants in areas where insect pollination can be critical to the functioning of both agricultural and natural ecosystems. Se can be biotransferred throughout the food web, but few studies have examined its effects on the insects that feed on Se-accumulating plants, particularly pollinators. In laboratory bioassays, we used proboscis extension reflex (PER and taste perception to determine if the presence of Se affected the gustatory response of honey bee (Apis mellifera L., Hymenoptera: Apidae foragers. Antennae and proboscises were stimulated with both organic (selenomethionine and inorganic (selenate forms of Se that commonly occur in Se-accumulating plants. Methionine was also tested. Each compound was dissolved in 1 M sucrose at 5 concentrations, with sucrose alone as a control. Antennal stimulation with selenomethionine and methionine reduced PER at higher concentrations. Selenate did not reduce gustatory behaviors. Two hours after being fed the treatments, bees were tested for sucrose response threshold. Bees fed selenate responded less to sucrose stimulation. Mortality was higher in bees chronically dosed with selenate compared with a single dose. Selenomethionine did not increase mortality except at the highest concentration. Methionine did not significantly impact survival. Our study has shown that bees fed selenate were less responsive to sucrose, which may lead to a reduction in incoming floral resources needed to support coworkers and larvae in the field. If honey bees forage on nectar containing Se (particularly selenate, reductions in population numbers may occur due to direct toxicity. Given that honey bees are willing to consume food resources containing Se and may not avoid Se compounds in the plant tissues on which they are foraging, they may suffer similar adverse effects as seen in other
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Assessing grooming behavior of Russian honey bees toward Varroa destructor.
The grooming behavior of Russian bees was compared to Italian bees. Overall, Russian bees had significantly lower numbers of mites than the Italian bees with a mean of 1,937 ± 366 and 5,088 ± 733 mites, respectively. This low mite population in the Russian colonies was probably due to the increased ...
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A review of ecosystem service benefits from wild bees across social contexts.
Matias, Denise Margaret S; Leventon, Julia; Rau, Anna-Lena; Borgemeister, Christian; von Wehrden, Henrik
2017-05-01
In order to understand the role of wild bees in both social and ecological systems, we conducted a quantitative and qualitative review of publications dealing with wild bees and the benefits they provide in social contexts. We classified publications according to several attributes such as services and benefits derived from wild bees, types of bee-human interactions, recipients of direct benefits, social contexts where wild bees are found, and sources of changes to the bee-human system. We found that most of the services and benefits from wild bees are related to food, medicine, and pollination. We also found that wild bees directly provide benefits to communities to a greater extent than individuals. In the social contexts where they are found, wild bees occupy a central role. Several drivers of change affect bee-human systems, ranging from environmental to political drivers. These are the areas where we recommend making interventions for conserving the bee-human system.
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Proteomic analysis of africanized bee venom: a comparison of protein extraction methods
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Yessica Pineda Guerra
2016-09-01
Full Text Available The Africanised bee is the most common type of bee in Colombia, and therapeutic properties for different diseases have been attributed to its venom, without much scientific support. A literature search of reports on the proteomic analysis of honeybee venom yielded four different methods for extracting proteins from bee venom. The first method consists in resuspending the venom in 7 M Urea, followed by precipitation with acetone and finally resuspending the pellet in 7 M Urea and 4 % CHAPS. For the second method, the venom is resuspended in lysis buffer, precipitated with trichloroacetic acid, and then resuspended in 7 M Urea and 4 % CHAPS. The third method is similar to the previous one, except that the precipitation step is performed with acetone instead of trichloroacetic acid. Finally, the fourth method is to resuspend the venom in distilled water, precipitate with acetone and resuspend in 7 M Urea and 4 % CHAPS. This work focused on comparing the performance of these four extraction methods, in order to determine the method with the best results in terms of concentration and integrity of the proteins obtained. Of the four methods evaluated, the best results in terms of protein concentration and yield were obtained by resuspending the bee venom in lysis buffer followed by precipitation with acetone (method 3, and by resuspending in distilled water followed by precipitation with acetone (method 4. Of these, the method that maintained protein integrity and yielded the best proteomic profile was that in which the bee venom was resuspended in lysis buffer followed by precipitation with acetone (method 3.
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Glaum, Paul; Simao, Maria-Carolina; Vaidya, Chatura; Fitch, Gordon; Iulinao, Benjamin
2017-05-01
Native bee populations are critical sources of pollination. Unfortunately, native bees are declining in abundance and diversity. Much of this decline comes from human land-use change. While the effects of large-scale agriculture on native bees are relatively well understood, the effects of urban development are less clear. Understanding urbanity's effect on native bees requires consideration of specific characteristics of both particular bee species and their urban landscape. We surveyed bumble-bee ( Bombus spp.) abundance and diversity in gardens across multiple urban centres in southeastern Michigan. There are significant declines in Bombus abundance and diversity associated with urban development when measured on scales in-line with Bombus flight ability. These declines are entirely driven by declines in females; males showed no response to urbanization. We hypothesize that this is owing to differing foraging strategies between the sexes, and it suggests reduced Bombus colony density in more urban areas. While urbanity reduced Bombus prevalence, results in Detroit imply that 'shrinking cities' potentially offer unique urban paradigms that must be considered when studying wild bee ecology. Results show previously unidentified differences in the effects of urbanity on female and male bumble-bee populations and suggest that urban landscapes can be managed to support native bee conservation.
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Liu, Y; Yan, L; Li, Z; Huang, W-F; Pokhrel, S; Liu, X; Su, S
2016-06-01
Chalkbrood is a disease affecting honey bees that seriously impairs brood growth and productivity of diseased colonies. Although honey bees can develop chalkbrood resistance naturally, the details underlying the mechanisms of resistance are not fully understood, and no easy method is currently available for selecting and breeding resistant bees. Finding the genes involved in the development of resistance and identifying single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that can be used as molecular markers of resistance is therefore a high priority. We conducted genome resequencing to compare resistant (Res) and susceptible (Sus) larvae that were selected following in vitro chalkbrood inoculation. Twelve genomic libraries, including 14.4 Gb of sequence data, were analysed using SNP-finding algorithms. Unique SNPs derived from chromosomes 2 and 11 were analysed in this study. SNPs from resistant individuals were confirmed by PCR and Sanger sequencing using in vitro reared larvae and resistant colonies. We found strong support for an association between the C allele at SNP C2587245T and chalkbrood resistance. SNP C2587245T may be useful as a genetic marker for the selection of chalkbrood resistance and high royal jelly production honey bee lines, thereby helping to minimize the negative effects of chalkbrood on managed honey bees. © 2016 The Royal Entomological Society.
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Niolon, Phyllis Holditch; Kuperminc, Gabriel P; Allen, Joseph P
2015-04-01
This multi-method, longitudinal study examines the negotiation of autonomy and relatedness between teens and their mothers as etiologic predictors of perpetration and victimization of dating aggression two years later. Observations of 88 mid-adolescents and their mothers discussing a topic of disagreement were coded for each individual's demonstrations of autonomy and relatedness using a validated coding system. Adolescents self-reported on perpetration and victimization of physical and psychological dating aggression two years later. We hypothesized that mother's and adolescents' behaviors supporting autonomy and relatedness would longitudinally predict lower reporting of dating aggression, and that their behaviors inhibiting autonomy and relatedness would predict higher reporting of dating aggression. Hypotheses were not supported; main findings were characterized by interactions of sex and risk status with autonomy. Maternal behaviors supporting autonomy predicted higher reports of perpetration and victimization of physical dating aggression for girls, but not for boys. Adolescent behaviors supporting autonomy predicted higher reports of perpetration of physical dating aggression for high-risk adolescents, but not for low-risk adolescents. Results indicate that autonomy is a dynamic developmental process, operating differently as a function of social contexts in predicting dating aggression. Examination of these and other developmental processes within parent-child relationships is important in predicting dating aggression, but may depend on social context.
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Liu, Yihao; Wang, Mo; Chang, Chu-Hsiang; Shi, Junqi; Zhou, Le; Shao, Ruodan
2015-05-01
Taking a resource-based self-regulation perspective, this study examined afternoon emotional exhaustion as a mediator linking the within-person relations between morning work-family conflict and later employee displaced aggression in the work and family domains. In addition, it examined resource-related contextual factors as moderators of these relations. The theoretical model was tested using daily diary data from 125 employees. Data were collected at 4 time points during each workday for 3 consecutive weeks. Multilevel modeling analysis showed that morning family-to-work conflict was positively related to afternoon emotional exhaustion, which in turn predicted displaced aggression toward supervisors and coworkers in the afternoon and displaced aggression toward family members in the evening. In addition, morning workplace interpersonal conflict exacerbated the impact of morning work-to-family conflict on afternoon emotional exhaustion, whereas perceived managerial family support alleviated the impact of morning family-to-work conflict on afternoon emotional exhaustion. These findings indicate the importance of adopting a self-regulation perspective to understand work-family conflict at work and its consequences (i.e., displaced aggression) in both work and family domains. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.
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Boys’ and Girls’ Relational and Physical Aggression in Nine Countries
Lansford, Jennifer E.; Skinner, Ann T.; Sorbring, Emma; Di Giunta, Laura; Deater-Deckard, Kirby; Dodge, Kenneth A.; Malone, Patrick S.; Oburu, Paul; Pastorelli, Concetta; Tapanya, Sombat; Tirado, Liliana Maria Uribe; Zelli, Arnaldo; Al-Hassan, Suha M.; Alampay, Liane Peña; Bacchini, Dario; Bombi, Anna Silvia; Bornstein, Marc H.; Chang, Lei
2012-01-01
Distinguishing between relational and physical aggression has become a key feature of many developmental studies in North America and Western Europe, but very little information is available on relational aggression in more diverse cultural contexts. This study examined the factor structure of, gender differences in, and associations between relational and physical aggression in China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and the United States. Children ages 7 to 10 years (N = 1410) reported on their relationally and physically aggressive behavior. Relational and physical aggression shared a common factor structure across countries. Unsurprisingly, boys reported being more physically aggressive than girls across all nine countries; surprisingly, there were no significant gender differences in relational aggression. In all nine countries, relational and physical aggression were significantly correlated (average r = .49). The countries differed significantly in the mean levels of both relational and physical aggression that children reported using and with respect to whether children reported using more physical than relational aggression or more relational than physical aggression. Despite mean level differences in relational and physical aggression across countries, the findings provided support for cross-country similarities in associations between relational and physical aggression, as well as links between gender and aggression. PMID:23935227
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Entomology: A Bee Farming a Fungus.
Oldroyd, Benjamin P; Aanen, Duur K
2015-11-16
Farming is done not only by humans, but also by some ant, beetle and termite species. With the discovery of a stingless bee farming a fungus that provides benefits to its larvae, bees can be added to this list. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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The Impact of Pesticides on Honey Bees and Hence on Humans
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Antonina Jivan
2013-05-01
Full Text Available Bee crisis is threatening global food security, given the fact that one third of global agricultural production relies on pollination, especially that of honey bees. Despite their importance for human being, honey bees die with alarming speed. In recent years, in Europe and America, due to pollution, pesticides and neglect there was registered an unprecedented rate of disappearance of honey bees. Einstein's theory, the fact that once the bees cease to exist, humanity has only four years to extinction, seems now truer than ever. Thus, the issue has gained a tone of maximum urgency; the bee crisis can entirely shatter the world food security, already affected by the economic crisis. There are plenty of factors that could cause honey bee population decline: disease, parasites, climatic factors (high temperature, drought or decrease in the diversity of honey flora. It may sometimes happen that the beekeeper himself causes the poisoning of his honey bees, use inappropriate products which should protect the honey bees. It is therefore possible to imagine a multi-factorial explanation of problems encountered by honey bees and to underestimate the key role of pesticides. Considering these, a review of the impact of pesticides on honey bees should not be superfluous.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Judy Y Wu
Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Numerous surveys reveal high levels of pesticide residue contamination in honey bee comb. We conducted studies to examine possible direct and indirect effects of pesticide exposure from contaminated brood comb on developing worker bees and adult worker lifespan. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Worker bees were reared in brood comb containing high levels of known pesticide residues (treatment or in relatively uncontaminated brood comb (control. Delayed development was observed in bees reared in treatment combs containing high levels of pesticides particularly in the early stages (day 4 and 8 of worker bee development. Adult longevity was reduced by 4 days in bees exposed to pesticide residues in contaminated brood comb during development. Pesticide residue migration from comb containing high pesticide residues caused contamination of control comb after multiple brood cycles and provided insight on how quickly residues move through wax. Higher brood mortality and delayed adult emergence occurred after multiple brood cycles in contaminated control combs. In contrast, survivability increased in bees reared in treatment comb after multiple brood cycles when pesticide residues had been reduced in treatment combs due to residue migration into uncontaminated control combs, supporting comb replacement efforts. Chemical analysis after the experiment confirmed the migration of pesticide residues from treatment combs into previously uncontaminated control comb. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This study is the first to demonstrate sub-lethal effects on worker honey bees from pesticide residue exposure from contaminated brood comb. Sub-lethal effects, including delayed larval development and adult emergence or shortened adult longevity, can have indirect effects on the colony such as premature shifts in hive roles and foraging activity. In addition, longer development time for bees may provide a reproductive advantage for parasitic Varroa destructor
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Relational aggression: The voices of primary school learners | Botha ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
South African Journal of Education ... Curtailing relational aggression has the possibility of reducing other forms of aggression in schools and will enhance the creation of effective teaching-learning environments that are conducive to teaching and learning that will support the task of schooling, which is the socialisation of ...
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Zheng, Bo-Ying; Cao, Li-Jun; Tang, Pu; van Achterberg, Kees; Hoffmann, Ary A; Chen, Hua-Yan; Chen, Xue-Xin; Wei, Shu-Jun
2018-07-01
The Apoidea represent a large and common superfamily of the Hymenoptera including the bees and sphecid wasps. A robust phylogenetic tree is essential to understanding the diversity, taxonomy and evolution of the Apoidea. In this study, features of apoid mitochondrial genomes were used to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships. Twelve apoid mitochondrial genomes were newly sequenced, representing six families and nine subfamilies. Gene rearrangement events have occurred in all apoid mitochondrial genomes sequenced to date. Sphecid wasps have both tRNA and protein-coding gene rearrangements in 5 of 8 species. In bees, the only rearranged genes are tRNAs; long-tongued bees (Apidae + Megachilidae) are characterized by movement of trnA to the trnI-trnQ-trnM tRNA cluster. Phylogenetic analyses of mitochondrial gene sequences support the known paraphyly of sphecid wasps, with bees nested within this clade. The Ampulicidae is sister to the remaining Apoidea. Crabronidae is paraphyletic, split into Crabronidae s.s. and Philanthidae, with the latter group a sister clade to bees. The monophyletic bees are either classified into two clades, long-tongued bees (Apidae + Megachilidae) and short-tongued bees (Andrenidae + Halictidae + Colletidae + Melitidae), or three groups with the Melitidae sister to the other bees. Our study showed that both gene sequences and arrangements provide information on the phylogeny of apoid families. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Authoritative School Climate, Aggression toward Teachers, and Teacher Distress in Middle School
Berg, Juliette K.; Cornell, Dewey
2016-01-01
Aggression toward teachers is linked to burnout and disengagement from teaching, but a positive school climate may reduce aggression and associated teacher distress. Using authoritative school climate theory, the study examined whether schools with high disciplinary structure and student support were associated with less aggression and less…
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Invasion of Varroa mites into honey bee brood cells
Boot, W.J.
1995-01-01
The parasitic mite Varroa-jacobsoni is one of the most serious pests of Western honey bees, Apis mellifera. The mites parasitize adult bees, but reproduction only occurs while parasitizing on honey bee brood. Invasion into a
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The habitat disruption induces immune-suppression and oxidative stress in honey bees
Morimoto, Tomomi; Kojima, Yuriko; Toki, Taku; Komeda, Yayoi; Yoshiyama, Mikio; Kimura, Kiyoshi; Nirasawa, Keijiro; Kadowaki, Tatsuhiko
2011-01-01
The honey bee is a major insect used for pollination of many commercial crops worldwide. Although the use of honey bees for pollination can disrupt the habitat, the effects on their physiology have never been determined. Recently, honey bee colonies have often collapsed when introduced in greenhouses for pollination in Japan. Thus, suppressing colony collapses and maintaining the number of worker bees in the colonies is essential for successful long-term pollination in greenhouses and recycling of honey bee colonies. To understand the physiological states of honey bees used for long-term pollination in greenhouses, we characterized their gene expression profiles by microarray. We found that the greenhouse environment changes the gene expression profiles and induces immune-suppression and oxidative stress in honey bees. In fact, the increase of the number of Nosema microsporidia and protein carbonyl content was observed in honey bees during pollination in greenhouses. Thus, honey bee colonies are likely to collapse during pollination in greenhouses when heavily infested with pathogens. Degradation of honey bee habitat by changing the outside environment of the colony, during pollination services for example, imposes negative impacts on honey bees. Thus, worldwide use of honey bees for crop pollination in general could be one of reasons for the decline of managed honey bee colonies. PMID:22393496
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Vegetation Management and Host Density Influence Bee-Parasite Interactions in Urban Gardens.
Cohen, Hamutahl; Quistberg, Robyn D; Philpott, Stacy M
2017-12-08
Apocephalus borealis phorid flies, a parasitoid of bumble bees and yellow jacket wasps in North America, was recently reported as a novel parasitoid of the honey bee Apis mellifera Linnaeus (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Little is known about the ecology of this interaction, including phorid fecundity on bee hosts, whether phorid-bee parasitism is density dependent, and which local habitat and landscape features may correlate with changes in parasitism rates for either bumble or honey bees. We examined the impact of local and landscape drivers and host abundance on phorid parasitism of A. mellifera and the bumble bee Bombus vosnesenskii Radoszkowski (Hymenoptera: Apidae). We worked in 19 urban gardens along the North-Central Coast of California, where phorid parasitism of honey bees was first reported in 2012. We collected and incubated bees for phorid emergence, and surveyed local vegetation, ground cover, and floral characteristics as well as land cover types surrounding gardens. We found that phorid parasitism was higher on bumble bees than on honey bees, and phorids produced nearly twice as many pupae on individual bumble bee hosts than on honey bee hosts. Parasitism of both bumble and honey bees increased with abundance of honey bees in a site. Differences in landscape surroundings did not correlate with parasitism, but local factors related to bee resource provisioning (e.g., tree and shrub abundance) positively correlated with increased parasitism. This research thus helps to document and describe conditions that may have facilitated phorid fly host shift to honey bees and further elucidate how resource provisioning in urban gardens influences bee-parasite interactions. © The Authors 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
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Anti-arthritic effects of microneedling with bee venom gel
Mengdi Zhao; Jie Bai; Yang Lu; Shouying Du; Kexin Shang; Pengyue Li; Liu Yang; Boyu Dong; Ning Tan
2016-01-01
Objective: To combine with transdermal drug delivery using microneedle to simulate the bee venom therapy to evaluate the permeation of bee venom gel. Methods: In this study, the sodium urate and LPS were used on rats and mice to construct the model. Bee venom gel–microneedle combination effect on the model is to determine the role of microneedle gel permeation by observing inflammation factors. Results: Compared with the model group, the bee venom gel–microneedle combination group can r...
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Bee species diversity enhances productivity and stability in a perennial crop.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Shelley R Rogers
Full Text Available Wild bees provide important pollination services to agroecoystems, but the mechanisms which underlie their contribution to ecosystem functioning--and, therefore, their importance in maintaining and enhancing these services-remain unclear. We evaluated several mechanisms through which wild bees contribute to crop productivity, the stability of pollinator visitation, and the efficiency of individual pollinators in a highly bee-pollination dependent plant, highbush blueberry. We surveyed the bee community (through transect sampling and pan trapping and measured pollination of both open- and singly-visited flowers. We found that the abundance of managed honey bees, Apis mellifera, and wild-bee richness were equally important in describing resulting open pollination. Wild-bee richness was a better predictor of pollination than wild-bee abundance. We also found evidence suggesting pollinator visitation (and subsequent pollination are stabilized through the differential response of bee taxa to weather (i.e., response diversity. Variation in the individual visit efficiency of A. mellifera and the southeastern blueberry bee, Habropoda laboriosa, a wild specialist, was not associated with changes in the pollinator community. Our findings add to a growing literature that diverse pollinator communities provide more stable and productive ecosystem services.
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Bee species diversity enhances productivity and stability in a perennial crop.
Rogers, Shelley R; Tarpy, David R; Burrack, Hannah J
2014-01-01
Wild bees provide important pollination services to agroecoystems, but the mechanisms which underlie their contribution to ecosystem functioning--and, therefore, their importance in maintaining and enhancing these services-remain unclear. We evaluated several mechanisms through which wild bees contribute to crop productivity, the stability of pollinator visitation, and the efficiency of individual pollinators in a highly bee-pollination dependent plant, highbush blueberry. We surveyed the bee community (through transect sampling and pan trapping) and measured pollination of both open- and singly-visited flowers. We found that the abundance of managed honey bees, Apis mellifera, and wild-bee richness were equally important in describing resulting open pollination. Wild-bee richness was a better predictor of pollination than wild-bee abundance. We also found evidence suggesting pollinator visitation (and subsequent pollination) are stabilized through the differential response of bee taxa to weather (i.e., response diversity). Variation in the individual visit efficiency of A. mellifera and the southeastern blueberry bee, Habropoda laboriosa, a wild specialist, was not associated with changes in the pollinator community. Our findings add to a growing literature that diverse pollinator communities provide more stable and productive ecosystem services.
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Diversity and human perceptions of bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) in Southeast Asian megacities.
Sing, Kong-Wah; Wang, Wen-Zhi; Wan, Tao; Lee, Ping-Shin; Li, Zong-Xu; Chen, Xing; Wang, Yun-Yu; Wilson, John-James
2016-10-01
Urbanization requires the conversion of natural land cover to cover with human-constructed elements and is considered a major threat to biodiversity. Bee populations, globally, are under threat; however, the effect of rapid urban expansion in Southeast Asia on bee diversity has not been investigated. Given the pressing issues of bee conservation and urbanization in Southeast Asia, coupled with complex factors surrounding human-bee coexistence, we investigated bee diversity and human perceptions of bees in four megacities. We sampled bees and conducted questionnaires at three different site types in each megacity: a botanical garden, central business district, and peripheral suburban areas. Overall, the mean species richness and abundance of bees were significantly higher in peripheral suburban areas than central business districts; however, there were no significant differences in the mean species richness and abundance between botanical gardens and peripheral suburban areas or botanical gardens and central business districts. Urban residents were unlikely to have seen bees but agreed that bees have a right to exist in their natural environment. Residents who did notice and interact with bees, even though being stung, were more likely to have positive opinions towards the presence of bees in cities.
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Trap-nests for stingless bees (Hymenoptera, Meliponini)
Oliveira , Ricardo; Menezes , Cristiano; Soares , Ademilson; Fonseca , Vera
2012-01-01
International audience; Most stingless bee species build their nests inside tree hollows. In this paper, we present trap-nest containers which simulate nesting cavities so as to attract swarms of stingless bees. Although regularly used by stingless bee beekeepers in Brazil, this technique to obtain new colonies has not yet been systematically studied. We used two different types of trap-nests (plastic and cardboard) of four different sizes (0.5, 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 L) containing propolis extrac...
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The African honey bee: factors contributing to a successful biological invasion.
Scott Schneider, Stanley; DeGrandi-Hoffman, Gloria; Smith, Deborah Roan
2004-01-01
The African honey bee subspecies Apis mellifera scutellata has colonized much of the Americas in less than 50 years and has largely replaced European bees throughout its range in the New World. The African bee therefore provides an excellent opportunity to examine the factors that influence invasion success. We provide a synthesis of recent research on the African bee, concentrating on its ability to displace European honey bees. Specifically, we consider (a) the genetic composition of the expanding population and the symmetry of gene flow between African and European bees, (b) the mechanisms that favor the preservation of the African genome, and (c) the possible range and impact of the African bee in the United States.
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"Blurred lines?" Sexual aggression and barroom culture.
Graham, Kathryn; Bernards, Sharon; Wayne Osgood, D; Abbey, Antonia; Parks, Michael; Flynn, Andrea; Dumas, Tara; Wells, Samantha
2014-05-01
Meeting potential sexual/romantic partners for mutual pleasure is one of the main reasons young adults go to bars. However, not all sexual contacts are positive and consensual, and aggression related to sexual advances is a common experience. Sometimes such aggression is related to misperceptions in making and receiving sexual advances while other times aggression reflects intentional harassment or other sexually aggressive acts. This study uses objective observational research to assess quantitatively gender of initiators and targets and the extent that sexual aggression involves intentional aggression by the initiator, the nature of responses by targets, and the role of third parties and intoxication. We analyzed 258 aggressive incidents involving sexual advances observed as part of a larger study on aggression in large capacity bars and clubs, using variables collected as part of the original research (gender, intoxication, intent) and variables coded from narrative descriptions (invasiveness, persistence, targets' responses, role of third parties). Hierarchical linear modeling analyses were used to account for nesting of incidents in evening and bars. Ninety percent of incidents involved male initiators and female targets, with almost all incidents involving intentional or probably intentional aggression. Targets mostly responded nonaggressively, usually using evasion. Staff rarely intervened; patron third parties intervened in 21% of incidents, usually to help the target but sometimes to encourage the initiator. initiators' level of invasiveness was related to intoxication of the targets, but not their own intoxication, suggesting intoxicated women were being targeted. Sexual aggression is a major problem in bars often reflecting intentional sexual invasiveness and unwanted persistence rather than misperceptions in sexual advances. Prevention needs to focus on addressing masculinity norms of male patrons and staff who support sexual aggression and better
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Impact of honeybee (Apis mellifera L. density on wild bee foraging behaviour
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Goras Georgios
2016-06-01
Full Text Available Honey bees are globally regarded as important crop pollinators and are also valued for their honey production. They have been introduced on an almost worldwide scale. During recent years, however, several studies argue their possible competition with unmanaged pollinators. Here we examine the possible effects of honey bees on the foraging behaviour of wild bees on Cistus creticus flowers in Northern Greece. We gradually introduced one, five, and eight honey-bee hives per site, each containing ca. 20,000 workers. The visitation frequency and visit duration of wild bees before and after the beehive introductions were measured by flower observation. While the visitation frequencies of wild bees were unaffected, the average time wild bees spent on C. creticus increased with the introduction of the honey-bee hives. Although competition between honey bees and wild bees is often expected, we did not find any clear evidence for significant effects even in honey-bee densities much higher than the European-wide average of 3.1 colonies/km2.
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Large Carpenter Bees as Agricultural Pollinators
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Tamar Keasar
2010-01-01
Full Text Available Large carpenter bees (genus Xylocopa are wood-nesting generalist pollinators of broad geographical distribution that exhibit varying levels of sociality. Their foraging is characterized by a wide range of food plants, long season of activity, tolerance of high temperatures, and activity under low illumination levels. These traits make them attractive candidates for agricultural pollination in hot climates, particularly in greenhouses, and of night-blooming crops. Carpenter bees have demonstrated efficient pollination service in passionflower, blueberries, greenhouse tomatoes and greenhouse melons. Current challenges to the commercialization of these attempts lie in the difficulties of mass-rearing Xylocopa, and in the high levels of nectar robbing exhibited by the bees.
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Proceedings "… Towards Resilient Honey Bees …"
Dooremalen, van C.A.; Zweep, A.
2015-01-01
The Research Roadmap is a co-creation by Bees@wur and the Dutch government, and the (inter)national researchers participating in the workshop Resilient Honey bees 23-24 November 2015, Castle Hoekelum, Bennekom, The Netherlands
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Effect of manipulated state aggression on pain tolerance.
Stephens, Richard; Allsop, Claire
2012-08-01
Swearing produces a pain lessening (hypoalgesic) effect for many people; an emotional response may be the underlying mechanism. In this paper, the role of manipulated state aggression on pain tolerance and pain perception is assessed. In a repeated-measures design, pain outcomes were assessed in participants asked to play for 10 minutes a first-person shooter video game vs a golf video game. Sex differences were explored. After playing the first-person shooter video game, aggressive cognitions, aggressive affect, heart rate, and cold pressor latency were increased, and pain perception was decreased. These data indicate that people become more pain tolerant with raised state aggression and support our theory that raised pain tolerance from swearing occurs via an emotional response.
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Feng, Mao; Ramadan, Haitham; Han, Bin; Fang, Yu; Li, Jianke
2014-07-05
Hemolymph plays key roles in honey bee molecule transport, immune defense, and in monitoring the physiological condition. There is a lack of knowledge regarding how the proteome achieves these biological missions for both the western and eastern honey bees (Apis mellifera and Apis cerana). A time-resolved proteome was compared using two-dimensional electrophoresis-based proteomics to reveal the mechanistic differences by analysis of hemolymph proteome changes between the worker bees of two bee species during the larval to pupal stages. The brood body weight of Apis mellifera was significantly heavier than that of Apis cerana at each developmental stage. Significantly, different protein expression patterns and metabolic pathways were observed in 74 proteins (166 spots) that were differentially abundant between the two bee species. The function of hemolymph in energy storage, odor communication, and antioxidation is of equal importance for the western and eastern bees, indicated by the enhanced expression of different protein species. However, stronger expression of protein folding, cytoskeletal and developmental proteins, and more highly activated energy producing pathways in western bees suggests that the different bee species have developed unique strategies to match their specific physiology using hemolymph to deliver nutrients and in immune defense. Our disparate findings constitute a proof-of-concept of molecular details that the ecologically shaped different physiological conditions of different bee species match with the hemolymph proteome during the brood stage. This also provides a starting point for future research on the specific hemolymph proteins or pathways related to the differential phenotypes or physiology.
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Subjective aggression during alcohol and cannabis intoxication before and after aggression exposure.
De Sousa Fernandes Perna, E B; Theunissen, E L; Kuypers, K P C; Toennes, S W; Ramaekers, J G
2016-09-01
Alcohol and cannabis use have been implicated in aggression. Alcohol consumption is known to facilitate aggression, whereas a causal link between cannabis and aggression has not been clearly demonstrated. This study investigated the acute effects of alcohol and cannabis on subjective aggression in alcohol and cannabis users, respectively, following aggression exposure. Drug-free controls served as a reference. It was hypothesized that aggression exposure would increase subjective aggression in alcohol users during alcohol intoxication, whereas it was expected to decrease subjective aggression in cannabis users during cannabis intoxication. Heavy alcohol (n = 20) and regular cannabis users (n = 21), and controls (n = 20) were included in a mixed factorial study. Alcohol and cannabis users received single doses of alcohol and placebo or cannabis and placebo, respectively. Subjective aggression was assessed before and after aggression exposure consisting of administrations of the point-subtraction aggression paradigm (PSAP) and the single category implicit association test (SC-IAT). Testosterone and cortisol levels in response to alcohol/cannabis treatment and aggression exposure were recorded as secondary outcome measures. Subjective aggression significantly increased following aggression exposure in all groups while being sober. Alcohol intoxication increased subjective aggression whereas cannabis decreased the subjective aggression following aggression exposure. Aggressive responses during the PSAP increased following alcohol and decreased following cannabis relative to placebo. Changes in aggressive feeling or response were not correlated to the neuroendocrine response to treatments. It is concluded that alcohol facilitates feelings of aggression whereas cannabis diminishes aggressive feelings in heavy alcohol and regular cannabis users, respectively.
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Lee Tae-ho; Hwang Hee-sang; Chang So-young; Cha Jung-ho; Jung Ki-hoon; Lee Eun-young; Roh Jeongdu
2007-01-01
Objective : The aim of this study is to investigate if Sweet Bee Venom therapy has the equal effect in comparison with Bee Venom Therapy on Low back pain with Radiation pain. Methods : Clinical studies were done 24 patients who were treated low back pain with radiation pain to Dept. of Acupuncture & Moxibusition, of Oriental Medicine Se-Myung University from April 1, 2007 to September 30, 2007. Subjects were randomly divided into two groups ; Bee Venom treated group(Group A, n=10), Sweet B...
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Corby-Harris, Vanessa; Meador, Charlotte A D; Snyder, Lucy A; Schwan, Melissa R; Maes, Patrick; Jones, Beryl M; Walton, Alexander; Anderson, Kirk E
2016-02-01
Honey bee colonies function as a superorganism, where facultatively sterile female workers perform various tasks that support the hive. Nurse workers undergo numerous anatomical and physiological changes in preparation for brood rearing, including the growth of hypopharyngeal glands (HGs). These glands produce the major protein fraction of a protein- and lipid-rich jelly used to sustain developing larvae. Pollen intake is positively correlated with HG growth, but growth in the first three days is similar regardless of diet, suggesting that initial growth is a pre-determined process while later HG development depends on nutrient availability during a critical window in early adulthood (>3 d). It is unclear whether the resultant size differences in nurse HG are simply due to growth arrest or active degradation of the tissue. To determine what processes cause such differences in HG size, we catalogued the differential expression of both gene transcripts and proteins in the HGs of 8 d old bees that were fed diets containing pollen or no pollen. 3438 genes and 367 proteins were differentially regulated due to nutrition. Of the genes and proteins differentially expressed, undernourished bees exhibited more gene and protein up-regulation compared to well-nourished bees, with the affected processes including salivary gland apoptosis, oogenesis, and hormone signaling. Protein secretion was virtually the only process up-regulated in well-nourished bees. Further assays demonstrated that inhibition of ultraspiracle, one component of the ecdysteroid receptor, in the fat body caused larger HGs. Undernourished bees also had higher acid phosphatase activity, a physiological marker of cell death, compared to well-nourished bees. These results support a connection between poor nutrition, hormonal signaling, and HG degradation. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
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Wu Yan Y.
2015-12-01
Full Text Available China has the largest number of managed honey bee colonies globally, but there is currently no data on viral infection in diseased A. mellifera L. colonies in China. In particular, there is a lack of data on chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV in Chinese honey bee colonies. Consequently, the present study investigated the occurrence and frequency of several widespread honey bee viruses in diseased Chinese apiaries, and we used the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR assay. Described was the relationship between the presence of CBPV and diseased colonies (with at least one of the following symptoms: depopulation, paralysis, dark body colorings and hairless, or a mass of dead bees on the ground surrounding the beehives. Phylogenetic analyses of CBPV were employed. The prevalence of multiple infections of honey bee viruses in diseased Chinese apiaries was 100%, and the prevalence of infections with even five and six viruses were higher than expected. The incidence of CBPV in diseased colonies was significantly higher than that in apparently healthy colonies in Chinese A. mellifera aparies, and CBPV isolates from China can be separated into Chinese-Japanese clade 1 and 2. The results indicate that beekeeping in China may be threatened by colony decline due to the high prevalence of multiple viruses with CBPV.
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Dong, Xiaofeng; Armstrong, Stuart D; Xia, Dong; Makepeace, Benjamin L; Darby, Alistair C; Kadowaki, Tatsuhiko
2017-03-01
The number of managed honey bee colonies has considerably decreased in many developed countries in recent years and ectoparasitic mites are considered as major threats to honey bee colonies and health. However, their general biology remains poorly understood. We sequenced the genome of Tropilaelaps mercedesae, the prevalent ectoparasitic mite infesting honey bees in Asia, and predicted 15 190 protein-coding genes that were well supported by the mite transcriptomes and proteomic data. Although amino acid substitutions have been accelerated within the conserved core genes of two mites, T. mercedesae and Metaseiulus occidentalis, T. mercedesae has undergone the least gene family expansion and contraction between the seven arthropods we tested. The number of sensory system genes has been dramatically reduced, but T. mercedesae contains all gene sets required to detoxify xenobiotics. T. mercedesae is closely associated with a symbiotic bacterium (Rickettsiella grylli-like) and Deformed Wing Virus, the most prevalent honey bee virus. T. mercedesae has a very specialized life history and habitat as the ectoparasitic mite strictly depends on the honey bee inside a stable colony. Thus, comparison of the genome and transcriptome sequences with those of a tick and free-living mites has revealed the specific features of the genome shaped by interaction with the honey bee and colony environment. Genome and transcriptome sequences of T. mercedesae, as well as Varroa destructor (another globally prevalent ectoparasitic mite of honey bee), not only provide insights into the mite biology, but may also help to develop measures to control the most serious pests of the honey bee. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press.
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Tison, Léa; Holtz, Sophie; Adeoye, Amy; Kalkan, Önder; Irmisch, Nina S; Lehmann, Nadja; Menzel, Randolf
2017-10-15
Learning and memory play a central role in the behavior and communication of foraging bees. We have previously shown that chronic uptake of the neonicotinoid thiacloprid affects the behavior of honey bees in the field. Foraging behavior, homing success, navigation performance and social communication were impaired. Thiacloprid collected at a feeding site at low doses accumulates in foragers over time. Here, we applied a laboratory standard procedure (the proboscis-extension response conditioning) in order to assess which processes, acquisition, memory consolidation and/or memory retrieval were compromised after bees were fed either with thiacloprid or the formulation of thiacloprid named Calypso ® at different sublethal doses. Extinction and generalization tests allowed us to investigate whether bees respond to a learned stimulus, and how selectively. We showed that thiacloprid, as active substance and as formulation, poses a substantial risk to honey bees by disrupting learning and memory functions. These data support and specify the data collected in the field. © 2017. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.
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Wing Shape of Four New Bee Fossils (Hymenoptera: Anthophila) Provides Insights to Bee Evolution
Dehon, Manuel; Michez, Denis; Nel, André; Engel, Michael S.; De Meulemeester, Thibaut
2014-01-01
Bees (Anthophila) are one of the major groups of angiosperm-pollinating insects and accordingly are widely studied in both basic and applied research, for which it is essential to have a clear understanding of their phylogeny, and evolutionary history. Direct evidence of bee evolutionary history has been hindered by a dearth of available fossils needed to determine the timing and tempo of their diversification, as well as episodes of extinction. Here we describe four new compression fossils o...
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COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF TECHNILOGIES OF CHITOSAN PRODUCTION FROM DEAD BEES
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Marina Abramova
2017-07-01
Full Text Available Objective: The aim of this work is to study the characteristics of technology of chitosan obtaining from unconventional sources, namely from dead bees. Methods: The article considers three methods of chitosan obtaining from dead bees, namely the technology with the usage of dead bees with low degree of drying; the technology with the usage of dead bees with high degree of drying; the technology with the usage of dead bees with high degree of drying but without separation of deproteination and deacetylation stages. Results: It is proved that the technology with the usage of dead bees with high degree of drying but without separation of deproteination and deacetylation stages does not require high temperatures and long time. Yield of chitosan with the use of this technology is 21-24%. Discussion: The expediency of dead bees usage as raw material for the production of chitosan in Ukraine is shown. The technologies of chitosan obtaining from dead bees are compared, the most efficient one is chosen, which provide the highest yield of the finished product, so it is the most promising for the application in practice.
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Self-reported executive functioning competencies and lifetime aggression.
King, Alan R; Breen, Cody M; Russell, Tiffany D; Nerpel, Brady P; Pogalz, Colton R
2017-05-08
Neuropsychological research can be advanced through a better understanding of relationships between executive functioning (EF) behavioral competencies and the expression of aggressive behavior. While performance-based EF measures have been widely examined, links between self-report indices and practical real-life outcomes have not yet been established. Executive Functioning Index subscale scores in this sample (N = 579) were linked to trait hostility (Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire), aggression in the natural environment (Lifetime Acts of Violence Assessment), and conduct disorder symptoms prior to age 15. Significant associations were found between all of the EFI subscales (Motivational Drive, Organization, Strategic Planning, Impulse Control, and Empathy), trait aggression, and conduct disturbance. Lifetime acts of aggression were predicted by all but Organization scores. Physical injuries inflicted on other(s) were 2 to 4 times more likely to occur among respondents generating low (z < -1) EFI subscale scores. While these EFI relationships were modest in size, they are pervasive in scope. These findings provide support for the potential role of perceived EF deficits in moderating lifetime aggression.
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Wing shape of four new bee fossils (Hymenoptera: Anthophila provides insights to bee evolution.
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Manuel Dehon
Full Text Available Bees (Anthophila are one of the major groups of angiosperm-pollinating insects and accordingly are widely studied in both basic and applied research, for which it is essential to have a clear understanding of their phylogeny, and evolutionary history. Direct evidence of bee evolutionary history has been hindered by a dearth of available fossils needed to determine the timing and tempo of their diversification, as well as episodes of extinction. Here we describe four new compression fossils of bees from three different deposits (Miocene of la Cerdanya, Spain; Oligocene of Céreste, France; and Eocene of the Green River Formation, U.S.A.. We assess the similarity of the forewing shape of the new fossils with extant and fossil taxa using geometric morphometrics analyses. Predictive discriminant analyses show that three fossils share similar forewing shapes with the Apidae [one of uncertain tribal placement and perhaps near Euglossini, one definitive bumble bee (Bombini, and one digger bee (Anthophorini], while one fossil is more similar to the Andrenidae. The corbiculate fossils are described as Euglossopteryx biesmeijeri De Meulemeester, Michez, & Engel, gen. nov. sp. nov. (type species of Euglossopteryx Dehon & Engel, n. gen. and Bombus cerdanyensis Dehon, De Meulemeester, & Engel, sp. nov. They provide new information on the distribution and timing of particular corbiculate groups, most notably the extension into North America of possible Eocene-Oligocene cooling-induced extinctions. Protohabropoda pauli De Meulemeester & Michez, gen. nov. sp. nov. (type species of Protohabropoda Dehon & Engel, n. gen. reinforces previous hypotheses of anthophorine evolution in terms of ecological shifts by the Oligocene from tropical to mesic or xeric habitats. Lastly, a new fossil of the Andreninae, Andrena antoinei Michez & De Meulemeester, sp. nov., further documents the presence of the today widespread genus Andrena Fabricius in the Late Oligocene of France.
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Wing shape of four new bee fossils (Hymenoptera: Anthophila) provides insights to bee evolution.
Dehon, Manuel; Michez, Denis; Nel, André; Engel, Michael S; De Meulemeester, Thibaut
2014-01-01
Bees (Anthophila) are one of the major groups of angiosperm-pollinating insects and accordingly are widely studied in both basic and applied research, for which it is essential to have a clear understanding of their phylogeny, and evolutionary history. Direct evidence of bee evolutionary history has been hindered by a dearth of available fossils needed to determine the timing and tempo of their diversification, as well as episodes of extinction. Here we describe four new compression fossils of bees from three different deposits (Miocene of la Cerdanya, Spain; Oligocene of Céreste, France; and Eocene of the Green River Formation, U.S.A.). We assess the similarity of the forewing shape of the new fossils with extant and fossil taxa using geometric morphometrics analyses. Predictive discriminant analyses show that three fossils share similar forewing shapes with the Apidae [one of uncertain tribal placement and perhaps near Euglossini, one definitive bumble bee (Bombini), and one digger bee (Anthophorini)], while one fossil is more similar to the Andrenidae. The corbiculate fossils are described as Euglossopteryx biesmeijeri De Meulemeester, Michez, & Engel, gen. nov. sp. nov. (type species of Euglossopteryx Dehon & Engel, n. gen.) and Bombus cerdanyensis Dehon, De Meulemeester, & Engel, sp. nov. They provide new information on the distribution and timing of particular corbiculate groups, most notably the extension into North America of possible Eocene-Oligocene cooling-induced extinctions. Protohabropoda pauli De Meulemeester & Michez, gen. nov. sp. nov. (type species of Protohabropoda Dehon & Engel, n. gen.) reinforces previous hypotheses of anthophorine evolution in terms of ecological shifts by the Oligocene from tropical to mesic or xeric habitats. Lastly, a new fossil of the Andreninae, Andrena antoinei Michez & De Meulemeester, sp. nov., further documents the presence of the today widespread genus Andrena Fabricius in the Late Oligocene of France.
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Nosema ceranae escapes fumagillin control in honey bees.
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Wei-Fone Huang
2013-03-01
Full Text Available Fumagillin is the only antibiotic approved for control of nosema disease in honey bees and has been extensively used in United States apiculture for more than 50 years for control of Nosema apis. It is toxic to mammals and must be applied seasonally and with caution to avoid residues in honey. Fumagillin degrades or is diluted in hives over the foraging season, exposing bees and the microsporidia to declining concentrations of the drug. We showed that spore production by Nosema ceranae, an emerging microsporidian pathogen in honey bees, increased in response to declining fumagillin concentrations, up to 100% higher than that of infected bees that have not been exposed to fumagillin. N. apis spore production was also higher, although not significantly so. Fumagillin inhibits the enzyme methionine aminopeptidase2 (MetAP2 in eukaryotic cells and interferes with protein modifications necessary for normal cell function. We sequenced the MetAP2 gene for apid Nosema species and determined that, although susceptibility to fumagillin differs among species, there are no apparent differences in fumagillin binding sites. Protein assays of uninfected bees showed that fumagillin altered structural and metabolic proteins in honey bee midgut tissues at concentrations that do not suppress microsporidia reproduction. The microsporidia, particularly N. ceranae, are apparently released from the suppressive effects of fumagillin at concentrations that continue to impact honey bee physiology. The current application protocol for fumagillin may exacerbate N. ceranae infection rather than suppress it.
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Niolon, Phyllis Holditch; Kuperminc, Gabriel P.; Allen, Joseph P.
2015-01-01
Objective This multi-method, longitudinal study examines the negotiation of autonomy and relatedness between teens and their mothers as etiologic predictors of perpetration and victimization of dating aggression two years later. Method Observations of 88 mid-adolescents and their mothers discussing a topic of disagreement were coded for each individual’s demonstrations of autonomy and relatedness using a validated coding system. Adolescents self-reported on perpetration and victimization of physical and psychological dating aggression two years later. We hypothesized that mother’s and adolescents’ behaviors supporting autonomy and relatedness would longitudinally predict lower reporting of dating aggression, and that their behaviors inhibiting autonomy and relatedness would predict higher reporting of dating aggression. Results Hypotheses were not supported; main findings were characterized by interactions of sex and risk status with autonomy. Maternal behaviors supporting autonomy predicted higher reports of perpetration and victimization of physical dating aggression for girls, but not for boys. Adolescent behaviors supporting autonomy predicted higher reports of perpetration of physical dating aggression for high-risk adolescents, but not for low-risk adolescents. Conclusions Results indicate that autonomy is a dynamic developmental process, operating differently as a function of social contexts in predicting dating aggression. Examination of these and other developmental processes within parent-child relationships is important in predicting dating aggression, but may depend on social context. PMID:25914852
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Humberto F Boncristiani
Full Text Available The ongoing decline of honey bee health worldwide is a serious economic and ecological concern. One major contributor to the decline are pathogens, including several honey bee viruses. However, information is limited on the biology of bee viruses and molecular interactions with their hosts. An experimental protocol to test these systems was developed, using injections of Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV into honey bee pupae reared ex-situ under laboratory conditions. The infected pupae developed pronounced but variable patterns of disease. Symptoms varied from complete cessation of development with no visual evidence of disease to rapid darkening of a part or the entire body. Considerable differences in IAPV titer dynamics were observed, suggesting significant variation in resistance to IAPV among and possibly within honey bee colonies. Thus, selective breeding for virus resistance should be possible. Gene expression analyses of three separate experiments suggest IAPV disruption of transcriptional homeostasis of several fundamental cellular functions, including an up-regulation of the ribosomal biogenesis pathway. These results provide first insights into the mechanisms of IAPV pathogenicity. They mirror a transcriptional survey of honey bees afflicted with Colony Collapse Disorder and thus support the hypothesis that viruses play a critical role in declining honey bee health.
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Parasite pressures on feral honey bees (Apis mellifera sp..
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Catherine E Thompson
Full Text Available Feral honey bee populations have been reported to be in decline due to the spread of Varroa destructor, an ectoparasitic mite that when left uncontrolled leads to virus build-up and colony death. While pests and diseases are known causes of large-scale managed honey bee colony losses, no studies to date have considered the wider pathogen burden in feral colonies, primarily due to the difficulty in locating and sampling colonies, which often nest in inaccessible locations such as church spires and tree tops. In addition, little is known about the provenance of feral colonies and whether they represent a reservoir of Varroa tolerant material that could be used in apiculture. Samples of forager bees were collected from paired feral and managed honey bee colonies and screened for the presence of ten honey bee pathogens and pests using qPCR. Prevalence and quantity was similar between the two groups for the majority of pathogens, however feral honey bees contained a significantly higher level of deformed wing virus than managed honey bee colonies. An assessment of the honey bee race was completed for each colony using three measures of wing venation. There were no apparent differences in wing morphometry between feral and managed colonies, suggesting feral colonies could simply be escapees from the managed population. Interestingly, managed honey bee colonies not treated for Varroa showed similar, potentially lethal levels of deformed wing virus to that of feral colonies. The potential for such findings to explain the large fall in the feral population and the wider context of the importance of feral colonies as potential pathogen reservoirs is discussed.
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Parasite pressures on feral honey bees (Apis mellifera sp.).
Thompson, Catherine E; Biesmeijer, Jacobus C; Allnutt, Theodore R; Pietravalle, Stéphane; Budge, Giles E
2014-01-01
Feral honey bee populations have been reported to be in decline due to the spread of Varroa destructor, an ectoparasitic mite that when left uncontrolled leads to virus build-up and colony death. While pests and diseases are known causes of large-scale managed honey bee colony losses, no studies to date have considered the wider pathogen burden in feral colonies, primarily due to the difficulty in locating and sampling colonies, which often nest in inaccessible locations such as church spires and tree tops. In addition, little is known about the provenance of feral colonies and whether they represent a reservoir of Varroa tolerant material that could be used in apiculture. Samples of forager bees were collected from paired feral and managed honey bee colonies and screened for the presence of ten honey bee pathogens and pests using qPCR. Prevalence and quantity was similar between the two groups for the majority of pathogens, however feral honey bees contained a significantly higher level of deformed wing virus than managed honey bee colonies. An assessment of the honey bee race was completed for each colony using three measures of wing venation. There were no apparent differences in wing morphometry between feral and managed colonies, suggesting feral colonies could simply be escapees from the managed population. Interestingly, managed honey bee colonies not treated for Varroa showed similar, potentially lethal levels of deformed wing virus to that of feral colonies. The potential for such findings to explain the large fall in the feral population and the wider context of the importance of feral colonies as potential pathogen reservoirs is discussed.
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Studies of learned helplessness in honey bees (Apis mellifera ligustica).
Dinges, Christopher W; Varnon, Christopher A; Cota, Lisa D; Slykerman, Stephen; Abramson, Charles I
2017-04-01
The current study reports 2 experiments investigating learned helplessness in the honey bee (Apis mellifera ligustica). In Experiment 1, we used a traditional escape method but found the bees' activity levels too high to observe changes due to treatment conditions. The bees were not able to learn in this traditional escape procedure; thus, such procedures may be inappropriate to study learned helplessness in honey bees. In Experiment 2, we used an alternative punishment, or passive avoidance, method to investigate learned helplessness. Using a master and yoked design where bees were trained as either master or yoked and tested as either master or yoked, we found that prior training with unavoidable and inescapable shock in the yoked condition interfered with avoidance and escape behavior in the later master condition. Unlike control bees, learned helplessness bees failed to restrict their movement to the safe compartment following inescapable shock. Unlike learned helplessness studies in other animals, no decrease in general activity was observed. Furthermore, we did not observe a "freezing" response to inescapable aversive stimuli-a phenomenon, thus far, consistently observed in learned helplessness tests with other species. The bees, instead, continued to move back and forth between compartments despite punishment in the incorrect compartment. These findings suggest that, although traditional escape methods may not be suitable, honey bees display learned helplessness in passive avoidance procedures. Thus, regardless of behavioral differences from other species, honey bees can be a unique invertebrate model organism for the study of learned helplessness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).
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A Study on Major Components of Bee Venom Using Electrophoresis
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Lee, Jin-Seon
2000-12-01
Full Text Available This study was designed to study on major components of various Bee Venom(Bee Venom by electrical stimulation in Korea; K-BV I, Bee Venom by Microwave stimulation in Korea; K -BV II, 0.5rng/ml, Fu Yu Pharmaceutical Factory, China; C-BV, 1mg /ml, Monmouth Pain Institute, Inc., U.S.A.; A-BV using Electrophoresis. The results were summarized as follows: 1. In 1:4000 Bee Venom solution rate, the band was not displayed distinctly usmg Electrophoresis. But in 1: 1000, the band showed clearly. 2. The results of Electrophoresis at solution rate 1:1000, K-BV I and K-BVII showed similar band. 3. The molecular weight of Phospholipase A2 was known as 19,000 but its band was seen at 17,000 in Electrophoresis. 4. Protein concentration of Bee Venom by Lowry method was different at solution rate 1:4000 ; C-BV was 250μg/ml, K-BV I was 190μg/ml, K-BV Ⅱ was 160μg/ml and C-BV was 45μg/ml. 5. Electrophoresis method was unuseful for analysis of Bee Venom when solution rate is above 1:4000 but Protein concentration of Bee Venom by Lowry method was possible. These data from the study can be applied to establish the standard measurement of Bee Venom and prevent pure bee venom from mixing of another components. I think it is desirable to study more about safety of Bee Venom as time goes by.
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Quality of durable cookies enriched with rape bee pollen
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Miriam Solgajová
2014-03-01
Full Text Available The objective of this study was to enrich durable cookies with different additions of rape (Brassica napus var. napus bee pollen to increase nutritional properties of cookie samples and to improve technological and sensorial properties as well. Bee pollen is an important raw material due to its nutritional and functional properties. Cookie samples were prepared by substituting wheat flour with rape bee pollen in the amount of 16 % (1 g of bee pollen per cookie and 32 % (2 g of bee pollen per cookie using bee pollen from two localities Lenártovce and Nové Zámky. In baked samples beside sensory properties also chemical parameters and technological parameters of cookies were evaluated. It was found out that with the gradual addition of rape bee pollen the amount of ash content increased and the highest ash content was analysed in variants II and IV (0.71 and 0.77 % using 32 % addition of rape bee pollen. In terms of reducing sugars, addition of bee pollen caused that the content of reducing sugars in the products increased slightly. The highest reducing sugar content was determined in variant II. (24.59 %. On the other hand amount of crude protein the most considerably raised by addition of 2 g of pollen per cookie. The highest content of crude protein was analysed in variants II and IV (8.72 and 9.00 %. From the results of a linear models in which the dependent variables were the ash, crude protein and moisture it was determined the significant effect (p <0.05 only of the pollen addition. In the case of the model with the dependent variable reducing sugars it was found out significant effect (p<0.0001 of pollen addition and locality and their interactions. With the gradual addition of bee pollen values of technological parameters such as diameter and weight of cookies increased and thickness of products decreased. Based on sensory scores using a 9-point Hedonic scale the best sensorial acceptability (7.4 was found in variant I (1 g of bee
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Mustafa Serter Uzer
2013-01-01
Full Text Available This paper offers a hybrid approach that uses the artificial bee colony (ABC algorithm for feature selection and support vector machines for classification. The purpose of this paper is to test the effect of elimination of the unimportant and obsolete features of the datasets on the success of the classification, using the SVM classifier. The developed approach conventionally used in liver diseases and diabetes diagnostics, which are commonly observed and reduce the quality of life, is developed. For the diagnosis of these diseases, hepatitis, liver disorders and diabetes datasets from the UCI database were used, and the proposed system reached a classification accuracies of 94.92%, 74.81%, and 79.29%, respectively. For these datasets, the classification accuracies were obtained by the help of the 10-fold cross-validation method. The results show that the performance of the method is highly successful compared to other results attained and seems very promising for pattern recognition applications.
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Aggression-related alcohol expectancies and barroom aggression among construction tradespeople.
Zinkiewicz, Lucy; Smith, Georgia; Burn, Michele; Litherland, Steven; Wells, Samantha; Graham, Kathryn; Miller, Peter
2016-09-01
Few studies have investigated the relationship of barroom aggression with both general and barroom-specific alcohol expectancies. The present study investigated these associations in a rarely studied and high-risk population: construction tradespeople. Male construction tradespeople (n = 211) aged 18-35 years (M = 21.91, SD = 4.08 years) participated in a face-to-face questionnaire assessing general and barroom-specific alcohol expectancies and perpetration of physical and verbal barroom aggression as well as control variables, age, alcohol consumption and trait aggression. Sequential logistic regression analyses revealed that general alcohol-aggression expectancies of courage or dominance were not predictive of either verbal or physical barroom aggression after controlling for age, alcohol consumption and trait aggression. However, barroom-specific alcohol expectancies were associated with both verbal and physical barroom aggression, with positive associations found for expected hyper-emotionality and protective effects for expected cognitive impairment. In a population where rates of risky drinking and barroom aggression are high, specific expectations about the effects of drinking in bars may influence subsequent aggressive behaviour in bars. [Zinkiewicz L, Smith G, Burn M, Litherland S, Wells S, Graham K, Miller P. Aggression-related alcohol expectancies and barroom aggression among construction tradespeople. Drug Alcohol Rev 2016;35:549-556]. © 2015 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.
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Flower diversity and bee reproduction in an arid ecosystem
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Jimena Dorado
2016-07-01
Full Text Available Background: Diverse flower communities are more stable in floral resource production along the flowering season, but the question about how the diversity and stability of resources affect pollinator reproduction remains open. High plant diversity could favor short foraging trips, which in turn would enhance bee fitness. In addition to plant diversity, greater temporal stability of floral resources in diverse communities could favor pollinator fitness because such communities are likely to occupy the phenological space more broadly, increasing floral availability for pollinators throughout the season. In addition, this potential effect of flower diversity on bee reproduction could be stronger for generalist pollinators because they can use a broader floral spectrum. Based on above arguments we predicted that pollinator reproduction would be positively correlated to flower diversity, and to temporal stability in flower production, and that this relationship would be stronger for the most generalized pollinator species. Materials and Methods: Using structural equation models, we evaluated the effect of these variables and other ecological factors on three estimates of bee reproduction (average number of brood cells per nest per site, total number of brood cells per site, and total number of nests per site, and whether such effects were modulated by bee generalization on floral resources. Results: Contrary to our expectations, flower diversity had no effect on bee reproduction, stability in flower production had a weakly negative effect on one of the bee reproductive variables, and the strength of the fitness-diversity relationship was unrelated to bee generalization. In contrast, elevation had a negative effect on bee reproduction, despite the narrow elevation range encompassed by our sites. Discussion: Flower diversity did not affect the reproduction of the solitary bees studied here. This result could stem from the context dependence of the
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Flower diversity and bee reproduction in an arid ecosystem.
Dorado, Jimena; Vázquez, Diego P
2016-01-01
Diverse flower communities are more stable in floral resource production along the flowering season, but the question about how the diversity and stability of resources affect pollinator reproduction remains open. High plant diversity could favor short foraging trips, which in turn would enhance bee fitness. In addition to plant diversity, greater temporal stability of floral resources in diverse communities could favor pollinator fitness because such communities are likely to occupy the phenological space more broadly, increasing floral availability for pollinators throughout the season. In addition, this potential effect of flower diversity on bee reproduction could be stronger for generalist pollinators because they can use a broader floral spectrum. Based on above arguments we predicted that pollinator reproduction would be positively correlated to flower diversity, and to temporal stability in flower production, and that this relationship would be stronger for the most generalized pollinator species. Using structural equation models, we evaluated the effect of these variables and other ecological factors on three estimates of bee reproduction (average number of brood cells per nest per site, total number of brood cells per site, and total number of nests per site), and whether such effects were modulated by bee generalization on floral resources. Contrary to our expectations, flower diversity had no effect on bee reproduction, stability in flower production had a weakly negative effect on one of the bee reproductive variables, and the strength of the fitness-diversity relationship was unrelated to bee generalization. In contrast, elevation had a negative effect on bee reproduction, despite the narrow elevation range encompassed by our sites. Flower diversity did not affect the reproduction of the solitary bees studied here. This result could stem from the context dependence of the diversity-stability relationship, given that elevation had a positive effect on
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Bumble Bees (Bombus terrestris use mechanosensory hairs to detect electric fields
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sutton Gregory
2016-01-01
Full Text Available Bees and flowers have an intricate relationship which benefits both organisms. Plants provide nectar bees, in turn, distribute pollen to fertilize plants. To make pollination work, flowers need a mechanism to incentivize individual bees to visit only a single species of flower. Flowers, like modern advertising agencies, use multiple senses to create a floral ‘brand’ that is easily recognized. Size, smell, colour, touch, and even temperature are used to allow bees to differentiate between flower species. Recently, a new sense has been found that is usable by bees to differentiate flowers, an ‘electric sense’: they can identify flowers based only on the flower’s electric field. This new sense provides a novel example of how flowers differentiate themselves to bees and has obvious implications for how bees and flowers interact with the electrical world around us. Bumble bees detect this electric field by using their body hairs, which bend in the presence of electric charge.
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Hockridge, Emma
2010-01-01
The decline of colonies of honey bees across the world is threatening local plant biodiversity and human food supplies. Neonicotinoid pesticides have been implicated as a major cause of the problem and are banned or suspended in several countries. Other factors could also be lowering the resistance of bees to opportunist infections by, for…
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Bee Pollen: Chemical Composition and Therapeutic Application
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Katarzyna Komosinska-Vassev
2015-01-01
Full Text Available Bee pollen is a valuable apitherapeutic product greatly appreciated by the natural medicine because of its potential medical and nutritional applications. It demonstrates a series of actions such as antifungal, antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, anticancer immunostimulating, and local analgesic. Its radical scavenging potential has also been reported. Beneficial properties of bee pollen and the validity for their therapeutic use in various pathological condition have been discussed in this study and with the currently known mechanisms, by which bee pollen modulates burn wound healing process.
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Exploration and design of smart home circuit based on ZigBee
Luo, Huirong
2018-05-01
To apply ZigBee technique in smart home circuit design, in the hardware design link of ZigBee node, TI Company's ZigBee wireless communication chip CC2530 was used to complete the design of ZigBee RF module circuit and peripheral circuit. In addition, the function demand and the overall scheme of the intelligent system based on smart home furnishing were proposed. Finally, the smart home system was built by combining ZigBee network and intelligent gateway. The function realization, reliability and power consumption of ZigBee network were tested. The results showed that ZigBee technology was applied to smart home system, making it have some advantages in terms of flexibility, scalability, power consumption and indoor aesthetics. To sum up, the system has high application value.
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Bees of the Azores: an annotated checklist (Apidae, Hymenoptera).
Weissmann, Julie A; Picanço, Ana; Borges, Paulo A V; Schaefer, Hanno
2017-01-01
We report 18 species of wild bees plus the domesticated honeybee from the Azores, which adds nine species to earlier lists. One species, Hylaeus azorae , seems to be a single island endemic, and three species are possibly native ( Colletes eous , Halictus villosulus , and Hylaeus pictipes ). All the remaining bee species are most likely accidental introductions that arrived after human colonization of the archipelago in the 15 th century. Bee diversity in the Azores is similar to bee diversity of Madeira and Cape Verde but nearly ten times lower than it is in the Canary Islands.
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van Staaden, Moira J; Searcy, William A; Hanlon, Roger T
2011-01-01
From psychological and sociological standpoints, aggression is regarded as intentional behavior aimed at inflicting pain and manifested by hostility and attacking behaviors. In contrast, biologists define aggression as behavior associated with attack or escalation toward attack, omitting any stipulation about intentions and goals. Certain animal signals are strongly associated with escalation toward attack and have the same function as physical attack in intimidating opponents and winning contests, and ethologists therefore consider them an integral part of aggressive behavior. Aggressive signals have been molded by evolution to make them ever more effective in mediating interactions between the contestants. Early theoretical analyses of aggressive signaling suggested that signals could never be honest about fighting ability or aggressive intentions because weak individuals would exaggerate such signals whenever they were effective in influencing the behavior of opponents. More recent game theory models, however, demonstrate that given the right costs and constraints, aggressive signals are both reliable about strength and intentions and effective in influencing contest outcomes. Here, we review the role of signaling in lieu of physical violence, considering threat displays from an ethological perspective as an adaptive outcome of evolutionary selection pressures. Fighting prowess is conveyed by performance signals whose production is constrained by physical ability and thus limited to just some individuals, whereas aggressive intent is encoded in strategic signals that all signalers are able to produce. We illustrate recent advances in the study of aggressive signaling with case studies of charismatic taxa that employ a range of sensory modalities, viz. visual and chemical signaling in cephalopod behavior, and indicators of aggressive intent in the territorial calls of songbirds. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Effects of Long Distance Transportation on Honey Bee Physiology
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Kiheung Ahn
2012-01-01
Full Text Available Despite the requirement of long distance transportation of honey bees used for pollination, we understand little how transportation affects honey bees. Three trials in three different states (CA, GA, and MI were conducted to study the effects of long distance transportation on honey bee physiology. Newly emerged bees from one colony were split into two groups and introduced into a transported (T colony or a stationary (S colony in each trial. Volumes of hypopharyngeal gland acini in T colonies were significantly smaller than S colonies in all three trials. There were no significant differences between S and T colonies in juvenile hormone titers. Protein content in head showed no significant differences between S and T either in 7-day-old or 17-day-old bees of MI trial, but GA trial showed a significant reduction in bees experiencing transportation. Protein content in thorax was only measured in GA trial and was not significantly different between the two groups. Lipid content in abdomen was not significantly different between the S and T colonies in all three trials. This study suggests that bees experiencing transportation have trouble fully developing their food glands and this might affect their ability to nurse the next generation of workers.
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Therapeutic effect of bee pollens on acute radiation sickness
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Wang Mingsuo; Huang Chaoqun; Chen Zhen; Huang Meiying; Jiang Ying; Wang Tao
1997-09-01
The therapeutic effect of bee pollens on acute radiation sickness were evaluated by observing the changes in the peripheral white blood cell (PWBC) count, the total activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and the levels of lipid peroxides (LPO) in sera of the irradiated rats following P.O. administration of bee pollens. It was found that bee pollens could remarkably help irradiated rats recover from radiation-induced injury. The functions of bee pollens might be summarized as follows: (1) Stimulating Proliferation of PWBC. The PWBC count of the bee pollens group showed no significant difference as compared with the normal control group on the 30 th day postirradiation. (2) Enhancing antioxidative effect of clearing free radicals. The total activity of serum SOD in the bee pollens group increased by 6.48% as compared with the normal control group on the 30 th day after irradiation, and the LPO levels i.e. MDA and POV in sera of the irradiated rats decreased by 54.73% and 21.60% respectively. The result suggests that using bee pollens as antiradiation and health-promoting agents in clinical treatment of acute radiation sickness and during radiotherapy of patients with tumors may has certain practical value. (12 refs., 2 figs., 2 tabs.)
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Laura Fortel
Full Text Available Wild bees are important pollinators that have declined in diversity and abundance during the last decades. Habitat destruction and fragmentation associated with urbanization are reported as part of the main causes of this decline. Urbanization involves dramatic changes of the landscape, increasing the proportion of impervious surface while decreasing that of green areas. Few studies have investigated the effects of urbanization on bee communities. We assessed changes in the abundance, species richness, and composition of wild bee community along an urbanization gradient.Over two years and on a monthly basis, bees were sampled with colored pan traps and insect nets at 24 sites located along an urbanization gradient. Landscape structure within three different radii was measured at each study site. We captured 291 wild bee species. The abundance of wild bees was negatively correlated with the proportion of impervious surface, while species richness reached a maximum at an intermediate (50% proportion of impervious surface. The structure of the community changed along the urbanization gradient with more parasitic species in sites with an intermediate proportion of impervious surface. There were also greater numbers of cavity-nesting species and long-tongued species in sites with intermediate or higher proportion of impervious surface. However, urbanization had no effect on the occurrence of species depending on their social behavior or body size.We found nearly a third of the wild bee fauna known from France in our study sites. Indeed, urban areas supported a diverse bee community, but sites with an intermediate level of urbanization were the most speciose ones, including greater proportion of parasitic species. The presence of a diverse array of bee species even in the most urbanized area makes these pollinators worthy of being a flagship group to raise the awareness of urban citizens about biodiversity.
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Fortel, Laura; Henry, Mickaël; Guilbaud, Laurent; Guirao, Anne Laure; Kuhlmann, Michael; Mouret, Hugues; Rollin, Orianne; Vaissière, Bernard E
2014-01-01
Wild bees are important pollinators that have declined in diversity and abundance during the last decades. Habitat destruction and fragmentation associated with urbanization are reported as part of the main causes of this decline. Urbanization involves dramatic changes of the landscape, increasing the proportion of impervious surface while decreasing that of green areas. Few studies have investigated the effects of urbanization on bee communities. We assessed changes in the abundance, species richness, and composition of wild bee community along an urbanization gradient. Over two years and on a monthly basis, bees were sampled with colored pan traps and insect nets at 24 sites located along an urbanization gradient. Landscape structure within three different radii was measured at each study site. We captured 291 wild bee species. The abundance of wild bees was negatively correlated with the proportion of impervious surface, while species richness reached a maximum at an intermediate (50%) proportion of impervious surface. The structure of the community changed along the urbanization gradient with more parasitic species in sites with an intermediate proportion of impervious surface. There were also greater numbers of cavity-nesting species and long-tongued species in sites with intermediate or higher proportion of impervious surface. However, urbanization had no effect on the occurrence of species depending on their social behavior or body size. We found nearly a third of the wild bee fauna known from France in our study sites. Indeed, urban areas supported a diverse bee community, but sites with an intermediate level of urbanization were the most speciose ones, including greater proportion of parasitic species. The presence of a diverse array of bee species even in the most urbanized area makes these pollinators worthy of being a flagship group to raise the awareness of urban citizens about biodiversity.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Francis L.W. Ratnieks
2015-04-01
Full Text Available A honey bee colony has been likened to an oil company. Some members of the company or colony prospect for valuable liquid resources. When these are discovered other group members can be recruited to exploit the resource. The recruitment of nestmates to a specific location where there is a patch of flowers should change the economics of scouting, that is, the search for new resource patches. In particular, communication is predicted to make scouting at longer distances worthwhile because a profitable resource patch, once discovered, will enhance the foraging not only of the discoverer but also of nestmates that can be directed to the patch. By virtue of having large colonies and dance communication, honey bees are predicted to be able to profitably scout, and hence forage, at greater distances from the nest than either solitary bees or social bees without communication. We test this hypothesis by first examining existing data on foraging distance to evaluate whether honey bees do indeed forage at greater distances than other bees given their body size. Second, we present a simple cost-benefit analysis of scouting which indicates that communication causes longer range scouting to be more profitable. Overall, our analyses are supportive, but not conclusive, that honey bees forage further than would be expected given their size and that the waggle dance is a cause of the honey bee’s exceptional foraging range.
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A new threat to honey bees, the parasitic phorid fly Apocephalus borealis.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Andrew Core
Full Text Available Honey bee colonies are subject to numerous pathogens and parasites. Interaction among multiple pathogens and parasites is the proposed cause for Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD, a syndrome characterized by worker bees abandoning their hive. Here we provide the first documentation that the phorid fly Apocephalus borealis, previously known to parasitize bumble bees, also infects and eventually kills honey bees and may pose an emerging threat to North American apiculture. Parasitized honey bees show hive abandonment behavior, leaving their hives at night and dying shortly thereafter. On average, seven days later up to 13 phorid larvae emerge from each dead bee and pupate away from the bee. Using DNA barcoding, we confirmed that phorids that emerged from honey bees and bumble bees were the same species. Microarray analyses of honey bees from infected hives revealed that these bees are often infected with deformed wing virus and Nosema ceranae. Larvae and adult phorids also tested positive for these pathogens, implicating the fly as a potential vector or reservoir of these honey bee pathogens. Phorid parasitism may affect hive viability since 77% of sites sampled in the San Francisco Bay Area were infected by the fly and microarray analyses detected phorids in commercial hives in South Dakota and California's Central Valley. Understanding details of phorid infection may shed light on similar hive abandonment behaviors seen in CCD.
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A New Threat to Honey Bees, the Parasitic Phorid Fly Apocephalus borealis
Core, Andrew; Runckel, Charles; Ivers, Jonathan; Quock, Christopher; Siapno, Travis; DeNault, Seraphina; Brown, Brian; DeRisi, Joseph; Smith, Christopher D.; Hafernik, John
2012-01-01
Honey bee colonies are subject to numerous pathogens and parasites. Interaction among multiple pathogens and parasites is the proposed cause for Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), a syndrome characterized by worker bees abandoning their hive. Here we provide the first documentation that the phorid fly Apocephalus borealis, previously known to parasitize bumble bees, also infects and eventually kills honey bees and may pose an emerging threat to North American apiculture. Parasitized honey bees show hive abandonment behavior, leaving their hives at night and dying shortly thereafter. On average, seven days later up to 13 phorid larvae emerge from each dead bee and pupate away from the bee. Using DNA barcoding, we confirmed that phorids that emerged from honey bees and bumble bees were the same species. Microarray analyses of honey bees from infected hives revealed that these bees are often infected with deformed wing virus and Nosema ceranae. Larvae and adult phorids also tested positive for these pathogens, implicating the fly as a potential vector or reservoir of these honey bee pathogens. Phorid parasitism may affect hive viability since 77% of sites sampled in the San Francisco Bay Area were infected by the fly and microarray analyses detected phorids in commercial hives in South Dakota and California's Central Valley. Understanding details of phorid infection may shed light on similar hive abandonment behaviors seen in CCD. PMID:22235317
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Gao, Xiang-Ming; Yang, Shi-Feng; Pan, San-Bo
2017-01-01
Predicting the output power of photovoltaic system with nonstationarity and randomness, an output power prediction model for grid-connected PV systems is proposed based on empirical mode decomposition (EMD) and support vector machine (SVM) optimized with an artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm. First, according to the weather forecast data sets on the prediction date, the time series data of output power on a similar day with 15-minute intervals are built. Second, the time series data of the output power are decomposed into a series of components, including some intrinsic mode components IMFn and a trend component Res, at different scales using EMD. The corresponding SVM prediction model is established for each IMF component and trend component, and the SVM model parameters are optimized with the artificial bee colony algorithm. Finally, the prediction results of each model are reconstructed, and the predicted values of the output power of the grid-connected PV system can be obtained. The prediction model is tested with actual data, and the results show that the power prediction model based on the EMD and ABC-SVM has a faster calculation speed and higher prediction accuracy than do the single SVM prediction model and the EMD-SVM prediction model without optimization.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Xiang-ming Gao
2017-01-01
Full Text Available Predicting the output power of photovoltaic system with nonstationarity and randomness, an output power prediction model for grid-connected PV systems is proposed based on empirical mode decomposition (EMD and support vector machine (SVM optimized with an artificial bee colony (ABC algorithm. First, according to the weather forecast data sets on the prediction date, the time series data of output power on a similar day with 15-minute intervals are built. Second, the time series data of the output power are decomposed into a series of components, including some intrinsic mode components IMFn and a trend component Res, at different scales using EMD. The corresponding SVM prediction model is established for each IMF component and trend component, and the SVM model parameters are optimized with the artificial bee colony algorithm. Finally, the prediction results of each model are reconstructed, and the predicted values of the output power of the grid-connected PV system can be obtained. The prediction model is tested with actual data, and the results show that the power prediction model based on the EMD and ABC-SVM has a faster calculation speed and higher prediction accuracy than do the single SVM prediction model and the EMD-SVM prediction model without optimization.
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Host-Parasite Interactions and Purifying Selection in a Microsporidian Parasite of Honey Bees.
Huang, Qiang; Chen, Yan Ping; Wang, Rui Wu; Cheng, Shang; Evans, Jay D
2016-01-01
To clarify the mechanisms of Nosema ceranae parasitism, we deep-sequenced both honey bee host and parasite mRNAs throughout a complete 6-day infection cycle. By time-series analysis, 1122 parasite genes were significantly differently expressed during the reproduction cycle, clustering into 4 expression patterns. We found reactive mitochondrial oxygen species modulator 1 of the host to be significantly down regulated during the entire infection period. Our data support the hypothesis that apoptosis of honey bee cells was suppressed during infection. We further analyzed genome-wide genetic diversity of this parasite by comparing samples collected from the same site in 2007 and 2013. The number of SNP positions per gene and the proportion of non-synonymous substitutions per gene were significantly reduced over this time period, suggesting purifying selection on the parasite genome and supporting the hypothesis that a subset of N. ceranae strains might be dominating infection.
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Honey bee success predicted by landscape composition in Ohio, USA
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
DB Sponsler
2015-03-01
Full Text Available Foraging honey bees (Apis mellifera L. can routinely travel as far as several kilometers from their hive in the process of collecting nectar and pollen from floral patches within the surrounding landscape. Since the availability of floral resources at the landscape scale is a function of landscape composition, apiculturists have long recognized that landscape composition is a critical determinant of honey bee colony success. Nevertheless, very few studies present quantitative data relating colony success metrics to local landscape composition. We employed a beekeeper survey in conjunction with GIS-based landscape analysis to model colony success as a function of landscape composition in the State of Ohio, USA, a region characterized by intensive cropland, urban development, deciduous forest, and grassland. We found that colony food accumulation and wax production were positively related to cropland and negatively related to forest and grassland, a pattern that may be driven by the abundance of dandelion and clovers in agricultural areas compared to forest or mature grassland. Colony food accumulation was also negatively correlated with urban land cover in sites dominated by urban and agricultural land use, which does not support the popular opinion that the urban environment is more favorable to honey bees than cropland.
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Honey bee success predicted by landscape composition in Ohio, USA.
Sponsler, D B; Johnson, R M
2015-01-01
Foraging honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) can routinely travel as far as several kilometers from their hive in the process of collecting nectar and pollen from floral patches within the surrounding landscape. Since the availability of floral resources at the landscape scale is a function of landscape composition, apiculturists have long recognized that landscape composition is a critical determinant of honey bee colony success. Nevertheless, very few studies present quantitative data relating colony success metrics to local landscape composition. We employed a beekeeper survey in conjunction with GIS-based landscape analysis to model colony success as a function of landscape composition in the State of Ohio, USA, a region characterized by intensive cropland, urban development, deciduous forest, and grassland. We found that colony food accumulation and wax production were positively related to cropland and negatively related to forest and grassland, a pattern that may be driven by the abundance of dandelion and clovers in agricultural areas compared to forest or mature grassland. Colony food accumulation was also negatively correlated with urban land cover in sites dominated by urban and agricultural land use, which does not support the popular opinion that the urban environment is more favorable to honey bees than cropland.
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Parasite infection accelerates age polyethism in young honey bees
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Lecocq, Antoine; Jensen, Annette Bruun; Kryger, Per
2016-01-01
micro-colonies of honey bees and video analyses to track the effects of N. ceranae infection and exposure on a range of individual and social behaviours in young adult bees. We provide detailed data showing that N. ceranae infection significantly accelerated the age polyethism of young bees, causing......Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are important pollinators and their health is threatened worldwide by persistent exposure to a wide range of factors including pesticides, poor nutrition, and pathogens. Nosema ceranae is a ubiquitous microsporidian associated with high colony mortality. We used lab...... manipulation to increase colony infection. However, reduction in queen contacts could help bees limit the spread of infection. Such accelerated age polyethism may provide a form of behavioural immunity, particularly if it is elicited by a wide variety of pathogens....
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Urban gardens promote bee foraging over natural habitats and plantations.
Kaluza, Benjamin F; Wallace, Helen; Heard, Tim A; Klein, Alexandra-Maria; Leonhardt, Sara D
2016-03-01
Increasing human land use for agriculture and housing leads to the loss of natural habitat and to widespread declines in wild bees. Bee foraging dynamics and fitness depend on the availability of resources in the surrounding landscape, but how precisely landscape related resource differences affect bee foraging patterns remains unclear. To investigate how landscape and its interaction with season and weather drive foraging and resource intake in social bees, we experimentally compared foraging activity, the allocation of foragers to different resources (pollen, nectar, and resin) and overall resource intake in the Australian stingless bee Tetragonula carbonaria (Apidae, Meliponini). Bee colonies were monitored in different seasons over two years. We compared foraging patterns and resource intake between the bees' natural habitat (forests) and two landscapes differently altered by humans (suburban gardens and agricultural macadamia plantations). We found foraging activity as well as pollen and nectar forager numbers to be highest in suburban gardens, intermediate in forests and low in plantations. Foraging patterns further differed between seasons, but seasonal variations strongly differed between landscapes. Sugar and pollen intake was low in plantations, but contrary with our predictions, it was even higher in gardens than in forests. In contrast, resin intake was similar across landscapes. Consequently, differences in resource availability between natural and altered landscapes strongly affect foraging patterns and thus resource intake in social bees. While agricultural monocultures largely reduce foraging success, suburban gardens can increase resource intake well above rates found in natural habitats of bees, indicating that human activities can both decrease and increase the availability of resources in a landscape and thus reduce or enhance bee fitness.
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Urbanization Increases Pathogen Pressure on Feral and Managed Honey Bees.
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Elsa Youngsteadt
Full Text Available Given the role of infectious disease in global pollinator decline, there is a need to understand factors that shape pathogen susceptibility and transmission in bees. Here we ask how urbanization affects the immune response and pathogen load of feral and managed colonies of honey bees (Apis mellifera Linnaeus, the predominant economically important pollinator worldwide. Using quantitative real-time PCR, we measured expression of 4 immune genes and relative abundance of 10 honey bee pathogens. We also measured worker survival in a laboratory bioassay. We found that pathogen pressure on honey bees increased with urbanization and management, and the probability of worker survival declined 3-fold along our urbanization gradient. The effect of management on pathogens appears to be mediated by immunity, with feral bees expressing immune genes at nearly twice the levels of managed bees following an immune challenge. The effect of urbanization, however, was not linked with immunity; instead, urbanization may favor viability and transmission of some disease agents. Feral colonies, with lower disease burdens and stronger immune responses, may illuminate ways to improve honey bee management. The previously unexamined effects of urbanization on honey-bee disease are concerning, suggesting that urban areas may favor problematic diseases of pollinators.
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Urbanization Increases Pathogen Pressure on Feral and Managed Honey Bees.
Youngsteadt, Elsa; Appler, R Holden; López-Uribe, Margarita M; Tarpy, David R; Frank, Steven D
2015-01-01
Given the role of infectious disease in global pollinator decline, there is a need to understand factors that shape pathogen susceptibility and transmission in bees. Here we ask how urbanization affects the immune response and pathogen load of feral and managed colonies of honey bees (Apis mellifera Linnaeus), the predominant economically important pollinator worldwide. Using quantitative real-time PCR, we measured expression of 4 immune genes and relative abundance of 10 honey bee pathogens. We also measured worker survival in a laboratory bioassay. We found that pathogen pressure on honey bees increased with urbanization and management, and the probability of worker survival declined 3-fold along our urbanization gradient. The effect of management on pathogens appears to be mediated by immunity, with feral bees expressing immune genes at nearly twice the levels of managed bees following an immune challenge. The effect of urbanization, however, was not linked with immunity; instead, urbanization may favor viability and transmission of some disease agents. Feral colonies, with lower disease burdens and stronger immune responses, may illuminate ways to improve honey bee management. The previously unexamined effects of urbanization on honey-bee disease are concerning, suggesting that urban areas may favor problematic diseases of pollinators.
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Hanish, Laura D.; Sallquist, Julie; DiDonato, Matthew; Fabes, Richard A.; Martin, Carol Lynn
2012-01-01
This study assessed girls’ and boys’ dominance-related behaviors (aggressive, commanding, submissive, and neutral behaviors) as they naturally occurred during interactions with male and female peers and evaluated the possibility that such behaviors elicit aggression from peers. Using a focal observational procedure, young girls’ and boys’ (N = 170; 54% boys) naturally occurring dominance-related behaviors and male and female peers’ aggressive responses to those behaviors were recorded multiple times each week across the academic year. Findings suggested that same-gender aggression occurred at similar rates as other-gender aggression once tendencies toward gender segregated play were controlled. Additionally, there were both gender-based similarities and differences in children’s use of dominance-related behaviors in peer interactions and as antecedents for peers’ aggression. The findings have implications for the literatures on aggression and gendered peer interactions. PMID:22369337
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Floral nectar guide patterns discourage nectar robbing by bumble bees.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Anne S Leonard
Full Text Available Floral displays are under selection to both attract pollinators and deter antagonists. Here we show that a common floral trait, a nectar guide pattern, alters the behavior of bees that can act opportunistically as both pollinators and as antagonists. Generally, bees access nectar via the floral limb, transporting pollen through contact with the plant's reproductive structures; however bees sometimes extract nectar from a hole in the side of the flower that they or other floral visitors create. This behavior is called "nectar robbing" because bees may acquire the nectar without transporting pollen. We asked whether the presence of a symmetric floral nectar guide pattern on artificial flowers affected bumble bees' (Bombus impatiens propensity to rob or access nectar "legitimately." We discovered that nectar guides made legitimate visits more efficient for bees than robbing, and increased the relative frequency of legitimate visits, compared to flowers lacking nectar guides. This study is the first to show that beyond speeding nectar discovery, a nectar guide pattern can influence bees' flower handling in a way that could benefit the plant.
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Video game playing and its relations with aggressive and prosocial behaviour.
Wiegman, O; van Schie, E G
1998-09-01
In this study of 278 children from the seventh and eighth grade of five elementary schools in Enschede, The Netherlands, the relationship between the amount of time children spent on playing video games and aggressive as well as prosocial behaviour was investigated. In addition, the relationship between the preference for aggressive video games and aggressive and prosocial behaviour was studied. No significant relationship was found between video game use in general and aggressive behaviour, but a significant negative relationship with prosocial behaviour was supported. However, separate analyses for boys and girls did not reveal this relationship. More consistent results were found for the preference for aggressive video games: children, especially boys, who preferred aggressive video games were more aggressive and showed less prosocial behaviour than those with a low preference for these games. Further analyses showed that children who preferred playing aggressive video games tended to be less intelligent.
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Detection of Spiroplasma melliferum in honey bee colonies in the US.
Zheng, Huo-Qing; Chen, Yan Ping
2014-06-01
Spiroplasma infections in honey bees have been reported in Europe and Asia quite recently, due to intensive studies on the epidemiology of honey bee diseases. The situation in the US is less well analyzed. Here, we examined the honey bee colonies in Beltsville, MD, where Spiroplasmamelliferum was originally reported and found S. melliferum infection in honey bees. Our data showed high variation of S. melliferum infection in honey bees with a peak prevalence in May during the course of one-year study period. The colony prevalence increased from 5% in February to 68% in May and then decreased to 25% in June and 22% in July. Despite that pathogenicity of spiroplasmas in honey bee colonies remains to be determined, our results indicated that spiroplasma infections need to be included for the consideration of the impacts on honey bee health. Published by Elsevier Inc.
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Visual summation in night-flying sweat bees: a theoretical study.
Theobald, Jamie Carroll; Greiner, Birgit; Wcislo, William T; Warrant, Eric J
2006-07-01
Bees are predominantly diurnal; only a few groups fly at night. An evolutionary limitation that bees must overcome to inhabit dim environments is their eye type: bees possess apposition compound eyes, which are poorly suited to vision in dim light. Here, we theoretically examine how nocturnal bees Megalopta genalis fly at light levels usually reserved for insects bearing more sensitive superposition eyes. We find that neural summation should greatly increase M. genalis's visual reliability. Predicted spatial summation closely matches the morphology of laminal neurons believed to mediate such summation. Improved reliability costs acuity, but dark adapted bees already suffer optical blurring, and summation further degrades vision only slightly.
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Patch dynamics of a foraging assemblage of bees.
Wright, David Hamilton
1985-03-01
The composition and dynamics of foraging assemblages of bees were examined from the standpoint of species-level arrival and departure processes in patches of flowers. Experiments with bees visiting 4 different species of flowers in subalpine meadows in Colorado gave the following results: 1) In enriched patches the rates of departure of bees were reduced, resulting in increases in both the number of bees per species and the average number of species present. 2) The reduction in bee departure rates from enriched patches was due to mechanical factors-increased flower handling time, and to behavioral factors-an increase in the number of flowers visited per inflorescence and in the number of inflorescences visited per patch. Bees foraging in enriched patches could collect nectar 30-45% faster than those foraging in control patches. 3) The quantitative changes in foraging assemblages due to enrichment, in terms of means and variances of species population sizes, fraction of time a species was present in a patch, and in mean and variance of the number of species present, were in reasonable agreement with predictions drawn from queuing theory and studies in island biogeography. 4) Experiments performed with 2 species of flowers with different corolla tube lengths demonstrated that manipulation of resources of differing availability had unequal effects on particular subsets of the larger foraging community. The arrival-departure process of bees on flowers and the immigration-extinction process of species on islands are contrasted, and the value of the stochastic, species-level approach to community composition is briefly discussed.
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Bee Fauna and Floral Abundance Within Lawn-Dominated Suburban Yards in Springfield, MA.
Lerman, S B; Milam, J
2016-09-01
Private yards comprise a significant component of urban lands, with managed lawns representing the dominant land cover. Lawns blanket > 163,000 km 2 of the United States, and 50% of urban and suburban areas. When not treated with herbicides, lawns have the capacity to support a diversity of spontaneous (e.g., not planted) flowers, with the potential to provide nectar and pollen resources for pollinators such as native bees. In order to determine the extent to which suburban lawns support these important species, we surveyed lawns in 17 suburban yards in Springfield, MA, between May and September 2013 and 2014. Householders participating in the study did not apply chemical pesticides or herbicides to lawns for the duration of the study. We collected 5,331 individual bees, representing 111 species, and 29% of bee species reported for the state. The majority of species were native to North America (94.6%), nested in soil (73%), and solitary (48.6%). Species richness was lower for oligolectic (specialists on a single plant; 9.9%) and parasitic species (12.6%). Abundance percentages for number of individuals were similar. We documented 63 plant species in the lawns, the majority of which were not intentionally planted. The most abundant lawn flowers were dandelion ( Taraxacum officinale ) and clover ( Trifolium sp. ). Nearly 30% of the spontaneous plant species growing in the lawns were native to North America. Our study suggests that the spontaneous lawn flowers could be viewed as supplemental floral resources and support pollinators, thereby enhancing the value of urban green spaces.
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Protection of carniolan bee - preserve breed or race of honeybee?
Božič, Janko
2015-01-01
Slovenia protects authentic breed of carniolan bee based on zootechnical legislation. Different varieties of honeybee around the Earth are usually described with the term races and not breeds. Foundations for such nomenclature are in evolution of bee races with natural selection without considerable influence of the men. Acceptance of carniolan bee as a race determines environmental-protection approach in preservation of authentic carniolan bee population. Slovenia is locus typicus of the rac...
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Longitudinal Associations between Depression and Aggression in Children and Adolescents.
Blain-Arcaro, Christine; Vaillancourt, Tracy
2017-07-01
Due to the longstanding and detrimental effects of engaging in aggressive behaviour and of experiencing symptoms of internalizing problems in children and adolescents, there is an increasing interest in identifying the temporal sequence between these 2 problems with previous research yielding inconsistent findings. Therefore, the longitudinal links between relational aggression, physical aggression, and depression were examined across 7 years in a sample of 643 children (54 % girls) aged 10 at Time 1. Three models were compared- (1) the failure model, in which aggression predicted depression, (2) the acting out model, in which depression predicted aggression, and (3) a reciprocal model, in which both aggression and depression shared a reciprocal relation over time. Cross-lagged path analyses using structural equation modeling supported the failure model (i.e., engaging in relational and physical aggression predicts subsequent depressive symptoms). Findings were similar for boys and girls. These findings add to the literature suggesting that externalizing problems precede internalizing problems.
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Lawson, Sarah P; Helmreich, Salena L; Rehan, Sandra M
2017-12-01
By manipulating resources or dispersal opportunities, mothers can force offspring to remain at the nest to help raise siblings, creating a division of labor. In the subsocial bee Ceratina calcarata , mothers manipulate the quantity and quality of pollen provided to the first female offspring, producing a dwarf eldest daughter that is physically smaller and behaviorally subordinate. This daughter forages for her siblings and forgoes her own reproduction. To understand how the mother's manipulation of pollen affects the physiology and behavior of her offspring, we manipulated the amount of pollen provided to offspring and measured the effects of pollen quantity on offspring development, adult body size and behavior. We found that by experimentally manipulating pollen quantities we could recreate the dwarf eldest daughter phenotype, demonstrating how nutrient deficiency alone can lead to the development of a worker-like daughter. Specifically, by reducing the pollen and nutrition to offspring, we significantly reduced adult body size and lipid stores, creating significantly less aggressive, subordinate individuals. Worker behavior in an otherwise solitary bee begins to explain how maternal manipulation of resources could lead to the development of social organization and reproductive hierarchies, a major step in the transition to highly social behaviors. © 2017. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.
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Economic Risk of Bee Pollination in Maine Wild Blueberry, Vaccinium angustifolium.
Asare, Eric; Hoshide, Aaron K; Drummond, Francis A; Criner, George K; Chen, Xuan
2017-10-01
Recent pollinator declines highlight the importance of evaluating economic risk of agricultural systems heavily dependent on rented honey bees or native pollinators. Our study analyzed variability of native bees and honey bees, and the risks these pose to profitability of Maine's wild blueberry industry. We used cross-sectional data from organic, low-, medium-, and high-input wild blueberry producers in 1993, 1997-1998, 2005-2007, and from 2011 to 2015 (n = 162 fields). Data included native and honey bee densities (count/m2/min) and honey bee stocking densities (hives/ha). Blueberry fruit set, yield, and honey bee hive stocking density models were estimated. Fruit set is impacted about 1.6 times more by native bees than honey bees on a per bee basis. Fruit set significantly explained blueberry yield. Honey bee stocking density in fields predicted honey bee foraging densities. These three models were used in enterprise budgets for all four systems from on-farm surveys of 23 conventional and 12 organic producers (2012-2013). These budgets formed the basis of Monte Carlo simulations of production and profit. Stochastic dominance of net farm income (NFI) cumulative distribution functions revealed that if organic yields are high enough (2,345 kg/ha), organic systems are economically preferable to conventional systems. However, if organic yields are lower (724 kg/ha), it is riskier with higher variability of crop yield and NFI. Although medium-input systems are stochastically dominant with lower NFI variability compared with other conventional systems, the high-input system breaks even with the low-input system if honey bee hive rental prices triple in the future. © The Authors 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America.
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RuBee and RFID A confidential summary,May 2009
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
无
2009-01-01
The letters"RFID"have become a negative to many of our end-customers,so we have had to distance RuBee from the entire category and discourage any attempt to characterize RuBee as just another RFID technology.We never engage in pilots or trials where RFID is seen as a competing technology to RuBee.Most
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Bee Diversity (Hymenoptera: Apoidea in a Tropical Rainforest Succession
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Allan Smith-Pardo
2007-01-01
15.356 specimens were collected, belonging to four families and 287 species, representing 62% of all bee species found in Colombia. About 50% of all individuals sampled were stingless social bees (Apidae, Meliponini. Trigona (Trigona fulviventris was the most abundant species (~10% in the survey. Augochlora and Megachile were the most specious genera. The pasture and secondary forest showed high values of diversity and richness and were significantly higher than those of the mature forest and low shrubs. In all successional stages, except in the mature forest, the number of new species collected in each sample period approached zero and the species accumulation curves tended to stabilize as time and sampling area increased. The net was the most efficient method in all successional stages, except in the forest, where most bee species and individuals were collected with the Van Somer trap. However, a higher percentage (50% of rare species was collected with the Malaise trap. The number of new species collected in each sampled period and the species accumulation curves suggest that our survey was nearly sufficient to estimate the bee diversity in these early successional stages, but insufficient to study the mature forest apifauna. Due to the high efficiency of the Van Somer trap to attract bees in the forest, this trap should be used regularly in additional bee surveys in tropical rain forests. We also summarize the bee surveys in Colombia and highlight the importance of using other less common sampling methods to study bees from tropical ecosystems.
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Agreeableness and alcohol-related aggression: the mediating effect of trait aggressivity.
Miller, Cameron A; Parrott, Dominic J; Giancola, Peter R
2009-12-01
This study investigated the mediating effect of trait aggressivity on the relation between agreeableness and alcohol-related aggression in a laboratory setting. Participants were 116 healthy male social drinkers between 21 and 30 years of age. Agreeableness and trait aggressivity were measured using the Big Five Inventory and the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire, respectively. Following the consumption of an alcohol or no-alcohol control beverage, participants completed a modified version of the Taylor Aggression Paradigm, in which electric shocks were received from and administered to a fictitious opponent during a competitive task. Aggression was operationalized as the proportion of the most extreme shocks delivered to the fictitious opponent under conditions of low and high provocation. Results indicated that lower levels of agreeableness were associated with higher levels of trait aggressivity. In turn, higher levels of trait aggressivity predicted extreme aggression in intoxicated, but not sober, participants under low, but not high, provocation. Findings highlight the importance of examining determinants of intoxicated aggression within a broader theoretical framework of personality.
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Yoghurt enrichment with natural bee farming products
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
N. Lomova
2015-05-01
Full Text Available Introduction. Bee pollen is a unique and unparalleled natural bioactive substances source. Using it in conjunction with the popular functional fermented milk product -yogurt will expand its product range and increase the biological value. Materials and Methods. Dried bee pollen’s moisture determination was made by gravimetry methods, based on the sample weight loss due to desiccation, until constant weight was reached.Test and control yogurt samples were studied by applying standard techniques for milk and milk products set forth in the regulations of Ukraine. Results and discussion. It is found that bee pollen pellet drying to a moisture content of 2 -4%, increases the flow rate of powder almost by 90%. The sample having moisture content of 2% will have a bulk density exceeding 12.5% compared to the sample having moisture content of 10%. Raw output will also increase by 3.7%. By contrast, apparent density and weight fraction of losses decreases, which has a positive impact on pollen efficiency of use and distribution in bulk yogurt. Moreover, the weight fraction of losses decreases by fourfold (4.6% vs. 1%. It was experimentally determined that pollen can deteriorate microbiological characteristics of yogurt. It was proved that treatment of crushed bee pollen pellet sample with ultraviolet allows improving yogurt microbiological safety indicators. Namely, to reduce the presence of coli-forms to 0, mould –to 10 CFU/cm³. Conclusions. The proposed bee pollen pellet treatment method will improve the technological and microbiological characteristics of pollen powder. This provides for yoghurt production biotechnology using bee farming products.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Gibriel, AY.; Abdeldaiem, M.H.; Ali, H.G.M.
2016-01-01
This investigation was carried out to extend the shelf-life of silver carp fish patties (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) by the use of ethanolic extract of bee pollen (bee bread) at concentration of 4%, and gamma irradiation at doses of 1, 3 and 5 kGy as an individual treatment. The first group was control, the second group was silver carp fish patties samples treated with 4 % the ethanolic extract of bee pollen (bee bread) then irritated at doses of 1, 3 and 5 kGy. The effects of these treatments on the microbiological, chemical and sensory characteristics of silver carp fish patties samples have been observed. In addition, shelf-life periods were higher for silver carp fish patties samples treated by 4% the ethanolic extract of bee pollen (bee bread) and gamma radiation at dose of 5 kGy. This treatment was more effective as antimicrobial, consequently may be useful as natural food preservative.
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The protective effect of bee venom on fibrosis causing inflammatory diseases.
Lee, Woo-Ram; Pak, Sok Cheon; Park, Kwan-Kyu
2015-11-16
Bee venom therapy is a treatment modality that may be thousands of years old and involves the application of live bee stings to the patient's skin or, in more recent years, the injection of bee venom into the skin with a hypodermic needle. Studies have proven the effectiveness of bee venom in treating pathological conditions such as arthritis, pain and cancerous tumors. However, there has not been sufficient review to fully elucidate the cellular mechanisms of the anti-inflammatory effects of bee venom and its components. In this respect, the present study reviews current understanding of the mechanisms of the anti-inflammatory properties of bee venom and its components in the treatment of liver fibrosis, atherosclerosis and skin disease.
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Wright, Michelle F; Li, Yan
2013-01-01
This longitudinal study examined normative beliefs about aggression (e.g., face-to-face, cyber) in relation to the engagement in cyber aggression 6 months later among 126 (69 women) young adults. Participants completed electronically administered measures assessing their normative beliefs, face-to-face and cyber aggression at Time 1, and cyber aggression 6 months later (Time 2). We found that men reported more cyber relational and verbal aggression when compared to women. After controlling for each other, Time 1 face-to-face relational aggression was positively related to Time 2 cyber relational aggression, whereas Time 1 face-to-face verbal aggression was positively related to Time 2 cyber verbal aggression. Normative beliefs regarding cyber aggression was positively related to both forms of cyber aggression 6 months later, after controlling for normative beliefs about face-to-face aggression. Furthermore, a significant two-way interaction between Time 1 cyber relational aggression and normative beliefs about cyber relational aggression was found. Follow-up analysis showed that Time 1 cyber relational aggression was more strongly related to Time 2 cyber relational aggression when young adults held higher normative beliefs about cyber relational aggression. A similar two-way interaction was found for cyber verbal aggression such that the association between Time 1 and Time 2 cyber verbal aggression was stronger at higher levels of normative beliefs about cyber verbal aggression. Results are discussed in terms of the social cognitive and behavioral mechanisms associated with the engagement of cyber aggression. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Bees of the Azores: an annotated checklist (Apidae, Hymenoptera
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Julie A. Weissmann
2017-01-01
Full Text Available We report 18 species of wild bees plus the domesticated honeybee from the Azores, which adds nine species to earlier lists. One species, Hylaeus azorae, seems to be a single island endemic, and three species are possibly native (Colletes eous, Halictus villosulus, and Hylaeus pictipes. All the remaining bee species are most likely accidental introductions that arrived after human colonization of the archipelago in the 15th century. Bee diversity in the Azores is similar to bee diversity of Madeira and Cape Verde but nearly ten times lower than it is in the Canary Islands.
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Steiner, Hans; Silverman, Melissa; Karnik, Niranjan S; Huemer, Julia; Plattner, Belinda; Clark, Christina E; Blair, James R; Haapanen, Rudy
2011-06-29
To examine the implications of an ontology of aggressive behavior which divides aggression into reactive, affective, defensive, impulsive (RADI) or "emotionally hot"; and planned, instrumental, predatory (PIP) or "emotionally cold." Recent epidemiological, criminological, clinical and neuroscience studies converge to support a connection between emotional and trauma related psychopathology and disturbances in the emotions, self-regulation and aggressive behavior which has important implications for diagnosis and treatment, especially for delinquent populations. Selective review of preclinical and clinical studies in normal, clinical and delinquent populations. In delinquent populations we observe an increase in psychopathology, and especially trauma related psychopathology which impacts emotions and self-regulation in a manner that hotly emotionally charged acts of aggression become more likely. The identification of these disturbances can be supported by findings in cognitive neuroscience. These hot aggressive acts can be delineated from planned or emotionally cold aggression. Our findings support a typology of diagnostic labels for disruptive behaviors, such as conduct disorder and oppositional defiant disorder, as it appears that these acts of hot emotional aggression are a legitimate target for psychopharmacological and other trauma specific interventions. The identification of this subtype of disruptive behavior disorders leads to more specific clinical interventions which in turn promise to improve hitherto unimpressive treatment outcomes of delinquents and patients with disruptive behavior.
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Imidacloprid decreases honey bee survival but does not affect the gut microbiome.
Raymann, Kasie; Motta, Erick V S; Girard, Catherine; Riddington, Ian M; Dinser, Jordan A; Moran, Nancy A
2018-04-20
Accumulating evidence suggests that pesticides have played a role in the increased rate of honeybee colony loss. One of the most commonly used pesticides in the US is the neonicotinoid imidacloprid. Although the primary mode of action of imidacloprid is the insect nervous system, it has also been shown to cause changes insects' digestive physiology, and alter the microbiota of Drosophila melanogaster larvae. The honey bee gut microbiome plays a major role in bee health. Although many studies have shown that imidacloprid affects honey bee behavior, its impact on the microbiome has not been fully elucidated. Here we investigated the impact of imidacloprid on the gut microbiome composition, survivorship of honey bees, and susceptibility to pathogens. Consistent with other studies, we show that imidacloprid exposure results in elevated mortality of honey bees in the hive and increases susceptibility to infection by pathogens. However, we did not find evidence that imidacloprid affects the gut bacterial community of honey bees. Our in vitro experiments demonstrated that honey bee gut bacteria can grow in the presence of imidacloprid, and we found some evidence that imidacloprid can be metabolized in the bee gut environment. However, none of the individual bee gut bacterial species tested could metabolize imidacloprid, suggesting that the observed metabolism of imidacloprid in vitro bee gut cultures is not caused by the gut bacteria. Overall, our results indicate that imidacloprid causes increased mortality in honey bees, but this mortality does not appear to be linked to the microbiome. Importance Growing evidence suggests that the extensive use of pesticides has played a large role in the increased rate of honey bee colony loss. Despite extensive research on the effects of imidacloprid on honey bees, it is still unknown whether it impacts the community structure of the gut microbiome. Here we investigated the impact of imidacloprid on the gut microbiome composition
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Interference competition between sunbirds and carpenter bees for ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Interference competition between sunbirds and carpenter bees for the nectar of ... the nectar plant Hypoestes aristata against carpenter bees (Xylocopa caffra and ... co-evolution, nectar, interspecific competition, pollination biology, pollinators, ...
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Amano, Kazauhiro; Chanpen, Chanchao; Yasue, Hiroshi
2004-01-01
Various mutants in bees were observed by gamma-ray irradiation. No-sting bee appeared in some of colonies of an irradiated mature queen bee. The characteristic form and quality of no-sting bee appeared in next generation bee groups. Artificial inseminations of the queen bee were carried out. Mutation parts of the gene were analyzed by using adjusted DNA in samples of wild bees and no-sting bees. A change of band pattern in the no-sting bee was observed much more than the one in the wild bee. Mutation of the genome DNA was cleared by gamma irradiation. Apparent difference of gene amplification between the wild bees and no-sting bees were detected by using gene primer (RAPD). Polymorphism phenomena in the mutant of no-sting bee were observed in comparison with in the wild bee. (M. Suetake)
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American black bears and bee yard depredation at Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia
Clark, J.D.; Dobey, S.; Masters, D.V.; Scheick, B.K.; Pelton, M.R.; Sunquist, M.E.
2005-01-01
We studied American black bears (Ursus americanus), on the northwest periphery of Okefenokee Swamp in southeast Georgia, to assess landowner attitudes toward bears, estimate the extent of damage to commercial honey bee operations by bears, and evaluate methods to reduce bear depredations to apiaries. We collected 8,351 black bear radiolocations and identified 51 bee yards on our study area. Twenty-seven of 43 home ranges contained ≥1 bee yard, averaging 11.3 and 5.1 bee yards/home range of males (n = 7) and females (n = 20), respectively. From 1996 to 1998, we documented 7 instances of bears raiding bee yards within our study area and 6 instances in adjacent areas. All but 1 of the 13 raided yards were enclosed by electric fencing. In the 12 cases of damage to electrically fenced yards, however, the fences were not active because of depleted batteries. Based on compositional analysis, bear use of areas 800–1,400 m from bee yards was disproportionately greater than use 0–800 m from bee yards. Bears disproportionately used bay (red bay: Persea borbonia, loblolly bay: Gordonia lasianthus, and southern magnolia: Magnolia virginia), gum (water tupelo: Nyssa aquatic and black gum: N. sylvatica), and cypress (Taxodium spp.) and loblolly bay habitats, however, compared with slash pine (Pinus elliottii) or pine–oak (Quercus spp.), where bee yards usually were placed. The distribution of bear radiolocations likely reflected the use of those swamp and riparian areas, rather than avoidance of bee yards. Distances to streams from damaged bee yards (x̄ = 1,750 m) were less than from undamaged yards (x̄ = 4,442 m), and damaged bee yards were closer to unimproved roads (x̄ = 134 m) than were undamaged bee yards (x̄ = 802 m). Our analysis suggests that bee yard placement away from bear travel routes (such as streams and unimproved roads) can reduce bear depredation problems. Our results strongly indicate that working electric fences are effective deterrents to bear
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Multiobjective Optimization of Irreversible Thermal Engine Using Mutable Smart Bee Algorithm
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
M. Gorji-Bandpy
2012-01-01
Full Text Available A new method called mutable smart bee (MSB algorithm proposed for cooperative optimizing of the maximum power output (MPO and minimum entropy generation (MEG of an Atkinson cycle as a multiobjective, multi-modal mechanical problem. This method utilizes mutable smart bee instead of classical bees. The results have been checked with some of the most common optimizing algorithms like Karaboga’s original artificial bee colony, bees algorithm (BA, improved particle swarm optimization (IPSO, Lukasik firefly algorithm (LFFA, and self-adaptive penalty function genetic algorithm (SAPF-GA. According to obtained results, it can be concluded that Mutable Smart Bee (MSB is capable to maintain its historical memory for the location and quality of food sources and also a little chance of mutation is considered for this bee. These features were found as strong elements for mining data in constraint areas and the results will prove this claim.
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Bee Venom Pharmacopuncture Responses According to Sasang Constitution and Gender
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Kim Chaeweon
2013-12-01
Full Text Available Objectives: The current study was performed to compare the bee venom pharmacopuncture skin test reactions among groups with different sexes and Sasang constitutions. Methods: Between July 2012 and June 2013, all 76 patients who underwent bee venom pharmacopuncture skin tests and Sasang constitution diagnoses at Oriental Medicine Hospital of Sangji University were included in this study. The skin test was performed on the patient’s forearm intracutaneously with 0.05 ml of sweet bee venom (SBV on their first visit. If the patients showed a positive response, the test was discontinued. On the other hand, if the patient showed a negative response, the test was performed on the opposite forearm intracutaneously with 0.05 ml of bee venom pharmacopuncture 25% on the next day or the next visit. Three groups were made to compare the differences in the bee venom pharmacopuncture skin tests according to sexual difference and Sasang constitution: group A showed a positive response to SBV, group B showed a positive response to bee venom pharmacopuncture 25%, and group C showed a negative response on all bee venom pharmacopuncture skin tests. Fisher’s exact test was performed to evaluate the differences statistically. Results: The results of the bee venom pharmacopuncture skin tests showed no significant differences according to Sasang constitution (P = 0.300 or sexual difference (P = 0.163. Conclusion: No significant differences on the results of bee venom pharmacopuncture skin tests were observed according to two factors, Sasang constitution and the sexual difference.
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An artificial bee colony algorithm for the capacitated vehicle routing problem
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Szeto, W.Y.; Wu, Yongzhong; Ho, Sin C.
2011-01-01
This paper introduces an artificial bee colony heuristic for solving the capacitated vehicle routing problem. The artificial bee colony heuristic is a swarm-based heuristic, which mimics the foraging behavior of a honey bee swarm. An enhanced version of the artificial bee colony heuristic is also...... proposed to improve the solution quality of the original version. The performance of the enhanced heuristic is evaluated on two sets of standard benchmark instances, and compared with the original artificial bee colony heuristic. The computational results show that the enhanced heuristic outperforms...
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Anti-arthritic effects of microneedling with bee venom gel
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mengdi Zhao
2016-10-01
Conclusions: Bee venom can significantly suppress the occurrence of gouty arthritis inflammation in rats and mice LPS inflammatory reaction. Choose the 750 μm microneedle with 10N force on skin about 3 minutes, bee venom can play the optimal role, and the anti-inflammatory effect is obvious. Microneedles can promote the percutaneous absorption of the active macromolecules bee venom gel.
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The Sound and the Fury—Bees Hiss when Expecting Danger
Galizia, C. Giovanni
2015-01-01
Honey bees are important model systems for the investigation of learning and memory and for a better understanding of the neuronal basics of brain function. Honey bees also possess a rich repertoire of tones and sounds, from queen piping and quacking to worker hissing and buzzing. In this study, we tested whether the worker bees’ sounds can be used as a measure of learning. We therefore conditioned honey bees aversively to odours in a walking arena and recorded both their sound production and their movement. Bees were presented with two odours, one of which was paired with an electric shock. Initially, the bees did not produce any sound upon odour presentation, but responded to the electric shock with a strong hissing response. After learning, many bees hissed at the presentation of the learned odour, while fewer bees hissed upon presentation of another odour. We also found that hissing and movement away from the conditioned odour are independent behaviours that can co-occur but do not necessarily do so. Our data suggest that hissing can be used as a readout for learning after olfactory conditioning, but that there are large individual differences between bees concerning their hissing reaction. The basis for this variability and the possible ecological relevance of the bees’ hissing remain to be investigated. PMID:25747702
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Liu, Jianghong
2004-01-01
The concept of aggression is important to nursing because further knowledge of aggression can help generate a better theoretical model to drive more effective intervention and prevention approaches. This paper outlines a conceptual analysis of aggression. First, the different forms of aggression are reviewed, including the clinical classification and the stimulus-based classification. Then the manifestations and measurement of aggression are described. Finally, the causes and consequences of ...
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APIS-a novel approach for conditioning honey bees.
Kirkerud, Nicholas H; Wehmann, Henja-Niniane; Galizia, C Giovanni; Gustav, David
2013-01-01
Honey bees perform robustly in different conditioning paradigms. This makes them excellent candidates for studying mechanisms of learning and memory at both an individual and a population level. Here we introduce a novel method of honey bee conditioning: APIS, the Automatic Performance Index System. In an enclosed walking arena where the interior is covered with an electric grid, presentation of odors from either end can be combined with weak electric shocks to form aversive associations. To quantify behavioral responses, we continuously monitor the movement of the bee by an automatic tracking system. We found that escapes from one side to the other, changes in velocity as well as distance and time spent away from the punished odor are suitable parameters to describe the bee's learning capabilities. Our data show that in a short-term memory test the response rate for the conditioned stimulus (CS) in APIS correlates well with response rate obtained from conventional Proboscis Extension Response (PER)-conditioning. Additionally, we discovered that bees modulate their behavior to aversively learned odors by reducing their rate, speed and magnitude of escapes and that both generalization and extinction seem to be different between appetitive and aversive stimuli. The advantages of this automatic system make it ideal for assessing learning rates in a standardized and convenient way, and its flexibility adds to the toolbox for studying honey bee behavior.
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APIS—a novel approach for conditioning honey bees
Kirkerud, Nicholas H.; Wehmann, Henja-Niniane; Galizia, C. Giovanni; Gustav, David
2013-01-01
Honey bees perform robustly in different conditioning paradigms. This makes them excellent candidates for studying mechanisms of learning and memory at both an individual and a population level. Here we introduce a novel method of honey bee conditioning: APIS, the Automatic Performance Index System. In an enclosed walking arena where the interior is covered with an electric grid, presentation of odors from either end can be combined with weak electric shocks to form aversive associations. To quantify behavioral responses, we continuously monitor the movement of the bee by an automatic tracking system. We found that escapes from one side to the other, changes in velocity as well as distance and time spent away from the punished odor are suitable parameters to describe the bee's learning capabilities. Our data show that in a short-term memory test the response rate for the conditioned stimulus (CS) in APIS correlates well with response rate obtained from conventional Proboscis Extension Response (PER)-conditioning. Additionally, we discovered that bees modulate their behavior to aversively learned odors by reducing their rate, speed and magnitude of escapes and that both generalization and extinction seem to be different between appetitive and aversive stimuli. The advantages of this automatic system make it ideal for assessing learning rates in a standardized and convenient way, and its flexibility adds to the toolbox for studying honey bee behavior. PMID:23616753
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Bernardi, Sara; Venturino, Ezio
2016-01-01
In recent years the spread of the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor has become the most serious threat to worldwide apiculture. In the model presented here we extend the bee population dynamics with mite viral epidemiology examined in an earlier paper by allowing a bee-dependent mite population size. The results of the analysis match field observations well and give a clear explanation of how Varroa affects the epidemiology of certain naturally occurring bee viruses, causing considerable d...
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Strange, James P
2010-01-01
Three species of bumble bees, Bombus appositus Cresson, Bombus bifarius, Cresson and Bombus centralis Cresson (Hymenoptera: Apidae) were evaluated for nest initiation success under three sets of initial conditions. In the spring, gynes of each species were caught in the wild and introduced to nest boxes in one of three ways. Gynes were either introduced in conspecific pairs, singly with two honey bees, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae) workers, or alone. Nesting success and colony growth parameters were measured to understand the effects of the various treatments on nest establishment. Colonies initiated from pairs of conspecific gynes were most successful in producing worker bees (59.1%), less successful were colonies initiated with honey bee workers (33.3%), and least successful were bumble bee gynes initiating colonies alone (16.7%). There was a negative correlation between the numbers of days to the emergence of the first worker in a colony to the attainment of ultimate colony size, indicating that gynes that have not commenced oviposition in 21 days are unlikely to result in colonies exceeding 50 workers. B. appositus had the highest rate of nest establishment followed by B. bifarius and B. centralis. Nest establishment rates in three western bumble bee species can be increased dramatically by the addition of either honey bee workers or a second gyne to nesting boxes at colony initiation.
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Landscape and Local Correlates of Bee Abundance and Species Richness in Urban Gardens.
Quistberg, Robyn D; Bichier, Peter; Philpott, Stacy M
2016-03-31
Urban gardens may preserve biodiversity as urban population densities increase, but this strongly depends on the characteristics of the gardens and the landscapes in which they are embedded. We investigated whether local and landscape characteristics are important correlates of bee (Hymenoptera: Apiformes) abundance and species richness in urban community gardens. We worked in 19 gardens in the California central coast and sampled bees with aerial nets and pan traps. We measured local characteristics (i.e., vegetation and ground cover) and used the USGS National Land Cover Database to classify the landscape surrounding our garden study sites at 2 km scales. We classified bees according to nesting type (i.e., cavity, ground) and body size and determined which local and landscape characteristics correlate with bee community characteristics. We found 55 bee species. One landscape and several local factors correlated with differences in bee abundance and richness for all bees, cavity-nesting bees, ground-nesting bees, and different sized bees. Generally, bees were more abundant and species rich in bigger gardens, in gardens with higher floral abundance, less mulch cover, more bare ground, and with more grass. Medium bees were less abundant in sites surrounded by more medium intensity developed land within 2 km. The fact that local factors were generally more important drivers of bee abundance and richness indicates a potential for gardeners to promote bee conservation by altering local management practices. In particular, increasing floral abundance, decreasing use of mulch, and providing bare ground may promote bees in urban gardens. © The Authors 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.
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A Study on the Stability of Diluted Bee Venom Solution
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mi-Suk Kang
2003-06-01
Full Text Available Objective : The purpose of this study was to investigate the stability of bee venom according to the keeping method and period. Method : The author observed microbial contamination of bee venom in nutrient agar, broth, YPD agar and YPD media and antibacterial activity for S. aureus, E. coli manufactured 12, 6 and 3 months ago as the two type of room temperature and 4℃ cold storage. Result : 1. 1:3,000 and 1:4,000 diluted bee venom solution did not show microbial contamination both room temperature and cold storage within twelve months. 2. There was antibacterial activity of diluted bee venom for S. aureus in cold storage within twelve months and there was no antibacterial activity of diluted bee venom for S. aureus in twelve months, room temperature storage. 3. We could not observe the zone of inhibition around paper disc of all for E.coli. in 1:3,000, 1:30,000 and 1:3,000,000 diluted bee venom solution, respectively. According to results, we expect that diluted bee venom solution is stable both cold and room temperature storage within twelve months.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Nadja Danner
Full Text Available The availability of pollen in agricultural landscapes is essential for the successful growth and reproduction of honey bee colonies (Apis mellifera L.. The quantity and diversity of collected pollen can influence the growth and health of honey bee colonies, but little is known about the influence of landscape structure on pollen diet. In a field experiment, we rotated 16 honey bee colonies across 16 agricultural landscapes, used traps to collect samples of collected pollen and observed intra-colonial dance communication to gain information about foraging distances. DNA metabarcoding was applied to analyze mixed pollen samples. Neither the amount of collected pollen nor pollen diversity was related to landscape diversity. However, we found a strong seasonal variation in the amount and diversity of collected pollen in all sites independent of landscape diversity. The observed increase in foraging distances with decreasing landscape diversity suggests that honey bees compensated for lower landscape diversity by increasing their pollen foraging range in order to maintain pollen amount and diversity. Our results underscore the importance of a diverse pollen diet for honey bee colonies. Agri-environmental schemes aiming to support pollinators should focus on possible spatial and temporal gaps in pollen availability and diversity in agricultural landscapes.
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Changing the Sexual Aggression-Supportive Attitudes of Men: A Psychoeducational Intervention.
Gilbert, Barbara J.; And Others
1991-01-01
Assessed psychoeducational intervention designed to change attitudes of men found to be associated with sexual aggression toward women. College men receiving elaboration likelihood model-based intervention showed significantly more attitude change than did control group. One month later, in unrelated naturalistic context, intervention subjects…
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Thermoperiodism in the cavity nesting alfalfa leafcutting bee, Megachile rotundata
The alfalfa leafcutting bee, Megachile rotundata is the most intensively managed solitary bee, and is the third most used pollinator in the United States. Previous studies have indicated that while the eclosion pattern of this cavity nesting bee is unaffected by photoperiod, a thermoperiod can give...
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Assessing Patterns of Admixture and Ancestry in Canadian Honey Bees
Canada has a large beekeeping industry comprised of 8483 beekeepers managing 672094 23 colonies. Canadian honey bees, like all honey bees in the New World, originate from centuries of importation of predominately European honey bees, but their precise ancestry remains unknown. There have been no i...
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Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure, Environmental Performance, and Tax Aggressiveness
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Dahlia Sari
2016-08-01
Full Text Available This study aims to examine the influence of the corporate taxpayers’ level of CSR disclosure and environmental performance on the level of tax aggressiveness. This study took a sample of non-financial companies listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange during 2009-2012. This study shows that the corporate taxpayers’ level of CSR disclosure has significant negative effect towards the tax aggressiveness. It means the higher the level of the CSR disclosure, the lower the company’s tax aggressiveness. This study also proves that good environmental performance will strengthen the negative effect of CSR disclosure on tax aggressiveness. The assessment of environmental performance is conducted by the Ministry of Environment as independent party. It means that the higher the score of company’s environmental performance, the higher the commitment to pay taxes. This study supports the view that more socially responsible corporations are likely to be less tax aggressive.
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Preparation and characterization of bee venom-loaded PLGA particles for sustained release.
Park, Min-Ho; Jun, Hye-Suk; Jeon, Jong-Woon; Park, Jin-Kyu; Lee, Bong-Joo; Suh, Guk-Hyun; Park, Jeong-Sook; Cho, Cheong-Weon
2016-12-14
Bee venom-loaded poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) particles were prepared by double emulsion-solvent evaporation, and characterized for a sustained-release system. Factors such as the type of organic solvent, the amount of bee venom and PLGA, the type of PLGA, the type of polyvinyl alcohol, and the emulsification method were considered. Physicochemical properties, including the encapsulation efficiency, drug loading, particle size, zeta-potential and surface morphology were examined by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The size of the bee venom-loaded PLGA particles was 500 nm (measured using sonication). Zeta-potentials of the bee venom-loaded PLGA particles were negative owing to the PLGA. FT-IR results demonstrated that the bee venom was completely encapsulated in the PLGA particles, indicated by the disappearance of the amine and amide peaks. In addition, sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis indicated that the bee venom in the bee venom-loaded PLGA particles was intact. In vitro release of the bee venom from the bee venom-loaded PLGA particles showed a sustained-release profile over 1 month. Bee venom-loaded PLGA particles can help improve patients' quality of life by reducing the number of injections required.
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Cell culture techniques in honey bee research
Cell culture techniques are indispensable in most if not all life science disciplines to date. Wherever cell culture models are lacking scientific development is hampered. Unfortunately this has been and still is the case in honey bee research because permanent honey bee cell lines have not yet been...
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Stingless Bee Larvae Require Fungal Steroid to Pupate.
Paludo, Camila R; Menezes, Cristiano; Silva-Junior, Eduardo A; Vollet-Neto, Ayrton; Andrade-Dominguez, Andres; Pishchany, Gleb; Khadempour, Lily; do Nascimento, Fabio S; Currie, Cameron R; Kolter, Roberto; Clardy, Jon; Pupo, Mônica T
2018-01-18
The larval stage of the stingless bee Scaptotrigona depilis must consume a specific brood cell fungus in order to continue development. Here we show that this fungus is a member of the genus Zygosaccharomyces and provides essential steroid precursors to the developing bee. Insect pupation requires ecdysteroid hormones, and as insects cannot synthesize sterols de novo, they must obtain steroids in their diet. Larval in vitro culturing assays demonstrated that consuming ergosterol recapitulates the developmental effects on S. depilis as ingestion of Zygosaccharomyces sp. cells. Thus, we determined the molecular underpinning of this intimate mutualistic symbiosis. Phylogenetic analyses showed that similar cases of bee-Zygosaccharomyces symbiosis may exist. This unprecedented case of bee-fungus symbiosis driven by steroid requirement brings new perspectives regarding pollinator-microbiota interaction and preservation.
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Host-Parasite Interactions and Purifying Selection in a Microsporidian Parasite of Honey Bees.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Qiang Huang
Full Text Available To clarify the mechanisms of Nosema ceranae parasitism, we deep-sequenced both honey bee host and parasite mRNAs throughout a complete 6-day infection cycle. By time-series analysis, 1122 parasite genes were significantly differently expressed during the reproduction cycle, clustering into 4 expression patterns. We found reactive mitochondrial oxygen species modulator 1 of the host to be significantly down regulated during the entire infection period. Our data support the hypothesis that apoptosis of honey bee cells was suppressed during infection. We further analyzed genome-wide genetic diversity of this parasite by comparing samples collected from the same site in 2007 and 2013. The number of SNP positions per gene and the proportion of non-synonymous substitutions per gene were significantly reduced over this time period, suggesting purifying selection on the parasite genome and supporting the hypothesis that a subset of N. ceranae strains might be dominating infection.
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Pheromonal regulation of starvation resistance in honey bee workers ( Apis mellifera)
Fischer, Patrick; Grozinger, Christina M.
2008-08-01
Most animals can modulate nutrient storage pathways according to changing environmental conditions, but in honey bees nutrient storage is also modulated according to changing behavioral tasks within a colony. Specifically, bees involved in brood care (nurses) have higher lipid stores in their abdominal fat bodies than forager bees. Pheromone communication plays an important role in regulating honey bee behavior and physiology. In particular, queen mandibular pheromone (QMP) slows the transition from nursing to foraging. We tested the effects of QMP exposure on starvation resistance, lipid storage, and gene expression in the fat bodies of worker bees. We found that indeed QMP-treated bees survived much longer compared to control bees when starved and also had higher lipid levels. Expression of vitellogenin RNA, which encodes a yolk protein that is found at higher levels in nurses than foragers, was also higher in the fat bodies of QMP-treated bees. No differences were observed in expression of genes involved in insulin signaling pathways, which are associated with nutrient storage and metabolism in a variety of species; thus, other mechanisms may be involved in increasing the lipid stores. These studies demonstrate that pheromone exposure can modify nutrient storage pathways and fat body gene expression in honey bees and suggest that chemical communication and social interactions play an important role in altering metabolic pathways.
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The potential conservation value of unmowed powerline strips for native bees
Russell, K.N.; Ikerd, H.; Droege, S.
2005-01-01
The land area covered by powerline easements in the United States exceeds the area of almost all national parks, including Yellowstone. In parts of Europe and the US, electric companies have altered their land management practices from periodic mowing to extraction of tall vegetation combined with the use of selective herbicides. To investigate whether this alternate management practice might produce higher quality habitat for native bees, we compared the bee fauna collected in unmowed powerline corridors and in nearby mowed grassy fields at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (MD). Powerline sites had more spatially and numerically rare species and a richer bee community than the grassy fields, although the difference was less pronounced than we expected. Powerline sites also had more parasitic species and more cavitynesting bees. Bee communities changed progressively through the season, but differences between the site types were persistent. The surrounding, nongrassland landscape likely has a strong influence on the bee species collected at the grassland sites, as some bees may be foraging in the grasslands but nesting elsewhere. Improving habitat for native bees will help ameliorate the loss of pollination services caused by the collapse of wild and managed honeybee populations. This study suggests that powerline strips have the potential to provide five million acres of bee-friendly habitat in the US if utilities more generally adopt appropriate management practices.
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Omega-3 deficiency impairs honey bee learning
Arien, Yael; Dag, Arnon; Zarchin, Shlomi; Masci, Tania
2015-01-01
Deficiency in essential omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), particularly the long-chain form of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), has been linked to health problems in mammals, including many mental disorders and reduced cognitive performance. Insects have very low long-chain PUFA concentrations, and the effect of omega-3 deficiency on cognition in insects has not been studied. We show a low omega-6:3 ratio of pollen collected by honey bee colonies in heterogenous landscapes and in many hand-collected pollens that we analyzed. We identified Eucalyptus as an important bee-forage plant particularly poor in omega-3 and high in the omega-6:3 ratio. We tested the effect of dietary omega-3 deficiency on olfactory and tactile associative learning of the economically highly valued honey bee. Bees fed either of two omega-3–poor diets, or Eucalyptus pollen, showed greatly reduced learning abilities in conditioned proboscis-extension assays compared with those fed omega-3–rich diets, or omega-3–rich pollen mixture. The effect on performance was not due to reduced sucrose sensitivity. Omega-3 deficiency also led to smaller hypopharyngeal glands. Bee brains contained high omega-3 concentrations, which were only slightly affected by diet, suggesting additional peripheral effects on learning. The shift from a low to high omega-6:3 ratio in the Western human diet is deemed a primary cause of many diseases and reduced mental health. A similar shift seems to be occurring in bee forage, possibly an important factor in colony declines. Our study shows the detrimental effect on cognitive performance of omega-3 deficiency in a nonmammal. PMID:26644556
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Landscape spatial configuration is a key driver of wild bee demographics.
Neokosmidis, Lazaros; Tscheulin, Thomas; Devalez, Jelle; Petanidou, Theodora
2018-02-01
The majority of studies investigating the effects of landscape composition and configuration on bee populations have been conducted in regions of intensive agricultural production, ignoring regions which are dominated by seminatural habitats, such as the islands of the Aegean Archipelago. In addition, research so far has focused on the landscape impacts on bees sampled in cropped fields while the landscape effects on bees inhabiting seminatural habitats are understudied. Here, we investigate the impact of the landscape on wild bee assemblages in 66 phryganic (low scrubland) communities on 8 Aegean islands. We computed landscape metrics (total area and total perimeter-area ratio) in 4 concentric circles (250, 500, 750, and 1000 m) around the center of each bee sampling site including 3 habitat groups (namely phrygana, cultivated land, and natural forests). We further measured the local flower cover in 25 quadrats distributed randomly at the center of each sampling site. We found that the landscape scale is more important than the local scale in shaping abundance and species richness of bees. Furthermore, habitat configuration was more important than the total area of habitats, probably because it affects bees' movement across the landscape. Phrygana and natural forests had a positive effect on bee demographics, while cultivated land had a negative effect. This demonstrates that phryganic specialists drive bee assemblages in these seminatural landscapes. This finding, together with the shown importance of landscape scale, should be considered for the management of wild bees with special emphasis placed on the spatial configuration of seminatural habitats. © 2016 Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
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Gender-bias primes elicit queen-bee responses among senior Policewomen
Derks, B.; Laar, C. van; Ellemers, N.; Groot, K. de
2011-01-01
Queen bees are senior women in male-dominated organizations who have achieved success by emphasizing how they differ from other women. Although the behavior of queen bees tends to be seen as contributing to gender disparities in career outcomes, we argue that queen-bee behavior is actually a result
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... Don't wear loose clothing, which can trap bees between the cloth and your skin. When driving, keep your windows rolled up. Be careful when mowing the lawn or trimming vegetation, activities that might arouse insects in a beehive or wasp nest. Have hives and nests near your home removed ...
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Genetic component in learning ability in bees.
Kerr, W E; Moura Duarte, F A; Oliveira, R S
1975-10-01
Twenty-five bees, five from each of five hives, were trained to collect food at a table. When the bee reached the table, time was recorded for 12 visits. Then a blue and yellow pan was substituted for the original metal pan, and time and correct responses were recorded for 30 trips (discrimination phase). Finally, food was taken from the pan and extinction was recorded as incorrect responses for 20 visits. Variance analysis was carried out, and genetic variance was undetected for discrimination, but was detected for extinction. It is concluded that learning is very important for bees, so that any impairment in such ability affects colony survival.
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Nectar minerals as regulators of flower visitation in stingless bees and nectar hoarding wasps.
Afik, Ohad; Delaplane, Keith S; Shafir, Sharoni; Moo-Valle, Humberto; Quezada-Euán, J Javier G
2014-05-01
Various nectar components have a repellent effect on flower visitors, and their adaptive advantages for the plant are not well understood. Persea americana (avocado) is an example of a plant that secretes nectar with repellent components. It was demonstrated that the mineral constituents of this nectar, mainly potassium and phosphate, are concentrated enough to repel honey bees, Apis mellifera, a pollinator often used for commercial avocado pollination. Honey bees, however, are not the natural pollinator of P. americana, a plant native to Central America. In order to understand the role of nectar minerals in plant-pollinator relationships, it is important to focus on the plant's interactions with its natural pollinators. Two species of stingless bees and one species of social wasp, all native to the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, part of the natural range of P. americana, were tested for their sensitivity to sugar solutions enriched with potassium and phosphate, and compared with the sensitivity of honey bees. In choice tests between control and mineral-enriched solutions, all three native species were indifferent for mineral concentrations lower than those naturally occurring in P. americana nectar. Repellence was expressed at concentrations near or exceeding natural concentrations. The threshold point at which native pollinators showed repellence to increasing levels of minerals was higher than that detected for honey bees. The results do not support the hypothesis that high mineral content is attractive for native Hymenopteran pollinators; nevertheless, nectar mineral composition may still have a role in regulating flower visitors through different levels of repellency.
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Ecological adaptation of diverse honey bee (Apis mellifera) populations.
Parker, Robert; Melathopoulos, Andony P; White, Rick; Pernal, Stephen F; Guarna, M Marta; Foster, Leonard J
2010-06-15
Honey bees are complex eusocial insects that provide a critical contribution to human agricultural food production. Their natural migration has selected for traits that increase fitness within geographical areas, but in parallel their domestication has selected for traits that enhance productivity and survival under local conditions. Elucidating the biochemical mechanisms of these local adaptive processes is a key goal of evolutionary biology. Proteomics provides tools unique among the major 'omics disciplines for identifying the mechanisms employed by an organism in adapting to environmental challenges. Through proteome profiling of adult honey bee midgut from geographically dispersed, domesticated populations combined with multiple parallel statistical treatments, the data presented here suggest some of the major cellular processes involved in adapting to different climates. These findings provide insight into the molecular underpinnings that may confer an advantage to honey bee populations. Significantly, the major energy-producing pathways of the mitochondria, the organelle most closely involved in heat production, were consistently higher in bees that had adapted to colder climates. In opposition, up-regulation of protein metabolism capacity, from biosynthesis to degradation, had been selected for in bees from warmer climates. Overall, our results present a proteomic interpretation of expression polymorphisms between honey bee ecotypes and provide insight into molecular aspects of local adaptation or selection with consequences for honey bee management and breeding. The implications of our findings extend beyond apiculture as they underscore the need to consider the interdependence of animal populations and their agro-ecological context.
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Willoughby, Teena; Adachi, Paul J C; Good, Marie
2012-07-01
In the past 2 decades, correlational and experimental studies have found a positive association between violent video game play and aggression. There is less evidence, however, to support a long-term relation between these behaviors. This study examined sustained violent video game play and adolescent aggressive behavior across the high school years and directly assessed the socialization (violent video game play predicts aggression over time) versus selection hypotheses (aggression predicts violent video game play over time). Adolescents (N = 1,492, 50.8% female) were surveyed annually from Grade 9 to Grade 12 about their video game play and aggressive behaviors. Nonviolent video game play, frequency of overall video game play, and a comprehensive set of potential 3rd variables were included as covariates in each analysis. Sustained violent video game play was significantly related to steeper increases in adolescents' trajectory of aggressive behavior over time. Moreover, greater violent video game play predicted higher levels of aggression over time, after controlling for previous levels of aggression, supporting the socialization hypothesis. In contrast, no support was found for the selection hypothesis. Nonviolent video game play also did not predict higher levels of aggressive behavior over time. Our findings, and the fact that many adolescents play video games for several hours every day, underscore the need for a greater understanding of the long-term relation between violent video games and aggression, as well as the specific game characteristics (e.g., violent content, competition, pace of action) that may be responsible for this association.
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Mixtures of herbicides and metals affect the redox system of honey bees.
Jumarie, Catherine; Aras, Philippe; Boily, Monique
2017-02-01
The increasing loss of bee colonies in many countries has prompted a surge of studies on the factors affecting bee health. In North America, main crops such as maize and soybean are cultivated with extensive use of pesticides that may affect non-target organisms such as bees. Also, biosolids, used as a soil amendment, represent additional sources of metals in agroecosystems; however, there is no information about how these metals could affect the bees. In previous studies we investigated the effects of environmentally relevant doses of herbicides and metals, each individually, on caged honey bees. The present study aimed at investigating the effects of mixtures of herbicides (glyphosate and atrazine) and metals (cadmium and iron), as these mixtures represent more realistic exposure conditions. Levels of metal, vitamin E, carotenoids, retinaldehyde, at-retinol, retinoic acid isomers (9-cis RA, 13-cis RA, at-RA) and the metabolites 13-cis-4-oxo-RA and at-4-oxo-RA were measured in bees fed for 10 days with contaminated syrup. Mixtures of herbicides and cadmium that did not affect bee viability, lowered bee α- and β-carotenoid contents and increased 9-cis-RA as well as 13-cis-4-oxo-RA without modifying the levels of at-retinol. Bee treatment with either glyphosate, a combination of atrazine and cadmium, or mixtures of herbicides promoted lipid peroxidation. Iron was bioconcentrated in bees and led to high levels of lipid peroxidation. Metals also decreased zeaxanthin bee contents. These results show that mixtures of atrazine, glyphosate, cadmium and iron may affect different reactions occurring in the metabolic pathway of vitamin A in the honey bee. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Global information sampling in the honey bee
Johnson, Brian R.
2008-06-01
Central to the question of task allocation in social insects is how workers acquire information. Patrolling is a curious behavior in which bees meander over the face of the comb inspecting cells. Several authors have suggested it allows bees to collect global information, but this has never been formally evaluated. This study explores this hypothesis by answering three questions. First, do bees gather information in a consistent manner as they patrol? Second, do they move far enough to get a sense of task demand in distant areas of the nest? And third, is patrolling a commonly performed task? Focal animal observations were used to address the first two predictions, while a scan sampling study was used to address the third. The results were affirmative for each question. While patrolling, workers collected information by performing periodic clusters of cell inspections. Patrolling bees not only traveled far enough to frequently change work zone; they often visited every part of the nest. Finally, the majority of the bees in the middle-age caste were shown to move throughout the nest over the course of a few hours in a manner suggestive of patrolling. Global information collection is contrary to much current theory, which assumes that workers respond to local information only. This study thus highlights the nonmutually exclusive nature of various information collection regimes in social insects.
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Identifying aggressive prostate cancer foci using a DNA methylation classifier.
Mundbjerg, Kamilla; Chopra, Sameer; Alemozaffar, Mehrdad; Duymich, Christopher; Lakshminarasimhan, Ranjani; Nichols, Peter W; Aron, Manju; Siegmund, Kimberly D; Ukimura, Osamu; Aron, Monish; Stern, Mariana; Gill, Parkash; Carpten, John D; Ørntoft, Torben F; Sørensen, Karina D; Weisenberger, Daniel J; Jones, Peter A; Duddalwar, Vinay; Gill, Inderbir; Liang, Gangning
2017-01-12
Slow-growing prostate cancer (PC) can be aggressive in a subset of cases. Therefore, prognostic tools to guide clinical decision-making and avoid overtreatment of indolent PC and undertreatment of aggressive disease are urgently needed. PC has a propensity to be multifocal with several different cancerous foci per gland. Here, we have taken advantage of the multifocal propensity of PC and categorized aggressiveness of individual PC foci based on DNA methylation patterns in primary PC foci and matched lymph node metastases. In a set of 14 patients, we demonstrate that over half of the cases have multiple epigenetically distinct subclones and determine the primary subclone from which the metastatic lesion(s) originated. Furthermore, we develop an aggressiveness classifier consisting of 25 DNA methylation probes to determine aggressive and non-aggressive subclones. Upon validation of the classifier in an independent cohort, the predicted aggressive tumors are significantly associated with the presence of lymph node metastases and invasive tumor stages. Overall, this study provides molecular-based support for determining PC aggressiveness with the potential to impact clinical decision-making, such as targeted biopsy approaches for early diagnosis and active surveillance, in addition to focal therapy.
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Cellular energy metabolism maintains young status in old queen honey bees (Apis mellifera).
Lu, Cheng-Yen; Qiu, Jiantai Timothy; Hsu, Chin-Yuan
2018-05-02
Trophocytes and oenocytes of queen honey bees are used in studies of cellular longevity, but their cellular energy metabolism with age is poorly understood. In this study, the molecules involved in cellular energy metabolism were evaluated in the trophocytes and oenocytes of young and old queen bees. The findings indicated that there were no significant differences between young and old queen bees in β-oxidation, glycolysis, and protein synthesis. These results indicate that the cellular energy metabolism of trophocytes and oenocytes in old queen bees is similar to young queen bees and suggests that maintaining cellular energy metabolism in a young status may be associated with the longevity of queen bees. Fat and glycogen accumulation increased with age indicating that old queen bees are older than young queen bees. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Plattner Belinda
2011-06-01
Full Text Available Abstract Objective To examine the implications of an ontology of aggressive behavior which divides aggression into reactive, affective, defensive, impulsive (RADI or "emotionally hot"; and planned, instrumental, predatory (PIP or "emotionally cold." Recent epidemiological, criminological, clinical and neuroscience studies converge to support a connection between emotional and trauma related psychopathology and disturbances in the emotions, self-regulation and aggressive behavior which has important implications for diagnosis and treatment, especially for delinquent populations. Method Selective review of preclinical and clinical studies in normal, clinical and delinquent populations. Results In delinquent populations we observe an increase in psychopathology, and especially trauma related psychopathology which impacts emotions and self-regulation in a manner that hotly emotionally charged acts of aggression become more likely. The identification of these disturbances can be supported by findings in cognitive neuroscience. These hot aggressive acts can be delineated from planned or emotionally cold aggression. Conclusion Our findings support a typology of diagnostic labels for disruptive behaviors, such as conduct disorder and oppositional defiant disorder, as it appears that these acts of hot emotional aggression are a legitimate target for psychopharmacological and other trauma specific interventions. The identification of this subtype of disruptive behavior disorders leads to more specific clinical interventions which in turn promise to improve hitherto unimpressive treatment outcomes of delinquents and patients with disruptive behavior.
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Bee Venom Phospholipase A2: Yesterday’s Enemy Becomes Today’s Friend
Lee, Gihyun; Bae, Hyunsu
2016-01-01
Bee venom therapy has been used to treat immune-related diseases such as arthritis for a long time. Recently, it has revealed that group III secretory phospholipase A2 from bee venom (bee venom group III sPLA2) has in vitro and in vivo immunomodulatory effects. A growing number of reports have demonstrated the therapeutic effects of bee venom group III sPLA2. Notably, new experimental data have shown protective immune responses of bee venom group III sPLA2 against a wide range of diseases including asthma, Parkinson’s disease, and drug-induced organ inflammation. It is critical to evaluate the beneficial and adverse effects of bee venom group III sPLA2 because this enzyme is known to be the major allergen of bee venom that can cause anaphylactic shock. For many decades, efforts have been made to avoid its adverse effects. At high concentrations, exposure to bee venom group III sPLA2 can result in damage to cellular membranes and necrotic cell death. In this review, we summarized the current knowledge about the therapeutic effects of bee venom group III sPLA2 on several immunological diseases and described the detailed mechanisms of bee venom group III sPLA2 in regulating various immune responses and physiopathological changes. PMID:26907347
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WILD BEES (HYMENOPTERA: APOIDEA AS BIOINDICATORS IN THE NEOTROPICS
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Enrique Reyes-Novelo
2008-12-01
Full Text Available The present is a review about the use of wild bees as an indicator group in biodiversity and fragmentation studies. It describes the criteria used for the selection of bioindicator groups and it discusses the available information to evaluate if wild bees meet this criteria. The reviewed information suggests that wild bees comply with the requeriments for a suitable bioindicator group. Its use is recommended for Neotropical ecosystems.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Perepjolkina Viktorija
2011-12-01
Full Text Available Recent years have seen a growing interest in the problem of aggressive driving. In the presentstudy two demographic variables (gender and age, two non-psychological driving-experiencerelated variables (annual mileage and legal driving experience in years and aggressiveness asa personality trait (including behavioural and affective components as psychological variableof individual differences were examined as potential predictors of aggressive driving. The aimof the study was to find out the best predictors of aggressive driving behaviour. The study wasbased on an online survey, and 228 vehicle drivers in Latvia participated in it. The questionnaireincluded eight-item Aggressive Driving Scale (Bone & Mowen, 2006, short Latvian versionof the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (AQ; Buss & Perry, 1992, and questions gainingdemographic and driving experience information. Gender, age and annual mileage predictedaggressive driving: being male, young and with higher annual driving exposure were associatedwith higher scores on aggressive driving. Dispositional aggressiveness due to anger componentwas a significant predictor of aggressive diving score. Physical aggression and hostility wereunrelated to aggressive driving. Altogether, the predictors explained a total of 28% of thevariance in aggressive driving behaviour. Findings show that dispositional aggressiveness,especially the anger component, as well as male gender, young age and higher annual mileagehas a predictive validity in relation to aggressive driving. There is a need to extend the scope ofpotential dispositional predictors pertinent to driving aggression.
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Neural correlates of proactive and reactive aggression in adolescent twins.
Yang, Yaling; Joshi, Shantanu H; Jahanshad, Neda; Thompson, Paul M; Baker, Laura A
2017-05-01
Verbal and physical aggression begin early in life and steadily decline thereafter in normal development. As a result, elevated aggressive behavior in adolescence may signal atypical development and greater vulnerability for negative mental and health outcomes. Converging evidence suggests that brain disturbances in regions involved in impulse control, emotional regulation, and sensation seeking may contribute to heightened aggression. However, little is known regarding the neural mechanisms underlying subtypes of aggression (i.e., proactive and reactive aggression) and whether they differ between males and females. Using a sample of 106 14-year-old adolescent twins, this study found that striatal enlargement was associated with both proactive and reactive aggression. We also found that volumetric alterations in several frontal regions including smaller middle frontal and larger orbitofrontal cortex were correlated with higher levels of aggression in adolescent twins. In addition, cortical thickness analysis showed that thickness alterations in many overlapping regions including middle frontal, superior frontal, and anterior cingulate cortex and temporal regions were associated with aggression in adolescent twins. Results support the involvement of fronto-limbic-striatal circuit in the etiology of aggression during adolescence. Aggr. Behav. 43:230-240, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Sudden deaths and colony population decline in Greek honey bee colonies.
Bacandritsos, N; Granato, A; Budge, G; Papanastasiou, I; Roinioti, E; Caldon, M; Falcaro, C; Gallina, A; Mutinelli, F
2010-11-01
During June and July of 2009, sudden deaths, tremulous movements and population declines of adult honey bees were reported by the beekeepers in the region of Peloponnesus (Mt. Mainalo), Greece. A preliminary study was carried out to investigate these unexplained phenomena in this region. In total, 37 bee samples, two brood frames containing honey bee brood of various ages, eight sugar samples and four sugar patties were collected from the affected colonies. The samples were tested for a range of pests, pathogens and pesticides. Symptomatic adult honey bees tested positive for Varroa destructor, Nosema ceranae, Chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV), Acute paralysis virus (ABPV), Deformed wing virus (DWV), Sacbrood virus (SBV) and Black queen cell virus (BQCV), but negative for Acarapis woodi. American Foulbrood was absent from the brood samples. Chemical analysis revealed that amitraz, thiametoxan, clothianidin and acetamiprid were all absent from symptomatic adult bees, sugar and sugar patty samples. However, some bee samples, were contaminated with imidacloprid in concentrations between 14 ng/g and 39 ng/g tissue. We present: the infection of Greek honey bees by multiple viruses; the presence of N. ceranae in Greek honey bees and the first record of imidacloprid (neonicotonoid) residues in Greek honey bee tissues. The presence of multiple pathogens and pesticides made it difficult to associate a single specific cause to the depopulation phenomena observed in Greece, although we believe that viruses and N. ceranae synergistically played the most important role. A follow-up in-depth survey across all Greek regions is required to provide context to these preliminary findings. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Component Analysis of Bee Venom from lune to September
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ki Rok Kwon
2007-06-01
Full Text Available Objectives : The aim of this study was to observe variation of Bee Venom content from the collection period. Methods : Content analysis of Bee Venom was rendered using HPLC method by standard melittin Results : Analyzing melittin content using HPLC, 478.97mg/g at june , 493.89mg/g at july, 468.18mg/g at August and 482.15mg/g was containing in Bee Venom at september. So the change of melittin contents was no significance from June to September. Conclusion : Above these results, we concluded carefully that collecting time was not important factor for the quality control of Bee Venom, restricted the period from June to September.
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Mulvey, Kelly Lynn; Killen, Melanie
2016-09-01
Youth peer groups hold many different types of norms, including norms supporting aggressive behavior. Challenging or standing up to such aggressive norms can be difficult for children and adolescents, given the pressures to conform to groups. In the current study, the relationship between individual judgments and expectations of the judgments of a peer group about the acceptability of challenging aggressive group norms was investigated. The sample included 9-10 and 13-14 year-olds (N = 292, 52.4 % female). Participants evaluated groups with norms condoning physical and relational aggression. Participants were more supportive of challenges to relational aggression than challenges to physical aggression. Additionally, age-related differences were found, with younger children perceiving challenges to group norms as more feasible than did adolescents. Participants individually rated challenging aggressive norms as okay, but thought that groups would be much less supportive of such challenges. The results also documented the influence of gender stereotypes about aggressive behavior on children's and adolescents' evaluations.
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Shadan, Aidil Fahmi; Mahat, Naji A; Wan Ibrahim, Wan Aini; Ariffin, Zaiton; Ismail, Dzulkiflee
2018-01-01
As consumption of stingless bee honey has been gaining popularity in many countries including Malaysia, ability to identify accurately its geographical origin proves pertinent for investigating fraudulent activities for consumer protection. Because a chemical signature can be location-specific, multi-element distribution patterns may prove useful for provenancing such product. Using the inductively coupled-plasma optical emission spectrometer as well as principal component analysis (PCA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA), the distributions of multi-elements in stingless bee honey collected at four different geographical locations (North, West, East, and South) in Johor, Malaysia, were investigated. While cross-validation using PCA demonstrated 87.0% correct classification rate, the same was improved (96.2%) with the use of LDA, indicating that discrimination was possible for the different geographical regions. Therefore, utilization of multi-element analysis coupled with chemometrics techniques for assigning the provenance of stingless bee honeys for forensic applications is supported. © 2017 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.
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Irrigation method does not affect wild bee pollinators of hybrid sunflower
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Hillary Sardiñas
2016-09-01
Full Text Available Irrigation method has the potential to directly or indirectly influence populations of wild bee crop pollinators nesting and foraging in irrigated crop fields. The majority of wild bee species nest in the ground, and their nests may be susceptible to flooding. In addition, their pollination of crops can be influenced by nectar quality and quantity, which are related to water availability. To determine whether different irrigation methods affect crop pollinators, we compared the number of ground-nesting bees nesting and foraging in drip- and furrow-irrigated hybrid sunflower fields in the Sacramento Valley. We found that irrigation method did not impact wild bee nesting rates or foraging bee abundance or bee species richness. These findings suggest that changing from furrow irrigation to drip irrigation to conserve water likely will not alter hybrid sunflower crop pollination.
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Spivak, Marla; Mader, Eric; Vaughan, Mace; Euliss, Ned H.
2011-01-01
The loss of biodiversity is a trend that is garnering much concern. As organisms have evolved mutualistic and synergistic relationships, the loss of one or a few species can have a much wider environmental impact. Since much pollination is facilitated by bees, the reported colony collapse disorder has many worried of widespread agricultural fallout and thus deleterious impact on human foodstocks. In this Feature, Spivak et al. review what is known of the present state of bee populations and provide information on how to mitigate and reverse the trend.
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Predatory behavior in a necrophagous bee Trigona hypogea (Hymenoptera; Apidae, Meliponini)
Mateus, Sidnei; Noll, Fernando B.
Although most bees feed on nectar and pollen, several exceptions have been reported. The strangest of all is the habit found in some neotropical stingless bees, which have completely replaced pollen-eating by eating animal protein from corpses. For more than 20 years, it was believed that carrion was the only protein source for these bees. We report that these bees feed not only off dead animals, but on the living brood of social wasps and possibly other similar sources. Using well developed prey location and foraging behaviors, necrophagous bees discover recently abandoned wasps' nests and, within a few hours, prey upon all immatures found there.
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Differential diagnosis of the honey bee trypanosomatids Crithidia mellificae and Lotmaria passim.
Ravoet, Jorgen; Schwarz, Ryan S; Descamps, Tine; Yañez, Orlando; Tozkar, Cansu Ozge; Martin-Hernandez, Raquel; Bartolomé, Carolina; De Smet, Lina; Higes, Mariano; Wenseleers, Tom; Schmid-Hempel, Regula; Neumann, Peter; Kadowaki, Tatsuhiko; Evans, Jay D; de Graaf, Dirk C
2015-09-01
Trypanosomatids infecting honey bees have been poorly studied with molecular methods until recently. After the description of Crithidia mellificae (Langridge and McGhee, 1967) it took about forty years until molecular data for honey bee trypanosomatids became available and were used to identify and describe a new trypanosomatid species from honey bees, Lotmaria passim (Evans and Schwarz, 2014). However, an easy method to distinguish them without sequencing is not yet available. Research on the related bumble bee parasites Crithidia bombi and Crithidia expoeki revealed a fragment length polymorphism in the internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1), which enabled species discrimination. In search of fragment length polymorphisms for differential diagnostics in honey bee trypanosomatids, we studied honey bee trypanosomatid cell cultures of C. mellificae and L. passim. This research resulted in the identification of fragment length polymorphisms in ITS1 and ITS1-2 markers, which enabled us to develop a diagnostic method to differentiate both honey bee trypanosomatid species without the need for sequencing. However, the amplification success of the ITS1 marker depends probably on the trypanosomatid infection level. Further investigation confirmed that L. passim is the dominant species in Belgium, Japan and Switzerland. We found C. mellificae only rarely in Belgian honey bee samples, but not in honey bee samples from other countries. C. mellificae was also detected in mason bees (Osmia bicornis and Osmia cornuta) besides in honey bees. Further, the characterization and comparison of additional markers from L. passim strain SF (published as C. mellificae strain SF) and a Belgian honey bee sample revealed very low divergence in the 18S rRNA, ITS1-2, 28S rRNA and cytochrome b sequences. Nevertheless, a variable stretch was observed in the gp63 virulence factor. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Bumble bees regulate their intake of essential protein and lipid pollen macronutrients.
Vaudo, A D; Stabler, D; Patch, H M; Tooker, J F; Grozinger, C M; Wright, G A
2016-12-15
Bee population declines are linked to the reduction of nutritional resources due to land-use intensification, yet we know little about the specific nutritional needs of many bee species. Pollen provides bees with their primary source of protein and lipids, but nutritional quality varies widely among host-plant species. Therefore, bees might have adapted to assess resource quality and adjust their foraging behavior to balance nutrition from multiple food sources. We tested the ability of two bumble bee species, Bombus terrestris and Bombus impatiens, to regulate protein and lipid intake. We restricted B. terrestris adults to single synthetic diets varying in protein:lipid ratios (P:L). The bees over-ate protein on low-fat diets and over-ate lipid on high-fat diets to reach their targets of lipid and protein, respectively. The bees survived best on a 10:1 P:L diet; the risk of dying increased as a function of dietary lipid when bees ate diets with lipid contents greater than 5:1 P:L. Hypothesizing that the P:L intake target of adult worker bumble bees was between 25:1 and 5:1, we presented workers from both species with unbalanced but complementary paired diets to determine whether they self-select their diet to reach a specific intake target. Bees consumed similar amounts of proteins and lipids in each treatment and averaged a 14:1 P:L for B. terrestris and 12:1 P:L for B. impatiens These results demonstrate that adult worker bumble bees likely select foods that provide them with a specific ratio of P:L. These P:L intake targets could affect pollen foraging in the field and help explain patterns of host-plant species choice by bumble bees. © 2016. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.
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Bumble bees (Bombus spp along a gradient of increasing urbanization.
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Karin Ahrné
Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Bumble bees and other wild bees are important pollinators of wild flowers and several cultivated crop plants, and have declined in diversity and abundance during the last decades. The main cause of the decline is believed to be habitat destruction and fragmentation associated with urbanization and agricultural intensification. Urbanization is a process that involves dramatic and persistent changes of the landscape, increasing the amount of built-up areas while decreasing the amount of green areas. However, urban green areas can also provide suitable alternative habitats for wild bees. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We studied bumble bees in allotment gardens, i.e. intensively managed flower rich green areas, along a gradient of urbanization from the inner city of Stockholm towards more rural (periurban areas. Keeping habitat quality similar along the urbanization gradient allowed us to separate the effect of landscape change (e.g. proportion impervious surface from variation in habitat quality. Bumble bee diversity (after rarefaction to 25 individuals decreased with increasing urbanization, from around eight species on sites in more rural areas to between five and six species in urban allotment gardens. Bumble bee abundance and species composition were most affected by qualities related to the management of the allotment areas, such as local flower abundance. The variability in bumble bee visits between allotment gardens was higher in an urban than in a periurban context, particularly among small and long-tongued bumble bee species. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results suggest that allotment gardens and other urban green areas can serve as important alternatives to natural habitats for many bumble bee species, but that the surrounding urban landscape influences how many species that will be present. The higher variability in abundance of certain species in the most urban areas may indicate a weaker reliability of the ecosystem
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Martin, Stephen J; Correia-Oliveira, Maria E; Shemilt, Sue; Drijfhout, Falko P
2018-06-07
Cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) function as recognition compounds with the best evidence coming from social insects such as ants and honey bees. The major exocrine gland involved in hydrocarbon storage in ants is the post-pharyngeal gland (PPG) in the head. It is still not clearly understood where CHCs are stored in the honey bee. The aim of this study was to investigate the hydrocarbons and esters found in five major worker honey bee (Apis mellifera) exocrine glands, at three different developmental stages (newly emerged, nurse, and forager) using a high temperature GC analysis. We found the hypopharyngeal gland contained no hydrocarbons nor esters, and the thoracic salivary and mandibular glands only contained trace amounts of n-alkanes. However, the cephalic salivary gland (CSG) contained the greatest number and highest quantity of hydrocarbons relative to the five other glands with many of the hydrocarbons also found in the Dufour's gland, but at much lower levels. We discovered a series of oleic acid wax esters that lay beyond the detection of standard GC columns. As a bee's activities changed, as it ages, the types of compounds detected in the CSG also changed. For example, newly emerged bees have predominately C 19 -C 23 n-alkanes, alkenes and methyl-branched compounds, whereas the nurses' CSG had predominately C 31:1 and C 33:1 alkene isomers, which are replaced by a series of oleic acid wax esters in foragers. These changes in the CSG were mirrored by corresponding changes in the adults' CHCs profile. This indicates that the CSG may have a parallel function to the PPG found in ants acting as a major storage gland of CHCs. As the CSG duct opens into the buccal cavity the hydrocarbons can be worked into the comb wax and could help explain the role of comb wax in nestmate recognition experiments.
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Mycobacterium chelonae infections associated with bee venom acupuncture.
Cho, Sun Young; Peck, Kyong Ran; Kim, Jungok; Ha, Young Eun; Kang, Cheol-In; Chung, Doo Ryeon; Lee, Nam Yong; Song, Jae-Hoon
2014-03-01
We report 3 cases of Mycobacterium chelonae infections after bee venom acupuncture. All were treated with antibiotics and surgery. Mycobacterium chelonae infections should be included in the differential diagnosis of chronic skin and soft tissue infections following bee venom acupuncture.
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Gender-bias primes elicit queen-bee responses among senior policewomen.
Derks, Belle; Van Laar, Colette; Ellemers, Naomi; de Groot, Kim
2011-10-01
Queen bees are senior women in male-dominated organizations who have achieved success by emphasizing how they differ from other women. Although the behavior of queen bees tends to be seen as contributing to gender disparities in career outcomes, we argue that queen-bee behavior is actually a result of the gender bias and social identity threat that produce gender disparities in career outcomes. In the experiment reported here, we asked separate groups of senior policewomen to recall the presence or absence of gender bias during their careers, and we measured queen-bee responses (i.e., masculine self-descriptions, in-group distancing, and denying of discrimination). Such gender-bias priming increased queen-bee responses among policewomen with low gender identification, but policewomen with high gender identification responded with increased motivation to improve opportunities for other women. These results suggest that gender-biased work environments shape women's behavior by stimulating women with low gender identification to dissociate with other women and to display queen-bee responses as a way to achieve individual mobility.
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Kyoung-hee Lee
2008-12-01
Full Text Available Objective : The purpose of this study is to investigate the difference of treatment effects and allergic responses to stiff neck between Bee Venom Pharmacopuncture and Sweet Bee Venom Pharmacopuncture. Methods : Forty one patients who felt stiff neck were randomly divided into two groups, a Bee Venom Pharmacopuncture group(group Ⅰ and a Sweet Bee Venom Pharmacopuncture group(group Ⅱ. Evaluations of the treatment effects were made before and after a treatment using Visual Analog Scale(VAS, Neck Disability Index(NDI, Clinical Evaluation Grade(CEG. The comparison of allergic responses was measured with VAS. The obtained data were analyzed and compared with SPSS. Results : The group Ⅰ and group Ⅱ showed significant improvement(p<0.05 according to the VAS, NDI, CEG. And the differences between the two groups were insignificant according to VAS, NDI, CEG. But allergic responses such as localized edema, localized itching were significantly lower in group Ⅱ than group Ⅰ. Conclusions : It seems that there are no big different treatment effects between the two groups. Sweet Bee Venom Pharmacopuncture appears to be more effective measurement against allergic reactions than the Bee Venom Pharmacopuncture. Further studies are needed for the comparison of Bee Venom Pharmacopuncture and Sweet Bee Venom Pharmacopuncture.
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Adachi, Paul J C; Willoughby, Teena
2013-07-01
The majority of research on the link between video games and aggression has focused on the violent content in games. In contrast, recent experimental research suggests that it is video game competition, not violence, that has the greatest effect on aggression in the short-term. However, no researchers have examined the long-term relationship between video game competition and aggression. In addition, if competition in video games is a significant reason for the link between video game play and aggression, then other competitive activities, such as competitive gambling, also may predict aggression over time. In the current study, we directly assessed the socialization (competitive video game play and competitive gambling predicts aggression over time) versus selection hypotheses (aggression predicts competitive video game play and competitive gambling over time). Adolescents (N = 1,492, 50.8 % female) were surveyed annually from Grade 9 to Grade 12 about their video game play, gambling, and aggressive behaviors. Greater competitive video game play and competitive gambling predicted higher levels of aggression over time, after controlling for previous levels of aggression, supporting the socialization hypothesis. The selection hypothesis also was supported, as aggression predicted greater competitive video game play and competitive gambling over time, after controlling for previous competitive video game play and competitive gambling. Our findings, taken together with the fact that millions of adolescents play competitive video games every day and that competitive gambling may increase as adolescents transition into adulthood, highlight the need for a greater understanding of the relationship between competition and aggression.
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Richardson, Rodney T; Lin, Chia-Hua; Sponsler, Douglas B; Quijia, Juan O; Goodell, Karen; Johnson, Reed M
2015-01-01
Melissopalynology, the identification of bee-collected pollen, provides insight into the flowers exploited by foraging bees. Information provided by melissopalynology could guide floral enrichment efforts aimed at supporting pollinators, but it has rarely been used because traditional methods of pollen identification are laborious and require expert knowledge. We approach melissopalynology in a novel way, employing a molecular method to study the pollen foraging of honey bees (Apis mellifera) in a landscape dominated by field crops, and compare these results to those obtained by microscopic melissopalynology. • Pollen was collected from honey bee colonies in Madison County, Ohio, USA, during a two-week period in midspring and identified using microscopic methods and ITS2 metabarcoding. • Metabarcoding identified 19 plant families and exhibited sensitivity for identifying the taxa present in large and diverse pollen samples relative to microscopy, which identified eight families. The bulk of pollen collected by honey bees was from trees (Sapindaceae, Oleaceae, and Rosaceae), although dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) and mustard (Brassicaceae) pollen were also abundant. • For quantitative analysis of pollen, using both metabarcoding and microscopic identification is superior to either individual method. For qualitative analysis, ITS2 metabarcoding is superior, providing heightened sensitivity and genus-level resolution.
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Social modulation of stress reactivity and learning in young worker honey bees.
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Elodie Urlacher
Full Text Available Alarm pheromone and its major component isopentylacetate induce stress-like responses in forager honey bees, impairing their ability to associate odors with a food reward. We investigated whether isopentylacetate exposure decreases appetitive learning also in young worker bees. While isopentylacetate-induced learning deficits were observed in guards and foragers collected from a queen-right colony, learning impairments resulting from exposure to this pheromone could not be detected in bees cleaning cells. As cell cleaners are generally among the youngest workers in the colony, effects of isopentylacetate on learning behavior were examined further using bees of known age. Adult workers were maintained under laboratory conditions from the time of adult emergence. Fifty percent of the bees were exposed to queen mandibular pheromone during this period, whereas control bees were not exposed to this pheromone. Isopentylacetate-induced learning impairments were apparent in young (less than one week old controls, but not in bees of the same age exposed to queen mandibular pheromone. This study reveals young worker bees can exhibit a stress-like response to alarm pheromone, but isopentylacetate-induced learning impairments in young bees are suppressed by queen mandibular pheromone. While isopentylacetate exposure reduced responses during associative learning (acquisition, it did not affect one-hour memory retrieval.
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Social Modulation of Stress Reactivity and Learning in Young Worker Honey Bees
Mercer, Alison R.
2014-01-01
Alarm pheromone and its major component isopentylacetate induce stress-like responses in forager honey bees, impairing their ability to associate odors with a food reward. We investigated whether isopentylacetate exposure decreases appetitive learning also in young worker bees. While isopentylacetate-induced learning deficits were observed in guards and foragers collected from a queen-right colony, learning impairments resulting from exposure to this pheromone could not be detected in bees cleaning cells. As cell cleaners are generally among the youngest workers in the colony, effects of isopentylacetate on learning behavior were examined further using bees of known age. Adult workers were maintained under laboratory conditions from the time of adult emergence. Fifty percent of the bees were exposed to queen mandibular pheromone during this period, whereas control bees were not exposed to this pheromone. Isopentylacetate-induced learning impairments were apparent in young (less than one week old) controls, but not in bees of the same age exposed to queen mandibular pheromone. This study reveals young worker bees can exhibit a stress-like response to alarm pheromone, but isopentylacetate-induced learning impairments in young bees are suppressed by queen mandibular pheromone. While isopentylacetate exposure reduced responses during associative learning (acquisition), it did not affect one-hour memory retrieval. PMID:25470128
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Mycobiota and mycotoxins in bee pollen collected from different areas of Slovakia.
Kačániová, Miroslava; Juráček, Miroslav; Chlebo, Róbert; Kňazovická, Vladimíra; Kadasi-Horáková, Miriam; Kunová, Simona; Lejková, Jadža; Haščík, Peter; Mareček, Ján; Simko, Milan
2011-01-01
Contamination by microscopic fungi and mycotoxins in different bee pollen samples, which were stored under three different ways of storing as freezing, drying and UV radiation, was investigated. During spring 2009, 45 samples of bee-collected pollen were gathered from beekeepers who placed their bee colonies on monocultures of sunflower, rape and poppy fields within their flying distance. Bee pollen was collected from bees' legs by special devices placed at the entrance to hives. Samples were examined for the concentration and identification of microscopic fungi able to grow on Malt and Czapek-Dox agar and mycotoxins content [deoxynivalenol (DON), T-2 toxin (T-2), zearalenone (ZON) and total aflatoxins (AFL), fumonisins (FUM), ochratoxins (OTA)] by direct competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). The total number of microscopic fungi in this study ranged from 2.98 ± 0.02 in frozen sunflower bee pollen to 4.06 ± 0.10 log cfu.g(-1) in sunflower bee pollen after UV radiation. In this study, 449 isolates belonging to 21 fungal species representing 9 genera were found in 45 samples of bee pollen. The total isolates were detected in frozen poppy pollen 29, rape pollen 40, sunflower pollen 80, in dried poppy pollen 12, rape pollen 36, sunflower 78, in poppy pollen after UV radiation treatment 54, rape 59 and sunflower 58. The most frequent isolates of microscopic fungi found in bee pollen samples of all prevalent species were Mucor mucedo (49 isolates), Alternaria alternata (40 isolates), Mucor hiemalis (40 isolates), Aspergillus fumigatus (33 isolates) and Cladosporium cladosporioides (31 isolates). The most frequently found isolates were detected in sunflower bee pollen frozen (80 isolates) and the lowest number of isolates was observed in poppy bee pollen dried (12 isolates). The most prevalent mycotoxin of poppy bee pollen was ZON (361.55 ± 0.26 μg.kg(-1)), in rape bee pollen T-2 toxin (265.40 ± 0.18 μg.kg(-1)) and in sunflower bee pollen T-2 toxin
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Ecological adaptation of diverse honey bee (Apis mellifera populations.
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Robert Parker
Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Honey bees are complex eusocial insects that provide a critical contribution to human agricultural food production. Their natural migration has selected for traits that increase fitness within geographical areas, but in parallel their domestication has selected for traits that enhance productivity and survival under local conditions. Elucidating the biochemical mechanisms of these local adaptive processes is a key goal of evolutionary biology. Proteomics provides tools unique among the major 'omics disciplines for identifying the mechanisms employed by an organism in adapting to environmental challenges. RESULTS: Through proteome profiling of adult honey bee midgut from geographically dispersed, domesticated populations combined with multiple parallel statistical treatments, the data presented here suggest some of the major cellular processes involved in adapting to different climates. These findings provide insight into the molecular underpinnings that may confer an advantage to honey bee populations. Significantly, the major energy-producing pathways of the mitochondria, the organelle most closely involved in heat production, were consistently higher in bees that had adapted to colder climates. In opposition, up-regulation of protein metabolism capacity, from biosynthesis to degradation, had been selected for in bees from warmer climates. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, our results present a proteomic interpretation of expression polymorphisms between honey bee ecotypes and provide insight into molecular aspects of local adaptation or selection with consequences for honey bee management and breeding. The implications of our findings extend beyond apiculture as they underscore the need to consider the interdependence of animal populations and their agro-ecological context.
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Current knowledge of detoxification mechanisms of xenobiotic in honey bees.
Gong, Youhui; Diao, Qingyun
2017-01-01
The western honey bee Apis mellifera is the most important managed pollinator species in the world. Multiple factors have been implicated as potential causes or factors contributing to colony collapse disorder, including honey bee pathogens and nutritional deficiencies as well as exposure to pesticides. Honey bees' genome is characterized by a paucity of genes associated with detoxification, which makes them vulnerable to specific pesticides, especially to combinations of pesticides in real field environments. Many studies have investigated the mechanisms involved in detoxification of xenobiotics/pesticides in honey bees, from primal enzyme assays or toxicity bioassays to characterization of transcript gene expression and protein expression in response to xenobiotics/insecticides by using a global transcriptomic or proteomic approach, and even to functional characterizations. The global transcriptomic and proteomic approach allowed us to learn that detoxification mechanisms in honey bees involve multiple genes and pathways along with changes in energy metabolism and cellular stress response. P450 genes, is highly implicated in the direct detoxification of xenobiotics/insecticides in honey bees and their expression can be regulated by honey/pollen constitutes, resulting in the tolerance of honey bees to other xenobiotics or insecticides. P450s is also a key detoxification enzyme that mediate synergism interaction between acaricides/insecticides and fungicides through inhibition P450 activity by fungicides or competition for detoxification enzymes between acaricides. With the wide use of insecticides in agriculture, understanding the detoxification mechanism of insecticides in honey bees and how honeybees fight with the xenobiotis or insecticides to survive in the changing environment will finally benefit honeybees' management.
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Bee products prevent VEGF-induced angiogenesis in human umbilical vein endothelial cells
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Mishima Satoshi
2009-11-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF is a key regulator of pathogenic angiogenesis in diseases such as cancer and diabetic retinopathy. Bee products [royal jelly (RJ, bee pollen, and Chinese red propolis] from the honeybee, Apis mellifera, have been used as traditional health foods for centuries. The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-angiogenic effects of bee products using human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs. Methods In an in vitro tube formation assay, HUVECs and fibroblast cells were incubated for 14 days with VEGF and various concentrations of bee products [RJ, ethanol extract of bee pollen, ethanol extract of Chinese red propolis and its constituent, caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE]. To clarify the mechanism of in vitro angiogenesis, HUVEC proliferation and migration were induced by VEGF with or without various concentrations of RJ, bee pollen, Chinese red propolis, and CAPE. Results RJ, bee pollen, Chinese red propolis, and CAPE significantly suppressed VEGF-induced in vitro tube formation in the descending order: CAPE > Chinese red propolis >> bee pollen > RJ. RJ and Chinese red propolis suppressed both VEGF-induced HUVEC proliferation and migration. In contrast, bee pollen and CAPE suppressed only the proliferation. Conclusion Among the bee products, Chinese red propolis and CAPE in particular showed strong suppressive effects against VEGF-induced angiogenesis. These findings indicate that Chinese red propolis and CAPE may have potential as preventive and therapeutic agents against angiogenesis-related human diseases.
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Does pathogen spillover from commercially reared bumble bees threaten wild pollinators?
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Michael C Otterstatter
Full Text Available The conservation of insect pollinators is drawing attention because of reported declines in bee species and the 'ecosystem services' they provide. This issue has been brought to a head by recent devastating losses of honey bees throughout North America (so called, 'Colony Collapse Disorder'; yet, we still have little understanding of the cause(s of bee declines. Wild bumble bees (Bombus spp. have also suffered serious declines and circumstantial evidence suggests that pathogen 'spillover' from commercially reared bumble bees, which are used extensively to pollinate greenhouse crops, is a possible cause. We constructed a spatially explicit model of pathogen spillover in bumble bees and, using laboratory experiments and the literature, estimated parameter values for the spillover of Crithidia bombi, a destructive pathogen commonly found in commercial Bombus. We also monitored wild bumble bee populations near greenhouses for evidence of pathogen spillover, and compared the fit of our model to patterns of C. bombi infection observed in the field. Our model predicts that, during the first three months of spillover, transmission from commercial hives would infect up to 20% of wild bumble bees within 2 km of the greenhouse. However, a travelling wave of disease is predicted to form suddenly, infecting up to 35-100% of wild Bombus, and spread away from the greenhouse at a rate of 2 km/wk. In the field, although we did not observe a large epizootic wave of infection, the prevalences of C. bombi near greenhouses were consistent with our model. Indeed, we found that spillover has allowed C. bombi to invade several wild bumble bee species near greenhouses. Given the available evidence, it is likely that pathogen spillover from commercial bees is contributing to the ongoing decline of wild Bombus in North America. Improved management of domestic bees, for example by reducing their parasite loads and their overlap with wild congeners, could diminish or even
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Bumble Bees (Bombus terrestris) use mechanosensory hairs to detect electric fields
Sutton Gregory; Whitney Heather; Clarke Dominic; Robert Daniel
2016-01-01
Bees and flowers have an intricate relationship which benefits both organisms. Plants provide nectar bees, in turn, distribute pollen to fertilize plants. To make pollination work, flowers need a mechanism to incentivize individual bees to visit only a single species of flower. Flowers, like modern advertising agencies, use multiple senses to create a floral ‘brand’ that is easily recognized. Size, smell, colour, touch, and even temperature are used to allow bees to differentiate between flow...
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Expermental Studies of quantitative evaluation using HPLC and safety of Sweet Bee Venom
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Ki Rok Kwon
2007-06-01
Full Text Available Objectives : This study was conducted to carry out quantitative evaluation and safety of Sweet Bee Venom. Methods : Content analysis was done using HPLC, measurement of LD50 was conducted intravenous, subcutaneous, and intra-muscular injection to the ICR mice. Results : 1. According to HPLC analysis, removal of the enzymes containing phospholipase A2 was successfully rendered on Sweet Bee Venom. And analyzing melittin content, Sweet Bee Venom contained 12% more melittin than Bee Venom. 2. LD50 of ICR mice with Sweet Bee Venom was more than 20mg/kg in subcutaneous injection and intravenous injection, between 15mg/kg and 20mg/kg in muscular injection. 3. LD50 of ICR mice with Bee Venom was between 6 and 9mg/kg in subcutaneous injection and intravenous injection, and more than 9mg/kg in muscular injection. Conclusion : Above results indicate that Sweet Bee Venom was more safe than Bee Venom and the process of removing enzymes was well rendered in Sweet Bee Venom.
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Patterns of viral infection in honey bee queens
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Francis, Roy Mathew; Kryger, Per; Nielsen, Steen Lykke
2013-01-01
by two real-time PCRs: one for the presence of deformed wing virus (DWV), and one that would detect sequences of acute bee-paralysis virus, Kashmir bee virus and Israeli acute paralysis virus (AKI complex). Worker bees accompanying the queen were also analysed. The queens could be divided into three......The well-being of a colony and replenishment of the workers depends on a healthy queen. Diseases in queens are seldom reported, and our knowledge on viral infection in queens is limited. In this study, 86 honey bee queens were collected from beekeepers in Denmark. All queens were tested separately...... groups based on the level of infection in their head, thorax, ovary, intestines and spermatheca. Four queens exhibited egg-laying deficiency, but visually all queens appeared healthy. Viral infection was generally at a low level in terms of AKI copy numbers, with 134/430 tissues (31 %) showing...
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Genic control of honey bee dance language dialect.
Rinderer, T E; Beaman, L D
1995-10-01
Behavioural genetic analysis of honey bee dance language shows simple Mendelian genic control over certain dance dialect differences. Worker honey bees of one parent colony (yellow) changed from round to transition dances for foraging distances of 20 m and from transition to waggle dances at 40 m. Worker bees of the other parent colony (black) made these shifts at 30 m and 90 m, respectively. F1 colonies behaved identically to their yellow parent, suggesting dominance. Progeny of backcrossing between the F1 generation and the putative recessive black parent assorted to four classes, indicating that the dialect differences studied are regulated by genes at two unlinked loci, each having two alleles. Honey bee dance communication is complex and highly integrated behaviour. Nonetheless, analysis of a small element of this behaviour, variation in response to distance, suggests that dance communication is regulated by subsets consisting of simple genic systems.
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Bee Venom Phospholipase A2: Yesterday’s Enemy Becomes Today’s Friend
Gihyun Lee; Hyunsu Bae
2016-01-01
Bee venom therapy has been used to treat immune-related diseases such as arthritis for a long time. Recently, it has revealed that group III secretory phospholipase A2 from bee venom (bee venom group III sPLA2) has in vitro and in vivo immunomodulatory effects. A growing number of reports have demonstrated the therapeutic effects of bee venom group III sPLA2. Notably, new experimental data have shown protective immune responses of bee venom group III sPLA2 against a wide range of diseases inc...
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Pre-hospital treatment of bee and wasp induced anaphylactic reactions
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Ruiz Oropeza, Athamaica; Mikkelsen, Søren; Bindslev-Jensen, Carsten
2017-01-01
BACKGROUND: Bee and wasp stings are among the most common triggers of anaphylaxis in adults representing around 20% of fatal anaphylaxis from any cause. Data of pre-hospital treatment of bee and wasp induced anaphylactic reactions are sparse. This study aimed to estimate the incidence of bee...... only for Odense and 2009-2014 for the whole region). Discharge summaries with diagnosis related to anaphylaxis according to the International Classification of Diseases 10 (ICD-10) were reviewed to identify bee and wasp induced anaphylactic reactions. The severity of the anaphylactic reaction...... was assessed according to Sampson's severity score and Mueller's severity score. Treatment was evaluated in relation to administration of adrenaline, glucocorticoids and antihistamine. RESULTS: We identified 273 cases (Odense 2008 n = 14 and Region of Southern Denmark 2009-2014 n = 259) of bee and wasp induced...
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Bees: An up-close look at pollinators around the world
Droege, Sam; Packer, Laurence
2015-01-01
While we eat, work, and sleep, bees are busy around the world. More than 20,000 species are in constant motion! They pollinate plants of all types and keep our natural world intact. In Bees, you'll find a new way to appreciate these tiny wonders. Sam Droege and Laurence Packer present more than 100 of the most eye-catching bees from around the world as you've never seen them: up-close and with stunning detail. You'll stare into alien-like faces. You'll get lost in mesmerizing colors and patterns, patches and stripes of arresting yellow or blue. Whether you linger on your first close look at the Western Domesticated Honey Bee or excitedly flip straight to the rare Dinagapostemon sicheli, there's no doubt you'll be blown away by the beauty of bees.
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Woodin, Erica M; Sukhawathanakul, Paweena; Caldeira, Valerie; Homel, Jacqueline; Leadbeater, Bonnie
2016-11-01
Adolescent peer aggression is a well-established correlate of romantic relational aggression; however, the mechanisms underlying this association are unclear. Heavy episodic drinking (or "binge" alcohol use) was examined as both a prior and concurrent mediator of this link in a sample of 282 12-18 year old interviewed four times over 6 years. Path analyses indicated that early peer relational and physical aggression each uniquely predicted later romantic relational aggression. Concurrent heavy episodic drinking fully mediated this effect for peer physical aggression only. These findings highlight two important mechanisms by which peer aggression may increase the risk of later romantic relational aggression: a direct pathway from peer relational aggression to romantic relational aggression and an indirect pathway through peer physical aggression and concurrent heavy episodic drinking. Prevention programs targeting romantic relational aggression in adolescence and young adulthood may benefit from interventions that target multiple domains of risky behavior, including the heavy concurrent use of alcohol. Aggr. Behav. 42:563-576, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Bee venom treatment for refractory postherpetic neuralgia: a case report.
Lee, Seung Min; Lim, Jinwoong; Lee, Jae-Dong; Choi, Do-Young; Lee, Sanghoon
2014-03-01
Bee venom has been reported to have antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects in experimental studies. However, questions still remain regarding the clinical use of bee venom. This report describes the successful outcome of bee venom treatment for refractory postherpetic neuralgia. A 72-year-old Korean man had severe pain and hypersensitivity in the region where he had developed a herpes zoster rash 2 years earlier. He was treated with antivirals, painkillers, steroids, and analgesic patches, all to no effect. The patient visited the East-West Pain Clinic, Kyung Hee University Medical Center, to receive collaborative treatment. After being evaluated for bee venom compatibility, he was treated with bee venom injections. A 1:30,000 diluted solution of bee venom was injected subcutaneously along the margins of the rash once per week for 4 weeks. Pain levels were evaluated before every treatment, and by his fifth visit, his pain had decreased from 8 to 2 on a 10-point numerical rating scale. He experienced no adverse effects, and this improvement was maintained at the 3-month, 6-month, and 1-year phone follow-up evaluations. Bee venom treatment demonstrates the potential to become an effective treatment for postherpetic neuralgia. Further large-sample clinical trials should be conducted to evaluate the overall safety and efficacy of this treatment.
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Saccharide breakdown and fermentation by the honey bee gut microbiome.
Lee, Fredrick J; Rusch, Douglas B; Stewart, Frank J; Mattila, Heather R; Newton, Irene L G
2015-03-01
The honey bee, the world's most important agricultural pollinator, relies exclusively on plant-derived foods for nutrition. Nectar and pollen collected by honey bees are processed and matured within the nest through the activities of honey bee-derived microbes and enzymes. In order to better understand the contribution of the microbial community to food processing in the honey bee, we generated a metatranscriptome of the honey bee gut microbiome. The function of the microbial community in the honey bee, as revealed by metatranscriptome sequencing, resembles that of other animal guts and food-processing environments. We identified three major bacterial classes that are active in the gut (γ-Proteobacteria, Bacilli and Actinobacteria), all of which are predicted to participate in the breakdown of complex macromolecules (e.g. polysaccharides and polypeptides), the fermentation of component parts of these macromolecules, and the generation of various fermentation products, such as short-chain fatty acids and alcohol. The ability of the microbial community to metabolize these carbon-rich food sources was confirmed through the use of community-level physiological profiling. Collectively, these findings suggest that the gut microflora of the honey bee harbours bacterial members with unique roles, which ultimately can contribute to the processing of plant-derived food for colonies. © 2014 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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Pesticides are implicated in current bee declines. Wild bees that nest or forage within agroecosystems may be exposed to numerous pesticides applied throughout their life cycles, with potential additive or synergistic effects. In pollinator-dependent crops, pesticides may reduce bee populations, cre...