How Hives Collapse: Allee Effects, Ecological Resilience, and the Honey Bee.

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Brian Dennis

Full Text Available We construct a mathematical model to quantify the loss of resilience in collapsing honey bee colonies due to the presence of a strong Allee effect. In the model, recruitment and mortality of adult bees have substantial social components, with recruitment enhanced and mortality reduced by additional adult bee numbers. The result is an Allee effect, a net per-individual rate of hive increase that increases as a function of adult bee numbers. The Allee effect creates a critical minimum size in adult bee numbers, below which mortality is greater than recruitment, with ensuing loss of viability of the hive. Under ordinary and favorable environmental circumstances, the critical size is low, and hives remain large, sending off viably-sized swarms (naturally or through beekeeping management when hive numbers approach an upper stable equilibrium size (carrying capacity. However, both the lower critical size and the upper stable size depend on many parameters related to demographic rates and their enhancement by bee sociality. Any environmental factors that increase mortality, decrease recruitment, or interfere with the social moderation of these rates has the effect of exacerbating the Allee effect by increasing the lower critical size and substantially decreasing the upper stable size. As well, the basin of attraction to the upper stable size, defined by the model potential function, becomes narrower and shallower, indicating the loss of resilience as the hive becomes subjected to increased risk of falling below the critical size. Environmental effects of greater severity can cause the two equilibria to merge and the basin of attraction to the upper stable size to disappear, resulting in collapse of the hive from any initial size. The model suggests that multiple proximate causes, among them pesticides, mites, pathogens, and climate change, working singly or in combinations, could trigger hive collapse.

High-Performance Integrated Virtual Environment (HIVE) Tools and Applications for Big Data Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Simonyan, Vahan; Mazumder, Raja

2014-09-30

The High-performance Integrated Virtual Environment (HIVE) is a high-throughput cloud-based infrastructure developed for the storage and analysis of genomic and associated biological data. HIVE consists of a web-accessible interface for authorized users to deposit, retrieve, share, annotate, compute and visualize Next-generation Sequencing (NGS) data in a scalable and highly efficient fashion. The platform contains a distributed storage library and a distributed computational powerhouse linked seamlessly. Resources available through the interface include algorithms, tools and applications developed exclusively for the HIVE platform, as well as commonly used external tools adapted to operate within the parallel architecture of the system. HIVE is composed of a flexible infrastructure, which allows for simple implementation of new algorithms and tools. Currently, available HIVE tools include sequence alignment and nucleotide variation profiling tools, metagenomic analyzers, phylogenetic tree-building tools using NGS data, clone discovery algorithms, and recombination analysis algorithms. In addition to tools, HIVE also provides knowledgebases that can be used in conjunction with the tools for NGS sequence and metadata analysis.

High-Performance Integrated Virtual Environment (HIVE Tools and Applications for Big Data Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vahan Simonyan

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The High-performance Integrated Virtual Environment (HIVE is a high-throughput cloud-based infrastructure developed for the storage and analysis of genomic and associated biological data. HIVE consists of a web-accessible interface for authorized users to deposit, retrieve, share, annotate, compute and visualize Next-generation Sequencing (NGS data in a scalable and highly efficient fashion. The platform contains a distributed storage library and a distributed computational powerhouse linked seamlessly. Resources available through the interface include algorithms, tools and applications developed exclusively for the HIVE platform, as well as commonly used external tools adapted to operate within the parallel architecture of the system. HIVE is composed of a flexible infrastructure, which allows for simple implementation of new algorithms and tools. Currently, available HIVE tools include sequence alignment and nucleotide variation profiling tools, metagenomic analyzers, phylogenetic tree-building tools using NGS data, clone discovery algorithms, and recombination analysis algorithms. In addition to tools, HIVE also provides knowledgebases that can be used in conjunction with the tools for NGS sequence and metadata analysis.

Browse Title Index

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Items 351 - 400 of 900 ... OC Odoli, PM Oduor-Odote, B Ohowa, SO Onyango. Vol 15, No 2 (2015), Evaluation of four apicultural products for hive colonization by honey bees (Apis mellifera adansonii) (Hymenoptera: apidae) and pre-colonization pests, Abstract PDF. SA Babarinde, SA Olaleke, AO Akinyemi, TA Adebayo, ...

eHive: An Artificial Intelligence workflow system for genomic analysis

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

Background The Ensembl project produces updates to its comparative genomics resources with each of its several releases per year. During each release cycle approximately two weeks are allocated to generate all the genomic alignments and the protein homology predictions. The number of calculations required for this task grows approximately quadratically with the number of species. We currently support 50 species in Ensembl and we expect the number to continue to grow in the future. Results We present eHive, a new fault tolerant distributed processing system initially designed to support comparative genomic analysis, based on blackboard systems, network distributed autonomous agents, dataflow graphs and block-branch diagrams. In the eHive system a MySQL database serves as the central blackboard and the autonomous agent, a Perl script, queries the system and runs jobs as required. The system allows us to define dataflow and branching rules to suit all our production pipelines. We describe the implementation of three pipelines: (1) pairwise whole genome alignments, (2) multiple whole genome alignments and (3) gene trees with protein homology inference. Finally, we show the efficiency of the system in real case scenarios. Conclusions eHive allows us to produce computationally demanding results in a reliable and efficient way with minimal supervision and high throughput. Further documentation is available at: http://www.ensembl.org/info/docs/eHive/. PMID:20459813

eHive: An Artificial Intelligence workflow system for genomic analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gordon Leo

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The Ensembl project produces updates to its comparative genomics resources with each of its several releases per year. During each release cycle approximately two weeks are allocated to generate all the genomic alignments and the protein homology predictions. The number of calculations required for this task grows approximately quadratically with the number of species. We currently support 50 species in Ensembl and we expect the number to continue to grow in the future. Results We present eHive, a new fault tolerant distributed processing system initially designed to support comparative genomic analysis, based on blackboard systems, network distributed autonomous agents, dataflow graphs and block-branch diagrams. In the eHive system a MySQL database serves as the central blackboard and the autonomous agent, a Perl script, queries the system and runs jobs as required. The system allows us to define dataflow and branching rules to suit all our production pipelines. We describe the implementation of three pipelines: (1 pairwise whole genome alignments, (2 multiple whole genome alignments and (3 gene trees with protein homology inference. Finally, we show the efficiency of the system in real case scenarios. Conclusions eHive allows us to produce computationally demanding results in a reliable and efficient way with minimal supervision and high throughput. Further documentation is available at: http://www.ensembl.org/info/docs/eHive/.

eHive: an artificial intelligence workflow system for genomic analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Severin, Jessica; Beal, Kathryn; Vilella, Albert J; Fitzgerald, Stephen; Schuster, Michael; Gordon, Leo; Ureta-Vidal, Abel; Flicek, Paul; Herrero, Javier

2010-05-11

The Ensembl project produces updates to its comparative genomics resources with each of its several releases per year. During each release cycle approximately two weeks are allocated to generate all the genomic alignments and the protein homology predictions. The number of calculations required for this task grows approximately quadratically with the number of species. We currently support 50 species in Ensembl and we expect the number to continue to grow in the future. We present eHive, a new fault tolerant distributed processing system initially designed to support comparative genomic analysis, based on blackboard systems, network distributed autonomous agents, dataflow graphs and block-branch diagrams. In the eHive system a MySQL database serves as the central blackboard and the autonomous agent, a Perl script, queries the system and runs jobs as required. The system allows us to define dataflow and branching rules to suit all our production pipelines. We describe the implementation of three pipelines: (1) pairwise whole genome alignments, (2) multiple whole genome alignments and (3) gene trees with protein homology inference. Finally, we show the efficiency of the system in real case scenarios. eHive allows us to produce computationally demanding results in a reliable and efficient way with minimal supervision and high throughput. Further documentation is available at: http://www.ensembl.org/info/docs/eHive/.

Vasculature of the hive: heat dissipation in the honey bee ( Apis mellifera) hive

Science.gov (United States)

Bonoan, Rachael E.; Goldman, Rhyan R.; Wong, Peter Y.; Starks, Philip T.

2014-06-01

Eusocial insects are distinguished by their elaborate cooperative behavior and are sometimes defined as superorganisms. As a nest-bound superorganism, individuals work together to maintain favorable nest conditions. Residing in temperate environments, honey bees ( Apis mellifera) work especially hard to maintain brood comb temperature between 32 and 36 °C. Heat shielding is a social homeostatic mechanism employed to combat local heat stress. Workers press the ventral side of their bodies against heated surfaces, absorb heat, and thus protect developing brood. While the absorption of heat has been characterized, the dissipation of absorbed heat has not. Our study characterized both how effectively worker bees absorb heat during heat shielding, and where worker bees dissipate absorbed heat. Hives were experimentally heated for 15 min during which internal temperatures and heat shielder counts were taken. Once the heat source was removed, hives were photographed with a thermal imaging camera for 15 min. Thermal images allowed for spatial tracking of heat flow as cooling occurred. Data indicate that honey bee workers collectively minimize heat gain during heating and accelerate heat loss during cooling. Thermal images show that heated areas temporarily increase in size in all directions and then rapidly decrease to safe levels (<37 °C). As such, heat shielding is reminiscent of bioheat removal via the cardiovascular system of mammals.

Survival and reproduction of small hive beetle (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) on commercial pollen substitutes

Science.gov (United States)

An assay was developed to investigate the small hive beetle’s (Aethina tumida) potential for survival and reproduction when providing artificial food resources in managed European honey bees (Apis mellifera). Supplemental feeding is done to maintain the health of the hive, initiate comb building, ex...

Author Details

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Fasasi, KA. Vol 8 (2010) - Articles Effect of age of honeybee queens of Apis mellifera adansonii (Hymenoptera: apidae) on the rate of brood production in modern bee-hives. Abstract. ISSN: 1596-972X. AJOL African Journals Online. HOW TO USE AJOL... for Researchers · for Librarians · for Authors · FAQ's · More about ...

De wespbijen (Nomada) van Nederland (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Smit, J.

2004-01-01

The wasp bees (Nomada) of the Netherlands (Hymenoptera: Apidae) In the Netherlands 44 species of Nomada are known to occur. The name wasp bee is derived from the often yellow and black colour, which give the insects a wasplike appearance. Nomada bees are cleptoparasites mostly with Andrena species.

A Mathematical Model for the Bee Hive of Apis Mellifera

Science.gov (United States)

Antonioni, Alberto; Bellom, Fabio Enrici; Montabone, Andrea; Venturino, Ezio

2010-09-01

In this work we introduce and discuss a model for the bee hive, in which only adult bees and drones are modeled. The role that the latter have in the system is interesting, their population can retrieve even if they are totally absent from the bee hive. The feasibility and stability of the equilibria is studied numerically. A simplified version of the model shows the importance of the drones' role, in spite of the fact that it allows only a trivial equilibrium. For this simplified system, no Hopf bifurcations are shown to arise.

Honeybees learn floral odors while receiving nectar from foragers within the hive

Science.gov (United States)

Farina, Walter M.; Grüter, Christoph; Acosta, Luis; Mc Cabe, Sofía

2007-01-01

Recent studies showed that nectar odors brought back by honeybee foragers can be learned associatively inside the hive. In the present study, we focused on the learning abilities of bees, which directly interact via trophallaxis with the incoming nectar foragers: the workers that perform nectar-receiving tasks inside the hive. Workers that have received food directly from foragers coming back from a feeder offering either unscented or scented sugar solution [phenylacetaldehyde (PHE) or nonanal diluted] were captured from two observational hives, and their olfactory memories were tested using the proboscis extension response paradigm. Bees that have received scented solution from incoming foragers showed significantly increased response frequencies for the corresponding solution odor in comparison with those that have received unscented solution. No differences in the response frequencies were found between food odors and colonies. The results indicate that first-order receivers learn via trophallaxis the association between the scent and the sugar solution transferred by incoming foragers. The implications of these results should be considered at three levels: the operational cohesion of bees involved in foraging-related tasks, the information propagation inside the hive related to the floral type exploited, and the putative effect of these memories on future preferences for resources.

Effects of Apis mellifera adansonii, L. 1758 (Apidae: Hymenoptera ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Effects of Apis mellifera adansonii, L. 1758 (Apidae: Hymenoptera) pollination on yields of Cucumeropsis mannii (Naudin) in Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo. Boniface Posho Ndola, Yves Brostaux, Guillaume Le Goff, Marie-Lucie Susini, Eric Haubruge, Frederic Francis, Bach Kim Nguyen ...

Hedgehog hives.

Science.gov (United States)

Fairley, J A; Suchniak, J; Paller, A S

1999-05-01

Hedgehogs are increasingly popular pets in the United States and Europe. A number of infections may be acquired from these animals, and hedgehogs are possible hosts of parasites. However, to our knowledge there arc no previous reports of urticarial reactions to hedgehogs. We describe 3 patients who developed an acute, transient, urticarial reaction after contact with the extended spines of pet hedgehogs. One patient also developed a more prolonged reaction at the site of contact. Interestingly, all 3 patients had documented allergies to cats and/or dogs. The results of prick testing in 1 patient to an extract of hedgehog dander produced an immediate wheal-and-flare reaction. A variety of dermatologic disorders may be seen in handlers of hedgehogs. Due to the increasing popularity of these animals as pets, it is likely that these reactions will be noted more frequently by dermatologists. The presence of allergies to other pets may be predictive of hedgehog hives and further investigation of the cross reaction of various animal antigens may clarify this relationship.

High-performance integrated virtual environment (HIVE): a robust infrastructure for next-generation sequence data analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Simonyan, Vahan; Chumakov, Konstantin; Dingerdissen, Hayley; Faison, William; Goldweber, Scott; Golikov, Anton; Gulzar, Naila; Karagiannis, Konstantinos; Vinh Nguyen Lam, Phuc; Maudru, Thomas; Muravitskaja, Olesja; Osipova, Ekaterina; Pan, Yang; Pschenichnov, Alexey; Rostovtsev, Alexandre; Santana-Quintero, Luis; Smith, Krista; Thompson, Elaine E; Tkachenko, Valery; Torcivia-Rodriguez, John; Voskanian, Alin; Wan, Quan; Wang, Jing; Wu, Tsung-Jung; Wilson, Carolyn; Mazumder, Raja

2016-01-01

The High-performance Integrated Virtual Environment (HIVE) is a distributed storage and compute environment designed primarily to handle next-generation sequencing (NGS) data. This multicomponent cloud infrastructure provides secure web access for authorized users to deposit, retrieve, annotate and compute on NGS data, and to analyse the outcomes using web interface visual environments appropriately built in collaboration with research and regulatory scientists and other end users. Unlike many massively parallel computing environments, HIVE uses a cloud control server which virtualizes services, not processes. It is both very robust and flexible due to the abstraction layer introduced between computational requests and operating system processes. The novel paradigm of moving computations to the data, instead of moving data to computational nodes, has proven to be significantly less taxing for both hardware and network infrastructure.The honeycomb data model developed for HIVE integrates metadata into an object-oriented model. Its distinction from other object-oriented databases is in the additional implementation of a unified application program interface to search, view and manipulate data of all types. This model simplifies the introduction of new data types, thereby minimizing the need for database restructuring and streamlining the development of new integrated information systems. The honeycomb model employs a highly secure hierarchical access control and permission system, allowing determination of data access privileges in a finely granular manner without flooding the security subsystem with a multiplicity of rules. HIVE infrastructure will allow engineers and scientists to perform NGS analysis in a manner that is both efficient and secure. HIVE is actively supported in public and private domains, and project collaborations are welcomed. Database URL: https://hive.biochemistry.gwu.edu. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press.

Informações biológicas e estimativa do tamanho ideal da colmeia para a abelha tiúba do Maranhão (Melipona compressipes fasciculata Smith - Hymenoptera, Apidae Biological informations and ideal size estimation of hives for the stingless bees of Maranhão (Melipona compressipes fasciculata, Smith - Hymenoptera, Apidae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Warwick Estevam Kerr

2001-03-01

Full Text Available Four places in Latin-America have Melipona Illiger, 1806 beekeeping: Mexico, with M. beecheii Bennet, 1831; Northeast Brasil, with M. scutellaris Latreille, 1811; Maranhão State (Brazil with M. compressipes fasciculata Smith, 1854; Venezuela, in her coast, with M. favosa (Fabricius, 1798. Natural colonies of M. compressipes fasciculata occupied tree holes ranging from 6,5 to 24 1. The average honey production of 60 colonies in hives with capacity of 50.2 1, 41.0, 30.2, 16.5 and 6.2 were respectively 8.4, 6.5, 5.5, 3.3 and 2.0 Kg. Due to lack of bee flowers within the city limits, hives with a volume of 27 1 (30x30x30 cm were used successfully in our future experiments with M. compressipes fasciculata instead of the ideal size of 40 to 50 liters, since the intense use of biological material did not allow the colonies to reach large sizes.

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 ...

De kortsnuitbloedbij Sphecodes majalis nieuw voor de Nederlandse fauna (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Raemakers, I.

2004-01-01

Sphecodes majalis, a new bee species for the Netherlands (Hymenoptera: Apidae) A population of Sphecodes majalis was found on a limestone grassland near Maastricht (Limburg). On several occasions more than 10 female and several male specimen were observed. Sphecodes majalis is a parasite of

In-hive Pesticide Exposome: Assessing risks to migratory honey bees from in-hive pesticide contamination in the Eastern United States

Science.gov (United States)

Traynor, Kirsten S.; Pettis, Jeffery S.; Tarpy, David R.; Mullin, Christopher A.; Frazier, James L.; Frazier, Maryann; Vanengelsdorp, Dennis

2016-09-01

This study measured part of the in-hive pesticide exposome by analyzing residues from live in-hive bees, stored pollen, and wax in migratory colonies over time and compared exposure to colony health. We summarized the pesticide burden using three different additive methods: (1) the hazard quotient (HQ), an estimate of pesticide exposure risk, (2) the total number of pesticide residues, and (3) the number of relevant residues. Despite being simplistic, these models attempt to summarize potential risk from multiple contaminations in real-world contexts. Colonies performing pollination services were subject to increased pesticide exposure compared to honey-production and holding yards. We found clear links between an increase in the total number of products in wax and colony mortality. In particular, we found that fungicides with particular modes of action increased disproportionally in wax within colonies that died. The occurrence of queen events, a significant risk factor for colony health and productivity, was positively associated with all three proxies of pesticide exposure. While our exposome summation models do not fully capture the complexities of pesticide exposure, they nonetheless help elucidate their risks to colony health. Implementing and improving such models can help identify potential pesticide risks, permitting preventative actions to improve pollinator health.

Produktová nabídka Honey Hive

OpenAIRE

Tomečková, Alena

2010-01-01

The topic of this Master's thesis is to define the product offering for start-up called Honey Hive and to describe the process supporting the product portfolio definition. Product portfolio definition is based on the theory of 4P (Marketing mix). The whole process of defining the product offering is based on 4P -- Price, Product, Promotion and Place. Each aspect brings its own view into product offering -- from defining the pricing strategy, through suppliers mix definition to the competition...

Espécies novas de Trigonisca Moure (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Apinae New species of Trigonisca Moure (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Apinae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrícia Maia Correia de Albuquerque

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Algumas espécies novas de Meliponini do gênero Trigonisca Moure, 1950 (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Apinae do Brasil e Panamá são descritas: T. roubiki sp. nov. (Panamá, T. variegatifrons sp. nov. (Brasil: RO, PA, MT, T. vitrifrons sp. nov. (Brasil: AM, PA, T. unidentata sp. nov. (Brasil: AM, T. meridionalis sp. nov. (Brasil: PA, MA, MT, MG, SP, T. bidentata sp. nov. (Brasil: RO, T. extrema sp. nov. (Brasil: AM e T. hirticornis sp. nov. (Brasil: RO, PA; e são apresentados novos registros geográficos de T. flavicans (Moure, 1950, T. intermedia Moure, 1989, T. dobzhanskyi (Moure, 1950, T. ceophloei (Schwarz, 1938, T. nataliae (Moure, 1950 e T. pediculana (Fabricius, 1804 e uma chave para identificação das espécies.Some new Meliponini species of the genus Trigonisca Moure, 1950 (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Apinae from Brazil and Panamá are described: T. roubiki sp. nov. (Panamá, T. variegatifrons sp. nov. (Brazil: RO, PA, MT, T. vitrifrons sp. nov. (Brazil: AM, PA, T. unidentata sp. nov. (Brazil: AM, T. meridionalis sp. nov. (Brazil: PA, MA, MT, MG, SP, T. bidentata sp. nov. (Brazil: RO, T. extrema sp. nov. (Brazil: AM and T. hirticornis sp. nov. (Brazil: RO, PA; additional geographic records from T. flavicans (Moure, 1950, T. intermedia Moure, 1989, T. dobzhanskyi (Moure, 1950, T. ceophloei (Schwarz, 1938, T. nataliae (Moure, 1950 and T. pediculana (Fabricius, 1804 and an identification key for species are presented.

Unique honey bee (Apis mellifera hive component-based communities as detected by a hybrid of phospholipid fatty-acid and fatty-acid methyl ester analyses.

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Kirk J Grubbs

Full Text Available Microbial communities (microbiomes are associated with almost all metazoans, including the honey bee Apis mellifera. Honey bees are social insects, maintaining complex hive systems composed of a variety of integral components including bees, comb, propolis, honey, and stored pollen. Given that the different components within hives can be physically separated and are nutritionally variable, we hypothesize that unique microbial communities may occur within the different microenvironments of honey bee colonies. To explore this hypothesis and to provide further insights into the microbiome of honey bees, we use a hybrid of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME and phospholipid-derived fatty acid (PLFA analysis to produce broad, lipid-based microbial community profiles of stored pollen, adults, pupae, honey, empty comb, and propolis for 11 honey bee hives. Averaging component lipid profiles by hive, we show that, in decreasing order, lipid markers representing fungi, Gram-negative bacteria, and Gram-positive bacteria have the highest relative abundances within honey bee colonies. Our lipid profiles reveal the presence of viable microbial communities in each of the six hive components sampled, with overall microbial community richness varying from lowest to highest in honey, comb, pupae, pollen, adults and propolis, respectively. Finally, microbial community lipid profiles were more similar when compared by component than by hive, location, or sampling year. Specifically, we found that individual hive components typically exhibited several dominant lipids and that these dominant lipids differ between components. Principal component and two-way clustering analyses both support significant grouping of lipids by hive component. Our findings indicate that in addition to the microbial communities present in individual workers, honey bee hives have resident microbial communities associated with different colony components.

Unique honey bee (Apis mellifera) hive component-based communities as detected by a hybrid of phospholipid fatty-acid and fatty-acid methyl ester analyses.

Science.gov (United States)

Grubbs, Kirk J; Scott, Jarrod J; Budsberg, Kevin J; Read, Harry; Balser, Teri C; Currie, Cameron R

2015-01-01

Microbial communities (microbiomes) are associated with almost all metazoans, including the honey bee Apis mellifera. Honey bees are social insects, maintaining complex hive systems composed of a variety of integral components including bees, comb, propolis, honey, and stored pollen. Given that the different components within hives can be physically separated and are nutritionally variable, we hypothesize that unique microbial communities may occur within the different microenvironments of honey bee colonies. To explore this hypothesis and to provide further insights into the microbiome of honey bees, we use a hybrid of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) and phospholipid-derived fatty acid (PLFA) analysis to produce broad, lipid-based microbial community profiles of stored pollen, adults, pupae, honey, empty comb, and propolis for 11 honey bee hives. Averaging component lipid profiles by hive, we show that, in decreasing order, lipid markers representing fungi, Gram-negative bacteria, and Gram-positive bacteria have the highest relative abundances within honey bee colonies. Our lipid profiles reveal the presence of viable microbial communities in each of the six hive components sampled, with overall microbial community richness varying from lowest to highest in honey, comb, pupae, pollen, adults and propolis, respectively. Finally, microbial community lipid profiles were more similar when compared by component than by hive, location, or sampling year. Specifically, we found that individual hive components typically exhibited several dominant lipids and that these dominant lipids differ between components. Principal component and two-way clustering analyses both support significant grouping of lipids by hive component. Our findings indicate that in addition to the microbial communities present in individual workers, honey bee hives have resident microbial communities associated with different colony components.

Data Container Study for Handling Array-based Data Using Rasdaman, Hive, Spark, and MongoDB

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, M.; Hu, F.; Yu, M.; Scheele, C.; Liu, K.; Huang, Q.; Yang, C. P.; Little, M. M.

2016-12-01

Geoscience communities have come up with various big data storage solutions, such as Rasdaman and Hive, to address the grand challenges for massive Earth observation data management and processing. To examine the readiness of current solutions in supporting big Earth observation, we propose to investigate and compare four popular data container solutions, including Rasdaman, Hive, Spark, and MongoDB. Using different types of spatial and non-spatial queries, datasets stored in common scientific data formats (e.g., NetCDF and HDF), and two applications (i.e. dust storm simulation data mining and MERRA data analytics), we systematically compare and evaluate the feature and performance of these four data containers in terms of data discover and access. The computing resources (e.g. CPU, memory, hard drive, network) consumed while performing various queries and operations are monitored and recorded for the performance evaluation. The initial results show that 1) Rasdaman has the best performance for queries on statistical and operational functions, and supports NetCDF data format better than HDF; 2) Rasdaman clustering configuration is more complex than the others; 3) Hive performs better on single pixel extraction from multiple images; and 4) Except for the single pixel extractions, Spark performs better than Hive and its performance is close to Rasdaman. A comprehensive report will detail the experimental results, and compare their pros and cons regarding system performance, ease of use, accessibility, scalability, compatibility, and flexibility.

Regular dorsal dimples and damaged mites of Varroa destructor in some Iranian honey bees (Apis mellifera)

OpenAIRE

Ardestani, Masoud M.; Ebadi, Rahim; Tahmasbi, Gholamhossein

2011-01-01

The frequency of damaged Varroa destructor Anderson and Trueman (Mesostigmata: Varroidae) found on the bottom board of hives of the honey bee, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae) has been used as an indicator of the degree of tolerance or resistance of honey bee colonies against mites. However, it is not clear that this measure is adequate. These injuries should be separated from regular dorsal dimples that have a developmental origin. To investigate damage to Varroa mites and regular dor...

Evaluation of four apicultural products for hive colonization by honey ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Four apicultural products (honey, bee wax, slum gum and propolis) were evaluated for their potentials to attract the African honey bee (Apis mellifera adansonii) colony into artificial hives and their effect on infestation by apicultural insect pests. Ten grammes each of propolis, bee wax and slum gum and 10 ml of honey were ...

On the identity of Melipona torrida Friese (Hymenoptera, Apidae)

OpenAIRE

Melo, Gabriel A. R.

2013-01-01

On the identity of Melipona torrida Friese (Hymenoptera, Apidae). Melipona marginata var. torrida Friese, 1916, described from three workers putatively collected in Costa Rica, never had its identity properly recognized. Since its original description, no additional specimens have ever been collected in Costa Rica. It is argued here that Melipona torrida was based on mislabeled specimens and corresponds to Melipona marginata obscurior Moure, 1971, a form known only from southern Brazil, Argen...

Fungi infection in honeybee hives in regions affected by Brazilian sac brood

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K.M. Keller

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The Brazilian Sac Brood is a disease that affects apiaries of Africanized bee hives in Brazil, thereby making them susceptible to high losses. This study investigated the pathogenicity of Africanized bee hives by the entomopathogenic fungi in a Brazilian Sac Brood endemic region. The degree of fungal contamination, presence of mycotoxins in beehive elements, and vulnerability of healthy beehives in environments subjected and not subjected to the disease were investigated. From the contaminating fungal load, species that are mycotoxin producers and pathogenic causing mortality in the bees have been isolated. The analysis of bee pollen and bee bread samples did not show the presence of the toxic pollen of Stryphnodendron (Fabaceae, which has been indicated as the causative agent of mortality in pre-pupal stage larvae. However, bee bread showed the highest correlation between substrate and fungal contamination.

Boron and Coumaphos Residues in Hive Materials Following Treatments for the Control of Aethina tumida Murray.

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Cesar Valdovinos-Flores

Full Text Available In the search of alternatives for controlling Aethina tumida Murray, we recently proposed the BAA trap which uses boric acid and an attractant which mimics the process of fermentation caused by Kodamaea ohmeri in the hive. This yeast is excreted in the feces of A. tumida causing the fermentation of pollen and honey of infested hives and releasing compounds that function as aggregation pheromones to A. tumida. Since the boron is the toxic element in boric acid, the aim of this article is to assess the amount of boron residues in honey and beeswax from hives treated with the BAA trap. For this aim, the amount of bioaccumulated boron in products of untreated hives was first determined and then compared with the amount of boron of products from hives treated with the BAA trap in two distinct climatic and soil conditions. The study was conducted in the cities of Padilla, Tamaulipas, and Valladolid, Yucatan (Mexico from August 2014 to March 2015. The quantity of boron in honey was significantly less in Yucatan than in Tamaulipas; this agrees with the boron deficiency among Luvisol and Leptosol soils found in Yucatan compared to the Vertisol soil found in Tamaulipas. In fact, the honey from Yucatan has lower boron levels than those reported in the literature. The BAA treatment was applied for four months, results show that the BAA trap does not have any residual effect in either honey or wax; i.e., there is no significant difference in boron content before and after treatment. On the other hand, the organophosphate pesticide coumaphos was found in 100% of wax samples and in 64% of honey samples collected from Yucatan. The concentration of coumaphos in honey ranges from 0.005 to 0.040 mg/kg, which are below Maximum Residue Limit (MRL allowed in the European Union (0.1 mg/kg but 7.14% of samples exceeded the MRL allowed in Canada (0.02 mg/kg.

Boron and Coumaphos Residues in Hive Materials Following Treatments for the Control of Aethina tumida Murray

Science.gov (United States)

Valdovinos-Flores, Cesar; Gaspar-Ramírez, Octavio; Heras–Ramírez, María Elena; Dorantes-Ugalde, José Antonio; Saldaña-Loza, Luz María

2016-01-01

In the search of alternatives for controlling Aethina tumida Murray, we recently proposed the BAA trap which uses boric acid and an attractant which mimics the process of fermentation caused by Kodamaea ohmeri in the hive. This yeast is excreted in the feces of A. tumida causing the fermentation of pollen and honey of infested hives and releasing compounds that function as aggregation pheromones to A. tumida. Since the boron is the toxic element in boric acid, the aim of this article is to assess the amount of boron residues in honey and beeswax from hives treated with the BAA trap. For this aim, the amount of bioaccumulated boron in products of untreated hives was first determined and then compared with the amount of boron of products from hives treated with the BAA trap in two distinct climatic and soil conditions. The study was conducted in the cities of Padilla, Tamaulipas, and Valladolid, Yucatan (Mexico) from August 2014 to March 2015. The quantity of boron in honey was significantly less in Yucatan than in Tamaulipas; this agrees with the boron deficiency among Luvisol and Leptosol soils found in Yucatan compared to the Vertisol soil found in Tamaulipas. In fact, the honey from Yucatan has lower boron levels than those reported in the literature. The BAA treatment was applied for four months, results show that the BAA trap does not have any residual effect in either honey or wax; i.e., there is no significant difference in boron content before and after treatment. On the other hand, the organophosphate pesticide coumaphos was found in 100% of wax samples and in 64% of honey samples collected from Yucatan. The concentration of coumaphos in honey ranges from 0.005 to 0.040 mg/kg, which are below Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) allowed in the European Union (0.1 mg/kg) but 7.14% of samples exceeded the MRL allowed in Canada (0.02 mg/kg). PMID:27092938

Radiobiology of Small Hive Beetle (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) and Prospects for Management Using Sterile Insect

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Downey, Danielle; Chun, Stacey; Follett, Peter

2016-01-01

Small hive beetle, Aethina tumida Murray (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae), is considered a serious threat to beekeeping in the Western Hemisphere, Australia, and Europe mainly due to larval feeding on honey, pollen, and brood of the European honeybee, Apis mellifera L. Control methods are limited for this pest. Studies were conducted to provide information on the radiobiology of small hive beetle and determine the potential for sterile insect releases as a control strategy. Adult males and females were equally sensitive to a radiation dose of 80 Gy and died within 5–7 d after treatment. In reciprocal crossing studies, irradiation of females only lowered reproduction to a greater extent than irradiation of males only. For matings between unirradiated males and irradiated females, mean reproduction was reduced by >99% at 45 and 60 Gy compared with controls, and no larvae were produced at 75 Gy. Irradiation of prereproductive adults of both sexes at 45 Gy under low oxygen (1–4%) caused a high level of sterility (>99%) while maintaining moderate survivorship for several weeks, and should suffice for sterile insect releases. Sterile insect technique holds potential for suppressing small hive beetle populations in newly invaded areas and limiting its spread. (author)

Mitochondrial genome of the North African Sahara Honeybee, Apis mellifera sahariensis (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Haddad, Nizar; Adjlane, Noureddine; Loucif-Ayad, Wahida

2017-01-01

e present the complete mitochondrial genome of honey bee subspecies, Apis mellifera sahariensis (Apidae) belonging to the African lineage. The assembled circular genome has a length of 16,569 bp which comprises 13 protein coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, two ribosomal RNA genes, and AT rich...

First host record for the cleptoparasitic bee Rhathymus friesei Ducke (Hymenoptera, Apidae

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Hugo A. Werneck

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The genus Rhathymus contains only obligatory cleptoparasitic species whose hosts belong to the genus Epicharis (Apidae, Centridini. Host information is available for only four of the 20 species of Rhathymus. In this note a new host record is added, in which the parasitism by R. friesei on nests of Epicharis (Epicharoides picta is documented.

Killing them with kindness? In-hive medications may inhibit xenobiotic efflux transporters and endanger honey bees.

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David J Hawthorne

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Honey bees (Apis mellifera have recently experienced higher than normal overwintering colony losses. Many factors have been evoked to explain the losses, among which are the presence of residues of pesticides and veterinary products in hives. Multiple residues are present at the same time, though most often in low concentrations so that no single product has yet been associated with losses. Involvement of a combination of residues to losses may however not be excluded. To understand the impact of an exposure to combined residues on honey bees, we propose a mechanism-based strategy, focusing here on Multi-Drug Resistance (MDR transporters as mediators of those interactions. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using whole-animal bioassays, we demonstrate through inhibition by verapamil that the widely used organophosphate and pyrethroid acaricides coumaphos and τ-fluvalinate, and three neonicotinoid insecticides: imidacloprid, acetamiprid and thiacloprid are substrates of one or more MDR transporters. Among the candidate inhibitors of honey bee MDR transporters is the in-hive antibiotic oxytetracycline. Bees prefed oxytetracycline were significantly sensitized to the acaricides coumaphos and τ-fluvalinate, suggesting that the antibiotic may interfere with the normal excretion or metabolism of these pesticides. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Many bee hives receive regular treatments of oxytetracycline and acaricides for prevention and treatment of disease and parasites. Our results suggest that seasonal co-application of these medicines to bee hives could increase the adverse effects of these and perhaps other pesticides. Our results also demonstrate the utility of a mechanism-based strategy. By identifying pesticides and apicultural medicines that are substrates and inhibitors of xenobiotic transporters we prioritize the testing of those chemical combinations most likely to result in adverse interactions.

Nest-mate recognition in Manuelia postica (Apidae: Xylocopinae): an eusocial trait is present in a solitary bee.

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Flores-Prado, Luis; Aguilera-Olivares, Daniel; Niemeyer, Hermann M

2008-02-07

In eusocial Hymenoptera, females are more tolerant towards nest-mate than towards non-nest-mate females. In solitary Hymenoptera, females are generally aggressive towards any conspecific female. Field observations of the nest biology of Manuelia postica suggested nest-mate recognition. Experiments were performed involving two live interacting females or one live female interacting with a dead female. Live females from different nests were more intolerant to each other than females from the same nest. Females were more intolerant towards non-nest-mate than towards nest-mate dead females. When dead females were washed with pentane, no differences in tolerant and intolerant behaviours were detected between non-nest-mate and nest-mate females. Females were more intolerant towards nest-mate female carcasses coated with the cuticular extract from a non-nest-mate than towards non-nest-mate female carcasses coated with the cuticular extract from a nest-mate. The compositions of the cuticular extracts was more similar between females from the same nest than between females from different nests. The results demonstrate for the first time nest-mate recognition mediated by cuticular chemicals in a largely solitary species of Apidae. The position of Manuelia at the base of the Apidae phylogeny suggests that nest-mate recognition in eusocial species apical to Manuelia represents the retention of a primitive capacity in Apidae.

Removal of drone brood from Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) colonies to control Varroa destructor (Acari: Varroidae) and retain adult drones.

Science.gov (United States)

Wantuch, Holly A; Tarpy, David R

2009-12-01

The parasitic mite Varroa destructor Anderson & Trueman (Acari: Varroidae) has plagued European honey bees, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), in the Americas since its introduction in the 1980s. For many years, these mites were sufficiently controlled using synthetic acaricides. Recently, however, beekeepers have experienced increased resistance by mites to chemical pesticides, which are also known to leave residues in hive products such as wax and honey. Thus there has been increased emphasis on nonchemical integrated pest management control tactics for Varroa. Because mites preferentially reproduce in drone brood (pupal males), we developed a treatment strategy focusing on salvaging parasitized drones while removing mites from them. We removed drone brood from colonies in which there was no acaricidal application and banked them in separate "drone-brood receiving" colonies treated with pesticides to kill mites emerging with drones. We tested 20 colonies divided into three groups: 1) negative control (no mite treatment), 2) positive control (treatment with acaricides), and 3) drone-brood removal and placement into drone-brood receiving colonies. We found that drone-brood trapping significantly lowered mite numbers during the early months of the season, eliminating the need for additional control measures in the spring. However, mite levels in the drone-brood removal group increased later in the summer, suggesting that this benefit does not persist throughout the entire season. Our results suggest that this method of drone-brood trapping can be used as an element of an integrated control strategy to control varroa mites, eliminating a large portion of the Varroa population with limited chemical treatments while retaining the benefits of maintaining adult drones in the population.

The small hive beetle Aethina tumida: A review of its biology and control measures

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Andrew G. S. CUTHBERTSON et al

2013-10-01

Full Text Available The small hive beetle Aethina tumida is an endemic parasitic pest and scavenger of colonies of social bees indigenous to sub-Saharan Africa. In this region this species rarely inflicts severe damage on strong colonies since the bees have develo­­ped strategies to combat them. However, A. tumida has since ‘escaped’ from its native home and has recently invaded areas such as North America and Australia where its economic impact on the apiculture industry has been significant. Small hive beetle, should it become established within Europe, represents a real and live threat to the UK bee keeping industry. Here we review the biology and current pest status of A. tumida and up to-date research in terms of both chemical and biological control used against this honey bee pest [Current Zoology 59 (5: 644–653, 2013].

Radiobiology of Small Hive Beetle (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) and Prospects for Management Using Sterile Insect Releases.

Science.gov (United States)

Downey, Danielle; Chun, Stacey; Follett, Peter

2015-06-01

Small hive beetle, Aethina tumida Murray (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae), is considered a serious threat to beekeeping in the Western Hemisphere, Australia, and Europe mainly due to larval feeding on honey, pollen, and brood of the European honeybee, Apis mellifera L. Control methods are limited for this pest. Studies were conducted to provide information on the radiobiology of small hive beetle and determine the potential for sterile insect releases as a control strategy. Adult males and females were equally sensitive to a radiation dose of 80 Gy and died within 5-7 d after treatment. In reciprocal crossing studies, irradiation of females only lowered reproduction to a greater extent than irradiation of males only. For matings between unirradiated males and irradiated females, mean reproduction was reduced by >99% at 45 and 60 Gy compared with controls, and no larvae were produced at 75 Gy. Irradiation of prereproductive adults of both sexes at 45 Gy under low oxygen (1-4%) caused a high level of sterility (>99%) while maintaining moderate survivorship for several weeks, and should suffice for sterile insect releases. Sterile insect technique holds potential for suppressing small hive beetle populations in newly invaded areas and limiting its spread. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America 2015. This work is written by US Government employees and is in the public domain in the US.

Bumble bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) community structure on two sagebrush steppe sites in southern Idaho

Science.gov (United States)

Stephen P. Cook; Sara M. Birch; Frank W. Merickel; Carrie Caselton Lowe; Deborah Page-Dumroese

2011-01-01

Although sagebrush, Artemisia spp., does not require an insect pollinator, there are several native species of bumble bees, Bombus spp. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), that are present in sagebrush steppe ecosystems where they act as pollinators for various forbs and shrubs. These native pollinators contribute to plant productivity and reproduction. We captured 12 species of...

Nontarget effects of aerial mosquito adulticiding with water-based unsynergized pyrethroids on honey bees and other beneficial insects in an agricultural ecosystem of north Greece.

Science.gov (United States)

Chaskopoulou, Alexandra; Thrasyvoulou, Andreas; Goras, Georgios; Tananaki, Chrysoula; Latham, Mark D; Kashefi, Javid; Pereira, Roberto M; Koehler, Philip G

2014-05-01

We assessed the nontarget effects of ultra-low-volume (ULV) aerial adulticiding with two new water-based, unsynergized pyrethroid formulations, Aqua-K-Othrine (FFAST antievaporant technology, 2% deltamethrin) and Pesguard S102 (10% d-phenothrin). A helicopter with GPS navigation technology was used. One application rate was tested per formulation that corresponded to 1.00 g (AI)/ha of deltamethrin and 7.50 g (AI)/ha of d-phenothrin. Three beneficial nontarget organisms were used: honey bees (domesticated hives), family Apidae (Apis mellifera L.); mealybug destroyers, family Coccinellidae (Cryptolaemus montrouzieri Mulsant); and green lacewings, family Chrysopidae (Chrysoperla carnea (Stephens)). No significant nontarget mortalities were observed. No bees exhibited signs of sublethal exposure to insecticides. Beehives exposed to the insecticidal applications remained healthy and productive, performed as well as the control hives and increased in weight (25-30%), in adult bee population (14-18%), and in brood population (15-19%).

Radiation inactivation of Paenibacillus larvae and sterilization of American Foul Brood (AFB) infected hives using Co-60 gamma rays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Guzman, Zenaida M.; Cervancia, Cleofas R.; Dimasuay, Kris Genelyn B.; Tolentino, Mitos M.; Abrera, Gina B.; Cobar, Ma. Lucia C.; Fajardo, Alejandro C.; Sabino, Noel G.; Manila-Fajardo, Analinda C.; Feliciano, Chitho P.

2011-01-01

The effectiveness of gamma radiation in inactivating the Philippine isolate of Paenibacillus larvae was investigated. Spores of P. larvae were irradiated at incremental doses (0.1, 0.2, 0.4, 0.8 and 1.6 kGy) of gamma radiation emitted by a 60 Co source. Surviving spores were counted and used to estimate the decimal reduction (D 10 ) value. A dose of 0.2 kGy was sufficient to inactivate 90% of the total recoverable spores from an initial count of 10 5 -9x10 3 spores per glass plate. The sterilizing effect of high doses of gamma radiation on the spores of P. larvae in infected hives was determined. In this study, a minimum dose (D min ) of 15 kGy was tested. Beehives with sub-clinical infections of AFB were irradiated and examined for sterility. All the materials were found to be free of P. larvae indicating its susceptibility to γ-rays. After irradiation, there were no visible changes in the physical appearance of the hives' body, wax and frames. Thus, a dose of 15 kGy is effective enough for sterilization of AFB-infected materials. - Highlights: → We characterized Paenibacillus larvae and determined its radiation sensitivity. → We investigated the effectiveness of gamma rays in inactivating P. larvae. → Gamma radiation inactivates P. larvae. → 15 kGy is effective for the sterilization of P. larvae-infected hives. → Irradiation produces no visible changes in the hives' body, waxes and frames.

A framework for organizing cancer-related variations from existing databases, publications and NGS data using a High-performance Integrated Virtual Environment (HIVE).

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Tsung-Jung; Shamsaddini, Amirhossein; Pan, Yang; Smith, Krista; Crichton, Daniel J; Simonyan, Vahan; Mazumder, Raja

2014-01-01

Years of sequence feature curation by UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot, PIR-PSD, NCBI-CDD, RefSeq and other database biocurators has led to a rich repository of information on functional sites of genes and proteins. This information along with variation-related annotation can be used to scan human short sequence reads from next-generation sequencing (NGS) pipelines for presence of non-synonymous single-nucleotide variations (nsSNVs) that affect functional sites. This and similar workflows are becoming more important because thousands of NGS data sets are being made available through projects such as The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), and researchers want to evaluate their biomarkers in genomic data. BioMuta, an integrated sequence feature database, provides a framework for automated and manual curation and integration of cancer-related sequence features so that they can be used in NGS analysis pipelines. Sequence feature information in BioMuta is collected from the Catalogue of Somatic Mutations in Cancer (COSMIC), ClinVar, UniProtKB and through biocuration of information available from publications. Additionally, nsSNVs identified through automated analysis of NGS data from TCGA are also included in the database. Because of the petabytes of data and information present in NGS primary repositories, a platform HIVE (High-performance Integrated Virtual Environment) for storing, analyzing, computing and curating NGS data and associated metadata has been developed. Using HIVE, 31 979 nsSNVs were identified in TCGA-derived NGS data from breast cancer patients. All variations identified through this process are stored in a Curated Short Read archive, and the nsSNVs from the tumor samples are included in BioMuta. Currently, BioMuta has 26 cancer types with 13 896 small-scale and 308 986 large-scale study-derived variations. Integration of variation data allows identifications of novel or common nsSNVs that can be prioritized in validation studies. Database URL: BioMuta: http://hive

Variability in Small Hive Beetle (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) Reproduction in Laboratory and Field Experiments.

Science.gov (United States)

Meikle, William G; Holst, Niels; Cook, Steven C; Patt, Joseph M

2015-06-01

Experiments were conducted to examine how several key factors affect population growth of the small hive beetle, Aethina tumida Murray (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae). Laboratory experiments were conducted to examine effects of food quantity and temperature on reproduction of cohorts of young A. tumida adults (1:1 sex ratio) housed in experimental arenas. Daily numbers and total mass of larvae exiting arenas were highly variable within treatment. Either one or two cohorts of larvae were observed exiting the arenas. Food quantity, either 10 g or 20 g, did not significantly affect the number of larvae exiting arenas at 32°C, but did at 28°C; arenas provided 20 g food produced significantly more larvae than arenas provided 10 g. Temperature did not affect the total mass of larvae provided 10 g food, but did affect larval mass provided 20 g; beetles kept at 28°C produced more larval mass than at 32°C. Field experiments were conducted to examine A. tumida reproductive success in full strength bee colonies. Beetles were introduced into hives as egg-infested frames and as adults, and some bee colonies were artificially weakened through removal of sealed brood. Efforts were unsuccessful; no larvae were observed exiting from, or during the inspection of, any hives. Possible reasons for these results are discussed. The variability observed in A. tumida reproduction even in controlled laboratory conditions and the difficulty in causing beetle infestations in field experiments involving full colonies suggest that accurately forecasting the A. tumida severity in such colonies will be difficult. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America 2015. This work is written by US Government employees and is in the public domain in the US.

Using within-day hive weight changes to measure environmental effects on honey bee colonies

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Patterns in within-day hive weight data from two independent datasets in Arizona and California were modeled using piecewise regression, and analyzed with respect to honey bee colony behavior and landscape effects. The regression analysis yielded information on the start and finish of a colony’s dai...

Radiation inactivation of Paenibacillus larvae and sterilization of American Foul Brood (AFB) infected hives using Co-60 gamma rays

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

De Guzman, Zenaida M. [Microbiological Research and Service Laboratory, Atomic Research Division, Philippine Nuclear Research Institute, Diliman, Quezon City (Philippines); Cervancia, Cleofas R. [Institute of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines, Los Banos, Laguna (Philippines); Dimasuay, Kris Genelyn B.; Tolentino, Mitos M.; Abrera, Gina B.; Cobar, Ma. Lucia C. [Microbiological Research and Service Laboratory, Atomic Research Division, Philippine Nuclear Research Institute, Diliman, Quezon City (Philippines); Fajardo, Alejandro C.; Sabino, Noel G.; Manila-Fajardo, Analinda C. [Institute of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines, Los Banos, Laguna (Philippines); Feliciano, Chitho P., E-mail: cpfeliciano@pnri.dost.gov.ph [Microbiological Research and Service Laboratory, Atomic Research Division, Philippine Nuclear Research Institute, Diliman, Quezon City (Philippines); Institute of Biology, College of Science, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City (Philippines)

2011-10-15

The effectiveness of gamma radiation in inactivating the Philippine isolate of Paenibacillus larvae was investigated. Spores of P. larvae were irradiated at incremental doses (0.1, 0.2, 0.4, 0.8 and 1.6 kGy) of gamma radiation emitted by a {sup 60}Co source. Surviving spores were counted and used to estimate the decimal reduction (D{sub 10}) value. A dose of 0.2 kGy was sufficient to inactivate 90% of the total recoverable spores from an initial count of 10{sup 5}-9x10{sup 3} spores per glass plate. The sterilizing effect of high doses of gamma radiation on the spores of P. larvae in infected hives was determined. In this study, a minimum dose (D{sub min}) of 15 kGy was tested. Beehives with sub-clinical infections of AFB were irradiated and examined for sterility. All the materials were found to be free of P. larvae indicating its susceptibility to {gamma}-rays. After irradiation, there were no visible changes in the physical appearance of the hives' body, wax and frames. Thus, a dose of 15 kGy is effective enough for sterilization of AFB-infected materials. - Highlights: > We characterized Paenibacillus larvae and determined its radiation sensitivity. > We investigated the effectiveness of gamma rays in inactivating P. larvae. > Gamma radiation inactivates P. larvae. > 15 kGy is effective for the sterilization of P. larvae-infected hives. > Irradiation produces no visible changes in the hives' body, waxes and frames.

Predation of Apiomerus pilipes (Fabricius (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Harpactorinae, Apiomerini over Meliponinae bees (Hymenoptera, Apidae, in the State of Amazonas, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexandre Coletto da Silva

2004-12-01

Full Text Available The present work shows the occurrence of an intense predatory activity on adults working Meliponinae bees (Hymenoptera, Apidae, by Apiomerus pilipes (Fabricius, 1787 (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Harpactorinae, Apiomerini at a meliponary in the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA, Manaus, Amazonas State, Brazil.O presente trabalho registra a ocorrência de intensa atividade predatória de Apiomerus pilipes (Fabricius, 1787 (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Harpactorini, Apiomerini sobre operárias adultas de meliponíneos (Hymenoptera, Apidae, no meliponário experimental do Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA, Manaus, Estado do Amazonas, Brasil. O meliponário se encontra num fragmento de vegetação secundária no próprio INPA.

Survey and Risk Assessment of Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Exposure to Neonicotinoid Pesticides in Urban, Rural, and Agricultural Settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Lawrence, T J; Culbert, E M; Felsot, A S; Hebert, V R; Sheppard, W S

2016-04-01

A comparative assessment of apiaries in urban, rural, and agricultural areas was undertaken in 2013 and 2014 to examine potential honey bee colony exposure to neonicotinoid insecticides from pollen foraging. Apiaries ranged in size from one to hundreds of honey bee colonies, and included those operated by commercial, sideline (semicommercial), and hobbyist beekeepers. Residues in and on wax and beebread (stored pollen in the hive) were evaluated for the nitro-substituted neonicotinoid insecticides imidacloprid and its olefin metabolite and the active ingredients clothianidin, thiamethoxam, and dinotefuran. Beebread and comb wax collected from hives in agricultural landscapes were more likely to have detectable residues of thiamethoxam and clothianidin than that collected from hives in rural or urban areas (∼50% of samples vs. bee behavior or colony health.

Cytogenetic characterization of Partamona cupira (Hymenoptera, Apidae by fluorochromes

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Jefferson de Brito Marthe

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Four colonies of the stingless bee Partamona cupira (Hymenoptera: Apidae were cytogenetically analyzed using conventional staining and the fluorochromes CMA3 e DAPI. The females have 2n = 34 chromosomes (2K=32+2. Some females, however, presented an additional large B acrocentric chromosome, to a total of 2n = 35. Chromosome B and the chromosomal pairs 2, 9 and 10 showed CMA3+ bands, indicating an excess of CG base-pairs. A clear association was verified between the P. helleri B chromosome SCAR marker and the presence of a B chromosome in P. cupira. The data obtained suggests that B chromosomes in P. helleri and P. cupira share a common origin.

T-38 Primary Flight Display Prototyping and HIVE Support Abstract & Summary

Science.gov (United States)

Boniface, Andrew

2015-01-01

This fall I worked in EV3 within NASA's Johnson Space Center in The HIVE (Human Integrated Vehicles & Environments). The HIVE is responsible for human in the loop testing, getting new technologies in front of astronauts, operators, and users early in the development cycle to make the interfaces more human friendly. Some projects the HIVE is working on includes user interfaces for future spacecraft, wearables to alert astronauts about important information, and test beds to simulate mock missions. During my internship I created a prototype for T-38 aircraft displays using LabVIEW, learned how to use microcontrollers, and helped out with other small tasks in the HIVE. The purpose of developing a prototype for T-38 Displays in LabVIEW is to analyze functions of the display such as navigation in a cost and time effective manner. The LabVIEW prototypes allow Ellington Field AOD to easily make adjustments to the display before hardcoding the final product. LabVIEW was used to create a user interface for simulation almost identical to the real aircraft display. Goals to begin the T-38 PFD (Primary Flight Display) prototype included creating a T-38 PFD hardware display in a software environment, designing navigation for the menu's, incorporating vertical and horizontal navigation bars, and to add a heading bug for compass controls connected to the HSI (Horizontal Situation Indicator). To get started with the project, measurements of the entire display were taken. This enabled an accurate model of the hardware display to be created. Navigation of menu's required some exploration of different buttons on the display. The T-38 simulator and aircraft were used for examining the display. After one piece of the prototype was finished, another trip of to the simulator took place. This was done until all goals for the prototype were complete. Some possible integration ideas for displays in the near future are autopilot selection, touch screen displays, and crew member preferences

Interactions between Cooccurring Lactic Acid Bacteria in Honey Bee Hives.

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Field-level sublethal effects of approved bee hive chemicals on Honey Bees (Apis mellifera L).

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Field-level sublethal effects of approved bee hive chemicals on Honey Bees (Apis mellifera L.

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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.

Chasing your honey: Worldwide diaspora of the small hive beetle, a parasite of honey bee colonies

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Endemic to sub-Saharan Africa, small hive beetles (Aethina tumida) are now an invasive pest of honey bee colonies in Australia and North America. Knowledge on the introduction(s) from Africa into and between the current ranges will shed light on pest populations, invasion pathways and contribute to ...

Short communication. Platform for bee-hives monitoring based on sound analysis. A perpetual warehouse for swarms daily activity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Atauri Mezquida, D.; Llorente Martinez, J.

2009-07-01

Bees and beekeeping are suffering a global crisis. Constant information on swarms conditions would be a key to study new diseases like colony collapse disorder and to develop new beekeeping tools to improve the hive management and make it more efficient. A platform for beehives monitoring is presented. It is based on the analysis of the colonies buzz which is registered by a bunch of sensors sending the data to a common database. Data obtained through sound processing shows plenty of patterns and tendency lines related to colonies activities and their conditions. It shows the potential of the sound as a swarm activity gauge. The goal of the platform is the possibility to store information about the swarms activity. The objective is to build a global net of monitored hives covering apiaries with different climates, razes and managements. (Author) 21 refs.

Higher-level bee classifications (Hymenoptera, Apoidea, Apidae sensu lato Classificação dos grandes grupos de abelhas (Hymenoptera, Apoidea, Apidae sensu lato

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Gabriel A. R. Melo

2005-03-01

Full Text Available A higher-level classification of bees, in which the entire group is treated as a single family - the Apidae - is advocated here. A total of seven subfamilies, 51 tribes and 27 subtribes are recognized. These subfamilies correspond to the families adopted in the traditional classification. Although the proposed changes do not involve any major rearrangement, basically only changing the rank given to the main groups, the new system makes the classification of bees more consistent with that adopted for other major groups of aculeate Hymenoptera. It also departs from the 19th century practice, perpetuated in the traditional classification, of giving family-status to the main groups of bees. A correspondence table associating the taxon names used in the current traditional classification with those of the revised classification is presented. Scrapterini new tribe (type-genus Scrapter Lepeletier & Serville is proposed to accommodate the southern African genus Scrapter.Apresenta-se uma classificação para as abelhas em que o todo o grupo é tratado como uma única família - Apidae. São reconhecidas sete subfamílias, 51 tribos e 27 subtribos. As subfamílias correspondem às famílias da classificação tradicional. Apesar das mudanças propostas afetarem apenas o status dos grupos, o novo sistema torna a classificação das abelhas mais consistente com aquela adotada para os grandes grupos de Hymenoptera aculeados. Além disso, distancia-se da tradição de dar status de família aos grupos principais de abelhas, uma prática do século 19 perpetuada na classificação tradicional. É apresentada uma tabela de correspondência associando os nomes dos táxons usados na classificação tradicional corrente com aquelas da classificação sendo proposta aqui. Scrapterini tribo nova (gênero-tipo Scrapter Lepeletier & Serville é proposta para acomodar Scrapter, um gênero restrito à porção sul do continente africano.

Data Container Study for Handling array-based data using Hive, Spark, MongoDB, SciDB and Rasdaman

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Xu, M.; Hu, F.; Yang, J.; Yu, M.; Yang, C. P.

2017-12-01

Geoscience communities have come up with various big data storage solutions, such as Rasdaman and Hive, to address the grand challenges for massive Earth observation data management and processing. To examine the readiness of current solutions in supporting big Earth observation, we propose to investigate and compare four popular data container solutions, including Rasdaman, Hive, Spark, SciDB and MongoDB. Using different types of spatial and non-spatial queries, datasets stored in common scientific data formats (e.g., NetCDF and HDF), and two applications (i.e. dust storm simulation data mining and MERRA data analytics), we systematically compare and evaluate the feature and performance of these four data containers in terms of data discover and access. The computing resources (e.g. CPU, memory, hard drive, network) consumed while performing various queries and operations are monitored and recorded for the performance evaluation. The initial results show that 1) the popular data container clusters are able to handle large volume of data, but their performances vary in different situations. Meanwhile, there is a trade-off between data preprocessing, disk saving, query-time saving, and resource consuming. 2) ClimateSpark, MongoDB and SciDB perform the best among all the containers in all the queries tests, and Hive performs the worst. 3) These studied data containers can be applied on other array-based datasets, such as high resolution remote sensing data and model simulation data. 4) Rasdaman clustering configuration is more complex than the others. A comprehensive report will detail the experimental results, and compare their pros and cons regarding system performance, ease of use, accessibility, scalability, compatibility, and flexibility.

Monitoring of Small Hive Beetle (Aethina Tumida Murray in Calabria (Italy from 2014 to 2016: Practical Identification Methods

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Rivera-Gomis Jorge

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The Small Hive Beetle (SHB, Aethina tumida, is an invasive pest of honey bee colonies that causes significant damage to the beekeeping sector. SHB was detected in southern Italy (EU in 2014 and despite adopted eradication measures, is still present there. After three years of observations of SHB in Calabria (2014-2016, we provide here some practical tips for improving control measures. A new time-saving colony examination method, including the use of an internal divider reduced the time needed for hive inspections by 31.86 % on average. Prioritizating the inspection of pollen and honey combs rather than brood combs is advised. Sentinel apiaries with no more than five colonies without supers are suggested for each beekeeping location in order to attract and to monitor the early appearance of SHB. The use of these methods will enable early detection and prompt control measures application before this destructive pest can spread in the region.

A new species of Eufriesea Cockerell (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Euglossina from northeastern Brazil

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Luiz R. R. Faria

2011-03-01

Full Text Available A new species of Eufriesea Cockerell (Hymenoptera, Apidae from northeastern Brazil. Eufriesea pyrrhopyga sp. nov. a short-tongued Eufriesea is described as a new species. It can be easily recognized for its predominantly violet lower frons and thorax, violet tergum 1 contrasting with the strong reddish coloration on the lateral portions of terga 2 to 4 and on entire terga 5 and 6, and head pubescence with contrasting colors, white on the lower two-thirds of the face and black on upper frons and vertex. This new species, collected in Recife (Pernambuco, Brazil, apparently is restricted to the Pernambuco endemic center, and seems to be highly endangered.

Contribution to Taxonomy and Distribution of the Genus Elaphropoda (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Apinae in Vietnam

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Nguyen, Minh Phuong

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Taxonomic notes on the genus Elaphropoda Lieftinck, 1966 (Hymenoptera: Apidae from Vietnam are presented. Two species of the genus are reported: Elaphropoda percarinata (Cockerell, 1930 was first recorded from Vietnam based on specimens collected from Ha Tinh province in 1998, and is reconfirmed with a specimens collected from Bac Kan province in the Northeastern part of the country in this study, and Elaphropoda khasiana (Schulz, 1906 is recorded from Vietnam for the first time. Redescriptions of the male of E. percarinata and the female of E. khasiana are given with illustrations.

Melostelis gen. nov., espécies novas e notas complementares sobre Anthidiini (Hymenoptera, Apidae

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Danúncia Urban

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Melostelis gen. nov., espécies novas e notas complementares sobre Anthidiini (Hymenoptera, Apidae. Melostelis gen. nov. é proposto para um novo Anthidiini cleptoparasita. São descritas e ilustradas duas espécies novas: Melostelis amazonensis sp. nov. de Manaus, Amazonas e Larocanthidium chacoense sp. nov. de Porto Murtinho, Mato Grosso do Sul. São dados a conhecer os machos de Epanthidium bolivianum Urban, 1995 e Epanthidium araranguense Urban, 2006 e, registrados pela primeira vez no Brasil, na sub-região do chaco, Ketianthidium zanolae Urban, 2000 e Epanthidium bolivianum.

Field tests of an acephate baiting system designed for eradicating undesirable honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae).

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Danka, R G; Williams, J L; Sugden, E A; Rivera, R

1992-08-01

Field evaluations were made of a baiting system designed for use by regulatory agencies in suppressing populations of undesirable feral honey bees, Apis mellifera L. (e.g., bees posing hazards [especially Africanized bees] and colonies infested with parasitic mites). Bees from feral or simulated feral (hived) colonies were lured with honey and Nasonov pheromone components to feeders dispensing sucrose-honey syrup. After 1-3 wk of passive training to feeders, colonies were treated during active foraging by replacing untreated syrup with syrup containing 500 ppm (mg/liter) acephate (Orthene 75 S). In four trials using hived colonies on Grant Terre Island, LA., 21 of 29 colonies foraged actively enough at baits to be treated, and 20 of the 22 treated were destroyed. In the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas (two trials at each of two trials), treatments killed 11 of 16 colonies (6 of 10 hived; 50 of 6 feral). Overall results showed that all 11 colonies that collected greater than 25 mg acephate died, whereas 3 of 10 colonies receiving less than 25 mg survived. Delivering adequate doses required a minimum of approximately 100 bees per target colony simultaneously collecting treated syrup. The system destroyed target colonies located up to nearly 700 m away from baits. Major factors limiting efficacy were conditions inhibiting foraging at baits (e.g., competing natural nectar sources and temperatures and winds that restricted bee flight).

On the identity of Melipona torrida Friese (Hymenoptera, Apidae

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Gabriel A. R. Melo

2013-09-01

Full Text Available On the identity of Melipona torrida Friese (Hymenoptera, Apidae. Melipona marginata var. torrida Friese, 1916, described from three workers putatively collected in Costa Rica, never had its identity properly recognized. Since its original description, no additional specimens have ever been collected in Costa Rica. It is argued here that Melipona torrida was based on mislabeled specimens and corresponds to Melipona marginata obscurior Moure, 1971, a form known only from southern Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. A lectotype is designated for Melipona torrida and notes on the type material of Melipona marginata obscurior are provided. Other known examples of species described from mislabeled specimens in Friese's Zur Bienenfauna von Costa Rica are discussed. It is pointed out that additional names proposed in this work, based on material from Costa Rica, might turn out to correspond to South American taxa. Also, the date of publication of this Friese's paper is discussed.

Pollen Bearing Honey Bee Detection in Hive Entrance Video Recorded by Remote Embedded System for Pollination Monitoring

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Babic, Z.; Pilipovic, R.; Risojevic, V.; Mirjanic, G.

2016-06-01

Honey bees have crucial role in pollination across the world. This paper presents a simple, non-invasive, system for pollen bearing honey bee detection in surveillance video obtained at the entrance of a hive. The proposed system can be used as a part of a more complex system for tracking and counting of honey bees with remote pollination monitoring as a final goal. The proposed method is executed in real time on embedded systems co-located with a hive. Background subtraction, color segmentation and morphology methods are used for segmentation of honey bees. Classification in two classes, pollen bearing honey bees and honey bees that do not have pollen load, is performed using nearest mean classifier, with a simple descriptor consisting of color variance and eccentricity features. On in-house data set we achieved correct classification rate of 88.7% with 50 training images per class. We show that the obtained classification results are not far behind from the results of state-of-the-art image classification methods. That favors the proposed method, particularly having in mind that real time video transmission to remote high performance computing workstation is still an issue, and transfer of obtained parameters of pollination process is much easier.

Notes on the systematics of the orchid-bee genus Eulaema (Hymenoptera, Apidae

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Gabriel A. R. Melo

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Notes on the systematics of the orchid-bee genus Eulaema (Hymenoptera, Apidae. The classification of the genus Eulaema is modified in order to make it congruent with recent phylogenetic hypotheses based on molecular data. The speciosa group, containing E. peruviana, E. speciosa and related species, is removed from E. (Eulaema and transferred to E. (Apeulaema. New morphological characters are presented to support the revised scope of the subgenera and their diagnostic features are revised. Six species groups are recognized herein: two in E. (Apeulaema and four in E. (Eulaema. A list of valid species in each species group and an identification key to males of each of the subgenera and species groups are provided. Finally, an older overlooked designation of a type species for Eulaema is presented in the Appendix.

Antibacterial Compounds from Propolis of Tetragonula laeviceps and Tetrigona melanoleuca (Hymenoptera: Apidae) from Thailand

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Sanpa, Sirikarn; Popova, Milena; Bankova, Vassya; Tunkasiri, Tawee; Eitssayeam, Sukum; Chantawannakul, Panuwan

2015-01-01

This study investigated the chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of propolis collected from two stingless bee species Tetragonula laeviceps and Tetrigona melanoleuca (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Six xanthones, one triterpene and one lignane were isolated from Tetragonula laeviceps propolis. Triterpenes were the main constituents in T. melanoleuca propolis. The ethanol extract and isolated compounds from T. laeviceps propolis showed a higher antibacterial activity than those of T. melanoleuca propolis as the constituent α-mangostin exhibited the strongest activity. Xanthones were found in propolis for the first time; Garcinia mangostana (Mangosteen) was the most probable plant source. In addition, this is the first report on the chemical composition and bioactivity of propolis from T. melanoleuca. PMID:25992582

Antibacterial Compounds from Propolis of Tetragonula laeviceps and Tetrigona melanoleuca (Hymenoptera: Apidae from Thailand.

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Sirikarn Sanpa

Full Text Available This study investigated the chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of propolis collected from two stingless bee species Tetragonula laeviceps and Tetrigona melanoleuca (Hymenoptera: Apidae. Six xanthones, one triterpene and one lignane were isolated from Tetragonula laeviceps propolis. Triterpenes were the main constituents in T. melanoleuca propolis. The ethanol extract and isolated compounds from T. laeviceps propolis showed a higher antibacterial activity than those of T. melanoleuca propolis as the constituent α-mangostin exhibited the strongest activity. Xanthones were found in propolis for the first time; Garcinia mangostana (Mangosteen was the most probable plant source. In addition, this is the first report on the chemical composition and bioactivity of propolis from T. melanoleuca.

Uso da parafina incorporada à cera alveolada em colônias de abelhas Apis mellifera L. africanizadas para produção de mel Paraffin incorporation to beewax foundation in Apis mellifera L. Africanized colonies for honey production

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Vagner de Alencar Arnaut de Toledo

2002-04-01

Full Text Available O objetivo foi avaliar favos construídos a partir de três tratamentos, lâminas de cera alveolada, lâminas de cera alveolada com parafina e parte do quadro sem cera. Foram utilizadas dez colônias de abelhas africanizadas, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera, Apidae existentes na região de Marialva, Estado do Paraná. Foram efetuados mapeamentos da área construída e ocupada com mel, a intervalos de aproximadamente 20 dias. Três quadros, cada um contendo os três tratamentos foram colocados nas posições lateral esquerda, central e lateral direita da melgueira vista por trás da colméia. As abelhas construíram a maior área e ocuparam com mel (p The aim of this paper was the evaluation of combs from three experimental treatments: beeswax foundation, beeswax with paraffin and a gap frame, partially without wax. The experiment was carried out using ten Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera, Apidae Africanized honeybee colonies in Marialva - state of Paraná, in the south of Brazil. They were accomplished by mapping areas constructed and occupied with honey, at intervals of approximately 20 days. Three combs, containing, each one, the three treatments were placed at the positions right lateral, central and left lateral of the super observed the hive to the back. The honeybees built the greatest area and filled with honey (p < 0.05 when the comb was introduced in the central position of the hive, compared to other treatments in which differences were also observed (p < 0.05. The position of the wax comb mixed with paraffin produced the smallest area (p < 0.05 occupied with honey compared to the others. Results showed that paraffin mixed with wax comb should be used since the combs are placed in the central position and must be used for production of honey in sections.

Meliponini neotropicais: o gênero Partamona Schwarz, 1939 (Hymenoptera, Apidae

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Pedro Silvia R. M.

2003-01-01

Full Text Available Neotropical Meliponini: the genus Partamona Schwarz, 1939 (Hymenoptera, Apidae. The systematics and biogeography of Partamona Schwarz, a Neotropical genus of stingless bees (Meliponini, Apinae, Apidae, are revised. Seventeen new species are described: P. epiphytophila sp. nov., P. subtilis sp. nov., P. nhambiquara sp. nov., P. batesi sp. nov., P. yungarum sp. nov., P. vitae sp. nov., P. ferreirai sp. nov., P. gregaria sp. nov., P. auripennis sp. nov., P. nigrilabris sp. nov., P. combinata sp. nov., P. chapadicola sp. nov., P. seridoensis sp. nov., P. littoralis sp. nov., P. criptica sp. nov., P. rustica sp. nov. and P. sooretamae sp. nov. Partamona pseudomusarum Camargo, 1980, is considered as junior synonym of P. vicina Camargo, 1980. Types of P. grandipennis (Schwarz, 1951, P. xanthogastra Pedro & Camargo, 1996-1997, P. pearsoni (Schwarz, 1938, P. ailyae Camargo, 1980, P. pseudomusarum, P. vicina, P. mulata Moure in Camargo, 1980, P. aequatoriana Camargo, 1980, P. mourei Camargo, 1980, P. peckolti, (Friese, 1901, P. testacea (Klug, 1807, P. helleri (Friese, 1900 and P. musarum (Cockerell, 1917 were examined. Lectotypes of P. orizabaensis (Strand, 1919, and P. cupira (Smith, 1863 are designated. An identification key for the species and drawings of morphological characters are presented. A phylogenetic hypothesis, based mainly on morphological characters is proposed. Four groups are defined, considering the shape of mandible of workers and sternum VII of males: bilineata / epiphytophila group (western Amazon to México, including P. bilineata (Say, P. grandipennis, P. xanthogastra P. orizabaensis P. peckolti P. epiphytophila sp. nov., P. subtilis sp. nov., P. nhambiquara sp. nov., P. batesi sp. nov., P. yungarum sp. nov. and P. vitae sp. nov.; musarum group (Central Brazil, north of South America to Central America, including P. musarum, P. aequatoriana, P. vicina, P. mourei, P. pearsoni, P. ferreirai sp. nov., P. gregaria sp. nov. and P

Transcriptomic and functional resources for the small hive beetle Aethina tumida, a worldwide parasite of honey bees

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Matthew R. Tarver

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The small hive beetle (SHB, Aethina tumida, is a major pest of managed honey bee (Apis mellifera colonies in the United States and Australia, and an emergent threat in Europe. While strong honey bee colonies generally keep SHB populations in check, weak or stressed colonies can succumb to infestations. This parasite has spread from a sub-Saharan Africa to three continents, leading to immense management and regulatory costs. We performed a transcriptomic analysis involving deep sequencing of multiple life stages and both sexes of this species. The assembled transcriptome appears to be nearly complete, as judged by conserved insect orthologs and the ability to find plausible homologs for 11,952 proteins described from the genome of the red flour beetle. Expressed genes include each of the major metabolic, developmental and sensory groups, along with genes for proteins involved with immune defenses and insecticide resistance. We also present a total of 23,085 high-quality SNP's for the assembled contigs. We highlight potential differences between this beetle and its honey bee hosts, and suggest mechanisms of future research into the biology and control of this species. SNP resources will allow functional genetic analyses and analyses of dispersal for this invasive pest. All resources are posted as Supplemental Tables at https://data.nal.usda.gov/dataset/data-transcriptomic-and-functional-resources-small-hive-beetle-aethina-tumida-worldwide, and at NCBI under Bioproject PRJNA256171.

Nesting sites characteristics of stingless bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia

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Nelky Suriawanto

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Stingless bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae is eusocial insects that live together in a colony. This research was aimed to study the nesting site characteristics of stingless bees in the settlement areas at Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. The nesting sites were observed by purposive sampling method from July 2015 to January 2016. Four species belong to genus Tetragonula were found, namely T. fuscobalteata, T. biroi, T. sapiens, and T. laeviceps. Two spesies, T. biroi and T. sapiens are the new record in Sulawesi island. The highest abundance of stingless bees colony was T. fuscobalteata (92.26%, followed by T. biroi (4.17%, T. sapiens (2.98%, and T. laeviceps (0.59%. Nesting sites of T. fuscobalteata were found in the stone, brick wall, wooden wall, bamboo, and iron cavities, T. biroi in the wooden wall, stone, and brick wall cavities, T. sapiens in stone cavities, while T. laeviceps in wooden walls.

Morphological, chemical and developmental aspects of the Dufour gland in some eusocial bees (Hymenoptera, Apidae: a review

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Fábio Camargo Abdalla

2006-06-01

Full Text Available Morphological, chemical and developmental aspects of the Dufour gland in some eusocial bees (Hymenoptera, Apidae: a review. The present revision focused on the more recent data about the Dufour gland in some eusocial bees, taking in account general aspects of its morphology, secretion chemical nature, bio-synthetic pathway and development. Many functions have been attributed to this gland in eusocial bees, but none are convincing. With the new data about this gland, not only the secretion chemical pathway of the Dufour gland may be reasonable understood, as its function in some eusocial bees, especially Apis mellifera Linné, 1758, which has been extensively studied in the last years.Aspectos morfológicos, químicos e do desenvolvimento da glândula de Dufour em algumas abelhas eussociais (Hymenoptera, Apidae: revisão. Esta revisão aborda os mais recentes dados sobre a glândula de Dufour em algumas abelhas eussociais, considerando aspectos gerais da sua morfologia, do seu desenvolvimento, da natureza química da sua secreção, assim como sua via bio-sintética. Muitas funções têm-se atribuído à glândula de Dufour nas abelhas eussociais, mas nenhuma suficientemente convincente. Os novos dados a respeito dessa glândula permitem não só conhecer razoavelmente bem a via bio-sintética como a função da secreção da glândula de Dufour em algumas abelhas eussociais, especialmente em Apis mellifera Linné, 1758, a qual tem sido extensivamente estudada nos últimos anos.

Odor information transfer in the stingless bee Melipona quadrifasciata: effect of in-hive experiences on classical conditioning of proboscis extension.

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Mc Cabe, Sofía I; Farina, Walter M

2009-02-01

A recent study showed that the stingless bee Melipona quadrifasciata could learn to discriminate odors in a classical conditioning of proboscis extension response (PER). Here we used this protocol to investigate the ability of these bees to use olfactory information obtained within the colony in an experimental context: the PER paradigm. We compared their success in solving a classical differential conditioning depending on the previous olfactory experiences received inside the nest. We found that M. quadrifasciata bees are capable of transferring the food-odor information acquired in the colony to a differential conditioning in the PER paradigm. Bees attained higher discrimination levels when they had previously encountered the rewarded odor associated to food inside the hive. The increase in the discrimination levels, however, was in some cases unspecific to the odor used indicating a certain degree of generalization. The influence of the food scent offered at a field feeder 24 h before the classical conditioning could also be seen in the discrimination attained by the foragers in the PER setup, detecting the presence of long-term memory. Moreover, the improved performance of recruited bees in the PER paradigm suggests the occurrence of social learning of nectar scents inside the stingless bees' hives.

Engaging students, shaping services: the changing face of student engagement at The Hive

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Sarah Pittaway

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Library roles with a unique focus on student or customer engagement are relatively new in the sector and Worcester is one of the first universities to recruit to this area. Rather than focusing on the relationship between engagement and learning, this role seeks to engage with students as partners and agents for change who are actively involved in evaluating, developing and delivering our library service. This article outlines some of our initial successes and impacts, which are already changing the way we interact with our student population. It will also cover some of the challenges faced along the way, particularly in delivering service change in the context of the radical new service model of The Hive. 'Based on a breakout session presented at the 39th UKSG Annual Conference, Bournemouth, April 2016 '

A molecular phylogeny of the stingless bee genus Melipona (Hymenoptera: Apidae).

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Ramírez, Santiago R; Nieh, James C; Quental, Tiago B; Roubik, David W; Imperatriz-Fonseca, Vera L; Pierce, Naomi E

2010-08-01

Stingless bees (Meliponini) constitute a diverse group of highly eusocial insects that occur throughout tropical regions around the world. The meliponine genus Melipona is restricted to the New World tropics and has over 50 described species. Melipona, like Apis, possesses the remarkable ability to use representational communication to indicate the location of foraging patches. Although Melipona has been the subject of numerous behavioral, ecological, and genetic studies, the evolutionary history of this genus remains largely unexplored. Here, we implement a multigene phylogenetic approach based on nuclear, mitochondrial, and ribosomal loci, coupled with molecular clock methods, to elucidate the phylogenetic relationships and antiquity of subgenera and species of Melipona. Our phylogenetic analysis resolves the relationship among subgenera and tends to agree with morphology-based classification hypotheses. Our molecular clock analysis indicates that the genus Melipona shared a most recent common ancestor at least approximately 14-17 million years (My) ago. These results provide the groundwork for future comparative analyses aimed at understanding the evolution of complex communication mechanisms in eusocial Apidae. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Morphometric differences and fluctuating asymmetry in Melipona subnitida Ducke 1910 (Hymenoptera: Apidae in different types of housing

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C. B. S. Lima

Full Text Available Abstract A geometric morphometrics approach was applied to evaluate differences in forewing patterns of the Jandaira bee (Melipona subnitida Ducke. For this, we studied the presence of fluctuating asymmetry (FA in forewing shape and size of colonies kept in either rational hive boxes or natural tree trunks. We detected significant FA for wing size as well as wing shape independent of the type of housing (rational box or tree trunks, indicating the overall presence of stress during the development of the studied specimens. FA was also significant (p < 0.01 between rational boxes, possibly related to the use of various models of rational boxes used for keeping stingless bees. In addition, a Principal Component Analysis indicated morphometric variation between bee colonies kept in either rational hive boxes or in tree trunks, that may be related to the different origins of the bees: tree trunk colonies were relocated natural colonies while rational box colonies originated from multiplying other colonies. We conclude that adequate measures should be taken to reduce the amount of stress during bee handling by using standard models of rational boxes that cause the least disruption.

Morphometric differences and fluctuating asymmetry in Melipona subnitida Ducke 1910 (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in different types of housing.

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Lima, C B S; Nunes, L A; Carvalho, C A L; Ribeiro, M F; Souza, B A; Silva, C S B

2016-01-01

A geometric morphometrics approach was applied to evaluate differences in forewing patterns of the Jandaira bee (Melipona subnitida Ducke). For this, we studied the presence of fluctuating asymmetry (FA) in forewing shape and size of colonies kept in either rational hive boxes or natural tree trunks. We detected significant FA for wing size as well as wing shape independent of the type of housing (rational box or tree trunks), indicating the overall presence of stress during the development of the studied specimens. FA was also significant (p < 0.01) between rational boxes, possibly related to the use of various models of rational boxes used for keeping stingless bees. In addition, a Principal Component Analysis indicated morphometric variation between bee colonies kept in either rational hive boxes or in tree trunks, that may be related to the different origins of the bees: tree trunk colonies were relocated natural colonies while rational box colonies originated from multiplying other colonies. We conclude that adequate measures should be taken to reduce the amount of stress during bee handling by using standard models of rational boxes that cause the least disruption.

Especies nuevas de abejas de Cuba y La Española (Hymenoptera: Colletidae, Megachilidae, Apidae

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Julio A. Genaro

2001-12-01

Full Text Available Se describen e ilustran cinco especies nuevas de abejas antillanas: Collectes granpiedrensis n. sp. (Cuba (Colletidae; Osmia (Diceratosmia stangei n. sp. (República Dominicana; Coelioxys (Cyrtocoelioxys alayoi n. sp. (Cuba; C. (Boreocoelioxys sannicolarensis n. sp. (Cuba (Megachilidae y Triepeolus nisibonensis n. sp. (República Dominicana (ApidaeFive new species of Antillean bees are described and illustrated: Colletes granpiedrensis n. sp. (Cuba (Colletidae is charaterized as follows: Head and mesosoma black, legs and metasoma brown. Dense brown hairs on head and mesosoma; white on frons and metasomal terga. Clypeus, frons and mesosoma with large punctures, lesser on vertex and metasoma. Malar space more wide than long. Male and female slightly similar, except in the apical margin of clypeus, supraclipeal area, and color of the pubescence on legs and sterna; Osmia (Diceratosmia stangei n. sp. (Dominican Republic (Megachilidae is charaterized as follows: Dark metallic green, metasoma black with metallic green reflections. Pubescence light; body with large, closed punctures. Female with violet reflections in tergum III and mandible tridentate; Coelioxys (Cyrtocoelioxys alayoi n. sp. (Cuba (Megachilidae is charaterized as follows: Female black, except basal area of mandibles, tegula, legs, lateral area of tergum I and sterna, reddish brown. Posterior margin of scutellum rounded. Apex of tergum VI with spine curved up. Sternum VI fringed with short, closed setae, and the apex with short spine; Coelioxys (Boreocoelioxys sannicolarensis n. sp. (Cuba (Megachilidae is charaterized as follows: Black, except antenna and tegula brown; legs and sterna reddish brown. Clypeal margin straight in profile. Gradular grooves on metasomal terga II and III distinct medially. Fovea on metasomal tergum II of male deep and short, and Triepeolus nisibonensis n. sp. (Dominican Republic (Apidae is charaterized as follows: Dorsal pubescence (short and dense on mesosoma

Nesting biology of Centris (Hemisiella tarsata Smith (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Centridini

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Cândida M. L. Aguiar

2004-09-01

Full Text Available Nests of Centris tarsata Smith, 1874 were obtained from trap-nests in areas of dry semi-deciduous forest (Baixa Grande and caatinga (Ipirá, in the State of Bahia. Nesting occurred in bamboo canes and in tubes of black cardboard with 5.8 cm (= small tube and 10.5 cm (= large tube in length and 0.6 and 0.8 cm in diameter, respectively. In both areas C. tarsata nested during the wet season producing four generations in Baixa Grande and three generations in Ipirá. The immatures of one generation underwent diapause at both sites. The bees constructed their nests with a mixture of sand and oil. In general, the cells were elongated and arranged in linear series with its opening pointing towards the nest entrance. Completed nests had two to three cells in small tubes, one to seven cells in large tubes, and two to 13 cells in bamboo canes. The nest plug resembled an uncompleted cell and was externally covered with oil. The cells were provisioned with pollen, oil, and nectar. Nests were parasitized by Mesocheira bicolor (Fabricius, 1804 (Hymenoptera: Apidae and other not identify bee species.Ninhos de Centris tarsata Smith, 1874 foram obtidos através da utilização de ninhos-armadilha, em áreas de floresta estacional semi-decídua (Baixa Grande e de caatinga (Ipirá, no Estado da Bahia. A nidificação ocorreu em gomos de bambus e em tubos de cartolina preta, estes com comprimentos de 5,8 cm (= tubos pequenos e 10,5 cm (= tubos grandes, e diâmetro de 0,6 e 0,8 cm, respectivamente. Em ambas as áreas C. tarsata nidificou durante a estação úmida, produzindo quatro gerações anuais em Baixa Grande e três em Ipirá. Os imaturos de uma das gerações passaram por diapausa em ambos os locais. As abelhas construíram seus ninhos com uma mistura de areia e óleo. Em geral, as células foram alongadas e arranjadas em série linear, com sua abertura dirigida para a entrada do ninho. Os ninhos completados tinham de duas a três células nos tubos pequenos

Preservation of Domesticated Honey Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Drone Semen.

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Paillard, M; Rousseau, A; Giovenazzo, P; Bailey, J L

2017-08-01

Preservation of honey bee (Apis mellifera L., Hymenoptera: Apidae) sperm, coupled with instrumental insemination, is an effective strategy to protect the species and their genetic diversity. Our overall objective is to develop a method of drone semen preservation; therefore, two experiments were conducted. Hypothesis 1 was that cryopreservation (-196 °C) of drone semen is more effective for long-term storage than at 16 °C. Our results show that after 1 yr of storage, frozen sperm viability was higher than at 16 °C, showing that cryopreservation is necessary to conserve semen. However, the cryoprotectant used for drone sperm freezing, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), can harm the queen and reduce fertility after instrumental insemination. Hypothesis 2 was that centrifugation of cryopreserved semen to reduce DMSO prior to insemination optimize sperm quality. Our results indicate that centrifuging cryopreserved sperm to remove cryoprotectant does not affect queen survival, spermathecal sperm count, or sperm viability. Although these data do not indicate that centrifugation of frozen-thawed sperm improves queen health and fertility after instrumental insemination, we demonstrate that cryopreservation is achievable, and it is better for long-term sperm storage than above-freezing temperatures for duration of close to a year. © The Authors 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Mitochondrial sequencing reveals five separate origins of 'black' Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in eastern Australian commercial colonies.

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Oxley, P R; Oldroyd, B P

2009-04-01

Establishment of a closed population honey bee, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), breeding program based on 'black' strains has been proposed for eastern Australia. Long-term success of such a program requires a high level of genetic variance. To determine the likely extent of genetic variation available, 50 colonies from 11 different commercial apiaries were sequenced in the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I and II intergenic region. Five distinct and novel mitotypes were identified. No colonies were found with the A. mellifera mellifera mitotype, which is often associated with undesirable feral strains. One group of mitotypes was consistent with a caucasica origin, two with carnica, and two with ligustica. The results suggest that there is sufficient genetic diversity to support a breeding program provided all these five sources were pooled.

Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae present in the flowers of the balsa wood Ochroma lagopus Swartz, 1788 = Abelhas (Hymenoptera: Apidae associadas às flores do pau-de-balsa Ochroma lagopus Swartz, 1788

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Carla Regina Guimarães Brighenti

2010-10-01

Full Text Available The flower of balsa wood holds about 10 to 15 mL of nectar, which helps attracting pollinating agents, since the genus Ochroma is incapable of self-fertilization. However, a high mortality of bees is observed in these flowers. The present study investigated the frequency and constancy of mortality of the individuals of the familyApidae that fed on nectar from the balsa wood. Data was gathered from June to August 2008, in Lavras – Minas Gerais State, Brazil. In addition, the survival of the Africanized bees that fed on the nectar of this flower was compared to those that fed on 50% aqueous solution of honey. Forty flowers were analyzed, and 949 individuals of the orders Hymenoptera (98.1%, Hemiptera (0.95%, Coleoptera (0.74% and Diptera (0.21% were collected. Most Hymenoptera individuals were bees of the genera Partamona and Trigona (677 individuals, which were considered of constant occurrence. Flowers producing up to 16.7 nectar mL were found. The nectar diet contained 16.44% of total sugar, and resulted in low survival of the bees in laboratory (31.32 . 2.37 hours, compared to a diet of 50% aqueous solution of honey (112.32 .2.03 hours.A flor do pau-de-balsa produz cerca de 10 a 15 mL de néctar, útil na atração de polinizadores, uma vez que o gênero Ochroma é incapaz de fazer autofecundação. É observada intensa mortalidade de abelhas em suas flores. Objetivou-se realizar o levantamento da frequência e constância de mortalidade de indivíduos da família Apidae, sendo os dados levantados no período de junho a agosto de 2008 em Lavras, MinasGerais, Brasil. Além disso, avaliou-se a sobrevivência de abelhas africanizadas alimentadas com o néctar desta flor quando comparados com aquelas alimentadas com solução aquosa de mel a 50%. Foram analisadas 40 flores e coletados 949 indivíduos das Ordens: Hymenoptera (98,1%, Hemiptera (0,95%, Coleoptera (0,74% e Diptera (0,21%. Dentre os himenópteros os mais frequentes foram dos g

Uso da tela excluidora de rainha no alvado e seus efeitos na atividade de coleta e no desenvolvimento de colônias de Apis mellifera Hoarding activity and hive development of Apis mellifera with queen excluder at the entrance

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Leoman Almeida Couto

1998-10-01

Full Text Available Este trabalho teve o objetivo de avaliar os efeitos da tela excluidora de rainhas colocada no alvado sobre a atividade de coleta das operárias de Apis mellifera, peso da carga de pólen transportada e desenvolvimento das colônias. Foram utilizadas seis colônias, três com tela e três sem tela. Em média, 51,4%, 37,0% e 11,6% das operárias que entravam nas colméias transportavam pólen nas corbículas das 8-11, 11-14 e 14-17 horas, respectivamente. Somente 0,0175% das operárias perderam sua carga de pólen ao passar pela tela excluidora, o que representou 0,06% do total de pólen coletado/dia/colméia. A presença da tela excluidora reduziu em 15,2% e 19,4% a entrada das operárias com e sem pólen, respectivamente. Em média, o peso da carga de pólen representou 13,88 ± 8,4% do peso corporal da operária que a transportava. A tela excluidora no alvado reduziu a atividade de coleta de operárias.The aim of this article was to investigate the effect of the use of queen excluder at the hive entrance on Apis mellifera hoarding activity, pollen load and hive development in six hives, three of which provided with queen excluders. An average of 51.4%, 37.0% and 11.6% of the Apis mellifera workers which entered the hives from 8 to 11 a.m., 11 to 2 p.m. and 2 to 5 p.m., respectively, were pollen-loaded. Only 0.0175% of them lost their pollen load when passing the queen excluder, which amounted to 0.06% of total pollen collected/day/hive. The queen excluder caused the reduction of 15.2% to the entrance of pollen-loaded bees and 19.4% to the entrance of non-pollen-loaded bees. On average, the weight of the pollen load represented 13.88% ± 8.4% of the bee body weight. The results also indicated that the hoarding activity was reduced by the queen excluder.

Sex Determination in Bees. IV. Genetic Control of Juvenile Hormone Production in MELIPONA QUADRIFASCIATA (Apidae)

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Kerr, Warwick Estevam; Akahira, Yukio; Camargo, Conceição A.

1975-01-01

Cell number and volume of corpora allata was determined for 8 phases of development, the first prepupal stage to adults 30 days old, in the social Apidae Melipona quadrifasciata. In the second prepupal stage a strong correlation was found between cell number and body weight ( r=0.651**), and cell number and corpora allata volume in prepupal stage (r=0.535*), which indicates that juvenile hormone has a definite role in caste determination in Melipona. The distribution of the volume of corpus allatum suggest a 3:1 segregation between bees with high volume of corpora allata against low and medium volume. This implies that genes xa and xb code for an enzyme that directly participates in juvenile hormone production. It was also concluded that the number of cells in the second prepupal stage is more important than the weight of the prepupa for caste determination. A scheme summarizing the genic control of sex and caste determination in Melipona bees in the prepupal phase is given. PMID:1213273

Four common pesticides, their mixtures and a formulation solvent in the hive environment have high oral toxicity to honey bee larvae.

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Zhu, Wanyi; Schmehl, Daniel R; Mullin, Christopher A; Frazier, James L

2014-01-01

Recently, the widespread distribution of pesticides detected in the hive has raised serious concerns about pesticide exposure on honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) health. A larval rearing method was adapted to assess the chronic oral toxicity to honey bee larvae of the four most common pesticides detected in pollen and wax--fluvalinate, coumaphos, chlorothalonil, and chloropyrifos--tested alone and in all combinations. All pesticides at hive-residue levels triggered a significant increase in larval mortality compared to untreated larvae by over two fold, with a strong increase after 3 days of exposure. Among these four pesticides, honey bee larvae were most sensitive to chlorothalonil compared to adults. Synergistic toxicity was observed in the binary mixture of chlorothalonil with fluvalinate at the concentrations of 34 mg/L and 3 mg/L, respectively; whereas, when diluted by 10 fold, the interaction switched to antagonism. Chlorothalonil at 34 mg/L was also found to synergize the miticide coumaphos at 8 mg/L. The addition of coumaphos significantly reduced the toxicity of the fluvalinate and chlorothalonil mixture, the only significant non-additive effect in all tested ternary mixtures. We also tested the common 'inert' ingredient N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone at seven concentrations, and documented its high toxicity to larval bees. We have shown that chronic dietary exposure to a fungicide, pesticide mixtures, and a formulation solvent have the potential to impact honey bee populations, and warrants further investigation. We suggest that pesticide mixtures in pollen be evaluated by adding their toxicities together, until complete data on interactions can be accumulated.

Four common pesticides, their mixtures and a formulation solvent in the hive environment have high oral toxicity to honey bee larvae.

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Wanyi Zhu

Full Text Available Recently, the widespread distribution of pesticides detected in the hive has raised serious concerns about pesticide exposure on honey bee (Apis mellifera L. health. A larval rearing method was adapted to assess the chronic oral toxicity to honey bee larvae of the four most common pesticides detected in pollen and wax--fluvalinate, coumaphos, chlorothalonil, and chloropyrifos--tested alone and in all combinations. All pesticides at hive-residue levels triggered a significant increase in larval mortality compared to untreated larvae by over two fold, with a strong increase after 3 days of exposure. Among these four pesticides, honey bee larvae were most sensitive to chlorothalonil compared to adults. Synergistic toxicity was observed in the binary mixture of chlorothalonil with fluvalinate at the concentrations of 34 mg/L and 3 mg/L, respectively; whereas, when diluted by 10 fold, the interaction switched to antagonism. Chlorothalonil at 34 mg/L was also found to synergize the miticide coumaphos at 8 mg/L. The addition of coumaphos significantly reduced the toxicity of the fluvalinate and chlorothalonil mixture, the only significant non-additive effect in all tested ternary mixtures. We also tested the common 'inert' ingredient N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone at seven concentrations, and documented its high toxicity to larval bees. We have shown that chronic dietary exposure to a fungicide, pesticide mixtures, and a formulation solvent have the potential to impact honey bee populations, and warrants further investigation. We suggest that pesticide mixtures in pollen be evaluated by adding their toxicities together, until complete data on interactions can be accumulated.

Termorregulação colonial e a influência da temperatura no desenvolvimento da cria em abelhas sem ferrão, Melipona scutellaris (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini)

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Yara Sbrolin Roldão

2011-01-01

Uma característica dos insetos sociais, entre elas as abelhas, é o controle da temperatura de seus ninhos. Abelhas sociais são denominadas como animais heterotérmicos, ou seja, são endotérmicas quando realizam atividades motoras (adultas) e ectotérmicas quando apresentam inatividade (cria e abelhas jovens). Essa característica está entrelaçada com o comportamento social. As abelhas melíferas (Apidae; Apini: Apis mellifera) são conhecidas por apresentarem uma temperatura ótima dentro de seus n...

Survival of honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) spermatozoa incubated at room temperature from drones exposed to miticides.

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Burley, Lisa M; Fell, Richard D; Saacke, Richard G

2008-08-01

We conducted research to examine the potential impacts ofcoumaphos, fluvalinate, and Apilife VAR (Thymol) on drone honey bee, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), sperm viability over time. Drones were reared in colonies that had been treated with each miticide by using the dose recommended on the label. Drones from each miticide treatment were collected, and semen samples were pooled. The pooled samples from each treatment were subdivided and analyzed for periods of up to 6 wk. Random samples were taken from each treatment (n = 6 pools) over the 6-wk period. Sperm viability was measured using dual-fluorescent staining techniques. The exposure of drones to coumaphos during development and sexual maturation significantly reduced sperm viability for all 6 wk. Sperm viability significantly decreased from the initial sample to week 1 in control colonies, and a significant decrease in sperm viability was observed from week 5 to week 6 in all treatments and control. The potential impacts of these results on queen performance and failure are discussed.

Body size limits dim-light foraging activity in stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini).

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Streinzer, Martin; Huber, Werner; Spaethe, Johannes

2016-10-01

Stingless bees constitute a species-rich tribe of tropical and subtropical eusocial Apidae that act as important pollinators for flowering plants. Many foraging tasks rely on vision, e.g. spatial orientation and detection of food sources and nest entrances. Meliponini workers are usually small, which sets limits on eye morphology and thus quality of vision. Limitations are expected both on acuity, and thus on the ability to detect objects from a distance, as well as on sensitivity, and thus on the foraging time window at dusk and dawn. In this study, we determined light intensity thresholds for flight under dim light conditions in eight stingless bee species in relation to body size in a Neotropical lowland rainforest. Species varied in body size (0.8-1.7 mm thorax-width), and we found a strong negative correlation with light intensity thresholds (0.1-79 lx). Further, we measured eye size, ocelli diameter, ommatidia number, and facet diameter. All parameters significantly correlated with body size. A disproportionately low light intensity threshold in the minute Trigonisca pipioli, together with a large eye parameter P eye suggests specific adaptations to circumvent the optical constraints imposed by the small body size. We discuss the implications of body size in bees on foraging behavior.

Nidificação e forrageamento de Centris (Ptilotopus scopipes Friese (Hymenoptera, Apidae Nesting biology and foraging behavior of Centris (Ptilotopus scopipes Friese (Hymenoptera, Apidae

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Maria Cristina Gaglianone

2001-07-01

Full Text Available Centris (Ptilotopus are large bees and important pollinators in the Neotropical region. Its biology and behavior is still poorly known and only a few observations have been published. In this paper, observations on the biology of C. (Ptilotopus scopipes Friese, 1899, a species that occurs in the "cerrados" of Brazil, are presented. The study was conducted in the Estação Ecológica de Jataí, in Luiz Antônio, São Paulo, during the active period of the adults (November through April. Females collected pollen from flowers of Solanaceae and Caesalpiniaceae, by vibration, and floral oils from Malpighiaceae belonging to the genera Byrsonima, Banisteriopsis, Stigmaphyllon and Peixotoa. Floral resources are carried in the hind leg scopae to the nests, which are excavated in the walls of epigeous nests of the termite Procornitermes araujoi Emerson, 1952 (Termitidae, Nasutitermitinae. The main tunnel entered the termite nest at an ascending angle ending in a vestibulum. Two parallel, vertical burrows forming linear series of cells descended from the vestibulum. The upper cell (the nearest to the nest entrance was filled with soil. This might represent a protection against parasites. During the study, one female of Acanthopus excellens Schrottky, 1902 (Apidae, Ericrocidini, a cleptoparasitic bee, was captured when leaving one of the nests. A male of C. scopipes emerged eleven months after cell closure, suggesting a univoltine cycle for this species.

Optimizing Drone Fertility With Spring Nutritional Supplements to Honey Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Colonies.

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Rousseau, Andrée; Giovenazzo, Pierre

2016-03-27

Supplemental feeding of honey bee (Apis melliferaL., Hymenoptera: Apidae) colonies in spring is essential for colony buildup in northern apicultural regions. The impact of pollen and syrup feeding on drone production and sperm quality is not well-documented, but may improve fecundation of early-bred queens. We measured the impact of feeding sucrose syrup, and protein supplements to colonies in early spring in eastern Canada. Drones were reared under different nutritional regimes, and mature individuals were then assessed in regard to size, weight, and semen quality (semen volume, sperm count, and viability). Results showed significant increases in drone weight and abdomen size when colonies were fed sucrose and a protein supplement. Colonies receiving no additional nourishment had significantly less semen volume per drone and lower sperm viability. Our study demonstrates that feeding honey bee colonies in spring with sucrose syrup and a protein supplement is important to enhance drone reproductive quality. RÉSUMÉ: L'administration de suppléments alimentaires aux colonies de l'abeille domestique (Apis melliferaL., Hymenoptera: Apidae) au printemps est essentielle pour le bon développement des colonies dans les régions apicoles nordiques. L'impact de la supplémentation des colonies en pollen et en sirop sur la production des faux-bourdons et la qualité du sperme demeure peu documenté mais pourrait résulter en une meilleure fécondation des reines produites tôt en saison. Nous avons mesuré l'impact de la supplémentation en sirop et/ou en supplément de pollen sur les colonies d'abeilles tôt au printemps dans l'est du Canada. Les faux-bourdons ont été élevé sous différents régimes alimentaires et les individus matures ont ensuite été évalués pour leur taille, leur poids ainsi que la qualité de leur sperme (volume de sperme, nombre et viabilité des spermatozoïdes. Les résultats montrent une augmentation significative du poids et de la taille

Metal contaminant accumulation in the hive: Consequences for whole-colony health and brood production in the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.).

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Hladun, Kristen R; Di, Ning; Liu, Tong-Xian; Trumble, John T

2016-02-01

Metal pollution has been increasing rapidly over the past century, and at the same time, the human population has continued to rise and produce contaminants that may negatively impact pollinators. Honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) forage over large areas and can collect contaminants from the environment. The primary objective of the present study was to determine whether the metal contaminants cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), and selenium (Se) can have a detrimental effect on whole-colony health in the managed pollinator A. mellifera. The authors isolated small nucleus colonies under large cages and fed them an exclusive diet of sugar syrup and pollen patty spiked with Cd, Cu, Pb, and Se or a control (no additional metal). Treatment levels were based on concentrations in honey and pollen from contaminated hives around the world. They measured whole-colony health including wax, honey, and brood production; colony weight; brood survival; and metal accumulation in various life stages. Colonies treated with Cd or Cu contained more dead pupae within capped cells compared with control, and Se-treated colonies had lower total worker weights compared to control. Lead had a minimal effect on colony performance, although many members of the hive accumulated significant quantities of the metal. By examining the honey bee as a social organism through whole-colony assessments of toxicity, the authors found that the distribution of toxicants throughout the colony varied from metal to metal, some caste members were more susceptible to certain metals, and the colony's ability to grow over time may have been reduced in the presence of Se. Apiaries residing near metal-contaminated areas may be at risk and can suffer changes in colony dynamics and survival. © 2015 SETAC.

The use of polliniferous resources by Melipona capixaba, an endangered stingless bee species.

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Serra, Bruna Danielle Vieira; da Luz, Cynthia Fernandes Pinto; Campos, Lucio Antonio de Oliveira

2012-01-01

Abstract Pollen types present in samples from corbiculae of Melipona capixaba (Moure and Camargo) (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponina) worker bees were analyzed, as well as pollen samples from food pots inside the hives in three sites located at the bees' original habitat. The aim was to find out the sources used as a trophic resource by this species. The dominant pollen grains in the spectrum of the samples belonged to the families Myrtaceae and Melastomataceae. Eucalyptus was the most frequent pollen type in the corbiculae in Conceição do Castelo municipality; Eucalyptus, Myrcia, and Melastomatacea/Combretaceae in the Fazenda do Estado district; and Eucalyptus and Myrcia in the São Paulo de Aracê district, both in the Domingos Martins municipality. Eucalyptus and Melastomataceae/Combretaceae were the predominant pollen types in the food pots. Eucalyptus was the most prevalent type all year round or most of the year. The most common pollen types in the months that Eucalyptus was not present or dominant in the samples were of remaining native forest species, "ruderal" (field) plants, fruit-bearing plants, and introduced ornamental plants.

Prediction of social structure and genetic relatedness in colonies of the facultative polygynous stingless bee Melipona bicolor (Hymenoptera, Apidae).

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Dos Reis, Evelyze Pinheiro; de Oliveira Campos, Lucio Antonio; Tavares, Mara Garcia

2011-04-01

Stingless bee colonies typically consist of one single-mated mother queen and her worker offspring. The stingless bee Melipona bicolor (Hymenoptera: Apidae) shows facultative polygyny, which makes this species particularly suitable for testing theoretical expectations concerning social behavior. In this study, we investigated the social structure and genetic relatedness among workers from eight natural and six manipulated colonies of M. bicolor over a period of one year. The populations of M. bicolor contained monogynous and polygynous colonies. The estimated genetic relatedness among workers from monogynous and polygynous colonies was 0.75 ± 0.12 and 0.53 ± 0.16 (mean ± SEM), respectively. Although the parental genotypes had significant effects on genetic relatedness in monogynous and polygynous colonies, polygyny markedly decreased the relatedness among nestmate workers. Our findings also demonstrate that polygyny in M. bicolor may arise from the adoption of related or unrelated queens.

Prediction of social structure and genetic relatedness in colonies of the facultative polygynous stingless bee Melipona bicolor (Hymenoptera, Apidae

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Evelyze Pinheiro dos Reis

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Stingless bee colonies typically consist of one single-mated mother queen and her worker offspring. The stingless bee Melipona bicolor (Hymenoptera: Apidae shows facultative polygyny, which makes this species particularly suitable for testing theoretical expectations concerning social behavior. In this study, we investigated the social structure and genetic relatedness among workers from eight natural and six manipulated colonies of M. bicolor over a period of one year. The populations of M. bicolor contained monogynous and polygynous colonies. The estimated genetic relatedness among workers from monogynous and polygynous colonies was 0.75 ± 0.12 and 0.53 ± 0.16 (mean ± SEM, respectively. Although the parental genotypes had significant effects on genetic relatedness in monogynous and polygynous colonies, polygyny markedly decreased the relatedness among nestmate workers. Our findings also demonstrate that polygyny in M. bicolor may arise from the adoption of related or unrelated queens.

Diferenciação genética entre Melipona mondury, Smith 1863, Melipona rufiventris, Lepeletier, 1836 e Melipona sp. (Hymenoptera, Apidae) no estado de Minas Gerais, Brasil, utilizando marcadores ISSR

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Dias, Fábia Guimarães

2008-01-01

Melipona rufiventris, Lepeletier, 1836 e M. mondury, Smith, 1863 (Hymenoptera, Apidae) são espécies geneticamente similares, popularmente conhecidas como uruçu amarela. Estudos recentes, utilizando marcadores moleculares mostraram que as populações de uruçu amarela em Minas Gerais formam grupos distintos, sendo M. mondury pertencente à região de Mata Atlântica, M. rufiventris e uma terceira espécie, ainda não identificada aqui denominada de Melipona sp., pertencentes à região do Cerrado. O ob...

CARACTERIZAÇÃO FÍSICO-QUÍMICA DO MEL DE MELIPONA FULVA LEPELETIER, 1836 (HIMENOPTERA: APIDAE: MELIPONINAE) UTILIZADA NA MELIPONICULTURA POR COMUNIDADES TRADICIONAIS DO ENTORNO DA CIDADE DE MACAPÁ-AP

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Chaves, Alison Felipe Alencar; Gomes, Jorge Emílio Henriques; da Costa, Arley José Silveira

2012-01-01

O estudo buscou determinar as características físico-químicas do mel de abelha sem ferrão Melipona fulva Lepeletier, 1836 (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponinae) utilizada na meliponicultura por comunidades tradicionais do entorno da cidade de Macapá, AP. As características físico-químicas analisadas foram: umidade, cinzas, acidez, pH, condutividade e hidroximetilfurfural. Os resultados foram expressos em média ± desvio padrão e comparados com os valores limites presentes na legislação vigente e c...

Community of orchid bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae in transitional vegetation between Cerrado and Atlantic Forest in southeastern Brazil

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EP. Pires

Full Text Available The community of orchid bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Euglossina was studied at an area in the transition between the Cerrado and Atlantic Forest biomes, from March, 2010 to February, 2011 in the Barroso region, state of Minas Gerais, eastern Brazil. Orchid-bee males were collected with bait traps containing three different scents (cineole, eugenol and vanillin and with entomological nets for collecting bees on flowers. A total of 614 orchid-bee males were collected using aromatic traps, belonging to four genera and 15 species. Twenty-five female specimens belonging to two genera and at least three species were collected on flowers. Eulaema (Apeulaema nigrita Lepeletier, 1841 was the most abundant species (50% of collected specimens, followed by Euglossa (Euglossa truncata Rebêlo & Moure, 1996 (28%. Cineole was the most attractive compound (66.5% of males and 13 species, followed by eugenol (16% and 9 species and vanillin (13.5% and 4 species. Eulaema (Apeulaema marcii Nemésio, 2009 and Eufriesea auriceps (Friese, 1899 were attracted to all scents, whereas Euglossa species were collected only in cineole and eugenol.

Assessing the Role of Environmental Conditions on Efficacy Rates of Heterorhabditis indica (Nematoda: Heterorhabditidae) for Controlling Aethina tumida (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) in Honey Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Colonies: a Citizen Science Approach.

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Hill, Elizabeth S; Smythe, Ashleigh B; Delaney, Deborah A

2016-02-01

Certain species of entomopathogenic nematodes, such as Heterorhabditis indica Poinar, Karunakar & David, have the potential to be effective controls for Aethina tumida (Murray), or small hive beetles, when applied to the soil surrounding honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) hives. Despite the efficacy of H. indica, beekeepers have struggled to use them successfully as a biocontrol. It is believed that the sensitivity of H. indica to certain environmental conditions is the primary reason for this lack of success. Although research has been conducted to explore the impact of specific environmental conditions--such as soil moisture or soil temperature-on entomopathogenic nematode infectivity, no study to date has taken a comprehensive approach that considers the impact of multiple environmental conditions simultaneously. In exploring this, a multivariate logistic regression model was used to determine what environmental conditions resulted in reductions of A. tumida populations in honey bee colonies. To obtain the sample sizes necessary to run a multivariate logistic regression, this study utilized citizen scientist beekeepers and their hives from across the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Results suggest that soil moisture, soil temperatures, sunlight exposure, and groundcover contribute to the efficacy of H. indica in reducing A. tumida populations in A. mellifera colonies. The results of this study offer direction for future research on the environmental preferences of H. indica and can be used to educate beekeepers about methods for better utilizing H. indica as a biological control. © 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.

FLIGHT RANGE OF AFRICANIZED HONEYBEES, Apis mellifera L. 1758 (Hymenoptera: Apidae IN AN APPLE GROVE

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PARANHOS B.A.J

1997-01-01

Full Text Available Africanized honeybees from five colonies were marked with P-32 and taken to an apple grove for a flight behavior study. The method used to determine the flight range was to put out an array of tagged trees in a cross pattern with the colonies arranged in the center point of a 0.8 ha test area. The tagged trees were located 10 meters apart in the 4 rows of 50 meters each, arranged according to the North, South, East, and West directions. Bees were collected while visiting the tagged tree flowers twice a day, during a ten-day period. The number of honeybees marked decreased in relation to the distance from the hives. Analysis of variance showed that a linear regression was highly significant to describe the process. Geographic directions did not affect the activity of the bees.

Honey Bee Gut Microbiome Is Altered by In-Hive Pesticide Exposures.

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Kakumanu, Madhavi L; Reeves, Alison M; Anderson, Troy D; Rodrigues, Richard R; Williams, Mark A

2016-01-01

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are the primary pollinators of major horticultural crops. Over the last few decades, a substantial decline in honey bees and their colonies have been reported. While a plethora of factors could contribute to the putative decline, pathogens, and pesticides are common concerns that draw attention. In addition to potential direct effects on honey bees, indirect pesticide effects could include alteration of essential gut microbial communities and symbionts that are important to honey bee health (e.g., immune system). The primary objective of this study was to determine the microbiome associated with honey bees exposed to commonly used in-hive pesticides: coumaphos, tau-fluvalinate, and chlorothalonil. Treatments were replicated at three independent locations near Blacksburg Virginia, and included a no-pesticide amended control at each location. The microbiome was characterized through pyrosequencing of V2-V3 regions of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene and fungal ITS region. Pesticide exposure significantly affected the structure of bacterial but not fungal communities. The bee bacteriome, similar to other studies, was dominated by sequences derived from Bacilli, Actinobacteria, α-, β-, γ-proteobacteria. The fungal community sequences were dominated by Ascomycetes and Basidiomycetes. The Multi-response permutation procedures (MRPP) and subsequent Phylogenetic Investigation of Communities by Reconstruction of Unobserved States (PICRUSt) analysis indicated that chlorothalonil caused significant change to the structure and functional potential of the honey bee gut bacterial community relative to control. Putative genes for oxidative phosphorylation, for example, increased while sugar metabolism and peptidase potential declined in the microbiome of chlorothalonil exposed bees. The results of this field-based study suggest the potential for pesticide induced changes to the honey bee gut microbiome that warrant further investigation.

Genetic breeding on the bee Melipona scutellaris (Apidae, Meliponinae

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Barros José de Ribamar Silva

2006-01-01

Full Text Available A selection of queens of Melipona scutellaris through the most productive colonies were carried out during eight months in an orange honeyflow. Each of the colonies was evaluated by its production, that is, the gross weight production ( pollen, brood, geopropolis and wax of each hive. With this data a coefficient of repeatability was estimated by the intraclass correlation method, obtained r = 0.835 ± 0.071. The repeatibility is very high showing that the analysed data (production is repeatable. Selection was then carried out using the regression coefficient of each colony and the respective production gain. Using these data the colonies were divided into three groups according to the method Vencovsky and Kerr (1982: a with the colonies of highest productivity, b of least productivity, and c of intermediary productivity. Colonies with the highest production (Group a gave their queens to those of the lowest production (Group b after their queens were taken out and killed; while those of intermediate (Group c stayed with the same queens during the entire experiment both before and after the selection. The modifications in weight, that is, the genetic response was (R= 7.98 gr per day which indicated a selection gain. The estimate of the realized herdability is twice the rate of the response to selection (R by the selection differential (S2. That is then h²R=2(R/S2 then h²R= 0.166

Eumelanin and pheomelanin are predominant pigments in bumblebee (Apidae: Bombus pubescence

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Carlo Polidori

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Background Bumblebees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Bombus are well known for their important inter- and intra-specific variation in hair (or pubescence color patterns, but the chemical nature of the pigments associated with these patterns is not fully understood. For example, though melanization is believed to provide darker colors, it still unknown which types of melanin are responsible for each color, and no conclusive data are available for the lighter colors, including white. Methods By using dispersive Raman spectroscopy analysis on 12 species/subspecies of bumblebees from seven subgenera, we tested the hypothesis that eumelanin and pheomelanin, the two main melanin types occurring in animals, are largely responsible for bumblebee pubescence coloration. Results Eumelanin and pheomelanin occur in bumblebee pubescence. Black pigmentation is due to prevalent eumelanin, with visible signals of additional pheomelanin, while the yellow, orange, red and brown hairs clearly include pheomelanin. On the other hand, white hairs reward very weak Raman signals, suggesting that they are depigmented. Additional non-melanic pigments in yellow hair cannot be excluded but need other techniques to be detected. Raman spectra were more similar across similarly colored hairs, with no apparent effect of phylogeny and both melanin types appeared to be already used at the beginning of bumblebee radiation. Discussion We suggest that the two main melanin forms, at variable amounts and/or vibrational states, are sufficient in giving almost the whole color range of bumblebee pubescence, allowing these insects to use a single precursor instead of synthesizing a variety of chemically different pigments. This would agree with commonly seen color interchanges between body segments across Bombus species.

Avaliação de diferentes modelos de colméias para abelhas jataí (Tetragonisca angustula Latreille, 1811 Evaluation of different types of stingless bees hives (Tetragonisca angustula Latreille, 1811

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Maria Claudia Colla Ruvolo-Takasusuki

2002-04-01

Full Text Available O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o desempenho de colônias de abelhas jataís, Tetragonisca angustula Latreille, 1811 (Hymenoptera, Meliponinae na região de Maringá, Estado do Paraná, alojadas nos seguintes modelos de colméia: Fritzen, Guiliani, Nogueira-Neto e Antonio Carlos Farias (ACF. O experimento foi realizado no período de dezembro de 1999 a dezembro de 2000, com 20 colônias. Mensalmente, as colméias foram pesadas e obtendo-se o peso da colônia. Os dados foram analisados estatisticamente utilizando o mês como co-variável e o teste de Scheffe para comparação das médias. As colônias alojadas em colméias dos modelos Guiliani e Nogueira-Neto apresentaram um melhor desenvolvimento diferindo (p = 0,0004 das colônias alojadas nos modelos Fritzen e ACF. O peso médio das colônias foi de 387,3 ± 92,2g, 375,8 ± 72,6g, 241,2 ± 137,1g e 230,9 ± 55,3g, respectivamente, para as alojadas nos modelos Guiliani, Nogueira-Neto, ACF e Fritzen. Os meses críticos foram março e maio de 2000, nos quais ocorreram oito mortes e oito abandonos. Pode-se verificar que as colônias mantidas nas colméias Guiliani e Nogueira-Neto apresentaram uma maior uniformidade no peso. Portanto, pode-se concluir que os modelos de colméias Guiliani e Nogueira-Neto seriam os mais recomendados para a região de Maringá, Estado do Paraná.This research was carried out to evaluate the performance of stingless bees' colonies, Tetragonisca angustula Latreille, 1811 (Hymenoptera, Meliponinae, in Maringá region in the south of Brazil. Twenty colonies were settled in the following types of hives: Fritzen, Guiliani, Nogueira-Neto, and Antonio Carlos Farias (ACF, with five replications each type. The experimental season was from December, 1999 to December 2000. Monthly, the hives were weighed in order to get the colony weight. Data were analyzed statistically using the month as co variable and Scheffes’s test to compare the means. The colonies settled in

A New Method for Quick and Easy Hemolymph Collection from Apidae Adults.

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Grzegorz Borsuk

Full Text Available Bio-analysis of insects is increasingly dependent on highly sensitive methods that require high quality biological material, such as hemolymph. However, it is difficult to collect fresh and uncontaminated hemolymph from adult bees since they are very active and have the potential to sting, and because hemolymph is rapidly melanized. Here we aimed to develop and test a quick and easy method for sterile and contamination-free hemolymph sampling from adult Apidae. Our novel antennae method for hemolymph sampling (AMHS, entailed the detachment of an antenna, followed by application of delicate pressure to the bee's abdomen. This resulted in the appearance of a drop of hemolymph at the base of the detached antenna, which was then aspirated using an automatic pipetter. Larger insect size corresponded to easier and faster hemolymph sampling, and to a greater sample volume. We obtained 80-100 μL of sterile non-melanized hemolymph in 1 minute from one Bombus terrestris worker, in 6 minutes from 10 Apis mellifera workers, and in 15 minutes from 18 Apis cerana workers (+/-0.5 minutes. Compared to the most popular method of hemolymph collection, in which hemolymph is sampled by puncturing the dorsal sinus of the thorax with a capillary (TCHS, significantly fewer bees were required to collect 80-100 μL hemolymph using our novel AMHS method. Moreover, the time required for hemolymph collection was significantly shorter using the AMHS compared to the TCHS, which protects the acquired hemolymph against melanization, thus providing the highest quality material for biological analysis.

Microbial ecology of the hive and pollination landscape: bacterial associates from floral nectar, the alimentary tract and stored food of honey bees (Apis mellifera).

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Anderson, Kirk E; Sheehan, Timothy H; Mott, Brendon M; Maes, Patrick; Snyder, Lucy; Schwan, Melissa R; Walton, Alexander; Jones, Beryl M; Corby-Harris, Vanessa

2013-01-01

Nearly all eukaryotes are host to beneficial or benign bacteria in their gut lumen, either vertically inherited, or acquired from the environment. While bacteria core to the honey bee gut are becoming evident, the influence of the hive and pollination environment on honey bee microbial health is largely unexplored. Here we compare bacteria from floral nectar in the immediate pollination environment, different segments of the honey bee (Apis mellifera) alimentary tract, and food stored in the hive (honey and packed pollen or "beebread"). We used cultivation and sequencing to explore bacterial communities in all sample types, coupled with culture-independent analysis of beebread. We compare our results from the alimentary tract with both culture-dependent and culture-independent analyses from previous studies. Culturing the foregut (crop), midgut and hindgut with standard media produced many identical or highly similar 16S rDNA sequences found with 16S rDNA clone libraries and next generation sequencing of 16S rDNA amplicons. Despite extensive culturing with identical media, our results do not support the core crop bacterial community hypothesized by recent studies. We cultured a wide variety of bacterial strains from 6 of 7 phylogenetic groups considered core to the honey bee hindgut. Our results reveal that many bacteria prevalent in beebread and the crop are also found in floral nectar, suggesting frequent horizontal transmission. From beebread we uncovered a variety of bacterial phylotypes, including many possible pathogens and food spoilage organisms, and potentially beneficial bacteria including Lactobacillus kunkeei, Acetobacteraceae and many different groups of Actinobacteria. Contributions of these bacteria to colony health may include general hygiene, fungal and pathogen inhibition and beebread preservation. Our results are important for understanding the contribution to pollinator health of both environmentally vectored and core microbiota, and the

Flight activity and responses to climatic conditions of two subspecies of Melipona marginata Lepeletier (Apidae, Meliponinae)

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Kleinert-Giovannini, A; Imperatriz-Fonseca, V L

1986-01-01

The flight activity of two colonies of M. m. marginata and six colonies of M. m. obscurior was studied in Sao Paulo, Brazil during three periods in 1981-1983. All colonies were hived except for one colony of M. m. obscurior which nested in a hollow tree. The two subspecies showed the same responses to the climatic factors analyzed. Flight activity was correlated positively with temperature and negatively with RH. In favorable conditions foraging took place throughout the day but both species were most active between 11 and 13 h. In the last observation period (October 1982-January 1983), when only two obscurior colonies were studied, flight activity was not correlated to RH, occurring even when RH was unfavorably high. This was a very rainy season, and it is suggested that the behavior of the bees indicates a flexible response to prevailing weather conditions.

Effect of entomopathogens on Africanized Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae

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Michele Potrich

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to evaluate the effect of commercially used entomopathogens on Africanized Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae. Four bioassays were performed: 1 pulverized entomopathogens on A. mellifera; 2 entomopathogens sprayed on a smooth surface; 3 entomopathogens sprayed on soy leaves; and 4 entomopathogens mixed with candy paste (sugar syrup. Five treatments were prepared: sterile distilled water (control, distilled water sterilized with Tween® 80 (0.01%, and the commercial entomopathogens Metarhizium anisopliae E9 (1.0 × 109 conidia mL−1, Beauveria bassiana PL63 (1.0 × 108 conidia mL−1 and Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki HD-1 (3.0 × 108 spores mL−1. Each treatment consisted of five repetitions, with 20 workers per repetition, which were stored in a plastic box and, later, in a biological oxygen demand (B.O.D. incubator (27 ± 2 °C, RH of 60% ± 10%, 12-h photophase. The mortality of the workers was evaluated from 1 h to 240 h, and the data were analyzed using Bayesian inference. The workers killed by the ingestion of candy paste contaminated with the pathogens (products were randomly separated and selected for the removal of the midgut. Each midgut was fixed in Bouin's solution and prepared for histology. B. bassiana was verified to reduce the survival of A. mellifera workers in all bioassays. Moreover, M. anisopliae reduced the survival of A. mellifera workers directly sprayed, on a smooth surface and mixed with candy. B. thuringiensis reduced A. mellifera survival on a smooth surface and mixed with candy paste. However, its effects were lower than that observed by B. bassiana. The treatments with the biological products did not induce morphometric alterations in the midgut of A. mellifera. Keywords: Bayesian statistics, Entomopathogenic fungi, Entomopathogenic bacteria, Honeybee, Selectivity

Microbial ecology of the hive and pollination landscape: bacterial associates from floral nectar, the alimentary tract and stored food of honey bees (Apis mellifera.

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Kirk E Anderson

Full Text Available Nearly all eukaryotes are host to beneficial or benign bacteria in their gut lumen, either vertically inherited, or acquired from the environment. While bacteria core to the honey bee gut are becoming evident, the influence of the hive and pollination environment on honey bee microbial health is largely unexplored. Here we compare bacteria from floral nectar in the immediate pollination environment, different segments of the honey bee (Apis mellifera alimentary tract, and food stored in the hive (honey and packed pollen or "beebread". We used cultivation and sequencing to explore bacterial communities in all sample types, coupled with culture-independent analysis of beebread. We compare our results from the alimentary tract with both culture-dependent and culture-independent analyses from previous studies. Culturing the foregut (crop, midgut and hindgut with standard media produced many identical or highly similar 16S rDNA sequences found with 16S rDNA clone libraries and next generation sequencing of 16S rDNA amplicons. Despite extensive culturing with identical media, our results do not support the core crop bacterial community hypothesized by recent studies. We cultured a wide variety of bacterial strains from 6 of 7 phylogenetic groups considered core to the honey bee hindgut. Our results reveal that many bacteria prevalent in beebread and the crop are also found in floral nectar, suggesting frequent horizontal transmission. From beebread we uncovered a variety of bacterial phylotypes, including many possible pathogens and food spoilage organisms, and potentially beneficial bacteria including Lactobacillus kunkeei, Acetobacteraceae and many different groups of Actinobacteria. Contributions of these bacteria to colony health may include general hygiene, fungal and pathogen inhibition and beebread preservation. Our results are important for understanding the contribution to pollinator health of both environmentally vectored and core microbiota

Varroa destructor (Mesostigmata: Varroidae in Costa Rica: population dynamics and its influence on the colony condition of Africanized honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae

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Rafael A Calderón

2008-12-01

Full Text Available The development of Varroa destructor Anderson & Trueman (Mesostigmata: Varroidae population dynamics in Africanized honey bees, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae colonies was monitored from February to July 2004 in Atenas, Costa Rica. A correlation between the mite infestation level and the colony condition was evaluated. For each colony, infestation of varroa in adult bees was measured twice a month. Sticky boards were placed on the bottom boards of each colony to collect fallen mites. The condition of the colonies was evaluated by measuring the amount of brood and adult bees. Our results consistently showed that mite infestation on adult bees increased significantly in the experimental colonies, rising to 10.0% by the end of the experiment. In addition, the mean mite fall increased significantly over the course of the study in the treated (R= 0.72, PLa dinámica poblacional del ácaro Varroa destructor Anderson & Trueman (Mesostigmata: Varroidae en abejas africanizadas, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae fue monitoreada de febrero a julio 2004, en Atenas, Costa Rica. Asimismo, se analizó la relación entre el nivel de infestación de varroa y la condición de la colmena. La infestación del ácaro V. destructor fue evaluada en abejas adultas dos veces al mes. Además, se colocaron trampas adhesivas en el fondo de la colmena para recoger los ácaros que caen naturalmente. La condición de la colmena fue determinada midiendo la cantidad de cría y la población de abejas adultas. La infestación del ácaro V. destructor en abejas adultas aumentó significativamente durante el estudio hasta alcanzar un 10.0%. Igualmente, la caída natural de ácaros se incrementó, tanto en colmenas que fueron tratadas previa-mente con un acaricida químico (R= 0.72, P<0.05 como en colmenas sin tratamiento (R= 0.74, P<0.05, hasta llegar a 63.8 y 73.5 ácaros por día, respectivamente. El aumento de la infestación en las colmenas coincidió con una

Comunidade de Euglossini (Hymenoptera, Apidae das dunas litorâneas do Abaeté, Salvador, Bahia, Brasil

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Blandina Felipe Viana

2002-01-01

Full Text Available Community of Euglossini (Hymenoptera, Apidae from the coastal sand dunes of Abaeté, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. The Euglossini community structure was analyzed by attracting males with the scents eucalyptol, eugenol, vanillin, benzyl benzoate and methyl salicylate, and by netting bees on flowers. The samplings took place three times a month along one year from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The scent baits attracted 670 individuals belonging to seven species of three genus. The predominant species were Euglossa cordata (Linnaeus, 1758 (76.6% and Eulaema nigrita Lepeletier, 1841 (21.8%. Euglossini males visited the scents along the whole year, being more abundant in May and in August. The most efficient fragrance was eucalyptol, attracting 624 individuals of five species. The males abundance fluctuated along the day, being the highest frequency observed between 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Forty eigth Euglossini females of four species were netted visiting flowers of 14 plant species belonging to 13 families. Solanaceae and Caesalpiniaceae were the most visited. The species catched on flowers were Euglossa cordata, Eulaema nigrita, Euplusia mussitans (Fabricius, 1787 and Eulaema meriana flavescens Friese 1899. Euglossa cordata was the predominant species on flowers (64.6%, being collected during almost the whole year. Euplusia mussitans was the only species netted on flowers which males were not sampled on the scents.

Phylogeny and revision of the bee genus Rhinocorynura Schrottky (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Augochlorini, with comments on its female cephalic polymorphism

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Rodrigo B. Gonçalves

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Phylogeny and revision of the bee genus Rhinocorynura Schrottky (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Augochlorini, with comments on its female cephalic polymorphism. A taxonomic revision and a phylogeny for the species of Rhinocorynura are provided. Six species are recognized: R. briseis, R. crotonis, R. inflaticeps and R. vernoniae stat. nov., the latter removed from synonymy with R. inflaticeps, in addition to two newly described species, R. brunnea sp. nov. and R. viridis sp. nov. Lectotypes for Halictus crotonis Ducke, 1906 and Halictus inflaticeps Ducke, 1906 are hereby designated. Another available name included in Rhinocorynura, Corynuropsis ashmeadi Schrottky, 1909, is removed from the genus and treated as species inquerenda in Augochlorini. Rhinocorynura is monophyletic in the phylogenetic analysis and the following relationships were found among its species: (R. crotonis (R. briseis ((R. brunnea sp. nov. + R. viridis sp. nov. (R. inflaticeps + R. vernoniae. Biogeographic relationships within the genus and comparisons with related taxa are presented. Females of all species exhibit pronounced variation in body size, in two of them, R. inflaticeps and R. vernoniae, with structural modifications possibly linked to division of labor. Identification key and illustrations for the species are provided.

Ecotoxicological effects of the insecticide fipronil in Brazilian native stingless bees Melipona scutellaris (Apidae: Meliponini).

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de Morais, Cássio Resende; Travençolo, Bruno Augusto Nassif; Carvalho, Stephan Malfitano; Beletti, Marcelo Emílio; Vieira Santos, Vanessa Santana; Campos, Carlos Fernando; de Campos Júnior, Edimar Olegário; Pereira, Boscolli Barbosa; Carvalho Naves, Maria Paula; de Rezende, Alexandre Azenha Alves; Spanó, Mário Antônio; Vieira, Carlos Ueira; Bonetti, Ana Maria

2018-09-01

Melipona scutellaris Latreille, 1811 (Hymenoptera, Apidae) is a pollinator of various native and cultivated plants. Because of the expansion of agriculture and the need to ensure pest control, the use of insecticides such as fipronil (FP) has increased. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of sublethal doses of FP insecticide on M. scutellaris at different time intervals (6, 12, and 24 h) after exposure, via individually analyzed behavioral biomarkers (locomotor activity, behavioral change) as well as the effect of FP on different brain structures of bees (mushroom bodies, antennal cells, and optic cells), using sub-individual cell biomarkers (heterochromatin dispersion, total nuclear and heterochromatic volume). Forager bees were collected when they were returning to the nest and were exposed to three different concentrations of FP (0.40, 0.040, and 0.0040 ng a.i/bee) by topical application. The results revealed a reduction in the mean velocity, lethargy, motor difficulty, paralysis, and hyperexcitation in all groups of bees treated with FP. A modification of the heterochromatic dispersion pattern and changes in the total volume of the nucleus and heterochromatin were also observed in the mushroom bodies (6, 12, and 24 h of exposure) and antennal lobes (6 and 12 h) of bees exposed to 0.0040 ng a.i/bee (LD 50/100 ). FP is toxic to M. scutellaris and impairs the essential functions required for the foraging activity. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Landscape Analysis to Understand Orientation of Honey Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Drones in Puerto Rico.

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Galindo-Cardona, A; Monmany, A C; Diaz, G; Giray, T

2015-08-01

Honey bees [Apis mellifera L. (Apidae, Hymenoptera)] show spatial learning behavior or orientation, in which animals make use of structured home ranges for their daily activities. Worker (female) orientation has been studied more extensively than drone (male) orientation. Given the extensive and large flight range of drones as part of their reproductive biology, the study of drone orientation may provide new insight on landscape features important for orientation. We report the return rate and orientation of drones released at three distances (1, 2, and 4 km) and at the four cardinal points from an apiary located in Gurabo, Puerto Rico. We used high-resolution aerial photographs to describe landscape characteristics at the releasing sites and at the apiary. Analyses of variance were used to test significance among returning times from different distances and directions. A principal components analysis was used to describe the landscape at the releasing sites and generalized linear models were used to identify landscape characteristics that influenced the returning times of drones. Our results showed for the first time that drones are able to return from as far as 4 km from the colony. Distance to drone congregation area, orientation, and tree lines were the most important landscape characteristics influencing drone return rate. We discuss the role of landscape in drone orientation. © 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.

Efecto de la cantidad de cría de abeja Apis mellifera (Apidae sobre la eficacia del Oxavar® para el control del ácaro Varroa destructor (Varroidae Effect of Apis mellifera (Apidae honeybee brood amount on Oxavar® acaricide efficacy against the mite Varroa destructor (Varroidae

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Jorge Marcangeli

2004-12-01

Full Text Available El objetivo del presente trabajo fue evaluar la eficacia acaricida del Oxavar® en el control del ácaro ectoparásito Varroa destructor (Anderson & Trueman. El trabajo fue realizado en el apiario experimental del Centro de Extensión Apícola ubicado en Coronel Vidal, provincia de Buenos Aires. Se seleccionaron diez colmenas tipo Langstroth que fueron divididas en dos grupos: a cinco colmenas con tres cuadros cubiertos completamente de cría en desarrollo y b cinco colmenas con seis cuadros cubiertos por cría. Ambos grupos recibieron cinco ml of Oxavar® (Apilab, Argentina; 64,6 g/l de ácido oxálico en agua destilada por cuadro cubierto por abejas adultas en tres dosis a intervalos de siete días. Semanalmente, se colectaron los ácaros muertos de los pisos especiales provistos a las colmenas de estudio con el objeto de evitar su remoción por parte de las abejas. Una vez concluido el tratamiento, en cada colmena se introdujeron dos tiras plásticas de Apistan® (Roteh, Argentina para eliminar los ácaros remanentes y poder así calcular la eficacia acaricida del Oxavar®. Los resultados mostraron que la eficacia del Oxavar® en el primer grupo (85,6% ± 1,4 resultó significativamente superior a la registrada en el segundo grupo (75,7 ± 1,7. Estas diferencias fueron testeadas a partir del número total de ácaros eliminados por el Oxavar® y Apistan® en ambos grupos de colmenas (pThe aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of honeybee brood on acaricide efficacy of Oxavar® to control the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor (Anderson & Trueman. Work was done at Centro de Extensión Apícola experimental apiary located at Coronel Vidal, province of Buenos Aires. Ten Langstroth hives were selected and divided in two groups: a hives containing three honeybee combs full of brood and b hives containing six honeybee brood combs. Both groups received five ml of Oxavar® (Laboratorio Apilab, Argentina; 64.6 g/l oxalic acid in destilled water

Phylogeny and revision of the bee genus Rhinocorynura Schrottky (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Augochlorini, with comments on its female cephalic polymorphism

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Rodrigo B. Gonçalves

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Phylogeny and revision of the bee genus Rhinocorynura Schrottky (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Augochlorini, with comments on its female cephalic polymorphism. A taxonomic revision and a phylogeny for the species of Rhinocorynura are provided. Six species are recognized: R. briseis, R. crotonis, R. inflaticeps and R. vernoniae stat. nov., the latter removed from synonymy with R. inflaticeps, in addition to two newly described species, R. brunnea sp. nov. and R. viridis sp. nov. Lectotypes for Halictus crotonis Ducke, 1906 and Halictus inflaticeps Ducke, 1906 are hereby designated. Another available name included in Rhinocorynura, Corynuropsis ashmeadi Schrottky, 1909, is removed from the genus and treated as species inquerenda in Augochlorini. Rhinocorynura is monophyletic in the phylogenetic analysis and the following relationships were found among its species: (R. crotonis (R. briseis ((R. brunnea sp. nov. + R. viridis sp. nov. (R. inflaticeps + R. vernoniae. Biogeographic relationships within the genus and comparisons with related taxa are presented. Females of all species exhibit pronounced variation in body size, in two of them, R. inflaticeps and R. vernoniae, with structural modifications possibly linked to division of labor. Identification key and illustrations for the species are provided.Filogenia e revisão taxonômica das abelhas do gênero Rhinocorynura Schrottky (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Augochlorini, com comentários sobre o poliformismo cefálico das fêmeas. São apresentadas uma revisão taxonômica e filogenia para as espécies de Rhinocorynura. Seis espécies são reconhecidas, duas descritas como novas, R. brunnea sp. nov. e R. viridis sp. nov., e quatro com nomes disponíveis, R. briseis, R. crotonis, R. inflaticeps e R. vernoniae stat. nov., esta última removida da sinonímia com R. inflaticeps. Designam-se aqui lectótipos para Halictus crotonis Ducke, 1906 e Halictus inflaticeps Ducke, 1906. Outro nome disponível incluído em

Interactions between carpenter bees and orchid bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae in flowers of Bertholletia excelsa Bonpl. (Lecythidaceae Interações entre abelhas carpinteiras e abelhas das orquídeas (Hymenoptera: Apidae em flores de Bertholletia excelsa Bonpl. (Lecythidaceae

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Charles Fernando dos Santos

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Competition between two species of bees for the same type of floral resource may generate antagonistic behavior between them, especially in cultivated areas where food resources are limited, seasonally and locally. In this study, was tested the hypothesis of antagonism between two solitary bee species of the family Apidae, Eulaema mocsaryi (Euglossini and Xylocopa frontalis (Xylocopini, visiting the Brazil nut flowers (Bertholletia excelsa: Lecythidaceae in a central Amazonia agricultural area. The visitation time was analyzed to detect the possible temporal overlap in the foraging of these bees. Furthermore, was analyzed their interspecific interactions for manipulating flower species visited by an opponent species, as well as attempts to attack this opponent. The individuals of Xylocopa frontalis visited the Brazil nut flowers before Eulaema mocsaryi, although the peak visitation of both did not presented significant differences. Neither of the species manipulated flowers recently visited by opponent species, and there were practically no antagonistic interactions between them. Thus, X. frontalis and E. mocsaryi shared the same food source in the flowers of B. excelsa due to differences in their time of visits and non-aggressive way of interacting with the opponent. This result has important implications for pollinating the Brazil nut, and a possible management of X. frontalis and E. mocsaryi, since these two were the most abundant pollinators in the studied locality.A competição entre duas espécies de abelhas por um mesmo tipo de recurso floral pode gerar comportamentos antagônicos entre elas, principalmente, dentro de áreas cultivadas, onde o recurso alimentar é limitado sazonalmente e localmente. No presente trabalho, foi testada a hipótese de antagonismo entre duas espécies de abelhas solitárias da família Apidae, Eulaema mocsaryi (Euglossini e Xylocopa frontalis (Xylocopini em flores da castanheira do Brasil (Bertholletia

Are Dispersal Mechanisms Changing the Host-Parasite Relationship and Increasing the Virulence of Varroa destructor (Mesostigmata: Varroidae) in Managed Honey Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Colonies?

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DeGrandi-Hoffman, Gloria; Ahumada, Fabiana; Graham, Henry

2017-08-01

Varroa (Varroa destructor Anderson and Trueman) are a serious pest of European honey bees (Apis mellifera L.), and difficult to control in managed colonies. In our 11-mo longitudinal study, we applied multiple miticide treatments, yet mite numbers remained high and colony losses exceeded 55%. High mortality from varroa in managed apiaries is a departure from the effects of the mite in feral colonies where bees and varroa can coexist. Differences in mite survival strategies and dispersal mechanisms may be contributing factors. In feral colonies, mites can disperse through swarming. In managed apiaries, where swarming is reduced, mites disperse on foragers robbing or drifting from infested hives. Using a honey bee-varroa population model, we show that yearly swarming curtails varroa population growth, enabling colony survival for >5 yr. Without swarming, colonies collapsed by the third year. To disperse, varroa must attach to foragers that then enter other hives. We hypothesize that stress from parasitism and virus infection combined with effects that viruses have on cognitive function may contribute to forager drift and mite and virus dispersal. We also hypothesize that drifting foragers with mites can measurably increase mite populations. Simulations initialized with field data indicate that low levels of drifting foragers with mites can create sharp increases in mite populations in the fall and heavily infested colonies in the spring. We suggest new research directions to investigate factors leading to mite dispersal on foragers, and mite management strategies with consideration of varroa as a migratory pest. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America 2017. This work is written by US Government employees and is in the public domain in the US.

Sublethal Effects of the Neonicotinoid Insecticide Thiamethoxam on the Transcriptome of the Honey Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae).

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Shi, Teng-Fei; Wang, Yu-Fei; Liu, Fang; Qi, Lei; Yu, Lin-Sheng

2017-12-05

Neonicotinoid insecticides are now the most widely used insecticides in the world. Previous studies have indicated that sublethal doses of neonicotinoids impair learning, memory capacity, foraging, and immunocompetence in honey bees (Apis mellifera, Linnaeus) (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Despite these, few studies have been carried out on the molecular effects of neonicotinoids. In this study, we focus on the second-generation neonicotinoid thiamethoxam, which is currently widely used in agriculture to protect crops. Using high-throughput RNA-Seq, we investigated the transcriptome profile of honey bees after subchronic exposure to 10 ppb thiamethoxam over 10 d. In total, 609 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, of which 225 were upregulated and 384 were downregulated. Several genes, including vitellogenin, CSP3, defensin-1, Mrjp1, and Cyp6as5 were selected and further validated using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction assays. The functions of some DEGs were identified, and Gene Ontology-enrichment analysis showed that the enriched DEGs were mainly linked to metabolism, biosynthesis, and translation. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis showed that thiamethoxam affected biological processes including ribosomes, the oxidative phosphorylation pathway, tyrosine metabolism pathway, pentose and glucuronate interconversions, and drug metabolism. Overall, our results provide a basis for understanding the molecular mechanisms of the complex interactions between neonicotinoid insecticides and honey bees. © 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.

Larval development of Physocephala (Diptera, Conopidae in the bumble bee Bombus morio (Hymenoptera, Apidae

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Fábio C Abdalla

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Larval development of Physocephala (Diptera, Conopidae in the bumble bee Bombus morio (Hymenoptera, Apidae. In the summer of 2012, a high incidence of conopid larvae was observed in a sample of female B. morio collected in remaining fragments of semidecidual forest and Cerrado, in the municipality of Sorocaba, state of São Paulo, Brazil. The larval development of conopid flies was studied, beginning at the larval instars (LO to L3 and PUP, until the emergence of the imago under laboratory conditions and inside the host. At the first instar, or LO, the microtype larvae measured less than 1 mm in length. During the transition from L1 to L3, the larvae grew in length. At L3, the larvae doubled their length (4 mm and then started to develop both in length and width, reaching the PUP stage with 10 mm in length and 7 mm in width. The main characteristic that differentiates L3 from the early instars is the larger body size and the beginning of posterior spiracle development. The development from PUP to puparium took less than 24h. The bees died ten days after the fly oviposition, or just before full PUP development. The early development stages (egg-LO to L1 were critical for larva survival. The pupa was visible between the intersegmental sternites and, 32 days after pupation, a female imago of Physocephala sp. emerged from one bee. The puparium and the fly measured approximately 10 mm in length. In a single day of collection, up to 45% of the bumble bees collected were parasitized by conopid flies.

USBombus, a database of contemporary survey data for North American Bumble Bees (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Bombus) distributed in the United States.

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Koch, Jonathan B; Lozier, Jeffrey; Strange, James P; Ikerd, Harold; Griswold, Terry; Cordes, Nils; Solter, Leellen; Stewart, Isaac; Cameron, Sydney A

2015-01-01

Bumble bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae, Bombus) are pollinators of wild and economically important flowering plants. However, at least four bumble bee species have declined significantly in population abundance and geographic range relative to historic estimates, and one species is possibly extinct. While a wealth of historic data is now available for many of the North American species found to be in decline in online databases, systematic survey data of stable species is still not publically available. The availability of contemporary survey data is critically important for the future monitoring of wild bumble bee populations. Without such data, the ability to ascertain the conservation status of bumble bees in the United States will remain challenging. This paper describes USBombus, a large database that represents the outcomes of one of the largest standardized surveys of bumble bee pollinators (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Bombus) globally. The motivation to collect live bumble bees across the United States was to examine the decline and conservation status of Bombus affinis, B. occidentalis, B. pensylvanicus, and B. terricola. Prior to our national survey of bumble bees in the United States from 2007 to 2010, there have only been regional accounts of bumble bee abundance and richness. In addition to surveying declining bumble bees, we also collected and documented a diversity of co-occuring bumble bees. However we have not yet completely reported their distribution and diversity onto a public online platform. Now, for the first time, we report the geographic distribution of bumble bees reported to be in decline (Cameron et al. 2011), as well as bumble bees that appeared to be stable on a large geographic scale in the United States (not in decline). In this database we report a total of 17,930 adult occurrence records across 397 locations and 39 species of Bombus detected in our national survey. We summarize their abundance and distribution across the United States and

No Evidence of Habitat Loss Affecting the Orchid Bees Eulaema nigrita Lepeletier and Eufriesea auriceps Friese (Apidae: Euglossini) in the Brazilian Cerrado Savanna.

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Silva, D P; De Marco, P

2014-12-01

Habitat loss, landscape fragmentation, and agriculture intensification constitute the main threats to bees. As the organisms responsible for almost one third of the food produced worldwide, there are growing concerns on bees' response to human-related disturbances. Among all bee groups, orchid bees (Apidae: Euglossini) compose an interesting group to test landscape-related hypotheses. In here, we tested the effect of landscape features (amount of anthropic areas and isolation) on the probability of occurrence and the abundances of both Eulaema nigrita Lepeletier and Eufriesea auriceps Friese in the Cerrado savanna. In general, we did not observe any effect of landscape features on the probability of occurrence and abundances of both species in our sampling sites. Given their potential high dispersal abilities, these bee species may be less sensitive to fragmented landscapes or even positively affected by the increase of anthropic habitats. Since we sampled many E. nigrita specimens in highly preserved Cerrado savanna areas, we believe that at least for this biome, this species may not be a good indicator of landscape disturbance.

Número de alelos XO em uma população de Melipona quadrifasciata anthidioides Lepeletier (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponinae Number of XO alleles in a population of Melipona quadrifasciata anthidioides Lepeletier (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponinae

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Davi S. Aidar

2001-12-01

Full Text Available The number of xo alleles of a population of stingless bees can be estimated by observing the male proportion of the first brood comb produced by a new queen (about 40 Fl bees and the total number of colonies. A proportion of 50% diploid males indicates insemination of the queen by a single male with some xo sex allele: 25% diploid male would indicate insemination by two males (one with some xo as the queen and another with different one. Diploidy was confirmed by cytology of the testis. The original population (78 colonies of Ribeirão Preto, State S. Paulo, Brazil, had 8 xo sex alleles. From this population, 10 colonies were orphaned and taken to the Serra do Mar (Sea Mountains at Espirito Santo State (1200 km far in order that the virgin queen of each colony would cross with males of this region. Ten days after the nine hives (one was lost were brought back to Ribeirão Preto. No one of them produced diploid males. New samples took from all the Meliponary revealed that the number of xo sex alleles to have increased to 17,3. Than, this methodology can be used to increase the genetic variability of the stingless bees populations.

Estudo Comparativo das Sensilas Antenais de Operárias de Melipona scutellaris Latreille (Hymenoptera: Apidae de Diferentes Altitudes

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Marcília Aparecida Nascimento

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Sensilas são estruturas sensoriais presentes nas antenas dos insetos e são responsáveis pela higro- quimio-, termo- e mecanorrecepção. No presente trabalho, as sensilas presentes nos três flagelômeros (F mais distais de Melipona scutellaris Latreille (Hymenopera: Apidae coletadas em diferentes altitudes (200 e acima de 900m foram avaliadas qualitativamente e quantitativamente. A identificação, contagem e medição das sensilas foram feitas a partir de imagens da superfície dorsal das antenas que foram obtidas com o auxílio de microscópio eletrônico de varredura. Foram observadas as sensilas placoide, basicônica, celocônica, ampulácea, campaniforme e tricoide reta e curvada. Comparativamente, o grupo localizado a 200m de altitude possui sensilas tricoides retas em maior quantidade nos três flagelômeros, enquanto que o grupo de altitudes acima de 900m apresentou maior quantidade de sensilas tricoides curvadas no F9, sendo as mesmas maiores para o F10. Essas diferenças foram discutidas em função da localização geográfica dos diferentes grupos aqui estudados. Os resultados da investigação da estrutura antenal de M. scutellaris contribuem para um melhor entendimento da biologia dessa espécie.

Expression profile of a Laccase2 encoding gene during the metamorphic molt in Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera,Apidae

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Moysés Elias-Neto

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Expression profile of a Laccase2 encoding gene during the metamorphic molt in Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera, Apidae. Metamorphosis in holometabolous insects occurs through two subsequent molting cycles: pupation (metamorphic molt and adult differentiation (imaginal molt. The imaginal molt in Apis mellifera L. was recently investigated in both histological and physiological-molecular approaches. Although the metamorphic molt in this model bee is extremely important to development, it is not well-known yet. In the current study we used this stage as an ontogenetic scenario to investigate the transcriptional profile of the gene Amlac2, which encodes a laccase with an essential role in cuticle differentiation. Amlac2 expression in epidermis was contrasted with the hemolymph titer of ecdysteroid hormones and with the most evident morphological events occurring during cuticle renewal. RT-PCR semiquantitative analyses using integument samples revealed increased levels of Amlac2 transcripts right after apolysis and during the subsequent pharate period, and declining levels near pupal ecdysis. Compared with the expression of a cuticle protein gene, AmelCPR14, these results highlighted the importance of the ecdysteroid-induced apolysis as an ontogenetic marker of gene reactivation in epidermis for cuticle renewal. The obtained results strengthen the comprehension of metamorphosis in Apis mellifera. In addition, we reviewed the literature about the development of A. mellifera, and emphasize the importance of revising the terminology used to describe honey bee molting cycles.

Population Growth of Varroa destructor (Acari: Varroidae) in Colonies of Russian and Unselected Honey Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Stocks as Related to Numbers of Foragers With Mites.

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DeGrandi-Hoffman, Gloria; Ahumada, Fabiana; Danka, Robert; Chambers, Mona; DeJong, Emily Watkins; Hidalgo, Geoff

2017-06-01

Varroa (Varroa destructor Anderson and Trueman) is an external parasite of honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) and a leading cause of colony losses worldwide. Varroa populations can be controlled with miticides, but mite-resistant stocks such as the Russian honey bee (RHB) also are available. Russian honey bee and other mite-resistant stocks limit Varroa population growth by affecting factors that contribute to mite reproduction. However, mite population growth is not entirely due to reproduction. Numbers of foragers with mites (FWM) entering and leaving hives also affect the growth of mite populations. If FWM significantly contribute to Varroa population growth, mite numbers in RHB colonies might not differ from unselected lines (USL). Foragers with mites were monitored at the entrances of RHB and USL hives from August to November, 2015, at two apiary sites. At site 1, RHB colonies had fewer FWM than USL and smaller phoretic mite populations. Russian honey bee also had fewer infested brood cells and lower percentages with Varroa offspring than USL. At site 2, FWM did not differ between RHB and USL, and phoretic mite populations were not significantly different. At both sites, there were sharp increases in phoretic mite populations from September to November that corresponded with increasing numbers of FWM. Under conditions where FWM populations are similar between RHB and USL, attributes that contribute to mite resistance in RHB may not keep Varroa population levels below that of USL. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America 2017. This work is written by US Government employees and is in the public domain in the US.

The exposure of honey bees (Apis mellifera; Hymenoptera: Apidae) to pesticides: Room for improvement in research.

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Benuszak, Johanna; Laurent, Marion; Chauzat, Marie-Pierre

2017-06-01

Losses of honey bees have been repeatedly reported from many places worldwide. The widespread use of synthetic pesticides has led to concerns regarding their environmental fate and their effects on pollinators. Based on a standardised review, we report the use of a wide variety of honey bee matrices and sampling methods in the scientific papers studying pesticide exposure. Matrices such as beeswax and beebread were very little analysed despite their capacities for long-term pesticide storage. Moreover, bioavailability and transfer between in-hive matrices were poorly understood and explored. Many pesticides were studied but interactions between molecules or with other stressors were lacking. Sampling methods, targeted matrices and units of measure should have been, to some extent, standardised between publications to ease comparison and cross checking. Data on honey bee exposure to pesticides would have also benefit from the use of commercial formulations in experiments instead of active ingredients, with a special assessment of co-formulants (quantitative exposure and effects). Finally, the air matrix within the colony must be explored in order to complete current knowledge on honey bee pesticide exposure. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

New Records of Bee Genera (Hymenoptera: Apoidea from Colombia

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Víctor H. González

2006-07-01

Full Text Available The solitary bee genera Lophothygater Moure y Michener (Apidae, Eucerini and Tapinotaspoides Moure (Apidae, Tapinotaspidini are reported from northern Colombia for the first time. These genera were previously known from the central Brazilian Amazonian and Argentina and Paraguay, respectively.

Variation in honey yield per hive of Africanized bees depending on the introducing time of young queens

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Vladson Carbonari

2016-05-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT: The objective of this research was to evaluate the honey production per hive and the egg laying rates of queens produced in 2007, 2008 and 2010. Thirty colonies initiated with a queen per colony at each climatic season were used during the three years. The years, started on January (summer, April (autumn, July (winter and October (spring and ended 12 months later, at the same periods related to each season of the later years. Honey supply were weighed before and after centrifugation to evaluate the quantity of the stored honey. Colonies with queens introduced during autumn and winter in the three years produced 57.2±6.0kg and 60.7±7.5kg of honey, respectively. In the first year of production activity, after the introduction of queens in the initial colonies, values were significantly higher than those obtained in colonies with queens introduced in the summer (39.3±7.6kg and spring (41.8±3.7kg. Egg laying rates of queens were higher in spring (98.2±3.9% and summer (88.4±7%, indicating greater food flow (flowerings in these seasons compared to the averages in autumn (30.3±8.1% and winter (24.5±7.2%. Produce and introduce queens of Africanized Apis mellifera in colonies initiated during autumn and winter was found to be economically feasible. Honey production of colonies initiated in these periods were higher and they had greater population stability in times of scarcity of flowerings.

Brood pheromone effects on colony protein supplement consumption and growth in the honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in a subtropical winter climate.

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Pankiw, Tanya; Sagili, Ramesh R; Metz, Bradley N

2008-12-01

Fatty acid esters extractable from the surface of honey bee, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), larvae, called brood pheromone, significantly increase rate of colony growth in the spring and summer when flowering plant pollen is available in the foraging environment. Increased colony growth rate occurs as a consequence of increased pollen intake through mechanisms such as increasing number of pollen foragers and pollen load weights returned. Here, we tested the hypothesis that addition of brood pheromone during the winter pollen dearth period of a humid subtropical climate increases rate of colony growth in colonies provisioned with a protein supplement. Experiments were conducted in late winter (9 February-9 March 2004) and mid-winter (19 January-8 February 2005). In both years, increased brood area, number of bees, and amount of protein supplement consumption were significantly greater in colonies receiving daily treatments of brood pheromone versus control colonies. Amount of extractable protein from hypopharyngeal glands measured in 2005 was significantly greater in bees from pheromone-treated colonies. These results suggest that brood pheromone may be used as a tool to stimulate colony growth in the southern subtropical areas of the United States where the package bee industry is centered and a large proportion of migratory colonies are overwintered.

Effects of neonicotinoid imidacloprid exposure on bumble bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) queen survival and nest initiation.

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Wu-Smart, Judy; Spivak, Marla

2018-02-08

Neonicotinoids are highly toxic to insects and may systemically translocate to nectar and pollen of plants where foraging bees may become exposed. Exposure to neonicotinoids can induce detrimental sublethal effects on individual and colonies of bees and may have long-term impacts, such as impaired foraging, reduced longevity, and reduced brood care or production. Less well-studied are the potential effects on queen bumble bees that may become exposed while foraging in the spring during colony initiation. This study assessed queen survival and nest founding in caged bumble bees [Bombus impatiens (Cresson) (Hymenoptera: Apidae)] after chronic (18-d) dietary exposure of imidacloprid in syrup (1, 5, 10, and 25 ppb) and pollen (0.3, 1.7, 3.3, and 8.3 ppb), paired respectively. Here we show some mortality in queens exposed at all doses even as low as 1 ppb, and, compared with untreated queens, significantly reduced survival of treated queens at the two highest doses. Queens that survived initial imidacloprid exposure commenced nest initiation; however, they exhibited dose-dependent delay in egg-laying and emergence of worker brood. Furthermore, imidacloprid treatment affected other parameters such as nest and queen weight. This study is the first to show direct impacts of imidacloprid at field-relevant levels on individual B. impatiens queen survival and nest founding, indicating that bumble bee queens are particularly sensitive to neonicotinoids when directly exposed. This study also helps focus pesticide risk mitigation efforts and highlights the importance of reducing exposure rates in the early spring when bumble bee queens, and other wild bees are foraging and initiating nests. © 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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INHIBITION OF PATHOGENS BY SPOROGENIC BACTERIA ISOLATED FROM HONEY OF Melipona sp. (APIDAE: APINAE: MELIPONINI

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KELY DAMIANA NOVAES DA SILVA

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to isolate sporogenic bacteria from the honey of stingless bees Melipona sp., in dry forest, and to evaluate their antagonistic potential for medicinal employment purposes and animal production. The honey samples were collected in Serra Talhada - PE, where honey was taken from four different hives (in triplicate, totaling 12 samples. The samples were diluted and subjected to 80 ºC for 20 minutes to eliminate vegetative cells. The dilutions were plated onto nutrient agar and incubated at 30 ºC for 72 hours. Then the colony forming units (CFU were quantified. The samples were also plated onto malt agar and Sabouraud agar, and incubated at 30 ºC for 14 days for the growth of yeast and molds. Total and fecal coliforms were quantified by the most probable number method (MPN. Seven isolates (I of sporogenic bacteria ( Bacillus were obtained, however only four showed probiotic potential. Isolate I - 5 showed the greatest probiotic potential and inhibited the growth of Escherichia coli , Klebsiella sp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella sp., and Staphylococcus aureus . The growth of the Sarcina sp. was not inhibited by any isolate. No yeast, molds or coliforms were found. The Melipona sp. honey is a source of spore - forming bacteria and is antagonistic to microorganisms that contaminate honey. It has good microbiological quality.

Euglossine bee communities in small forest fragments of the Atlantic Forest, Rio de Janeiro state, southeastern Brazil (Hymenoptera, Apidae Comunidade de abelhas Euglossina em pequenos fragmentos de Mata Atlântica no estado do Rio de Janeiro, sudeste do Brasil (Hymenoptera, Apidae

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Willian Moura de Aguiar

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Euglossine bee communities in small forest fragments of the Atlantic Forest, Rio de Janeiro state, southeastern Brazil (Hymenoptera, Apidae. Euglossine bees are important pollinators in forests and agricultural areas. Although the structure of their communities is critically affected by anthropogenic disturbances, little is known about these bees in small forest fragments. The objectives of this study were to analyze the composition, abundance, and diversity of euglossine bee species in nine small fragments of different phytophysiognomies of the Atlantic Forest in southeastern Brazil, and to identify the environmental variables that may be related to the species composition of these communities. Males were sampled quarterly from May 2007 to May 2009 with aromatic traps containing methyl cinnamate, vanillin, eucalyptol, benzyl acetate, and methyl salicylate. A total of 1558 males, belonging to 10 species and three genera of Euglossina were collected. The richness ranged from five to seven species per fragment. Euglossa cordata, E. securigera, Eulaema nigrita e E. cingulata were common to all fragments studied. The diversity differed significantly among areas, ranging from H' = 1.04 to H' = 1.65. The precipitation, phytophysiognomy, and altitude had the highest relative importance over the species composition variation. The results presented in this study demonstrate that small forest fragments are able to support populations of euglossine bee species, most of which are widely distributed and reportedly tolerant to open and/or disturbed areas and suggest that the conservation of such areas is important, particularly in areas that are regenerating and in regions with agricultural matrices where these bees can act as important pollinatorsComunidade de abelhas Euglossina em pequenos fragmentos de Mata Atlântica no estado do Rio de Janeiro, sudeste do Brasil (Hymenoptera, Apidae. Abelhas Euglossina são importantes polinizadores nas florestas e em �

Odor Learning and Its Experience-Dependent Modulation in the South American Native Bumblebee Bombus atratus (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

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Palottini, Florencia; Estravis Barcala, María C.; Farina, Walter M.

2018-01-01

Learning about olfactory stimuli is essential in bumblebees’ life since it is involved in orientation, recognition of nest sites, foraging efficiency and food yield for the colony as a whole. To evaluate associative learning abilities in bees under controlled environmental conditions, the proboscis extension response (PER) assay is a well-established method used in honey bees, stingless bees and successfully adapted to bumblebees of the genus Bombus. However, studies on the learning capacity of Bombus atratus (Hymenoptera: Apidae), one of the most abundant native species in South America, are non-existent. In this study, we examined the cognitive abilities of worker bees of this species, carrying out an olfactory PER conditioning experiment. Bumblebees were able to learn a pure odor when it was presented in paired association with sugared reward, but not when odor and reward were presented in an unpaired manner. Furthermore, if the bees were preexposed to the conditioned odor, the results differed depending on the presence of the scent either as a volatile in the rearing environment or diluted in the food. A decrement in learning performance results from the non-reinforced pre-exposure to the to-be-conditioned odor, showing a latent inhibition phenomenon. However, if the conditioned odor has been previously offered diluted in sugared reward, the food odor acts as a stimulus that improves the learning performance during PER conditioning. The native bumblebee B. atratus is thus a new hymenopteran species capable of being trained under controlled experimental conditions. Since it is an insect increasingly reared for pollination service, this knowledge could be useful in its management in crops. PMID:29755391

Foraging pattern and harvesting of resources of subterranean stingless bee Geotrigona subterranea (Friese, 1901 (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini

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Fernando Mendes Barbosa

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Flight activity of bees is influenced both by environmental factors and by internal condition of the colonies. Information about external activity of bees is very important, because it provides data of the species biology, supplying subsidies for the use of these insects in the pollination of crops. The present work aim to evaluate the flight activity of Geotrigona subterranea (Friese, 1901 (Hymenoptera: Apidae in natural environment. This study was performed on the Instituto Federal do Norte de Minas Gerais, in the municipality Januária, Minas Gerais State. Two natural nests were observed. The activities of bees of the colonies were recorded three days each month, during the period of December 2011 to November 2012, totaling 924 observations. It was recorded the number of bees leaving and entering the nest, and the type of material transported by them for ten minutes each hour from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. The bees entered the colony carrying pollen, resin, detritus and also without apparent material. The bees began external activities by 6 a.m. at 20°C and finished at 6 p.m. at 28.8°C. The peak of activity of G. subterranea occurs on schedule from 1 to 2 p.m. Even though G. subterranea makes their nests in underground, their foraging activities are very similar to others stingless bee species that usually nest on tree cavities or aerial places. This indicate that despite their particular nesting way the external factors as climatic ones will significantly modulate their foraging pattern in a daily and seasonal way.

Rarely reported, widely distributed, and unexpectedly diverse: molecular characterization of mermithid nematodes (Nematoda: Mermithidae) infecting bumble bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Bombus) in the USA.

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Tripodi, Amber D; Strange, James P

2018-03-16

Mermithid nematodes (Nematoda: Mermithida: Mermithidae) parasitize a wide range of both terrestrial and aquatic invertebrate hosts, yet are recorded in bumble bees (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Apidae: Bombus) only six times historically. Little is known about the specific identity of these parasites. In a single-season nationwide survey of internal parasites of 3646 bumble bees, we encountered six additional instances of mermithid parasitism in four bumble bee species and genetically characterized them using two regions of 18S to identify the specific host-parasite relationships. Three samples from the northeastern USA are morphologically and genetically identified as Mermis nigrescens, whereas three specimens collected from a single agricultural locality in the southeast USA fell into a clade with currently undescribed species. Nucleotide sequences of the V2-V6 region of 18S from the southeastern specimens were 2.6-3.0% divergent from one another, and 2.2-4.0% dissimilar to the nearest matches to available data. The dearth of available data prohibits positive identification of this parasite and its affinity for specific bumble bee hosts. By doubling the records of mermithid parasitism of bumble bee hosts and providing genetic data, this work will inform future investigations of this rare phenomenon.

Registro de Nephridiophaga sp. (Protista: Nephridiophagidae en Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae del Sur de la región Pampeana Record of Nephridiophaga sp. (Protista: Nephridiophagidae in Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae of the southern Pampas

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Santiago Plischuk

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Durante estudios prospectivos tendientes a la detección de protistas asociados a ápidos en la región Pampeana, se observó la presencia de esporos ovales bicóncavos y grupos de esporos (cúmulos en los túbulos de Malpighi de abejas de Dufaur, partido de Saavedra, sudoeste de la provincia de Buenos Aires. Los esporos maduros midieron 4,8 ± 0,05 x 2,4 ± 0,03 μm y la carga (intensidad promedió 5,71 ± 1,49 x 10(6 esporos/abeja. Las detecciones se efectuaron entre julio y octubre de 2006 y la prevalencia en las colmenas positivas osciló entre 1 y 16,7 %. Las características morfológicas de los esporos, el lugar de desarrollo y la especie huésped involucrada sugieren que el microorganismo en cuestión, pertenece al género Nephridiophaga y sería N. apis Ivani, especie tipo cuyo conocimiento es extremadamente limitado. El hallazgo constituye el primer registro de un nefridiofágido asociado a A mellifera fuera del continente europeo.During surveys for the detection of protists associated to Apidae in the Pampas region, biconcave oval spores, and spore clumps were observed in the Malpighian tubules of honeybees from Dufaur, Saavedra county, southwestern Buenos Aires province. Mature spores measured 4.8 ± 0.05 x 2.4 ± 0.03 μm, and mean spore load was 5.71 ± 1.49 x 10(6 per honeybee. Detections were from July to October 2006, and prevalence in positive colonies ranged from 1 to 16.7%. Morphology of the spores, the site of development, and the identity of the host species suggest that the isolated microorganism belongs to the genus Nephridiophaga and would be N apis Ivani, the type species, knowledge on which is extremely limited. The finding constitutes the first record of a nephridiophagid in honeybees outside of Europe.

Ocorrência do pólen de Podocarpus sp. (Podocarpaceae nas coletas de Frieseomelitta varia Lepeletier 1836 (Apidae: Meliponinae em uma área de Manaus, AM, Brasil Occurrence of Podocarpus sp. (Podocarpaceae pollen on Frieseomelitta varia Lepeletier 1836 (Apidae: Meliponinae in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil

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Antonio Carlos Marques-Souza

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Durante o período de doze meses, o pólen transportado por Frieseomelitta varia Lepeletier 1836 foi coletado das corbículas das operárias, logo após o fechamento da entrada das colméias. Feita a identificação polínica dos grãos de pólen e sua frequência mensal nas amostras, constatou-se que as espécies das famílias mais visitadas pela ordem de coleta, foram: Cecropiaceae, Sapotaceae, Myrtaceae e Moraceae. As operárias coletaram o pólen de 79 espécies de plantas distribuídas em 60 gêneros e 37 famílias, sendo as mais frequentes: Cecropia sp. visitada o ano todo com atratividade em janeiro de 82,03%, Morus sp. com atratividade de 37,46% em dezembro; Myrcia amazonica DC. com atratividade em abril de 32,34% e Pouteria macrophylla (A.DC. Eyma em junho com atratividade de 36,54%. Quanto a Podocarpus sp. esse é o primeiro relato da presença do pólen dessa espécie em coletas de meliponíneos, o que não deixa de ser um fato curioso, uma vez que se trata de uma gimnosperma encontrada em áreas específicas da região amazônica e que apresentou atratividade para Frieseomelitta varia Lepeletier 1836 de 4,94% no mês de março.Over a 12 month period, pollen was sampled from the corbiculae of workers of the stingless bee Frieseomelitta varia Lepeletier 1836. Collections were obtained immediately after sealing the hives, located in a forest fragment in the city of Manaus. Pollen was identified and monthly frequency of each type was tallied. The most-visited plant families in decreasing order of frequency were Cecropiaceae, Sapotaceae, Myrtaceae and Moraceae. Identified pollen was harvested from 79 plant species in 60 genera and 37 families. The most frequent species were: Cecropia sp., visited year-round but with highest attractiveness (82% in January; Morus sp., with peak attractiveness (37% in December; Myrcia amazonica DC. with 32% peak attractiveness in April; and Pouteria macrophylla (A.DC. Eyma, with 37% peak attractiveness in

Euglossine bee communities in small forest fragments of the Atlantic Forest, Rio de Janeiro state, southeastern Brazil (Hymenoptera, Apidae

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Willian Moura de Aguiar

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Euglossine bee communities in small forest fragments of the Atlantic Forest, Rio de Janeiro state, southeastern Brazil (Hymenoptera, Apidae. Euglossine bees are important pollinators in forests and agricultural areas. Although the structure of their communities is critically affected by anthropogenic disturbances, little is known about these bees in small forest fragments. The objectives of this study were to analyze the composition, abundance, and diversity of euglossine bee species in nine small fragments of different phytophysiognomies of the Atlantic Forest in southeastern Brazil, and to identify the environmental variables that may be related to the species composition of these communities. Males were sampled quarterly from May 2007 to May 2009 with aromatic traps containing methyl cinnamate, vanillin, eucalyptol, benzyl acetate, and methyl salicylate. A total of 1558 males, belonging to 10 species and three genera of Euglossina were collected. The richness ranged from five to seven species per fragment. Euglossa cordata, E. securigera, Eulaema nigrita e E. cingulata were common to all fragments studied. The diversity differed significantly among areas, ranging from H' = 1.04 to H' = 1.65. The precipitation, phytophysiognomy, and altitude had the highest relative importance over the species composition variation. The results presented in this study demonstrate that small forest fragments are able to support populations of euglossine bee species, most of which are widely distributed and reportedly tolerant to open and/or disturbed areas and suggest that the conservation of such areas is important, particularly in areas that are regenerating and in regions with agricultural matrices where these bees can act as important pollinators

Tracking Climate Effects on Plant-Pollinator Interaction Phenology with Satellites and Honey Bee Hives

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Esaias, Wayne E.; Nickeson, Jaime E.; Tan, Bin; Ma, Peter L.; Nightingale, Joanne M.; Wolfe, Robert E.

2011-01-01

Background/Question/Methods: The complexity of plant-pollinator interactions, the large number of species involved, and the lack of species response functions present challenges to understanding how these critical interactions may be impacted by climate and land cover change on large scales. Given the importance of this interaction for terrestrial ecosystems, it is desirable to develop new approaches. We monitor the daily weight change of honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies to record the phenology of the Honey Bee Nectar Flow (HBNF) in a volunteer network (honeybeenet.gsfc.nasa.gov). The records document the successful interaction of a generalist pollinator with a variety of plant resources. We extract useful HBNF phenology metrics for three seasons. Sites currently exist in 35 states/provinces in North America, with a concentration in the Mid-Atlantic region. HBNF metrics are compared to standard phenology metrics derived from remotely sensed vegetation indices from NASA's MODIS sensor and published results from NOAA's A VHRR. At any given time the percentage of plants producing nectar is usually a sma11 fraction of the total satellite sensor signal. We are interested in determining how well the 'bulk' satellite vegetation parameters relate to the phenology of the HBNF, and how it varies spatially on landscape to continental scales. Results/Conclusions: We found the median and peak seasonal HBNF dates to be robust, with variation between replicate scale hives of only a few days. We developed quality assessment protocols to identify abnormal colony artifacts. Temporally, the peak and median of the HBNF in the Mid-Atlantic show a significant advance of 0.58 d/y beginning about 1970, very similar to that observed by the A VHRR since 1982 (0.57 d/y). Spatially, the HBNF metrics are highly correlated with elevation and winter minimum temperature distribution, and exhibit significant but regionally coherent inter-annual variation. The relationship between median of the

Espectro polínico de amostras de mel de Melipona mandacaia Smith, 1863 (Hymenoptera: Apidae = Pollen spectrum from honey samples of Melipona mandacaia Smith, 1863 stingless bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae

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Rogério Marcos de Oliveira Alves

2006-01-01

Full Text Available O espectro polínico de amostras de mel da abelha Melipona mandacaia foi analisado com objetivo de elucidar os recursos alimentares utilizados por essa espécie. A identificação das plantas visitadas foi realizada com base na análise dos tipos polínicos encontrados nas amostras de mel coletadas em 11 colônias localizadas no município de São Gabriel, em área de caatinga do Estado da Bahia, Brasil (11º14’S e 41º52’W. As análises quantitativas e qualitativas foram realizadas com o objetivo de determinar as porcentagens e classes de freqüência dos tipos polínicos presentes nas amostras de mel. Foram encontrados 26 tipos polínicos, sendo o tipo Piptadenia rigida (Mimosaceae considerado dominante. Ricinus communis (Euphorbiaceae, Mimosa verrucata (Mimosaceae e M. arenosa (Mimosaceae foram considerados pólen isolado importante. As famílias mais representativas no espectro polínico das amostras de mel foram Mimosaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Asteraceae e Anacardiaceae.The pollen spectrum from honey samples of Melipona mandacaia stingless bee was analyzed aiming at elucidating the alimentaryresources used by that species. The identification of the visited plants was based on the analysis of pollen from honey samples collected in 11 hives located in São Gabriel county, in the semiarid area of Bahia State, Brazil (11º14’S and 41º52’W. The quantitative and qualitative analyses of honey samples were conducted in order to determine the pollen types percentages and frequency classes. Twenty-six pollen types were found, being the Piptadenia rigida type (Mimosaceae considered dominant. Ricinus communis (Euphorbiaceae, Mimosa verrucata (Mimosaceae and M. arenosa (Mimosaceae were considered important isolated pollen. The most representative families found in the pollen spectrum of the honey samples were Mimosaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Asteraceae and Anacardiaceae.

Meliponini neotropicais: o gênero Ptilotrigona Moure (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Apinae

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João M. F. Camargo

2004-01-01

Full Text Available O gênero neotropical de abelhas sem ferrão, Ptilotrigona Moure, 1951, é revisado. Três espécies são reconhecidas: Ptilotrigona occidentalis (Schulz, 1904, endêmica do NW da América do Sul - do NW do Equador até o sul de Darién -, e com uma população isolada na Península de Osa - Costa Rica; P. pereneae (Schwarz, 1943, endêmica do oeste da Amazônia, e P. lurida (Smith, 1854, amplamente distribuída na Amazônia. Ptilotrigona lurida e P. pereneae são as únicas abelhas sem ferrão que estocam pólen em associação com leveduras (Candida sp. e produzem pouco ou nenhum mel. Ninhos são descritos e ilustrados. Holótipos de Trigona suffragata Cockerell, 1922 (sin. de P. occidentalis e Trigona manni Cockerell, 1912, e exemplares de Trigona heideri Friese, 1900 (sins. de P. lurida, identificados por Friese, e um parátipo de Trigona (Tetragona heideri pereneae Schwarz, 1943, são estudados. Novo sinônimo: Ptilotrigona lurida (Smith, 1854 = Trigona mocsaryi lutea Friese, 1903 syn. nov. Na análise cladística, espécies de Camargoia Moure, 1989, e Tetragona Lepeletier & Serville, 1828, foram incluídas como grupos externos; a hipótese apresentada é a seguinte: ((((Ptilotrigona lurida, P. pereneae P. occidentalis((Camargoia nordestina, C. pilicornis C. camargoi Tetragona goettei. Uma chave de identificação para as espécies e outros aspectos bionômicos também são apresentados.Neotropical Meliponini: the genus Ptilotrigona Moure, (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Apinae. The Neotropical stingless bees genus Ptilotrigona Moure, 1951 is revised. Three species are recognized: Ptilotrigona occidentalis (Schulz, 1904, endemic to NW South America - from NW Ecuador to southern Darién -, and with one isolated population in Osa Peninsula - Costa Rica; P. pereneae (Schwarz, 1943, endemic to the western Amazon; and P. lurida (Smith, 1854, largely distributed in the Amazon region. Ptilotrigona lurida and P. pereneae are the only known stingless bees

Fruit Set and Single Visit Stigma Pollen Deposition by Managed Bumble Bees and Wild Bees in Citrullus lanatus (Cucurbitales: Cucurbitaceae).

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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.

Stingless bees further improve apple pollination and production

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Blandina Felipe Viana

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The use of Africanised honeybee (Apis mellifera scutellata Lepeletier hives to increase pollination success in apple orchards is a widespread practice. However, this study is the first to investigate the number of honeybee hives ha-1 required to increase the production of fruits and seeds as well as the potential contribution of the stingless bee Mandaçaia (Melipona quadrifasciata anthidioides Lepeletier. We performed tests in a 43-ha apple orchard located in the municipality of Ibicoara (13º24’50.7’’S and 41º17’7.4’’W in Chapada Diamantina, State of Bahia, Brazil. In 2011, fruits from the Eva variety set six seeds on average, and neither a greater number of hives (from 7 to 11 hives ha-1 nor a greater number of pollen collectors at the honeybee hives displayed general effects on the seed number. Without wild pollinators, seven Africanised honeybee hives ha-1 with pollen collectors is currently the best option for apple producers because no further increase in the seed number was observed with higher hive densities. In 2012, supplementation with both stingless bees (12 hives ha-1 and Africanised honeybees (7 hives ha-1 provided higher seed and fruit production than supplementation with honeybees (7 hives ha-1 alone. Therefore, the stingless bee can improve the performance of honeybee as a pollinator of apple flowers, since the presence of both of these bees results in increases in apple fruit and seed number.

Aging and demographic plasticity in response to experimental age structures in honeybees (Apis mellifera L).

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Rueppell, Olav; Linford, Robyn; Gardner, Preston; Coleman, Jennifer; Fine, Kari

2008-08-01

Honeybee colonies are highly integrated functional units characterized by a pronounced division of labor. Division of labor among workers is mainly age-based, with younger individuals focusing on in-hive tasks and older workers performing the more hazardous foraging activities. Thus, experimental disruption of the age composition of the worker hive population is expected to have profound consequences for colony function. Adaptive demography theory predicts that the natural hive age composition represents a colony-level adaptation and thus results in optimal hive performance. Alternatively, the hive age composition may be an epiphenomenon, resulting from individual life history optimization. We addressed these predictions by comparing individual worker longevity and brood production in hives that were composed of a single age cohort, two distinct age cohorts, and hives that had a continuous, natural age distribution. Four experimental replicates showed that colonies with a natural age composition did not consistently have a higher life expectancy and/or brood production than the single cohort or double cohort hives. Instead, a complex interplay of age structure, environmental conditions, colony size, brood production, and individual mortality emerged. A general trade-off between worker life expectancy and colony productivity was apparent, and the transition from in-hive tasks to foraging was the most significant predictor of worker lifespan irrespective of the colony age structure. We conclude that the natural age structure of honeybee hives is not a colony-level adaptation. Furthermore, our results show that honeybees exhibit pronounced demographic plasticity in addition to behavioral plasticity to react to demographic disturbances of their societies.

Effects of brood pheromone (SuperBoost) on consumption of protein supplement and growth of honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) colonies during fall in a northern temperate climate.

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Sagili, Ramesh R; Breece, Carolyn R

2012-08-01

Honey bee, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), nutrition is vital for colony growth and maintenance of a robust immune system. Brood rearing in honey bee colonies is highly dependent on protein availability. Beekeepers in general provide protein supplement to colonies during periods of pollen dearth. Honey bee brood pheromone is a blend of methyl and ethyl fatty acid esters extractable from cuticle of honey bee larvae that communicates the presence of larvae in a colony. Honey bee brood pheromone has been shown to increase protein supplement consumption and growth of honey bee colonies in a subtropical winter climate. Here, we tested the hypothesis that synthetic brood pheromone (SuperBoost) has the potential to increase protein supplement consumption during fall in a temperate climate and thus increase colony growth. The experiments were conducted in two locations in Oregon during September and October 2009. In both the experiments, colonies receiving brood pheromone treatment consumed significantly higher protein supplement and had greater brood area and adult bees than controls. Results from this study suggest that synthetic brood pheromone may be used to stimulate honey bee colony growth by stimulating protein supplement consumption during fall in a northern temperate climate, when majority of the beekeepers feed protein supplement to their colonies.

The Effects of the Insect Growth Regulators Methoxyfenozide and Pyriproxyfen and the Acaricide Bifenazate on Honey Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Forager Survival.

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Fisher, Adrian; Colman, Chet; Hoffmann, Clint; Fritz, Brad; Rangel, Juliana

2018-04-02

The honey bee (Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae)) contributes an essential role in the U.S. economy by pollinating major agricultural crops including almond, which depends entirely on honey bee pollination for successful nut set. Almond orchards are often treated with pesticides to control a variety of pests and pathogens, particularly during bloom. While the effects to honey bee health of some insecticides, particularly neonicotinoids, have received attention recently, the impact of other types of insecticides on honey bee health is less clear. In this study, we examined the effects to honey bee forager survival of three non-neonicotinoid pesticides widely used during the 2014 California almond bloom. We collected foragers from a local apiary and exposed them to three pesticides at the label dose, or at doses ranging from 0.5 to 3 times the label dose rate. The selected pesticides included the insect growth regulators methoxyfenozide and pyriproxyfen, and the acaricide bifenazate. We simulated field exposure of honey bees to these pesticides during aerial application in almond orchards by using a wind tunnel and atomizer set up with a wind speed of 2.9 m/s. Experimental groups consisting of 30-40 foragers each were exposed to either untreated controls or pesticide-laden treatments and were monitored every 24 hr over a 10-d period. Our results revealed a significant negative effect of all pesticides tested on forager survival. Therefore, we suggest increased caution in the application of these pesticides in almond orchards or any agricultural crop during bloom to avoid colony health problems.

Hives (Urticaria)

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... Triggers Allergens and Allergic Asthma Tobacco Smoke Air Pollution Indoor Air Quality Respiratory Infections Pneumococcal Disease Flu (Influenza) Exercise Weather Asthma Symptoms Asthma Diagnosis ...

Caractéristiques socio-économiques et techniques de l'apiculture dans les hautes terres de l'ouest du Cameroun

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Tchoumboue, J.

2001-01-01

Full Text Available Socio-economic and Technical Characteristics of Beekeeping in the Western Highlands of Cameroon. Between April 1998 and August 2000, a survey was carried out to assess socio-economic and technical characteristics of beekeeping in the Western Highlands Cameroon (LN 3-5° ; LE 8-20°. A total of 39 beekeepers were investigated through both interviews and a structure questionnaire. The main results were as followed : - Beekeepers are still essentially male (97.0 % aged 18 to 58 with an average of 38 years old. All of them are educated. Many beekeepers (52.0 % have received training with at least 5 years experience in beekeeping. The purpose of the activity is to improve household income. - The average number of hives per beekeeper is 42 varying from 2 to 300. Improved hives are used by 43.3 % of the beekeepers, but traditional types of hive are still more frequently used. - Colonisation of hives is based only on capturing of natural swam between September and March, the most favourable period of the year for this region, using different types ofbait, wax being the most frequently used. Hive colonisation rate is relatively low (64.4 %, being higher for traditional hives compared to improved ones (78.5 and 43.3 % respectively. - Honey, the major hive product exploited is harvested once a year (from March to July with an average of 6 to 10 liters of honey per colony and per year. The gain is estimated to 10 500 - 10 750 and 18 750 - 19 000 FCFA per hive and per year respectively for traditional and improved hives. The major constraints to beekeeping in the surveilled area are lack of training, bee's enemies and diseases. However, the majority of beekeepers would like to continue the activity and wish to improve their technicity, increase the number of hives and become professionals.

Fluctuating asymmetry in Apis mellifera(Hymenoptera: Apidae as bioindicator of anthropogenic environments

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Lorena Andrade Nunes

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The successful distribution of A. melliferais due to their ability to adjust to seasonal variations, considerable control over their internal physical environment and exploration of different resources. However, their populations have experienced different forms and levels of environmental pressure. This research aimed to verify the phenotypic plasticity in both size and shape of wings in A. melliferausing fluctuating asymmetry, based on geometric morphometrics from apiaries located in sites with high and low levels of anthropization. We sampled 16 locations throughout all five geographic regions of Brazil. At each site, samples were collected from 20 beehives installed in apiaries: 10 installed near high anthropogenic environments (Cassilàndia - MS, Fortaleza - CE, Maringá - PR, Aquidauana - MS, Rolim de Moura - RO, Riachuelo - SE, Ubirata - PR and Piracicaba - SP, and 10 in sites with low levels of human disturbance (Cassilàndia - MS, Itapiúna CE, Uniao da Vitoria - PR, Aquidauana - MS, Rolim de Moura - RO, Pacatuba - SE, Erval Seco - RS, Rio Claro - SP. A sample of 10 individuals was taken in each hive, totaling 200 per location, for a total of 1 600 individuals. We used fluctuating asymmetry (FA in size and shape of the forewing through geometric morphometrics. The FA analysis was conducted in order to check bilateral differences. The indexes of size and shape were submitted to analysis of variance (ANOVA, where the characters evaluated were used as factors to verify the size and shape differences. The results indicated an asymmetry on the shape of the wing (P < 0.001 but no asymmetry was observed on wing size. Considering FA as an environmental response and high and low impacted areas as a fixed factor, we observed significant differences (P < 0.05. The results for the wing shape in A. melliferademonstrated that this feature undergoes more variation during ontogeny compared to the variation in size. We concluded that bee samples

A Bio-Economic Case Study of Canadian Honey Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Colonies: Marker-Assisted Selection (MAS) in Queen Breeding Affects Beekeeper Profits

Science.gov (United States)

Baylis, Kathy; Hoover, Shelley E.; Currie, Rob W.; Melathopoulos, Andony P.; Pernal, Stephen F.; Foster, Leonard J.; Guarna, M. Marta

2017-01-01

Abstract Over the past decade in North America and Europe, winter losses of honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) colonies have increased dramatically. Scientific consensus attributes these losses to multifactorial causes including altered parasite and pathogen profiles, lack of proper nutrition due to agricultural monocultures, exposure to pesticides, management, and weather. One method to reduce colony loss and increase productivity is through selective breeding of queens to produce disease-, pathogen-, and mite-resistant stock. Historically, the only method for identifying desirable traits in honey bees to improve breeding was through observation of bee behavior. A team of Canadian scientists have recently identified markers in bee antennae that correspond to behavioral traits in bees and can be tested for in a laboratory. These scientists have demonstrated that this marker-assisted selection (MAS) can be used to produce hygienic, pathogen-resistant honey bee colonies. Based on this research, we present a beekeeping case study where a beekeeper’s profit function is used to evaluate the economic impact of adopting colonies selected for hygienic behavior using MAS into an apiary. Our results show a net profit gain from an MAS colony of between 2% and 5% when Varroa mites are effectively treated. In the case of ineffective treatment, MAS generates a net profit benefit of between 9% and 96% depending on the Varroa load. When a Varroa mite population has developed some treatment resistance, we show that MAS colonies generate a net profit gain of between 8% and 112% depending on the Varroa load and degree of treatment resistance. PMID:28334400

Evaluation of the productive development of Melipona scutellaris beehives

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Elisângela de Lima Alves

2008-03-01

Full Text Available Stingless beekeeping has drawn the general attention of beekeepers because of the easy management and the quality of products. Nevertheless, little is known about their production and biology. The present study evaluated the development of Melipona scutellaris hives, considering the production parameters in a beekeeping environment. The growth parameter of hives is food storage. In the case of M. scutellaris, storage is made inside beeswax pots. Therefore, beeswax pots in the hives were classified and counted as nectar pots, pollen pots, open pots, closed pots and empty pots. Hive dimensions were also taken and evaluated. The results indicated that hives show different amounts of pots that vary as a function of the number of individuals in the hive. It was confirmed that the availability of food resources determines the utilization of food storage, i.e., if there is resource limitation and foraging is compromised, bees utilize the food that is stored inside the pots.

A second generation genetic map of the bumblebee Bombus terrestris (Linnaeus, 1758 reveals slow genome and chromosome evolution in the Apidae

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Kube Michael

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The bumblebee Bombus terrestris is an ecologically and economically important pollinator and has become an important biological model system. To study fundamental evolutionary questions at the genomic level, a high resolution genetic linkage map is an essential tool for analyses ranging from quantitative trait loci (QTL mapping to genome assembly and comparative genomics. We here present a saturated linkage map and match it with the Apis mellifera genome using homologous markers. This genome-wide comparison allows insights into structural conservations and rearrangements and thus the evolution on a chromosomal level. Results The high density linkage map covers ~ 93% of the B. terrestris genome on 18 linkage groups (LGs and has a length of 2'047 cM with an average marker distance of 4.02 cM. Based on a genome size of ~ 430 Mb, the recombination rate estimate is 4.76 cM/Mb. Sequence homologies of 242 homologous markers allowed to match 15 B. terrestris with A. mellifera LGs, five of them as composites. Comparing marker orders between both genomes we detect over 14% of the genome to be organized in synteny and 21% in rearranged blocks on the same homologous LG. Conclusions This study demonstrates that, despite the very high recombination rates of both A. mellifera and B. terrestris and a long divergence time of about 100 million years, the genomes' genetic architecture is highly conserved. This reflects a slow genome evolution in these bees. We show that data on genome organization and conserved molecular markers can be used as a powerful tool for comparative genomics and evolutionary studies, opening up new avenues of research in the Apidae.

Aspartoacylase Deficiency in the White Matter of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Encephalitis: Novel Mechanism in Axonal Damage

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Sankar Surendran

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Aspartoacylase/aminoacylase II (ASPA/ACY II is mainly synthesized in oligodendrocytes to contribute in myelin synthesis. Although axonal damage is seen in the brain with human immunodeficiency virus encephalitis (HIVE, ASPA contribution in the pathology is not known. Immunostaining study showed that ASPA protein is reduced in the white matter of patients with HIVE compared to the control. Western blot study further confirmed ASPA deficiency in the HIVE brain compared to the control. This paper suggests that HIVE condition affects ASPA to contribute in myelin loss/axonal damage seen in the disease.

POTENSI LILIN LEBAH HUTAN THE POTENTIAL BEES WAXS FROM WILD BEE

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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.

Beekeeping practices in four districts of tigray region, northern Ethiopia

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Nigerian Journal of Animal Science ... Higher proportion (56.71%) of the respondents used traditional hive, while 22.56% worked with modern hive only and 20.73% were practicing both. The overall average number of traditional and modern hives per respondent in the study area was 7.45 and 3.20, respectively. Majority ...

Pollen analysis of honey and pollen collected by Apis mellifera linnaeus, 1758 (Hymenoptera, Apidae), in a mixed environment of Eucalyptus plantation and native cerrado in Southeastern Brazil.

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Simeão, C M G; Silveira, F A; Sampaio, I B M; Bastos, E M A F

2015-11-01

Eucalyptus plantations are frequently used for the establishment of bee yards. This study was carried on at Fazenda Brejão, northwestern region of the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. This farm is covered both with native Cerrado vegetation (Brazilian savanna) and eucalyptus plantations. This paper reports on the botanic origin of pollen pellets and honey collected from honeybee (Apis mellifera) hives along a thirteen-month period (January 2004 to January 2005). The most frequent pollen types found in the pollen pellets during the rainy season were Trema micrantha (Ulmaceae), Copaifera langsdorffii (Fabaceae), an unidentified Poaceae, unidentified Asteraceae-2, Cecropia sp. 1 (Cecropiaceae) and Eucalyptus spp. (Myrtaceae); during the dry season the most frequent pollen types were Acosmium dasycarpum (Fabaceae), Cecropia sp. 1 (Cecropiaceae) and Eucalyptus spp. (Myrtaceae). Pollen grains of Baccharis sp. (Asteraceae), Cecropia sp. 1 (Cecropiaceae), Copaifera langsdorffii (Fabaceae), Mimosa nuda (Fabaceae), Eucalyptus spp. (Myrtaceae) and Trema micrantha (Ulmaceae) were present in the honey samples throughout the study period.

Pollen analysis of honey and pollen collected by Apis mellifera linnaeus, 1758 (Hymenoptera, Apidae, in a mixed environment of Eucalyptus plantation and native cerrado in Southeastern Brazil

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C. M. G. Simeão

Full Text Available Abstract Eucalyptus plantations are frequently used for the establishment of bee yards. This study was carried on at Fazenda Brejão, northwestern region of the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. This farm is covered both with native Cerrado vegetation (Brazilian savanna and eucalyptus plantations. This paper reports on the botanic origin of pollen pellets and honey collected from honeybee (Apis mellifera hives along a thirteen-month period (January 2004 to January 2005. The most frequent pollen types found in the pollen pellets during the rainy season were Trema micrantha (Ulmaceae, Copaifera langsdorffii (Fabaceae, an unidentified Poaceae, unidentified Asteraceae-2, Cecropia sp. 1 (Cecropiaceae and Eucalyptus spp. (Myrtaceae; during the dry season the most frequent pollen types were Acosmium dasycarpum (Fabaceae, Cecropia sp. 1 (Cecropiaceae and Eucalyptus spp. (Myrtaceae. Pollen grains of Baccharis sp. (Asteraceae, Cecropia sp. 1 (Cecropiaceae, Copaifera langsdorffii (Fabaceae, Mimosa nuda (Fabaceae, Eucalyptus spp. (Myrtaceae and Trema micrantha (Ulmaceae were present in the honey samples throughout the study period.

As abelhas eussociais (Hymenoptera, Apidae visitantes florais em um ecossistema de dunas continentais no médio Rio São Francisco, Bahia, Brasil

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Edinaldo Luz das Neves

2002-01-01

Full Text Available Highly eusocial bees (Hymenoptera, Apidae flower visitors in a continental sand dune ecosystem from the medium São Francisco River, Bahia, Brazil. A community of highly eusocial bees in sand dunes, covered with caatinga vegetation, in the medium São Francisco River, Bahia (10º47' 37"S and 42º49' 25"W was studied. The local climate is semi arid and hot, with mean temperature of 25.7 ºC and annual precipitation of 653.8 mm. Censuses took place every two months, from February to December of 2000. The bees were sampled on flowers with entomological nets, from 6:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. A total of 2,147 individuals of eight species of Apinae were found, of which Apis mellifera Linnaeus (40.2%, Trigona spinipes (Fabricius (28.7% and Frieseomelitta silvestri languida Moure (14.7% were the predominant species. The diversity was H' = 1.53 and the evenness E' = 0.73. The bees were active during the whole year, but there was a significant variation in the monthly abundance of individuals (c2= 799.55; df= 35; p<0.0001. The daily activity was greater between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. The low bee diversity observed is a consequence of the low richness of botanical species and of the small amount of sites for the bees' nests. The community of highly eusocial bees from the dunes presents organization patterns similar to those observed in other caatinga areas, albeit with some particularities.

Pollen harvest features of the Central Amazonian bee Scaptotrigona fulvicutis Moure 1964 (Apidae: Meliponinae, in Brazil Aspectos de coleta de pólen de Scaptotrigona fulvicutis 1964 (Apidae: Meliponinae, abelha da Amazônia Central, Brasil

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Antonio Carlos Marques-Souza

2007-03-01

Full Text Available Over a twelve-month period, pollen loads transported by Scaptotrigona fulvicutis Moure 1964 were collected from the workers corbiculae right after the hive entrance closure in an area of old secondary forest mixed with some exotic fruit trees and ornamentals. Once the pollen grains were identified, their monthly frequency in the samples and grouping by botanical family established that Mimosaceae, Myrtaceae and Sapindaceae were the most frequently visited. The workers harvested the pollen from 97 plant species distributed in 73 genera and 36 families, mostly: Stryphnodendron guianense (Aubl. Benth. in April (57,37% and Schefflera morototoni (Aubl. Frodin in May (54,73%. The harvested pollen types abundance matrix showed that there was little species dissimilarity between the months, which resulted in the formation of two large groups.Durante o período de doze meses, o pólen transportado por Scaptotrigona fulvicutis Moure 1964 foi coletado das corbículas das operárias, logo após o fechamento da entrada das colméias. Feita a identificação polínica dos grãos, sua freqüência mensal nas amostras e o agrupamento por famílias botânicas, constatou-se que as mais visitadas foram: Mimosaceae, Myrtaceae e Sapindaceae. As operárias coletaram o pólen de 97 espécies de plantas distribuídas em 73 gêneros e 36 famílias, sendo as mais freqüentes: Stryphnodendron guianense (Aubl. Benth. em abril (57,37% e Schefflera morototoni (Aubl. Frodin em maio (54,73%. A matriz de abundância dos tipos polínicos coletados mostrou que a dissimilaridade de espécies entre os meses foi pequena o que resultou na formação de dois grandes grupos.

A Bio-Economic Case Study of Canadian Honey Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Colonies: Marker-Assisted Selection (MAS) in Queen Breeding Affects Beekeeper Profits.

Science.gov (United States)

Bixby, Miriam; Baylis, Kathy; Hoover, Shelley E; Currie, Rob W; Melathopoulos, Andony P; Pernal, Stephen F; Foster, Leonard J; Guarna, M Marta

2017-06-01

Over the past decade in North America and Europe, winter losses of honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) colonies have increased dramatically. Scientific consensus attributes these losses to multifactorial causes including altered parasite and pathogen profiles, lack of proper nutrition due to agricultural monocultures, exposure to pesticides, management, and weather. One method to reduce colony loss and increase productivity is through selective breeding of queens to produce disease-, pathogen-, and mite-resistant stock. Historically, the only method for identifying desirable traits in honey bees to improve breeding was through observation of bee behavior. A team of Canadian scientists have recently identified markers in bee antennae that correspond to behavioral traits in bees and can be tested for in a laboratory. These scientists have demonstrated that this marker-assisted selection (MAS) can be used to produce hygienic, pathogen-resistant honey bee colonies. Based on this research, we present a beekeeping case study where a beekeeper's profit function is used to evaluate the economic impact of adopting colonies selected for hygienic behavior using MAS into an apiary. Our results show a net profit gain from an MAS colony of between 2% and 5% when Varroa mites are effectively treated. In the case of ineffective treatment, MAS generates a net profit benefit of between 9% and 96% depending on the Varroa load. When a Varroa mite population has developed some treatment resistance, we show that MAS colonies generate a net profit gain of between 8% and 112% depending on the Varroa load and degree of treatment resistance. © The Authors 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America.

Morfologia externa da operária de Lestrimelitta ehrhardtti (Hymenoptera: Meliponini

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DANIELE. R PARIZOTTO

2010-05-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT  Workers of Lestrimelitta ehrhardtti Friese were studied based on a great number of individuals collected in Castro municipality, Paraná State, Brazil. The specimens were described morphologically, measured and illustrated. KEY-WORDS: Apidae, stingless-bees, cleptobiotic, Neotropical.   RESUMEN Se estudió un gran número de obreras de Lestrimelitta ehrhardtti Friese colectadas en el municipio de Castro, Paraná, Brasil. Los especímenes fueran descritos  morfológicamente, medidos e ilustrados. PALABRAS CLAVE: Apidae, abejas sin aguijón, cleptobiótica, Neotropical.

A new threat to honey bees, the parasitic phorid fly Apocephalus borealis.

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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.

A New Threat to Honey Bees, the Parasitic Phorid Fly Apocephalus borealis

Science.gov (United States)

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

Detoxification and stress response genes expressed in a western North American bumble bee, Bombus huntii (Hymenoptera: Apidae).

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Junhuan; Strange, James P; Welker, Dennis L; James, Rosalind R

2013-12-12

The Hunt bumble bee (Bombus huntii Greene, Hymenoptera: Apidae) is a holometabolous, social insect important as a pollinator in natural and agricultural ecosystems in western North America. Bumble bees spend a significant amount of time foraging on a wide variety of flowering plants, and this activity exposes them to both plant toxins and pesticides, posing a threat to individual and colony survival. Little is known about what detoxification pathways are active in bumble bees, how the expression of detoxification genes changes across life stages, or how the number of detoxification genes expressed in B. huntii compares to other insects. We found B. huntii expressed at least 584 genes associated with detoxification and stress responses. The expression levels of some of these genes, such as those encoding the cytochrome P450s, glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) and glycosidases, vary among different life stages to a greater extent than do other genes. We also found that the number of P450s, GSTs and esterase genes expressed by B. huntii is similar to the number of these genes found in the genomes of other bees, namely Bombus terrestris, Bombus impatiens, Apis mellifera and Megachile rotundata, but many fewer than are found in the fly Drosophila melanogaster. Bombus huntii has transcripts for a large number of detoxification and stress related proteins, including oxidation and reduction enzymes, conjugation enzymes, hydrolytic enzymes, ABC transporters, cadherins, and heat shock proteins. The diversity of genes expressed within some detoxification pathways varies among the life stages and castes, and we typically identified more genes in the adult females than in larvae, pupae, or adult males, for most pathways. Meanwhile, we found the numbers of detoxification and stress genes expressed by B. huntii to be more similar to other bees than to the fruit fly. The low number of detoxification genes, first noted in the honey bee, appears to be a common phenomenon among bees

Evaluating the informatics for integrating biology and the bedside system for clinical research

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Meystre Stéphane M

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Selecting patient cohorts is a critical, iterative, and often time-consuming aspect of studies involving human subjects; informatics tools for helping streamline the process have been identified as important infrastructure components for enabling clinical and translational research. We describe the evaluation of a free and open source cohort selection tool from the Informatics for Integrating Biology and the Bedside (i2b2 group: the i2b2 hive. Methods Our evaluation included the usability and functionality of the i2b2 hive using several real world examples of research data requests received electronically at the University of Utah Health Sciences Center between 2006 - 2008. The hive server component and the visual query tool application were evaluated for their suitability as a cohort selection tool on the basis of the types of data elements requested, as well as the effort required to fulfill each research data request using the i2b2 hive alone. Results We found the i2b2 hive to be suitable for obtaining estimates of cohort sizes and generating research cohorts based on simple inclusion/exclusion criteria, which consisted of about 44% of the clinical research data requests sampled at our institution. Data requests that relied on post-coordinated clinical concepts, aggregate values of clinical findings, or temporal conditions in their inclusion/exclusion criteria could not be fulfilled using the i2b2 hive alone, and required one or more intermediate data steps in the form of pre- or post-processing, modifications to the hive metadata, etc. Conclusion The i2b2 hive was found to be a useful cohort-selection tool for fulfilling common types of requests for research data, and especially in the estimation of initial cohort sizes. For another institution that might want to use the i2b2 hive for clinical research, we recommend that the institution would need to have structured, coded clinical data and metadata available that can be

O Efeito do Fogo sobre a Comunidade de Abelhas Euglossini (Hymenoptera: Apidae em Floresta de Transição Cerrado-Amazônia (Mato Grosso, Brasil

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Nubia Giehl

2013-12-01

Abstract. We evaluated the effects of induced burned on Euglossini bee assemblages (Hymenoptera: Apidae in a transitional area between Cerrado and Amazonia, eastern Mato Grosso, Brazil. We determinate abundances, richness and composition of Euglossini in three plots: control plot (unburned, plot burned each year since 2004 (intermediate degradation, plot burned each three years since 2004 (high degradation. We tested the hypothesis that two burned plots present lower male abundances, less species richness and different species composition in comparison with the control plot. We collected male bees actively and passively by using six pure fragrances: β-ionona, benzoato de benzila, geraniol, fenil-etil-acetato, salicilato de metila e vanilina. We collected seven species with no differences in male abundances among three plots (F (2, 12= 0.150; p= 0.8. Estimated richness species in control the plot was higher than the plot burned each three years (12 ± 3.8; 4± 2, respectively, while plot burned each year showed intermediate richness (8 ± 4.35 and higher than plot burned each three years. Cluster Analysis (UPGMA revealed significant differences in species composition of the triennial fire area to the other two areas. Our results suggest that fire occurring with different frequencies in transitional forest promote decreases in richness of species and modifications in species composition. These modifications were clearer in plot more degraded (burned each three years and induce deleterious effects on orchid bee assemblage.

The antiquity and evolutionary history of social behavior in bees.

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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.

The use of gamma radiation as a prophylactic technique in management and control of the diseases of the honeybee

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rapisarda, Vicenzo; Nunez, Leonardo

1999-01-01

A three years experimental essay has been carried out to determine the efficacy of the gamma irradiation for the prophylactic treatment of hive equipment and for the integrated management and control of diseases. The impact of the nuclear techniques on the production yields of the hive has been also evaluated. The results show that the gamma irradiation is a suitable complementary tool to sterilize hive equipment as a non-destructive and low cost method. (author)

The use of gamma radiation as a prophylactic technique in management and control of the diseases of the honeybee; Empleo de la irradiacion con rayos gamma como tecnica profilactica en el manejo y control integrado de enfermedades apicolas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rapisarda, Vicenzo; Nunez, Leonardo [Comision Nacional de Energia Atomica, Ezeiza (Argentina). Centro Atomico Ezeiza

1999-07-01

A three years experimental essay has been carried out to determine the efficacy of the gamma irradiation for the prophylactic treatment of hive equipment and for the integrated management and control of diseases. The impact of the nuclear techniques on the production yields of the hive has been also evaluated. The results show that the gamma irradiation is a suitable complementary tool to sterilize hive equipment as a non-destructive and low cost method. (author)

The Size But not the Symmetry of the Wings of Eulaema nigrita Lepeletier (Apidae: Euglossini) is Affected by Human-Disturbed Landscapes in the Brazilian Cerrado Savanna.

Science.gov (United States)

Pinto, N S; Silva, D P; Rodrigues, J G; De Marco, P

2015-10-01

Among other human-related activities, habitat loss and fragmentation are currently ranked as the most important environmental features affecting the persistence of animal and plant populations in landscapes, as well as the maintenance of ecological processes and services. Since these processes are also capable of affecting the ontogenetic development of species inhabiting those landscapes, here we measured the wing veins of male Eulaema nigrita Lepeletier (Apidae: Euglossini) bees in order to evaluate whether the bees sampled in agriculture (AG) areas suffer higher fluctuating asymmetry (FA) than those sampled in Cerrado (CE) areas in the Brazilian state of Goiás. We believe that individuals sampled in CE areas would be less asymmetric than those sampled in AG areas, given a potential higher exposure of these specimens to environmental stresses (mostly pesticides). However, we did not observe a significant trend in the FA measures we obtained, although three wing measures were bigger for bees from CE areas. The lack of significant effects of FA may be related to inherent bionomic features of E. nigrita. For instance, given their high individual dispersal abilities, the individuals we analyzed may have developed in different areas than those where they were sampled. Their generalist feeding behavior may also have given them a higher resistance to environmental perturbations, buffering the normal development of immatures even in areas with local high environmental stress. Nonetheless, higher death rates of individuals from anthropic areas may also have killed the developing immatures of E. nigrita before they reached adulthood consequently equalizing our sampled estimates.

Large-scale field application of RNAi technology reducing Israeli acute paralysis virus disease in honey bees (Apis mellifera, Hymenoptera: Apidae.

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Wayne Hunter

Full Text Available The importance of honey bees to the world economy far surpasses their contribution in terms of honey production; they are responsible for up to 30% of the world's food production through pollination of crops. Since fall 2006, honey bees in the U.S. have faced a serious population decline, due in part to a phenomenon called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD, which is a disease syndrome that is likely caused by several factors. Data from an initial study in which investigators compared pathogens in honey bees affected by CCD suggested a putative role for Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus, IAPV. This is a single stranded RNA virus with no DNA stage placed taxonomically within the family Dicistroviridae. Although subsequent studies have failed to find IAPV in all CCD diagnosed colonies, IAPV has been shown to cause honey bee mortality. RNA interference technology (RNAi has been used successfully to silence endogenous insect (including honey bee genes both by injection and feeding. Moreover, RNAi was shown to prevent bees from succumbing to infection from IAPV under laboratory conditions. In the current study IAPV specific homologous dsRNA was used in the field, under natural beekeeping conditions in order to prevent mortality and improve the overall health of bees infected with IAPV. This controlled study included a total of 160 honey bee hives in two discrete climates, seasons and geographical locations (Florida and Pennsylvania. To our knowledge, this is the first successful large-scale real world use of RNAi for disease control.

Short communication. First field assessment of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki aerial application on the colony performance of Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae

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Maria del Mar Leza Salord

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Honeybee populations around the world are experiencing a decrease in colony numbers probably due to a combination of different causes, such as diseases, poor nutrition and frequent applications of insecticides to control pests. Previous studies about the effect of pesticide Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki (Btk on Apis mellifera L. report different results. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of field aerial applications of Btk on bee colony performance, specifically on the brood cell percentage evolution, which can be used as an indicator of queen health and brood development breeding rates. To achieve it, the brood cell surface was photographed in every sampling, and data were analyzed using a method based on image treatment software. A total of 480 pictures were examined from two groups of four nucleus hives in two areas, one receiving aerial spraying with Btk and the other without treatment. A mixed factorial design was realized to analyse the data showing no differences in colony performance between the two groups of colonies either before the treatment, during and at the end of the assay. Furthermore, the brood surface ratio of Btk-treated/untreated increased along the experiment. Therefore, the results of the present study suggest that Btk aerial applications did not affect the brood development of honeybees under natural conditions. Nevertheless further field studies are required to ascertain a safe use of Btk in forest pest management.

Honey yield of different commercial apiaries treated with Lactobacillus salivarius A3iob, a new bee-probiotic strain.

Science.gov (United States)

Fanciotti, M Novicov; Tejerina, M; Benítez-Ahrendts, M R; Audisio, M C

2018-02-27

The main objective of this study was to determine the impact of Lactobacillus salivarius A3iob, a honey bee gut-associated strain (GenBank code access KX198010), on honey yield. Independent assays were conducted from May to September 2014 and 2015, in three commercial apiaries: Tilquiza, El Carmen and Yala, all located in north-western Argentina. Local Apis mellifera L. bees were kept in standard Langstroth hives; treated hives were fed once a month with 1×10 5 cfu/ml viable Lactobacillus cells, administered to the bees through a Doolittle-type feeder in 125 g/l sucrose syrup. Control hives were only given the syrup mixed with MRS sterile broth. The main honey harvest was done in December in all groups and we found that there was an overall increase in honey yield from the treated hives. In 2014, all treated hives produced between 2.3 to 6.5 times more honey than the controls. However, in 2015, higher honey average yields in the treated hives at El Carmen and Yala were obtained, yet not at Tilquiza, because of a slight mishap. They experienced the swarming of several bee colonies due to a higher number of bees without appropriate management, which caused the control group to yield more honey compared to the hives fed with Lactobacillus. Interestingly, at El Carmen, two honey harvests were recorded: one in winter and another in summer (July and December 2015, respectively). This unexpected result arose from the particular flora of the region, mainly Tithonia tubaeformis, which blooms in winter. L. salivarius A3iob cells prove to be a natural alternative that will positively impact the beekeepers' economy by providing a higher honey yield.

Using camera traps and digital video to investigate the impact of Aethina tumida pest on honey bee (Apis mellifera adansonii reproduction and ability to keep away elephants (Loxodonta africana cyclotis in Gamba, Gabon

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Steeve Ngama

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Bees and elephant interactions are the core of a conservation curiosity since it has been demonstrated that bees, one of the smallest domesticated animals, can keep away elephants, the largest terrestrial animals. Yet, insects' parasites can impact the fitness and activity of the bees. Since their activity is critical to the repellent ability against elephants, this study assessed the impact of small hive beetles (Aethina tumida on bee (Apis mellifera adansonii reproduction and ability to keep forest elephants (Loxodonta africana cyclotis away. Because interspecies interactions are not easy to investigate, we have used camera traps and digital video to observe the activity of bees and their interactions with wild forest elephants under varying conditions of hive infestation with the small hive beetle, a common bee pest. Our results show that queen cells are good visual indicators of colony efficiency on keeping away forest elephants. We give evidences that small hive beetles are equivalently present in large and small bee colonies. Yet, results show no worries about the use of bees as elephant deterrents because of parasitism due to small hive beetles. Apis mellifera adansonii bees seem to effectively cope with small hive beetles showing no significant influence on its reproduction and ability to keep elephants away. This study also reports for the first time the presence of Aethina tumida as a constant beekeeping pest that needs to be addressed in Gabon.

Ratios of colony mass to thermal conductance of tree and man-made nest enclosures of Apis mellifera: implications for survival, clustering, humidity regulation and Varroa destructor

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Mitchell, Derek

2016-05-01

In the absence of human intervention, the honeybee ( Apis mellifera L.) usually constructs its nest in a tree within a tall, narrow, thick-walled cavity high above the ground (the enclosure); however, most research and apiculture is conducted in the thin-walled, squat wooden enclosures we know as hives. This experimental research, using various hives and thermal models of trees, has found that the heat transfer rate is approximately four to seven times greater in the hives in common use, compared to a typical tree enclosure in winter configuration. This gives a ratio of colony mass to lumped enclosure thermal conductance (MCR) of less than 0.8 kgW-1 K for wooden hives and greater than 5 kgW-1 K for tree enclosures. This result for tree enclosures implies higher levels of humidity in the nest, increased survival of smaller colonies and lower Varroa destructor breeding success. Many honeybee behaviours previously thought to be intrinsic may only be a coping mechanism for human intervention; for example, at an MCR of above 2 kgW-1 K, clustering in a tree enclosure may be an optional, rare, heat conservation behaviour for established colonies, rather than the compulsory, frequent, life-saving behaviour that is in the hives in common use. The implied improved survival in hives with thermal properties of tree nests may help to solve some of the problems honeybees are currently facing in apiculture.

Technical and socioeconomic assessment of honey production in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... Guinean highlands zone of West Region of Cameroon were assessed through survey ... The interval between hives installation and bee populating as well as hives ... wax (69.9%), propolis (44.2%), pollen (15.9%) and royal jelly (3.5%).

Spray Toxicity and Risk Potential of 42 Commonly Used Formulations of Row Crop Pesticides to Adult Honey Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae).

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Yu Cheng; Adamczyk, John; Rinderer, Thomas; Yao, Jianxiu; Danka, Robert; Luttrell, Randall; Gore, Jeff

2015-12-01

To combat an increasing abundance of sucking insect pests, >40 pesticides are currently recommended and frequently used as foliar sprays on row crops, especially cotton. Foraging honey bees may be killed when they are directly exposed to foliar sprays, or they may take contaminated pollen back to hives that maybe toxic to other adult bees and larvae. To assess acute toxicity against the honey bee, we used a modified spray tower to simulate field spray conditions to include direct whole-body exposure, inhalation, and continuing tarsal contact and oral licking after a field spray. A total of 42 formulated pesticides, including one herbicide and one fungicide, were assayed for acute spray toxicity to 4-6-d-old workers. Results showed significantly variable toxicities among pesticides, with LC50s ranging from 25 to thousands of mg/liter. Further risk assessment using the field application concentration to LC1 or LC99 ratios revealed the risk potential of the 42 pesticides. Three pesticides killed less than 1% of the worker bees, including the herbicide, a miticide, and a neonicotinoid. Twenty-six insecticides killed more than 99% of the bees, including commonly used organophosphates and neonicotinoids. The remainder of the 13 chemicals killed from 1-99% of the bees at field application rates. This study reveals a realistic acute toxicity of 42 commonly used foliar pesticides. The information is valuable for guiding insecticide selection to minimize direct killing of foraging honey bees, while maintaining effective control of field crop pests. Published by Oxford University Press [on behalf of Entomological Society of America] 2015. This work is written by US Government employees and is in the public domain in the US.

Diversity, local knowledge and use of stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini) in the municipality of Nocupétaro, Michoacan, Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background Stingless bees were significant resources managed by Mesoamerican peoples during pre-Columbian times and remain important in particular areas. Our study aimed at inventorying stingless bees’ species, traditional knowledge and forms of use and management of them at the municipality of Nocupetaro, Michoacán, Mexico, a region of the Balsas River Basin. Methods We inventoried the stingless bees of the municipality of Nocupétaro, Michoacán, México, through extensive collecting of bee specimens in different vegetation types. We then conducted semi-structured interviews to local experts in order to document their knowledge and management techniques of stingless bees’ species. Results We identified a total of eight stingless bees’ species in the study area as well as three additional unidentified taxa recognized by people through the local names. Our inventory included one new record of species for the region (Lestrimelitta chamelensis Ayala, 1999). The taxa identified are all used by local people. Scaptotrigona hellwegeri Friese, 1900; Melipona fasciata Latreille, 1811; Frieseomelitta nigra Cresson, 1878 and Geotrigona acapulconis Strand, 1919 are particularly valued as food (honey), medicinal (honey and pollen), and material for handcrafts (wax). All species recorded are wild and their products are obtained through gathering. On average, local experts were able to collect 4 nests of stingless bees per year obtaining on average 6 L of honey and 4 Kg of wax but some came to collect up 10–12 hives per year (18 L of honey and 24 Kg of wax). Conclusions Local knowledge about use, management and ecological issues on stingless bees is persistent and deep in the study area. Information about this group of bees is progressively scarcer in Mexico and significant effort should be done from ethnobiological and ecological perspectives in order to complement the national inventory of bee resources and traditional knowledge and management of them. PMID:24903644

Diversity, local knowledge and use of stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini) in the municipality of Nocupétaro, Michoacan, Mexico.

Science.gov (United States)

Reyes-González, Alejandro; Camou-Guerrero, Andrés; Reyes-Salas, Octavio; Argueta, Arturo; Casas, Alejandro

2014-06-05

Stingless bees were significant resources managed by Mesoamerican peoples during pre-Columbian times and remain important in particular areas. Our study aimed at inventorying stingless bees' species, traditional knowledge and forms of use and management of them at the municipality of Nocupetaro, Michoacán, Mexico, a region of the Balsas River Basin. We inventoried the stingless bees of the municipality of Nocupétaro, Michoacán, México, through extensive collecting of bee specimens in different vegetation types. We then conducted semi-structured interviews to local experts in order to document their knowledge and management techniques of stingless bees' species. We identified a total of eight stingless bees' species in the study area as well as three additional unidentified taxa recognized by people through the local names. Our inventory included one new record of species for the region (Lestrimelitta chamelensis Ayala, 1999). The taxa identified are all used by local people. Scaptotrigona hellwegeri Friese, 1900; Melipona fasciata Latreille, 1811; Frieseomelitta nigra Cresson, 1878 and Geotrigona acapulconis Strand, 1919 are particularly valued as food (honey), medicinal (honey and pollen), and material for handcrafts (wax). All species recorded are wild and their products are obtained through gathering. On average, local experts were able to collect 4 nests of stingless bees per year obtaining on average 6 L of honey and 4 Kg of wax but some came to collect up 10-12 hives per year (18 L of honey and 24 Kg of wax). Local knowledge about use, management and ecological issues on stingless bees is persistent and deep in the study area. Information about this group of bees is progressively scarcer in Mexico and significant effort should be done from ethnobiological and ecological perspectives in order to complement the national inventory of bee resources and traditional knowledge and management of them.

Abundância, Distribuição Espacial de Ninhos de Abelhas Sem Ferrão (Apidae: Meliponini e Espécies Vegetais Utilizadas para Nidificação em um Fragmento de Floresta Secundária em Rio Branco, Acre

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Francisco da Silva Correia

2016-12-01

Abstract. Was conducted a study of the abundance, distribution of bee nests stingless (Apidae: Meliponini and plant species used for nesting in a fragment of secondary forest in Rio Branco-Acre. The field surveys took place in August 2015 in a forest area measuring 137 ha. The nesting substrates (trees were identified and their location recorded by GPS, and also checked the CAP measures (circumference at breast height and height of entry of the nests from the ground. In total, we found 25 nests of stingless bees distributed in three genera, with Melipona eburnea Friese the most abundant species (n=14, followed by Scaptotrigona sp. (n=7, Melipona crinita Moure & Kerr (n=2 and Tetragona sp. (n=2. The botanical species most provided cavities for foundation of the nests were Eugenia jambolana Lam. (Myrtaceae with seven nests (28% in an only individual, followed by Spondias lutea L. (Anacardiaceae and Castilla ulei Warb. (Moraceae, both with three nests (12%. The density of nests was significantly lower (0.18/ha when compared to other studies in the Neotropics, which may be related to fragment size and the degree of disturbance since it is characterized by being in a forest regeneration process.

The mitochondrial genome of the stingless bee Melipona bicolor (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini: sequence, gene organization and a unique tRNA translocation event conserved across the tribe Meliponini

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Daniela Silvestre

2008-01-01

Full Text Available At present a complete mtDNA sequence has been reported for only two hymenopterans, the Old World honey bee, Apis mellifera and the sawfly Perga condei. Among the bee group, the tribe Meliponini (stingless bees has some distinction due to its Pantropical distribution, great number of species and large importance as main pollinators in several ecosystems, including the Brazilian rain forest. However few molecular studies have been conducted on this group of bees and few sequence data from mitochondrial genomes have been described. In this project, we PCR amplified and sequenced 78% of the mitochondrial genome of the stingless bee Melipona bicolor (Apidae, Meliponini. The sequenced region contains all of the 13 mitochondrial protein-coding genes, 18 of 22 tRNA genes, and both rRNA genes (one of them was partially sequenced. We also report the genome organization (gene content and order, gene translation, genetic code, and other molecular features, such as base frequencies, codon usage, gene initiation and termination. We compare these characteristics of M. bicolor to those of the mitochondrial genome of A. mellifera and other insects. A highly biased A+T content is a typical characteristic of the A. mellifera mitochondrial genome and it was even more extreme in that of M. bicolor. Length and compositional differences between M. bicolor and A. mellifera genes were detected and the gene order was compared. Eleven tRNA gene translocations were observed between these two species. This latter finding was surprising, considering the taxonomic proximity of these two bee tribes. The tRNA Lys gene translocation was investigated within Meliponini and showed high conservation across the Pantropical range of the tribe.

COMPARATIVE STUDY REGARDING THE QUANTITY OF ACACIA AND LIME HONEY HARVESTED IN 2008 IN VARIOUS TYPES OF BEEHIVES

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SILVIA PĂTRUICĂ

2009-10-01

Full Text Available The paperwork present the results of a comparative study regarding the production of acacia (Robinia pseudacacia and lime honey harvested in 2008 in flat, vertical and multi-frame hives. A total of 45 bee families (Apis mellifica carpatica, Banatica ecotipe, divided in three experimental groups, with 15 families on each hive, were examined for every type of hive. During the experiment there were tracked the number of honeycombs with larvae starting from 7th to 10th of April and from 1st to 5th of May, the acacia and lime honey yield.

The natural history of nest defence in a stingless bee, Tetragonisca angustula (Latreille) (Hymenoptera: Apidae), with two distinct types of entrance guards.

Science.gov (United States)

Grüter, C; Kärcher, M H; Ratnieks, F L W

2011-01-01

The stingless bee Tetragonsica angustula (Latreille) is the only social bee known that has two different types of nest entrance guards. As in other stingless bees and the honey bee one type stands on, in or near the nest entrance. The second type, so far only known in T. angustula, hovers near the nest entrance. In order to gain further understanding of this unique situation we studied guarding behaviour in both types of guards. Using marked bees, we found that individual worker bees guarded for a long time, up to 20 days, relative to their short, average c. 21 day, lifespan. Relatively few, 33%, individually marked guards were seen performing both types of guarding. The others only acted as standing guards. The bees that did perform both types did so over similar periods of their life. Hovering bouts were 57 min long, interrupted by breaks inside the hive of a few minutes (3.3 ± 1.5 min). Standing bouts were slightly longer (74 min) and also interrupted by short breaks (7.82 ± 6.45 min). Human breath, mimicking a vertebrate intruder, caused the guards to retreat into the nest rather than to attack the intruder. Some colonies protected themselves against intruders by closing the entrance during the night (32% and 56% of colonies during two nights). In summary, our results indicate that nest entrance guarding in T. angustula involves division of labour between the two types, in which most guarding individuals only act as standing guards.

Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of honeybee ( Apis mellifera ligustica) propolis from subtropical eastern Australia

Science.gov (United States)

Massaro, Carmelina Flavia; Simpson, Jack Bruce; Powell, Daniel; Brooks, Peter

2015-12-01

Propolis is a material manufactured by bees and contains beeswax, bee salivary secretions and plant resins. Propolis preparations have been used for millennia by humans in food, cosmetics and medicines due to its antibacterial effects. Within the hive, propolis plays an important role in bees' health, with much of its bioactivity largely dependent on the plant resins the bees select for its production. Few chemical studies are available on the chemistry of propolis produced by Australian honeybees ( Apis mellifera, Apidae). This study aimed to determine the chemical composition as well as in vitro antimicrobial effects of propolis harvested from honeybees in subtropical eastern Australia. Honeybee propolis was produced using plastic frames and multiple beehives in two subtropical sites in eastern Australia. Methanolic extracts of propolis were analysed by liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection and high-resolution mass spectrometry (ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography (UHPLC)-UV-high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry (HR-MS/MS)) and by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The resulting chemical data were dereplicated for compound characterisation. The two crude extracts in abs. ethanol were tested in vitro by the agar diffusion and broth dilution methods, using a phenol standard solution as the positive control and abs. ethanol as the negative control. Chemical constituents were identified to be pentacyclic triterpenoids and C-prenylated flavonoids, including Abyssinoflavanone VII, Propolin C and Nymphaeol C. The two propolis crude extracts showed bactericidal effects at the minimal inhibitory concentrations of 0.37-2.04 mg mL-1 against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923. However, the extracts were inactive against Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 13883 and Candida albicans ATCC 10231. The antistaphylococcal potential of propolis was discussed, also in relation to honeybees' health, as it warrants further investigations on the social and

Efeito dos óleos vegetais de andiroba (Carapa sp. e Copaíba (Copaifera sp. sobre forídeo, pragas de colméias, (Diptera: Phoridae na Amazônia Central Effect of andiroba (Carapa sp. and copaiba's (Copaifera sp. vegetable oils on phorides, hives's prague (Diptera: Phoridae in Central Amazonia

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Delci da Costa Brito Freire

2006-01-01

Full Text Available O conhecimento de substâncias repelentes para forídeos é um passo importante para a meliponicultura brasileira, pois esses insetos podem causar sérios danos às colméias de abelhas nativas. Os óleos de copaíba e andiroba, naturalmente encontrados na região amazônica, são muito utilizados pelos povos tradicionais da região como repelentes de insetos. Foi observado o efeito de dois óleos vegetais (andiroba e copaíba sobre a postura de ovos por fêmeas de forídeos em condições de laboratório. A postura das fêmeas foi realizada preferencialmente no substrato pólen e diferiu estatisticamente dos substratos contendo óleo de andiroba ou copaíba, nos quais houve considerável diminuição (até nenhuma postura, e do substrato contendo mel. Esses óleos são uma boa alternativa no controle preventivo e curativo dessa praga em colônias de Meliponineos, devido ao seu efeito repelente, ao baixo custo e disponibilidade na Região Amazônica.The knowlegment of repellants substances to phoride flies is an important step to the Brazilian stinglessbee beekeeping due to the serious damage to the native bee hives they can do. The copaiba and andiroba oils, found commonly in the Amazon region, are very employed by the traditional people as insects' repellants. We observed the effect of these oils over the phoride's laying in laboratory conditions. The female phoride's eggs occurred preferentially in the pollen substrate and statistically differed from those containing andiroba and copaiba oils, which was strongly reduced (until none eggs were laid, and from the substrate containing honey. These oils showed to be quite good alternative for this plague's preventive and curative control in stingless bee hives due to its repellant effect, low cost, and availability to get it in the region.

The National NeuroAIDS Tissue Consortium brain gene array: two types of HIV-associated neurocognitive impairment.

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Benjamin B Gelman

Full Text Available The National NeuroAIDS Tissue Consortium (NNTC performed a brain gene expression array to elucidate pathophysiologies of Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1 (HIV-1-associated neurocognitive disorders.Twenty-four human subjects in four groups were examined A Uninfected controls; B HIV-1 infected subjects with no substantial neurocognitive impairment (NCI; C Infected with substantial NCI without HIV encephalitis (HIVE; D Infected with substantial NCI and HIVE. RNA from neocortex, white matter, and neostriatum was processed with the Affymetrix® array platform.With HIVE the HIV-1 RNA load in brain tissue was three log(10 units higher than other groups and over 1,900 gene probes were regulated. Interferon response genes (IFRGs, antigen presentation, complement components and CD163 antigen were strongly upregulated. In frontal neocortex downregulated neuronal pathways strongly dominated in HIVE, including GABA receptors, glutamate signaling, synaptic potentiation, axon guidance, clathrin-mediated endocytosis and 14-3-3 protein. Expression was completely different in neuropsychologically impaired subjects without HIVE. They had low brain HIV-1 loads, weak brain immune responses, lacked neuronally expressed changes in neocortex and exhibited upregulation of endothelial cell type transcripts. HIV-1-infected subjects with normal neuropsychological test results had upregulation of neuronal transcripts involved in synaptic transmission of neostriatal circuits.Two patterns of brain gene expression suggest that more than one pathophysiological process occurs in HIV-1-associated neurocognitive impairment. Expression in HIVE suggests that lowering brain HIV-1 replication might improve NCI, whereas NCI without HIVE may not respond in kind; array results suggest that modulation of transvascular signaling is a potentially promising approach. Striking brain regional differences highlighted the likely importance of circuit level disturbances in HIV/AIDS. In

Monitoring colony-level effects of sublethal pesticide exposure on honey bees

Science.gov (United States)

The effects of sublethal pesticide exposure to honey bee colonies may be significant but difficult to detect in the field using standard visual assessment methods. Here we describe methods to measure the quantities of adult bees, brood and food resources by weighing hives and hive parts, by photogra...

Improving honey production in worker bees (Apis mellifera adansoni ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Modification of feeding activity, nursing care and undertaker behaviour were carried out among some colonies of honey bees Apis mellifera adansoni L to know the effect on honey production. Apiaries Numbers 1, 2 and 3 contain three replicates of experimental hives while apiary Number 4 contains control hives. All the ...

Brood temperature, task division and colony survival in honeybees : A model

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Becher, Matthias A.; Hildenbrandt, Hanno; Hemelrijk, Charlotte K.; Moritz, Robin F. A.

2010-01-01

One of the mechanisms by which honeybees regulate division of labour among their colony members is age polyethism. Here the younger bees perform in-hive tasks such as heating and the older ones carry out tasks outside the hive such as foraging. Recently it has been shown that the higher

Busy Bees: Variation in Insect Flower-Visiting Rates across Multiple Plant Species

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Margaret J. Couvillon

2015-01-01

Full Text Available We quantified insect visitation rates by counting how many flowers/inflorescences were probed per unit time for five plant species (four native and one garden: California lilac, bramble, ragwort, wild marjoram, and ivy growing in Sussex, United Kingdom, by following individual insects (n=2987 from nine functional groups (honey bees (Apis mellifera, bumble bees (Bombus spp., hoverflies, flies, butterflies, beetles, wasps, non-Apidae bees, and moths. Additionally, we made a census of the insect diversity on the studied plant species. Overall we found that insect groups differed greatly in their rate of flower visits (P<2.2e-16, with bumble bees and honey bees visiting significantly more flowers per time (11.5 and 9.2 flowers/minute, resp. than the other insect groups. Additionally, we report on a within-group difference in the non-Apidae bees, where the genus Osmia, which is often suggested as an alternative to honey bees as a managed pollinator, was very speedy (13.4 flowers/minute compared to the other non-Apidae bees (4.3 flowers/minute. Our census showed that the plants attracted a range of insects, with the honey bee as the most abundant visitor (34%. Therefore, rate differences cannot be explained by particular specializations. Lastly, we discuss potential implications of our conclusions for pollination.

Effects of Colony Creation Method and Beekeeper Education on Honeybee ("Apis mellifera") Mortality

Science.gov (United States)

Findlay, J. Reed; Eborn, Benjamin; Jones, Wayne

2015-01-01

The two-part study reported here analyzed the effects of beekeeper education and colony creation methods on colony mortality. The first study examined the difference in hive mortality between hives managed by beekeepers who had received formal training in beekeeping with beekeepers who had not. The second study examined the effect on hive…

Onde os mais Adaptados Permanecem: Comunidade de Abelhas sem Ferrão (Hymenoptera: Apidae, Meliponini em Áreas Urbanas do Município de Ubá, Minas Gerais, Brasil

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Gustavo Araújo

2016-12-01

Where the most Adapted Remain: Stingless Bees Community (Hymenoptera: Apidae, Meliponini in Urban Areas of the City of Uba, Minas Gerais, Brazil Abstract. The urbanization has caused the fragmentation of various natural environments, taking to loss of many ecological processes in which includes pollination, realized mainly by bees, in special Meliponini species, which has drastically reduced their populations due to loss of habitat for urban expansion. The aim of this study was to survey the species of stingless bees in urban areas of the municipality of Ubá - MG, Brazil, relate the richness and abundance of species found with the percentage of occupation of the structural variables of the urban landscape and relate the presence of the species obtained with these variables. Were found 28 nests belonging to four species, Tetragonisca angustula (Latreille, Trigona spinipes (Fabricius, Nannotrigona testaceicornis (Lepeletier and Friesella schrottkyi (Friese. There was no significant relationship between richness and abundance of Meliponini and structural variables of vegetation, possibly due to low values in the number of nests and species obtained. Only T. spinipes showed related to the presence of vegetation. The results show that the Meliponini community is composed by generalist species able to use artificial cavities and ornamental plants as an alternative source of resources, common in urban areas. The results obtained in this study is a warning to current conditions of the plant remaining in urban areas in the city of Ubá, besides may also be used as support in taking-decision on projects for the conservation and recovery of degraded areas, focusing on bees and their importance to the sustainability of these ecosystems.

Diversity of bees (Hymenoptera, Apiformes in extensive orchards in the highlands of Jordan

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Al-Ghzawi, A.

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Bees visiting the blossoms of fruit trees were surveyed for the first time in Jordan. A transect was determined in Ebbin village in Ajlun (32° 22″ N, 35° 49″ E where the bees were collected from blossoms of stone fruit trees. Most of the specimens were identified up to the species level and few specimens were identified up to the genus level only. A total of 1,461 specimens were collected during the study period and 53 bee species were identified and recorded for the first time in Jordan. The collected species represented five families: Apidae, Megachilidae, Halictidae, Andrenidae and Colletidae. The results showed that Apidae and Megachilidae were the largest in terms of diversity, while Halictidae showed the highest abundance.

How Honey Bee Colonies Survive in the Wild: Testing the Importance of Small Nests and Frequent Swarming.

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J Carter Loftus

Full Text Available The ectoparasitic mite, Varroa destructor, and the viruses that it transmits, kill the colonies of European honey bees (Apis mellifera kept by beekeepers unless the bees are treated with miticides. Nevertheless, there exist populations of wild colonies of European honey bees that are persisting without being treated with miticides. We hypothesized that the persistence of these wild colonies is due in part to their habits of nesting in small cavities and swarming frequently. We tested this hypothesis by establishing two groups of colonies living either in small hives (42 L without swarm-control treatments or in large hives (up to 168 L with swarm-control treatments. We followed the colonies for two years and compared the two groups with respect to swarming frequency, Varroa infesttion rate, disease incidence, and colony survival. Colonies in small hives swarmed more often, had lower Varroa infestation rates, had less disease, and had higher survival compared to colonies in large hives. These results indicate that the smaller nest cavities and more frequent swarming of wild colonies contribute to their persistence without mite treatments.

How Honey Bee Colonies Survive in the Wild: Testing the Importance of Small Nests and Frequent Swarming

Science.gov (United States)

Loftus, J. Carter; Smith, Michael L.; Seeley, Thomas D.

2016-01-01

The ectoparasitic mite, Varroa destructor, and the viruses that it transmits, kill the colonies of European honey bees (Apis mellifera) kept by beekeepers unless the bees are treated with miticides. Nevertheless, there exist populations of wild colonies of European honey bees that are persisting without being treated with miticides. We hypothesized that the persistence of these wild colonies is due in part to their habits of nesting in small cavities and swarming frequently. We tested this hypothesis by establishing two groups of colonies living either in small hives (42 L) without swarm-control treatments or in large hives (up to 168 L) with swarm-control treatments. We followed the colonies for two years and compared the two groups with respect to swarming frequency, Varroa infesttion rate, disease incidence, and colony survival. Colonies in small hives swarmed more often, had lower Varroa infestation rates, had less disease, and had higher survival compared to colonies in large hives. These results indicate that the smaller nest cavities and more frequent swarming of wild colonies contribute to their persistence without mite treatments. PMID:26968000

Increased CDK5 expression in HIV encephalitis contributes to neurodegeneration via tau phosphorylation and is reversed with Roscovitine.

Science.gov (United States)

Patrick, Christina; Crews, Leslie; Desplats, Paula; Dumaop, Wilmar; Rockenstein, Edward; Achim, Cristian L; Everall, Ian P; Masliah, Eliezer

2011-04-01

Recent treatments with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) regimens have been shown to improve general clinical status in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection; however, the prevalence of cognitive alterations and neurodegeneration has remained the same or has increased. These deficits are more pronounced in the subset of HIV patients with the inflammatory condition known as HIV encephalitis (HIVE). Activation of signaling pathways such as GSK3β and CDK5 has been implicated in the mechanisms of HIV neurotoxicity; however, the downstream mediators of these effects are unclear. The present study investigated the involvement of CDK5 and tau phosphorylation in the mechanisms of neurodegeneration in HIVE. In the frontal cortex of patients with HIVE, increased levels of CDK5 and p35 expression were associated with abnormal tau phosphorylation. Similarly, transgenic mice engineered to express the HIV protein gp120 exhibited increased brain levels of CDK5 and p35, alterations in tau phosphorylation, and dendritic degeneration. In contrast, genetic knockdown of CDK5 or treatment with the CDK5 inhibitor roscovitine improved behavioral performance in the water maze test and reduced neurodegeneration, abnormal tau phosphorylation, and astrogliosis in gp120 transgenic mice. These findings indicate that abnormal CDK5 activation contributes to the neurodegenerative process in HIVE via abnormal tau phosphorylation; thus, reducing CDK5 might ameliorate the cognitive impairments associated with HIVE. Copyright © 2011 American Society for Investigative Pathology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Agonistic interactions between the honeybee (Apis mellifera ligustica) and the European wasp (Vespula germanica) reveal context-dependent defense strategies.

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Pusceddu, Michelina; Floris, Ignazio; Buffa, Franco; Salaris, Emanuele; Satta, Alberto

2017-01-01

Predator-prey relationships between sympatric species allow the evolution of defense behaviors, such as honeybee colonies defending their nests against predatory wasps. We investigated the predator-prey relationship between the honeybee (Apis mellifera ligustica) and the European wasp (Vespula germanica) by evaluating the effectiveness of attack and defense behaviors, which have coevolved in these sympatric species, as well as the actual damage and disturbance caused to the colonies under attack. Attack and defense behaviors were recorded in front of the hive to observe attacks at the hive entrance (68 attacks in 279 h) and at ground level on isolated and weakened honeybees close to the hive (465 attacks in 32 h). We found that V. germanica attacked the hive entrance infrequently due to the low success rate of this strategy and instead preferred a specialized attack method targeting adult honeybees at ground level, demonstrating opportunistic scavenger behavior. Individual honeybees usually responded effectively to an attack by recruiting an average of two nestmates, causing the wasp to flee, whereas collective balling behavior was only observed on four occasions. V. germanica does not appear to disrupt the foraging activity of the colonies under attack. We found that agonistic events supported by other nestmates were typically the most intense ones, involving physical combat and prolonged attacks at the entrance to the hive. These observations support the hypothesis that A. mellifera ligustica can adapt its behavior to match the severity of the threat and the context of the attack.

Diagnosis of directed pollination services in apple orchards in Brazil

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Joatan Machado da Rosa

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract The pollination services performed by Apis mellifera are essential for the high-quality apple production. The aim of this study was to obtain information about the pollination services used in the municipalities of Vacaria-RS e São Joaquim-SC, the main apple-producing regions in Brazil. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with apple growers and technicians responsible for the orchards during 2013 and 2015. The obtained information was: a cropping systems; b use of pollination services; c number of hives per hectare during flowering; d renting value of hives; e mortality of colonies; f agrochemicals used on flowering; g presence of native bees on flowering. In Vacaria and São Joaquim, respectively, 70% and 68.6% of the apple growers use the integrated apple production as their production model. The directed pollination is used by 100% and 90.0% of respondents respectively, from which, 80% and 47.1% opt for the hive rent. On average, three hives were used per hectare in both regions. The average cost is U$ 17.52 and U$ 17.74 per hive, respectively. During the flowering period, insecticides and fungicides are used by 100% and 97.2% of the apple growers. The highest mean percentage of mortality of colonies during flowering was reported in Vacaria, 11.8%. Native bees are often found in apple flowers. The development of management strategies for the conservation of domestic and wild pollinators is essential.

Engineering economic analysis of meliponiculture in Malaysia considering current market price

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Basrawi Firdaus

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Stingless bees (kelulut keeping is now a trend in Malaysia. However, since demand for the source of colony in log is increasing, the log price is rapidly increasing. But, there is no data reported on the economic viability of meliponiculture in the current market price. Thus, the objective of this study is to clarify the economic viability of investment in meliponiculture in the current market price by engineering economic perspective. Investment in meliponiculture was analysed using Equivalent Annual Uniform Cost (EAUC, Internal Rate of Return (IRR and Breakeven Analysis. A small start-up with 30 units of logs or hives was considered in the analysis. All raw data was acquainted from current Malaysian market price, but only revenue from honey was considered. It was found that EAUC indicated that the annual worth of the log system is 23% better than the hive system. However, IRR calculation indicated that both the log and the hive systems offer margin exceeding 55% which is a very good return in general investment. In addition, it was also found that the log system had breakeven after 8th month, whereas the hive was 13th month. Better economic value could be obtained if revenue from by-products are considered. Thus, it can be concluded that meliponiculture is still very economically viable in Malaysia market trend, and the hive systems could be a better choice if splitting colony, maintenance, safety and aesthetics points of view are considered.

A scent shield to survive: identification of the repellent compounds secreted by the male offspring of the cuckoo bumblebee Bombus vestalis

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Lhomme, P.; Ayasse, M.; Valterová, Irena; Lecocq, T.; Rasmont, P.

2015-01-01

Roč. 157, č. 3 (2015), s. 263-270 ISSN 0013-8703 Institutional support: RVO:61388963 Keywords : Hymenoptera * Apidae * Psithyrus * social parasitism * repellent * GC-EAD * chemical camouflage Subject RIV: EG - Zoology Impact factor: 1.442, year: 2015

Padrão de Nidificação de Monobia angulosa Saussure (Vespidae Durante Estação Seca Prolongada na Região da Chapada Diamantina, Bahia, com Notas Sobre Nidificação em Ninho Abandonado de Xylocopa cearensis Ducke (Apidae

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Thiago Mahlmann

2015-03-01

Abstract. Weather can be treated as an important factor in the nesting pattern of several solitary wasps species. Nesting pattern of wasp Monobia angulosa Saussure (Vespidae: Eumeninae was accessed in present study in the agricultural area of Mucugê-Ibicoara, Chapada Diamantina, Bahia, during an extended period of dry season. In here we also presented the first record of a natural nest in pre-existing cavities prior used by Xylocopa (Neoxylocopa cearensis Ducke (Apidae: Xylocopinae. For a description of the M. angulosa’s natural nest a single nest found in apple orchard (Malus domestica Borkh was used. For the nesting pattern study we used the trap nests technique with 25 points along the agricultural sampled area; traps were placed in remaining native vegetation. Each sample point was at least 4 km apart. Emerged in the laboratory a total of 19 females and 23 males for a total of 19 established nests, males emerged prior females. Unlike the horizontal trap nests, the natural one was built in vertical linear series and a wooden stake was used as a substrate. Nesting concentrated in the warmer months, between February and April, 2012, with very low precipitation, evidencing influence on nesting pattern of this species, probably due fast response to climatic changes.

A Survey of Bee Species Found Pollinating Watermelons in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas

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C. S. Henne

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Using a combination of flower traps and visual observations, we surveyed three watermelon (Citrullus lanatus (Thunb. Matsum. & Nakai fields in the Lower Rio Grande Valley to determine what bees inhabit this crop in this region. No managed honey bee (Apis mellifera L. hives were in any of the fields; however, two contained managed hives of the common eastern bumble bee, Bombus impatiens (Cresson. A total of 15 species were collected or observed from all three fields combined. Of these species, only four were found to be very abundant: Agapostemon angelicus Cockerell/texanus Cresson, A. mellifera, Lasioglossum coactum (Cresson, and Melissodes thelypodii Cockerell. Apis mellifera comprised 46% of all bees collected from all three fields combined and was highly abundant in two of the three fields. In the third field, however, A. mellifera and Agapostemon angelicus/texanus were equally abundant. Surprisingly, B. impatiens comprised only 1% of the total bees surveyed in all three fields combined, despite two of the fields having several managed hives each. As B. impatiens is not native to this region, it was not surprising that none were collected or observed in the field with no managed hives.

CROATIAN HONEY MARKET IN EUROPEAN ENVIRONMENT

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Dragana Dukić

2004-06-01

Full Text Available This examination is based on comparison of honey production, in countries of European Union, transition countries and The Republic of Croatia. The situation in Croatia is shown with all information about honey production. All data are compared with already managed European countries. In comparison with registrated number of beekeepers and hives, Croatia belongs to transition countries with the smallest number of beekepers and hives. On the other hand, values, such as, number of hives per beekeper and average honey production by hive, classify Croatia ahead of transition countries. There are very few professional beekepers in Croatia, as well as in other transition countries, but not countries of The European Union. Honey production in Croatia has been increasing last seven years and in the last few it increased more than 50%. Export of honey in the last 2 years is half of the complete honey production, which accomplish conditions for export enlargement. At the same time, import of honey is considerable reduced. Conditions for export can be better with production of biological clean honey (eco-honey, since Croatia has great resources for it. Also, cost of Croatian honey on the foreign market, will be considerable higher.

Agonistic interactions between the honeybee (Apis mellifera ligustica and the European wasp (Vespula germanica reveal context-dependent defense strategies.

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Michelina Pusceddu

Full Text Available Predator-prey relationships between sympatric species allow the evolution of defense behaviors, such as honeybee colonies defending their nests against predatory wasps. We investigated the predator-prey relationship between the honeybee (Apis mellifera ligustica and the European wasp (Vespula germanica by evaluating the effectiveness of attack and defense behaviors, which have coevolved in these sympatric species, as well as the actual damage and disturbance caused to the colonies under attack. Attack and defense behaviors were recorded in front of the hive to observe attacks at the hive entrance (68 attacks in 279 h and at ground level on isolated and weakened honeybees close to the hive (465 attacks in 32 h. We found that V. germanica attacked the hive entrance infrequently due to the low success rate of this strategy and instead preferred a specialized attack method targeting adult honeybees at ground level, demonstrating opportunistic scavenger behavior. Individual honeybees usually responded effectively to an attack by recruiting an average of two nestmates, causing the wasp to flee, whereas collective balling behavior was only observed on four occasions. V. germanica does not appear to disrupt the foraging activity of the colonies under attack. We found that agonistic events supported by other nestmates were typically the most intense ones, involving physical combat and prolonged attacks at the entrance to the hive. These observations support the hypothesis that A. mellifera ligustica can adapt its behavior to match the severity of the threat and the context of the attack.

Espectro polínico de amostras de mel de Melipona mandacaia Smith, 1863 (Hymenoptera: Apidae - DOI: 10.4025/actascibiolsci.v28i1.1061 Pollen spectrum from honey samples of Melipona mandacaia Smith, 1863 stingless bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae - DOI: 10.4025/actascibiolsci.v28i1.1061

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Carlos Afredo Lopes de Carvalho

2006-03-01

Full Text Available O espectro polínico de amostras de mel da abelha Melipona mandacaia foi analisado com objetivo de elucidar os recursos alimentares utilizados por essa espécie. A identificação das plantas visitadas foi realizada com base na análise dos tipos polínicos encontrados nas amostras de mel coletadas em 11 colônias localizadas no município de São Gabriel, em área de caatinga do Estado da Bahia, Brasil (11º14’S e 41º52’W. As análises quantitativas e qualitativas foram realizadas com o objetivo de determinar as porcentagens e classes de freqüência dos tipos polínicos presentes nas amostras de mel. Foram encontrados 26 tipos polínicos, sendo o tipo Piptadenia rigida (Mimosaceae considerado dominante. Ricinus communis (Euphorbiaceae, Mimosa verrucata (Mimosaceae e M. arenosa (Mimosaceae foram considerados pólen isolado importante. As famílias mais representativas no espectro polínico das amostras de mel foram Mimosaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Asteraceae e AnacardiaceaeThe pollen spectrum from honey samples of Melipona mandacaia stingless bee was analyzed aiming at elucidating the alimentary resources used by that species. The identification of the visited plants was based on the analysis of pollen from honey samples collected in 11 hives located in São Gabriel county, in the semiarid area of Bahia State, Brazil (11º14’S and 41º52’W. The quantitative and qualitative analyses of honey samples were conducted in order to determine the pollen types percentages and frequency classes. Twenty-six pollen types were found, being the Piptadenia rigida type (Mimosaceae considered dominant. Ricinus communis (Euphorbiaceae, Mimosa verrucata (Mimosaceae and M. arenosa (Mimosaceae were considered important isolated pollen. The most representative families found in the pollen spectrum of the honey samples were Mimosaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Asteraceae and Anacardiaceae

Pollen harvest by Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae in the Dourados region, Mato Grosso do Sul state (Brazil Pólen coletado por Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae na região de Dourados, estado de Mato Grosso do Sul (Brasil

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D'Apolito

2010-12-01

Full Text Available We present data on the pollen harvest by Apismellifera L. at a central-western Brazil site not yet studied. Corbiculae pollen loads were collected during one year in front of the hive, acetolysed and slides mounted for optical microscopy. Identification followed comparisons with a local pollen collection. Forty-two pollen types were utilized by the bee; the most important families were Myrtaceae, Asteraceae, Euphorbiaceae, Brassicaceae and Poaceae. The genus/species level ranking of relative importance showed Eucalyptus (19%, Raphanus raphanistrum (13%, Poaceae type 2 (7.5%, Jatropha cf. gossypiifolia (7% and Sapium glandulatum (6.5%. Overall, the majority of pollen types (80% were not abundantly harvested, and a minority (4% reached values of 10%. Given that the study area has cultivated plants and not natural vegetation, we indicate most of the identified species as manageable and point out that weedy vegetation can be an important food source for bees since it frequently occurred in the pollen spectra even within a totally cultivated area.Apresentamos dados sobre a coleta de pólen por Apis mellifera L. em uma localidade no centro-oeste do Brasil, ainda não estudada. Cargas corbiculares de pólen foram coletadas durante um ano em frente ao ninho, acetolisadas e montadas em lâminas para microscopia óptica. A identificação foi feita por comparação com uma coleção de referência local. Quarenta e dois tipos polínicos foram utilizados pelas abelhas; as famílias mais importantes foram Myrtaceae, Asteraceae, Euphorbiaceae, Brassicaceae e Poaceae. O ranqueamento de importância relativa para gênero/espécie mostrou Eucalyptus (19%, Raphanus raphanistrum (13%, Poaceae tipo 2 (7,5%, Jatropha cf. gossypiifolia (7% e Sapium glandulatum (6,5%. No geral, a maioria dos recursos (80% não foi utilizada com abundância, e uma minoria (4% alcançou valores de 10%. Dado que a área de estudo não possui uma vegetação natural, mas cultivares, n

Author Details

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Improving honey production in worker bees (Apis mellifera adansoni L.) hymenoptera: apidae through artificial modification of their feeding activities. Abstract PDF · Vol 13, No 2 (2013) - Articles Challenges associated with the honey bee (Apis Mellifera Adansonii) colonies establishment in South Western Nigeria

Managed Bumble Bees (Bombus impatiens) (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Caged With Blueberry Bushes at High Density Did Not Increase Fruit Set or Fruit Weight Compared to Open Pollination.

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, J W; O'Brien, J; Irvin, J H; Kimmel, C B; Daniels, J C; Ellis, J D

2017-04-01

Highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) is an important crop grown throughout Florida. Currently, most blueberry growers use honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) to provide pollination services for highbush blueberries even though bumble bees (Bombus spp.) have been shown to be more efficient at pollinating blueberries on a per bee basis. In general, contribution of bumble bees to the pollination of commercial highbush blueberries in Florida is unknown. Herein, we determined if managed bumble bees could contribute to highbush blueberry pollination. There were four treatments in this study: two treatments of caged commercial bumble bee (Bombus impatiens Cresson) colonies (low and high weight hives), a treatment excluding all pollinators, and a final treatment which allowed all pollinators (managed and wild pollinators) in the area have access to the plot. All treatments were located within a highbush blueberry field containing two cultivars of blooming plants, 'Emerald' and 'Millennia', with each cage containing 16 mature blueberry plants. We gathered data on fruit set, berry weight, and number of seeds produced per berry. When pollinators were excluded, fruit set was significantly lower in both cultivars (58%). Berry weight was not significantly different among the treatments, and the number of seeds per berry did not show a clear response. This study emphasizes the importance of bumble bees as an effective pollinator of blueberries and the potential beneficial implications of the addition of bumble bees in commercial blueberry greenhouses or high tunnels. © The Authors 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Agile Software Development in Defense Acquisition: A Mission Assurance Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-23

based information retrieval system, we might say that this program works like a hive of bees , going out for pollen and bringing it back to the hive...developers ® Six Siqma is reqistered in the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office by Motorola ^_ 33 @ AEROSPACE Major Areas in a Typical Software...requirements - Capturing and evaluating quality metrics, identifying common problem areas **» Despite its positive impact on quality, pair programming

Potential pollinators of tomato, Lycopersicon esculentum (Solanaceae), in open crops and the effect of a solitary bee in fruit set and quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Santos, A O R; Bartelli, B F; Nogueira-Ferreira, F H

2014-06-01

We identified native bees that are floral visitors and potential pollinators of tomato in Cerrado areas, described the foraging behavior of these species, and verified the influence of the visitation of a solitary bee on the quantity and quality of fruits. Three areas of tomato crops, located in Minas Gerais, Brazil, were sampled between March and November 2012. We collected 185 bees belonging to 13 species. Exomalopsis (Exomalopsis) analis Spinola, 1853 (Hymenoptera: Apidae) was the most abundant. Ten species performed buzz pollination. Apis mellifera L. 1758 (Hymenoptera: Apidae) and Paratrigona lineata (Lepeletier, 1836) (Hymenoptera: Apidae) could also act as pollinators. The fruit set and number of seeds obtained from the pollination treatment by E. analis were higher than those in the control group. Our results allowed the identification of potential tomato pollinators in Cerrado areas and also contributed information regarding the impact of a single species (E. analis) on fruit set and quality. Although most of the visiting bees show the ability for tomato pollination, there is an absence of adequate management techniques, and its usage is difficult with the aim of increasing the crop production, which is the case for E. analis. Species such as Melipona quinquefasciata, P. lineata, and A. mellifera, which are easy to handle, are not used for pollination services. Finally, it is suggested that a combination of different bee species that are able to pollinate the tomato is necessary to prevent the super-exploitation of only a single species for pollination services and to guarantee the occurrence of potential pollinators in the crop area.

Development of a user-friendly delivery method for the fungus Metarhizium anisopliae to control the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor in honey bee, Apis mellifera, colonies.

Science.gov (United States)

Kanga, Lambert H B; Adamczyk, John; Patt, Joseph; Gracia, Carlos; Cascino, John

2010-12-01

A user-friendly method to deliver Metarhizium spores to honey bee colonies for control of Varroa mites was developed and tested. Patty blend formulations protected the fungal spores at brood nest temperatures and served as an improved delivery system of the fungus to bee hives. Field trials conducted in 2006 in Texas using freshly harvested spores indicated that patty blend formulations of 10 g of conidia per hive (applied twice) significantly reduced the numbers of mites per adult bee, mites in sealed brood cells, and residual mites at the end of the 47-day experimental period. Colony development in terms of adult bee populations and brood production also improved. Field trials conducted in 2007 in Florida using less virulent spores produced mixed results. Patty blends of 10 g of conidia per hive (applied twice) were less successful in significantly reducing the number of mites per adult bee. However, hive survivorship and colony strength were improved, and the numbers of residual mites were significantly reduced at the end of the 42-day experimental period. The overall results from 2003 to 2008 field trials indicated that it was critical to have fungal spores with good germination, pathogenicity and virulence. We determined that fungal spores (1 × 10(10) viable spores per gram) with 98% germination and high pathogenicity (95% mite mortality at day 7) provided successful control of mite populations in established honey bee colonies at 10 g of conidia per hive (applied twice). Overall, microbial control of Varroa mite with M. anisopliae is feasible and could be a useful component of an integrated pest management program.

Interpatch foraging in honeybees-rational decision making at secondary hubs based upon time and motivation.

Science.gov (United States)

Najera, Daniel A; McCullough, Erin L; Jander, Rudolf

2012-11-01

For honeybees, Apis mellifera, the hive has been well known to function as a primary decision-making hub, a place from which foragers decide among various directions, distances, and times of day to forage efficiently. Whether foraging honeybees can make similarly complex navigational decisions from locations away from the hive is unknown. To examine whether or not such secondary decision-making hubs exist, we trained bees to forage at four different locations. Specifically, we trained honeybees to first forage to a distal site "CT" 100 m away from the hive; if food was present, they fed and then chose to go home. If food was not present, the honeybees were trained to forage to three auxiliary sites, each at a different time of the day: A in the morning, B at noon, and C in the afternoon. The foragers learned to check site CT for food first and then efficiently depart to the correct location based upon the time of day if there was no food at site CT. Thus, the honeybees were able to cognitively map motivation, time, and five different locations (Hive, CT, A, B, and C) in two spatial dimensions; these are the contents of the cognitive map used by the honeybees here. While at site CT, we verified that the honeybees could choose between 4 different directions (to A, B, C, and the Hive) and thus label it as a secondary decision-making hub. The observed decision making uncovered here is inferred to constitute genuine logical operations, involving a branched structure, based upon the premises of motivational state, and spatiotemporal knowledge.

Extraction and Categorisation of User Activity from Windows Restore Points

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Damir Kahvedzic

2008-12-01

Full Text Available The extraction of the user activity is one of the main goals in the analysis of digital evidence. In this paper we present a methodology for extracting this activity by comparing multiple Restore Points found in the Windows XP operating system. The registry copies represent a snapshot of the state of the system at a certain point in time. Differences between them can reveal user activity from one instant to another. The algorithms for comparing the hives and interpreting the results are of high complexity. We develop an approach that takes into account the nature of the investigation and the characteristics of the hives to reduce the complexity of the comparison and result interpretation processes. The approach concentrates on hives that present higher activity and highlights only those differences that are relevant to the investigation. The approach is implemented as a software tool that is able to compare any set of offline hives and categorise the results according to the user needs. The categorisation of the results, in terms of activity will help the investigator in interpreting the results. In this paper we present a general concept of result categorisation to prove its efficiency on Windows XP, but these can be adapted to any Windows versions including the latest versions.  

International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences - Vol 11 ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... L. 1758: Hymenoptera, Apidae) in three beekeeping sites of the Democratic Republic of Congo · EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT. Boniface Posho Ndola, Paul Malumba, Bernard Wathelet, Eric Haubruge, Frederic Francis, Bach Kim Nguyen, 541-555.

Aphid parasitoids species and their hosts in Western South of Tunisia (Hymneoptera: Aphidiidae, Aphidiinae and Hemiptera: Aphididae)

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Ayadi, M.; Starý, Petr; Belkadi, M. S.; Kamel, M. B.

2017-01-01

Roč. 27, č. 2 (2017), s. 223-226 ISSN 1110-1768 Institutional support: RVO:60077344 Keywords : Aphididae * Aphidiidae * Aphidiinae Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour OBOR OECD: Ecology Impact factor: 0.184, year: 2016

Causes and Scale of Winter Flights in Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera Carnica Colonies

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Węgrzynowicz Paweł

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Winter honey bee losses were evaluated during the two overwintering periods of 2009/2010 and 2010/2011. The research included dead bee workers that fell on the hive bottom board (debris and the ones that flew out of the hive. Differences were observed in the number of bees fallen as debris between the two periods, whereas the number of bees flying out was similar in both years. No differences were found between the numbers of dead bees in strong and weak colonies. The percentage of bees flying out of the colony increased in the presence of Nosema spores, Varroa infestation, increased average air temperature, and insolation during the day. In addition, both the presence of Nosema and insolation during the day had an impact on the number of bees that died and fell on the hive board.

Erythromycin residue in honey from the Southern Marmara region of Turkey.

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Gunes, Nazmiye; Cibik, Recep; Gunes, Mesut Ertan; Aydin, Levent

2008-11-01

Honey samples, collected from the Southern Marmara region of Turkey, were analysed for erythromycin residues by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry using electrospray ionization in the positive ion mode (LC-ESI-MS). Fifty samples, comprising chestnut, pine, linden and multi-flower honeys, were collected directly from hives and analyzed. The limit of detection and quantification were 6 and 20 ng g(-1), respectively, and recovery ranged from 85 to 89%. Four of the honey samples (8%) were found to be contaminated with erythromycin residues at concentrations ranging from 50 to 1776 ng g(-1). An erythromycin-fortified cake feeding assay was also performed in a defined hive to test the transfer of erythromycin residue to the honey matrix. In this test hive, the residue level in the honey, 3 months after dosing, was approximately 28 ng g(-1).

Possibility of treating Varroa acariasis (Varroa jacobsoni oud with natural substances

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Bacandritsos N.

2004-01-01

Full Text Available Bee acariasis, caused by the mite Varroa jacobsoni Oudemans [26], represents a serious problem for apiculture. It is caused primarily due to the application of synthetic chemical miticides, which under certain conditions may result in the parasitism of bees. They become vulnerable to chemical treatment, along with probable deterioration of the quality of honey produced. This assay examines the possibility of treating bee Varroasis with a mixture of thymol, menthol and ethereal oils of eucalyptus and citronella. This mixture, in different doses, was applied to experimental hives and to regular Langstroh hives by means of specially-prepared pieces of moss. The greatest efficacy (89.71-90.20% was found in both hives when the mixture was used in a dosage of 15 grams of thymol to one gram of menthol, 3 ml eucalyptus oil and 1 ml citronella.

Eficacia del Oxavar® para el Control del Ácaro Varroa destructor (Varroidae en Colmenas de Apis mellifera (Apidae Efficacy of Oxavar® to control the mite Varroa destructor (Varroidae in honeybee colonies of Apis mellifera (Apidae

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Jorge Augusto Marcangeli

2003-12-01

Full Text Available El objetivo del trabajo fue evaluar la eficacia del producto Oxavar® para el control del ácaro Varroa destructor (Anderson & Trueman en colmenas de abejas Apis mellifera durante la primavera de 2002 y otoño de 2003. El trabajo se llevó a cabo en el apiario experimental del Centro de Extensión Apícola ubicado en Coronel Vidal, provincia de Buenos Aires. Se trabajó sobre un total de 20 colmenas tipo Langstroth que se dividieron en dos grupos iguales. El primer grupo recibió 5 ml de Oxavar® (323 g en 5000 ml de agua destilada por cuadro cubierto por abejas. El segundo grupo, el testigo, recibió 5 ml de agua destilada por cuadro cubierto por abejas. Ambos grupos recibieron tres dosis a intervalos de siete días. Semanalmente, se recolectaron los ácaros muertos caídos en pisos especiales que evitaban que las abejas los eliminen. Posteriormente, en los dos grupos se colocaron tiras del producto Apistan® para eliminar los ácaros remanentes en las colonias y poder así calcular la eficacia del tratamiento. El producto Oxavar® presentó una eficacia promedio de 85,5 % ± 2,8 durante la primavera y 86,1% ± 2,6 durante el otoño, no mostrando diferencias significativas entre las estaciones (p> 0,05. En ambos casos se registraron diferencias significativas frente al grupo control (pThe aim of this work was to evaluate the acaricide efficacy of Oxavar® to control Varroa destructor (Anderson & Trueman in Apis mellifera (L colonies during the spring 2002 and the autumn 2003. Work was done at “Centro de Extensión Apícola” experimental apiary located in Coronel Vidal, province of Buenos Aires. Twenty Langstroth hives were used divided in two equal groups. The first group received 5 ml of Oxavar® (323 g in 5000 ml of destiled water per comb covered by honeybees and the second one received 5 ml of destiled water. Both groups received three dosages at seven day periods. Dead mites were collected weekly from special floors in order to avoid

Effects of selfsuperparasitism and host age on fitness-correlated traits in the solitary endoparasitoid wasp Meteorus pulchricornis

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Zhang, Bo; Li, Baoping; Meng, Ling

2014-01-01

Abstract The domed fitness functions are suggested to describe developmental patterns of progeny parasitoids in relation to host age at oviposition in solitary koinobint parasitoids that are engaged in single parasitism, but few studies have investigated the applicability of the functions as related to superparasitism. The present study was designed to compare fitness functions between single parasitism and superparasitism by examining developmental patterns of Meteorus pulchricornis (Wesmael) (Hymneoptera: Braconidae) progeny in relation to the beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua Hübner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), either singly parasitized or self-superparasitized as second–fifth instar larvae. Selfsuperparasitism caused deleterious effects on the fitness-related traits of parasitoid progeny, as demonstrated by a prolonged egg-to-adult emergence time, a smaller body size, and shorter longevity of the emerging adults, and decreased survival to adult emergence. While the domed fitness function was detected for development time, survival, adult body size, and longevity in relation to host larvae that were singly parasitized, the function was observed only for progeny survival in relation to host larvae that were self-superparasitized. This study suggests that developmental fitness functions with selfsuperparasitism can deviate from those with single parasitism in solitary koinobiont parasitoids. PMID:25201512

Effects of self-superparasitism and host age on fitness-correlated traits in the solitary endoparasitoid wasp Meteorus pulchricornis.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Bo; Li, Baoping; Meng, Ling

2014-01-01

The domed fitness functions are suggested to describe developmental patterns of progeny parasitoids in relation to host age at oviposition in solitary koinobint parasitoids that are engaged in single parasitism, but few studies have investigated the applicability of the functions as related to superparasitism. The present study was designed to compare fitness functions between single parasitism and superparasitism by examining developmental patterns of Meteorus pulchricornis (Wesmael) (Hymneoptera: Braconidae) progeny in relation to the beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua Hübner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), either singly parasitized or self-superparasitized as second-fifth instar larvae. Self-superparasitism caused deleterious effects on the fitness-related traits of parasitoid progeny, as demonstrated by a prolonged egg-to-adult emergence time, a smaller body size, and shorter longevity of the emerging adults, and decreased survival to adult emergence. While the domed fitness function was detected for development time, survival, adult body size, and longevity in relation to host larvae that were singly parasitized, the function was observed only for progeny survival in relation to host larvae that were self-superparasitized. This study suggests that developmental fitness functions with self-superparasitism can deviate from those with single parasitism in solitary koinobiont parasitoids.

The bacterial communities associated with honey bee (Apis mellifera foragers.

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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.

Estudio sobre la Eficacia a Campo del Amivar® contra Varroa destructor (Mesostigmata: Varroidae en Colmenas de Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae Research on Amivar® efficacy against Varroa destructor (Mesostigmata: Varroidae in honey bee colonies of Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae

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Jorge Marcangeli

2005-07-01

Full Text Available El objetivo del trabajo fue evaluar la eficacia del producto Amivar® para el control del ácaro Varroa destructor Anderson & Trueman, en colmenas de abejas durante el otoño de 2003. El trabajo se llevó a cabo en el apiario experimental del Centro de Extensión Apícola ubicado en Coronel Vidal, provincia de Buenos Aires. Se trabajó sobre un total de 20 colmenas tipo Langstroth que se dividieron en dos grupos iguales. En el primer grupo se introdujo una tira de Amivar® (amitraz, 1gr, Apilab, Argentina en el centro del nido de cría de las colmenas. El segundo grupo, sólo recibió el tratamiento de Oxavar® para determinar el número total de ácaros presentes en las colmenas. Semanalmente, se recolectaron los ácaros muertos caídos en pisos especiales que evitaban que las abejas los eliminen. Posteriormente, los dos grupos recibieron tres dosis en total a intervalos de siete días de 5 ml del producto Oxavar® (Apilab-INTA, Argentina; 64,6 g/l; ácido oxálico en agua destilada por cuadro cubierto por abejas para eliminar los ácaros remanentes en las colonias y poder así calcular la eficacia del tratamiento. El producto Amivar® presentó una eficacia promedio de 85,05%±3,39 (rango=79,5 91,6, registrándose diferencias significativas frente al grupo control (pThe aim of this work was to evaluate the acaricide efficacy of Amivar® (amitraz, Apilab, Argentina to control Varroa destructor Anderson & Trueman, in Apis mellifera colonies during the autumn 2003. Work was done at "Centro de Extensión Apícola" experimental apiary located in Coronel Vidal, province of Buenos Aires. Twenty Langstroth hives were used divided in two equal groups. The first group received one strip of Amivar® (amitraz, 1 gr in the center of brood area. The second one represented the control group. Dead mites were collected weekly from special floors designed to avoid mite removal by adult honeybees. Then, a total of three doses of 5 ml of Oxavar® at seven days

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African Journals Online (AJOL)

Tope, SF. Vol 4, No 4 (2010) - Articles Foraging behaviour of Apis mellifera adansonii Latreille (Hymenoptera : Apidae) on Daniellia oliveri, Delonix regia, Hymenocardia acida and Terminalia mantaly flowers in Ngaoundéré (Cameroon) Abstract PDF. ISSN: 1997-342X. AJOL African Journals Online. HOW TO USE AJOL.

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African Journals Online (AJOL)

Mbianda, AP. Vol 4, No 4 (2010) - Articles Foraging behaviour of Apis mellifera adansonii Latreille (Hymenoptera : Apidae) on Daniellia oliveri, Delonix regia, Hymenocardia acida and Terminalia mantaly flowers in Ngaoundéré (Cameroon) Abstract PDF. ISSN: 1997-342X. AJOL African Journals Online. HOW TO USE AJOL ...

Tritium concentrations in bees and honey at Los Alamos National Laboratory: 1979-1996

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fresquez, P.R.; Armstrong, D.R.; Pratt, L.H.

1997-01-01

Honeybees are effective monitors of environmental pollution. The objective of this study was to summarize tritium ({sup 3}H) concentrations in bees and honey collected from within and around Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) over an 18-year period. Based on the long-term average, bees from nine out of eleven hives and honey from six out of eleven hives on LANL lands contained {sup 3}H that was significantly higher (p <0.05) than background. The highest average concentration of {sup 3}H in bees (435 pCi mL{sup -1}) collected over the years was from LANL`s Technical Area (TA) 54-a low-level radioactive waste disposal site (Area G). Similarly, the highest average concentration of {sup 3}H in honey (709 pCi mL{sup - 1}) was collected from a hive located near three {sup 3}H storage ponds at LANL TA-53. The average concentrations of {sup 3}H in bees and honey from background hives was 1.0 pCi mL{sup -1} and 1.5 pCi ML{sup -1}, respectively. Although the concentrations of 3H in bees and honey from most LANL and perimeter (White Rock/Pajarito Acres) areas were significantly higher than background, most areas, with the exception of TA-53 and TA-54, generally exhibited decreasing 3H concentrations over time.

Termorregulação em colônias de Melipona eburnea (Apidae: Meliponina criadas racionalmente em Rio Branco, Acre

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Francisco Cildomar da Silva Correia

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Resumo. A temperatura é o agente climático que afeta mais diretamente o metabolismo das abelhas, influenciando no desenvolvimento das crias, podendo acarretar resultados negativos para produção de mel. O objetivo deste estudo foi conhecer a diferença da termorregulação de colônias de Melipona eburnea Friese. As observações foram realizadas en­tre 09 de junho e 09 de julho de 2016, 24 horas por dia, utilizando-se dois ninhos de M. eburnea, um em caixa racional e outro em troncode árvore. Utilizou-se Data Logger(modelo HOBO U12 – 012, com exatidão de ±0,35 °C. Verificou-se que o ninho de M. eburnea em oco de árvore manteve uma temperatura média de 31,7 ºC, enquanto que o ninho em caixa racional apresentou temperatura média de 27,8 ºC. A temperatura ambiente variou de 16,6 a 34,2 °C, com média de 23,8 ºC. A espécie M. eburnea em caixa racional apresentou termorregulação inferior à colônia em oco de árvore e também maior oscilação de temperatura. Concluiu-se que M. eburnea mantém sua colônia em homeostase, mesmo quando há variações na temperatura ambiente (ninho em oco de árvore. M. eburnea apresentou termorregulação insatisfatória, quando mantida em caixa racional. Thermoregulation in colonies of Melipona eburnea Friese(Apidae: Meliponina rationally bred in Rio Branco, Acre Abstract. Temperature is the climatic agent that most directly affects the metabolism of bees, influencing at the development of the young being able lead to negative results for honey production. The objective of this study was to know the difference of thermoregulation of Melipona eburnea Friese colonies. The observations were made between June 9 and July 9, 2016, 24 hours a day, using two nests of M. eburnea, one in rational box and the other in tree trunk. Was used Data Logger (model HOBO U12-012 was used, with accuracy of ± 0.35 °C. Was verified that the nest of M. eburnea in tree hollow maintained an average temperature of 31

Efecto del cambio del paisaje en la estructura de la comunidad de abejas sin aguijón (Hymenoptera: Apidae en Meta, Colombia

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Guiomar Nates-Parra

2008-09-01

Full Text Available Las abejas sin aguijón son unos de los polinizadores naturales más diversos de la fauna Apoidea en los trópicos. Nidifican en diversos sustratos y distintos ambientes, existiendo algunas especies típicas de lugares naturales o artificiales. La alteración del medio donde nidifican tiene un importante impacto sobre la composición natural de su estructura, hecho que se ve reflejado también en la densidad de nidos. Analizamos la composición de la estructura de la comunidad de abejas sin aguijón en tres paisajes del piedemonte llanero colombiano, una región importante por representar la transición entre ambientes andinos y de sabana (seriamente amenazada por la ganadería intensiva. Realizamos muestreos sistemáticos en bosque secundario, agro-ecosistema y zona urbana; registramos la presencia de 204 nidos de 11 géneros representados por 24 especies. La riqueza de abejas sin aguijón fue similar, aun cuando hubo diferencias significativas en la estructura de la comunidad en los tres paisajes. La densidad de nidos por paisaje fue heterogénea y nunca mayor de 16 nidos/Ha. Observamos dos patrones de nidificación y registramos diferente número de especies en la misma zona utilizando otro criterio de muestreo.Effect of landscape change on the structure of the sting-less bee community (Hymenoptera: Apidae in Meta, Colombia. Stingless bees represent one of the most diversified components of the natural Apoidea fauna of pollinators in the tropics. They use diverse kinds of substrates and inhabit varied habitats. Some species are typical for some natural either artificial place. The landscape alteration were this group of bees nests, has and important impact on the natural composition of its community structure, fact which is reflected in the nest density. We analyzed the structure composition of the stingless bees’ community in three environments in the Colombian llanos piedmont, an important region that represents the transition between

Pollination and yield responses of cowpea ( Vigna unguiculata L ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

To determine the apicultural value of Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. (Fabaceae) and evaluate the Apis mellifera adansonii Latreille (Hymenoptera: Apidae) activity on its pod and seed yields, the bee foraging and pollinating activities were studied in Ngaoundéré. The experiment was carried out within the University of ...

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African Journals Online (AJOL)

Fasasi, KA. Vol 13, No 1 (2011) - Articles Studies on the life cycle and morphometrics of honeybees, Apis Mellifera adansonii (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in a Mangrove Area of Lagos, Nigeria Abstract PDF. ISSN: 0794-4896. AJOL African Journals Online. HOW TO USE AJOL... for Researchers · for Librarians · for Authors ...

Ensayo a campo sobre la eficacia del Colmesan® contra el ácaro Varroa destructor (Varroidae en colmenas de Apis mellifera (Apidae Field assay of Colmesan® efficacy against the mite Varroa destructor (Varroidae in honey bee colonies of Apis mellifera (Apidae

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Jorge Marcangeli

2004-12-01

Full Text Available El objetivo del trabajo fue evaluar la eficacia del producto Colmesan® para el control del ácaro Varroa destructor (Anderson &Trueman en colmenas de abejas durante el otoño de 2003. El trabajo se llevó a cabo en el apiario experimental ubicado en la ciudad de La Plata, provincia de Buenos Aires. Se trabajó sobre un total de 10 colmenas tipo "Langstroth" que se dividieron en dos grupos iguales. El primer grupo recibió dos dosis de Colmesan® (amitraz, 2,05 g, aplicadas a intervalos de 10 días. El segundo grupo, no recibió ningún tipo de tratamiento. Semanalmente, se recolectaron los ácaros muertos caídos en pisos especiales que evitaban que las abejas los eliminen. Posteriormente, los dos grupos recibieron tres dosis semanales de 5 ml del producto Oxavar® (64,6g/l ácido oxálico en agua destilada por cuadro cubierto por abejas para eliminar los ácaros remanentes en las colonias y poder así calcular la eficacia del tratamiento. El producto Colmesan® presentó una eficacia promedio de 70,92% ± 11,93 (rango = 57,92 - 85,42, registrándose diferencias significativas frente al grupo control (pThe aim of this work was to evaluate the acaricide efficacy of Colmesan® to control Varroa destructor (Anderson & Trueman in Apis mellifera (L. colonies during the autumn 2003. Work was done at an experimental apiary located in La Plata city, province of Buenos Aires. Ten Langstroth hives were used divided in two equal groups. The first group received Colmesan® (amitraz, 2,05 g in 2 doses at 10 days period. The second one represented the control group. Dead mites were collected weekly from special floors designed to avoid mite removal by adult honeybees. Then, 3 weekly doses of 5 ml of Oxavar® (64.6 g/l oxalic acid in destilled water were placed in each colony to kill remanent mites and the acaricide efficacy was calculated. Colmesan® showed an average acaricide efficacy of 70.92% ± 11.93 (range = 57.92 -85.42, showing significant

Browse Title Index

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Items 1 - 50 of 391 ... Vol 13, No 2 (2011), A review of the evolution of trappiing strategies for the control of trypanosomiasis and tsetse flies (Glossina spp) in africa (1908 -2004), Abstract ... Vol 9, No 2 (2007):, A survey of indigenous knowledge of stingless bees (Apidae: meliponini) in the central region of Ghana, Abstract.

Suviseid muusikauudiseid

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

2004-01-01

Uutest heliplaatidest Emma "Free Me", Beastie Boys "To The Bordughs", J.J. Cale "To Tulsa And Back", Gilberto "Bebel", Totally Wired Series 2, "Music For Coctails. Part 2", bossacucanova "Uma batida Differente", Blaze "Found Love", Angels "Chill Trance Essentials", S/ Superclub "Superclub Cruise", Headman "Dance Modern", Earth, brigade Nouveau "The Many Moods Of Brigade", Marco Bailey "Rudeboy", "Spider-Man 2", "ZZ Top", The Hives "Tyrannosaurus Hives", Europe "Rock The Night", Van Halen "The Best Of Both Words", Robert Rodriguez "Mexico and Mariachis", "The Football Factory", 2pac "Live"

Photos & Graphics: Urticaria (Hives) and Angioedema

Science.gov (United States)

... Conditions Drug Guide Conditions Dictionary Just for Kids Library School Tools Videos Virtual Allergist Education & Training Careers in ... Support the AAAAI Foundation Donate Utility navigation Español Journals Annual Meeting Member Login / My Membership Search navigation ...

Biologia floral de Croton urucurana Baill. (Euphorbiaceae ocorrente em vegetação ripária da ilha Porto Rico, Porto Rico, Estado do Paraná, Brasil - DOI: 10.4025/actascibiolsci.v26i2.1638 Floral biology of Croton urucurana Baill (Euphorbiaceae that occurs in riparian vegetation of Porto Rico Island, in Porto Rico, Paraná, Brazil - DOI: 10.4025/actascibiolsci.v26i2.1638

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Luiz Antonio de Souza

2004-04-01

Full Text Available Foram realizados estudos de biologia floral em Croton urucurana, espécie monóica, arbórea, pioneira e recomendada para a recuperação de matas ciliares. As flores são diclinas, pequenas, apresentam coloração amarelo-esverdeada e dispõem-se em inflorescências racemosas. A antese é noturna, por volta das 23h, e as flores duram três dias. Os visitantes florais foram insetos das ordens Diptera, Odonata, Lepidoptera, Hemiptera e Hymenoptera (Apidae e Vespidae, sendo Apis mellifera a espécie mais freqüenteStudies of floral biology were developed on Croton urucurana, a pioneer monoecious tree, recommended to be used in the process of regeneration of the riparian forest. The plant presents small yellow-greenish unisexual flowers, disposed in racemose inflorescences. Anthesis occurs at night, flowers last three days and open around 11 pm. Flowers are visited by insects belonging to the following Orders Diptera, Odonata, Lepidoptera, Hemiptera and Hymenoptera (Apidae and Vespidae. Apis mellifera was the most frequent flower visitor

Molecular Pathology of Neuro-AIDS (CNS-HIV

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Eliezer Masliah

2009-03-01

Full Text Available The cognitive deficits in patients with HIV profoundly affect the quality of life of people living with this disease and have often been linked to the neuro-inflammatory condition known as HIV encephalitis (HIVE. With the advent of more effective anti-retroviral therapies, HIVE has shifted from a sub-acute to a chronic condition. The neurodegenerative process in patients with HIVE is characterized by synaptic and dendritic damage to pyramidal neurons, loss of calbindin-immunoreactive interneurons and myelin loss. The mechanisms leading to neurodegeneration in HIVE might involve a variety of pathways, and several lines of investigation have found that interference with signaling factors mediating neuroprotection might play an important role. These signaling pathways include, among others, the GSK3b, CDK5, ERK, Pyk2, p38 and JNK cascades. Of these, GSK3b has been a primary focus of many previous studies showing that in infected patients, HIV proteins and neurotoxins secreted by immune-activated cells in the brain abnormally activate this pathway, which is otherwise regulated by growth factors such as FGF. Interestingly, modulation of the GSK3b signaling pathway by FGF1 or GSK3b inhibitors (lithium, valproic acid is protective against HIV neurotoxicity, and several pilot clinical trials have demonstrated cognitive improvements in HIV patients treated with GSK3b inhibitors. In addition to the GSK3b pathway, the CDK5 pathway has recently been implicated as a mediator of neurotoxicity in HIV, and HIV proteins might activate this pathway and subsequently disrupt the diverse processes that CDK5 regulates, including synapse formation and plasticity and neurogenesis. Taken together, the GSK3b and CDK5 signaling pathways are important regulators of neurotoxicity in HIV, and modulation of these factors might have therapeutic potential in the treatment of patients suffering from HIVE. In this context, the subsequent sections will focus on reviewing the

Refugia, biodiversity, and pollination roles of bumble bees in the Madrean Archipelago

Science.gov (United States)

Justin O. Schmidt; Robert S. Jacobson

2005-01-01

Eight species of bumble bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Bombus) are present within five major Sky Island mountains of southern Arizona. Another four species exist in the nearby large mountainous region stretching from the Arizona White Mountains to Flagstaff. The distribution and number of bumble bee species within the individual Sky Island mountains varies from six in the...

Scalable Static and Dynamic Community Detection Using Grappolo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Halappanavar, Mahantesh; Lu, Hao; Kalyanaraman, Anantharaman; Tumeo, Antonino

2017-09-12

Graph clustering, popularly known as community detection, is a fundamental kernel for several applications of relevance to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Hierarchical Identify Verify Exploit (HIVE) Pro- gram. Clusters or communities represent natural divisions within a network that are densely connected within a cluster and sparsely connected to the rest of the network. The need to compute clustering on large scale data necessitates the development of efficient algorithms that can exploit modern architectures that are fundamentally parallel in nature. How- ever, due to their irregular and inherently sequential nature, many of the current algorithms for community detection are challenging to parallelize. In response to the HIVE Graph Challenge, we present several parallelization heuristics for fast community detection using the Louvain method as the serial template. We implement all the heuristics in a software library called Grappolo. Using the inputs from the HIVE Challenge, we demonstrate superior performance and high quality solutions based on four parallelization heuristics. We use Grappolo on static graphs as the first step towards community detection on streaming graphs.

Pollination services provided by bees in pumpkin fields supplemented with either Apis mellifera or Bombus impatiens or not supplemented.

Science.gov (United States)

Petersen, Jessica D; Reiners, Stephen; Nault, Brian A

2013-01-01

Pollinators provide an important service in many crops. Managed honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) are used to supplement pollination services provided by wild bees with the assumption that they will enhance pollination, fruit set and crop yield beyond the levels provided by the wild bees. Recent declines in managed honey bee populations have stimulated interest in finding alternative managed pollinators to service crops. In the eastern U.S., managed hives of the native common eastern bumble bee (Bombus impatiens Cresson) may be an excellent choice. To examine this issue, a comprehensive 2-yr study was conducted to compare fruit yield and bee visits to flowers in pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) fields that were either supplemented with A. mellifera hives, B. impatiens hives or were not supplemented. We compared pumpkin yield, A. mellifera flower visitation frequency and B. impatiens flower visitation frequency between treatments. Results indicated that supplementing pumpkin fields with either A. mellifera or B. impatiens hives did not increase their visitation to pumpkin flowers or fruit yield compared with those that were not supplemented. Next, the relationship between frequency of pumpkin flower visitation by the most prominent bee species (Peponapis pruinosa (Say), B. impatiens and A. mellifera) and fruit yield was determined across all pumpkin fields sampled. Fruit yield increased as the frequency of flower visits by A. mellifera and B. impatiens increased in 2011 and 2012, respectively. These results suggest that supplementation with managed bees may not improve pumpkin production and that A. mellifera and B. impatiens are important pollinators of pumpkin in our system.

Distribution of Paenibacillus larvae spores inside honey bee colonies and its relevance for diagnosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Gillard, M; Charriere, J D; Belloy, L

2008-09-01

One of the most important factors affecting the development of honey bee colonies is infectious diseases such as American foulbrood (AFB) caused by the spore forming Gram-positive bacterium Paenibacillus larvae. Colony inspections for AFB clinical symptoms are time consuming. Moreover, diseased cells in the early stages of the infection may easily be overlooked. In this study, we investigated whether it is possible to determine the sanitary status of a colony based on analyses of different materials collected from the hive. We analysed 237 bee samples and 67 honey samples originating from 71 colonies situated in 13 apiaries with clinical AFB occurrences. We tested whether a difference in spore load among bees inside the whole hive exists and which sample material related to its location inside the hive was the most appropriate for an early AFB diagnosis based on the culture method. Results indicated that diagnostics based on analysis of honey samples and bees collected at the hive entrance are of limited value as only 86% and 83%, respectively, of samples from AFB-symptomatic colonies were positive. Analysis of bee samples collected from the brood nest, honey chamber, and edge frame allowed the detection of all colonies showing AFB clinical symptoms. Microbiological analysis showed that more than one quarter of samples collected from colonies without AFB clinical symptoms were positive for P. larvae. Based on these results, we recommend investigating colonies by testing bee samples from the brood nest, edge frame or honey chamber for P. larvae spores.

Pollination services provided by bees in pumpkin fields supplemented with either Apis mellifera or Bombus impatiens or not supplemented.

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Jessica D Petersen

Full Text Available Pollinators provide an important service in many crops. Managed honey bees (Apis mellifera L. are used to supplement pollination services provided by wild bees with the assumption that they will enhance pollination, fruit set and crop yield beyond the levels provided by the wild bees. Recent declines in managed honey bee populations have stimulated interest in finding alternative managed pollinators to service crops. In the eastern U.S., managed hives of the native common eastern bumble bee (Bombus impatiens Cresson may be an excellent choice. To examine this issue, a comprehensive 2-yr study was conducted to compare fruit yield and bee visits to flowers in pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L. fields that were either supplemented with A. mellifera hives, B. impatiens hives or were not supplemented. We compared pumpkin yield, A. mellifera flower visitation frequency and B. impatiens flower visitation frequency between treatments. Results indicated that supplementing pumpkin fields with either A. mellifera or B. impatiens hives did not increase their visitation to pumpkin flowers or fruit yield compared with those that were not supplemented. Next, the relationship between frequency of pumpkin flower visitation by the most prominent bee species (Peponapis pruinosa (Say, B. impatiens and A. mellifera and fruit yield was determined across all pumpkin fields sampled. Fruit yield increased as the frequency of flower visits by A. mellifera and B. impatiens increased in 2011 and 2012, respectively. These results suggest that supplementation with managed bees may not improve pumpkin production and that A. mellifera and B. impatiens are important pollinators of pumpkin in our system.

Variación de la comunidad de abejas de las orquídeas (Hymenoptera: Apidae en tres ambientes perturbados del piedemonte llanero colombiano

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Alejandro Parra-H

2007-12-01

Full Text Available Las abejas de las orquídeas subsisten en vastas áreas de bosque tropicales gracias a que mantienen estrechas relaciones con tipos de vegetación particular en diversos micro-hábitats. Con base en este tipo de relaciones con el medio y características biológicas como preferencia por ciertos tipos de néctares y de polen, y diversidad morfológica y etológica de la tribu, es posible evaluar la calidad de un hábitat según la distribución de euglosinos. Este trabajo propone el uso de esta información, además de índices de diversidad para la evaluación de la calidad del medio. Entre marzo y diciembre de 2003 muestreamos tres tipos de paisaje (Urbano, Rural y Conservado en el piedemonte llanero colombiano, usando redes entomológicas y sustancias aromáticas (Cineol y Metil Salicilato. Para las 15 localidades muestreadas se registraron 17 de las 26 especies conocidas para el área. Eulaema nigrita fue la más frecuente mientras que Euglossa magnipes, E. cybelia, E. heterosticta, E. singularis, Eulaema bombiformis, E. speciosa y Exaerete frontalis correspondieron a ambientes considerados de aceptable a buena calidad. La composición y cercanía de fragmentos de bosque son factores favorables. La diversidad relativa (máxima variación de formas y tamaños dentro de la tribu, sería proporcional a la calidad del medio.Variation of the orchid bees community (Hymenoptera: Apidae in three altered habitats of the Colombian "llano" piedmont. Orchid bees subsist in vast tropical forest areas because they maintain close relationships with particular plant species in diverse micro-habitats. Based on the relationships among the environment and biological features (food preference, morphologic and ethologic diversity, it is possible to determine habitat quality using the euglossine array. This work proposes the use of this ecological information, in addition to diversity indices, for the evaluation of environmental quality. Fifteen localities in

Revisión taxonómica del subgénero Micrandrena (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Andrenidae: Andrena) de la Península Ibérica

OpenAIRE

Dardón Peralta, María José

2011-01-01

[ES]Las abejas (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) han sido clasificadas por diferentes autores siguiendo distintos criterios, aunque actualmente se emplea la propuesta de Michener (2007), quien establece siete familias: Andrenidae, Colletidae, Halictidae, Melittidae, Stenotritidae, Megachilidae y Apidae. La familia Andrenidae se divide en cuatro subfamilias: Oxaeinae, Andreninae, Alocandreninae y Panurginae. La subfamilia Andreninae está conformada por los géneros Ancyladrena Cockerell, 1930, Andrena...

Sublethal Effects of Imidacloprid on Honey Bee Colony Growth and Activity at Three Sites in the U.S.

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Meikle, William G; Adamczyk, John J; Weiss, Milagra; Gregorc, Ales; Johnson, Don R; Stewart, Scott D; Zawislak, Jon; Carroll, Mark J; Lorenz, Gus M

2016-01-01

Imidacloprid is a neonicotinoid pesticide heavily used by the agricultural industry and shown to have negative impacts on honey bees above certain concentrations. We evaluated the effects of different imidacloprid concentrations in sugar syrup using cage and field studies, and across different environments. Honey bee colonies fed sublethal concentrations of imidicloprid (0, 5, 20 and 100 ppb) over 6 weeks in field trials at a desert site (Arizona), a site near intensive agriculture (Arkansas) and a site with little nearby agriculture but abundant natural forage (Mississippi) were monitored with respect to colony metrics, such as adult bee and brood population sizes, as well as pesticide residues. Hive weight and internal hive temperature were monitored continuously over two trials in Arizona. Colonies fed 100 ppb imidacloprid in Arizona had significantly lower adult bee populations, brood surface areas and average frame weights, and reduced temperature control, compared to colonies in one or more of the other treatment groups, and consumption rates of those colonies were lower compared to other colonies in Arizona and Arkansas, although no differences in capped brood or average frame weight were observed among treatments in Arkansas. At the Mississippi site, also rich in alternative forage, colonies fed 5 ppb imidacloprid had less capped brood than control colonies, but contamination of control colonies was detected. In contrast, significantly higher daily hive weight variability among colonies fed 5 ppb imidacloprid in Arizona suggested greater foraging activity during a nectar flow post treatment, than any other treatment group. Imidacloprid concentrations in stored honey corresponded well with the respective syrup concentrations fed to the colonies and remained stable within the hive for at least 7 months after the end of treatment.

A short-term supranutritional vitamin E supplementation alleviated respiratory alkalosis but did not reduce oxidative stress in heat stressed pigs

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Fan Liu

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Objective Heat stress (HS triggers oxidative stress and respiratory alkalosis in pigs. The objective of this experiment was to study whether a short-term supranutritional amount of dietary vitamin E (VE can mitigate oxidative stress and respiratory alkalosis in heat-stressed pigs. Methods A total of 24 pigs were given either a control diet (17 IU/kg VE or a high VE (200 IU/kg VE; HiVE diet for 14 d, then exposed to thermoneutral (TN; 20°C, 45% humidity or HS (35°C, 35% to 45% humidity, 8 h daily conditions for 7 d. Respiration rate and rectal temperature were measured three times daily during the thermal exposure. Blood gas variables and oxidative stress markers were studied in blood samples collected on d 7. Results Although HiVE diet did not affect the elevated rectal temperature or respiration rate observed during HS, it alleviated (all p<0.05 for diet×temperature the loss of blood CO2 partial pressure and bicarbonate, as well as the increase in blood pH in the heat-stressed pigs. The HS reduced (p = 0.003 plasma biological antioxidant potential (BAP and tended to increase (p = 0.067 advanced oxidized protein products (AOPP in the heat-stressed pigs, suggesting HS triggers oxidative stress. The HiVE diet did not affect plasma BAP or AOPP. Only under TN conditions the HiVE diet reduced the plasma reactive oxygen metabolites (p<0.05 for diet× temperature. Conclusion A short-term supplementation with 200 IU/kg VE partially alleviated respiratory alkalosis but did not reduce oxidative stress in heat-stressed pigs.

Higher order visual input to the mushroom bodies in the bee, Bombus impatiens.

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Paulk, Angelique C; Gronenberg, Wulfila

2008-11-01

To produce appropriate behaviors based on biologically relevant associations, sensory pathways conveying different modalities are integrated by higher-order central brain structures, such as insect mushroom bodies. To address this function of sensory integration, we characterized the structure and response of optic lobe (OL) neurons projecting to the calyces of the mushroom bodies in bees. Bees are well known for their visual learning and memory capabilities and their brains possess major direct visual input from the optic lobes to the mushroom bodies. To functionally characterize these visual inputs to the mushroom bodies, we recorded intracellularly from neurons in bumblebees (Apidae: Bombus impatiens) and a single neuron in a honeybee (Apidae: Apis mellifera) while presenting color and motion stimuli. All of the mushroom body input neurons were color sensitive while a subset was motion sensitive. Additionally, most of the mushroom body input neurons would respond to the first, but not to subsequent, presentations of repeated stimuli. In general, the medulla or lobula neurons projecting to the calyx signaled specific chromatic, temporal, and motion features of the visual world to the mushroom bodies, which included sensory information required for the biologically relevant associations bees form during foraging tasks.

A Mathematical Model of Forager Loss in Honeybee Colonies Infested with Varroa destructor and the Acute Bee Paralysis Virus.

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Ratti, Vardayani; Kevan, Peter G; Eberl, Hermann J

2017-06-01

We incorporate a mathematical model of Varroa destructor and the Acute Bee Paralysis Virus with an existing model for a honeybee colony, in which the bee population is divided into hive bees and forager bees based on tasks performed in the colony. The model is a system of five ordinary differential equations with dependent variables: uninfected hive bees, uninfected forager bees, infected hive bees, virus-free mites and virus-carrying mites. The interplay between forager loss and disease infestation is studied. We study the stability of the disease-free equilibrium of the bee-mite-virus model and observe that the disease cannot be fought off in the absence of varroacide treatment. However, the disease-free equilibrium can be stable if the treatment is strong enough and also if the virus-carrying mites become virus-free at a rate faster than the mite birth rate. The critical forager loss due to homing failure, above which the colony fails, is calculated using simulation experiments for disease-free, treated and untreated mite-infested, and treated virus-infested colonies. A virus-infested colony without varroacide treatment fails regardless of the forager mortality rate.

The Activity of Carbohydrate-Degrading Enzymes in the Development of Brood and Newly Emerged workers and Drones of the Carniolan Honeybee, Apis mellifera carnica

OpenAIRE

Żółtowska, Krystyna; Lipiński, Zbigniew; Łopieńska-Biernat, Elżbieta; Farjan, Marek; Dmitryjuk, Małgorzata

2012-01-01

The activity of glycogen Phosphorylase and carbohydrate hydrolyzing enzymes α-amylase, glucoamylase, trehalase, and sucrase was studied in the development of the Carniolan honey bee, Apis mellifera carnica Pollman (Hymenoptera: Apidae), from newly hatched larva to freshly emerged imago of worker and drone. Phosphorolytic degradation of glycogen was significantly stronger than hydrolytic degradation in all developmental stages. Developmental profiles of hydrolase activity were similar in both ...

Heterogeneous Systems for Information-Variable Environments (HIVE)

Science.gov (United States)

2017-05-01

for reducing the burden, to Department of Defense, Washington Headquarters Services , Directorate for Information Operations and Reports (0704-0188...which emerges across a wide range of time scales, is often ignored in human–autonomy systems.1 Current technologies to estimate individual humans...actuated Hokuyo LiDAR, and a Garmin GPS), traversed these paths at a speed of about 1.2 m/s while recording all sensor data. Orange soccer balls were

A Viral (Arc)hive for Metazoan Memory.

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Parrish, Nicholas F; Tomonaga, Keizo

2018-01-11

Arc, a master regulator of synaptic plasticity, contains sequence elements that are evolutionarily related to retrotransposon Gag genes. Two related papers in this issue of Cell show that Arc retains retroviral-like capsid-forming ability and can transmit mRNA between cells in the nervous system, a process that may be important for synaptic function. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Gene expression patterns associated with neurological disease in human HIV infection.

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Pietro Paolo Sanna

Full Text Available The pathogenesis and nosology of HIV-associated neurological disease (HAND remain incompletely understood. Here, to provide new insight into the molecular events leading to neurocognitive impairments (NCI in HIV infection, we analyzed pathway dysregulations in gene expression profiles of HIV-infected patients with or without NCI and HIV encephalitis (HIVE and control subjects. The Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA algorithm was used for pathway analyses in conjunction with the Molecular Signatures Database collection of canonical pathways (MSigDb. We analyzed pathway dysregulations in gene expression profiles of patients from the National NeuroAIDS Tissue Consortium (NNTC, which consists of samples from 3 different brain regions, including white matter, basal ganglia and frontal cortex of HIV-infected and control patients. While HIVE is characterized by widespread, uncontrolled inflammation and tissue damage, substantial gene expression evidence of induction of interferon (IFN, cytokines and tissue injury is apparent in all brain regions studied, even in the absence of NCI. Various degrees of white matter changes were present in all HIV-infected subjects and were the primary manifestation in patients with NCI in the absence of HIVE. In particular, NCI in patients without HIVE in the NNTC sample is associated with white matter expression of chemokines, cytokines and β-defensins, without significant activation of IFN. Altogether, the results identified distinct pathways differentially regulated over the course of neurological disease in HIV infection and provide a new perspective on the dynamics of pathogenic processes in the course of HIV neurological disease in humans. These results also demonstrate the power of the systems biology analyses and indicate that the establishment of larger human gene expression profile datasets will have the potential to provide novel mechanistic insight into the pathogenesis of neurological disease in HIV

Honey Bee Colonies Remote Monitoring System

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Sergio Gil-Lebrero

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Bees are very important for terrestrial ecosystems and, above all, for the subsistence of many crops, due to their ability to pollinate flowers. Currently, the honey bee populations are decreasing due to colony collapse disorder (CCD. The reasons for CCD are not fully known, and as a result, it is essential to obtain all possible information on the environmental conditions surrounding the beehives. On the other hand, it is important to carry out such information gathering as non-intrusively as possible to avoid modifying the bees’ work conditions and to obtain more reliable data. We designed a wireless-sensor networks meet these requirements. We designed a remote monitoring system (called WBee based on a hierarchical three-level model formed by the wireless node, a local data server, and a cloud data server. WBee is a low-cost, fully scalable, easily deployable system with regard to the number and types of sensors and the number of hives and their geographical distribution. WBee saves the data in each of the levels if there are failures in communication. In addition, the nodes include a backup battery, which allows for further data acquisition and storage in the event of a power outage. Unlike other systems that monitor a single point of a hive, the system we present monitors and stores the temperature and relative humidity of the beehive in three different spots. Additionally, the hive is continuously weighed on a weighing scale. Real-time weight measurement is an innovation in wireless beehive—monitoring systems. We designed an adaptation board to facilitate the connection of the sensors to the node. Through the Internet, researchers and beekeepers can access the cloud data server to find out the condition of their hives in real time.

Experience during early adulthood shapes the learning capacities and the number of synaptic boutons in the mushroom bodies of honey bees (Apis mellifera).

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Cabirol, Amélie; Brooks, Rufus; Groh, Claudia; Barron, Andrew B; Devaud, Jean-Marc

2017-10-01

The honey bee mushroom bodies (MBs) are brain centers required for specific learning tasks. Here, we show that environmental conditions experienced as young adults affect the maturation of MB neuropil and performance in a MB-dependent learning task. Specifically, olfactory reversal learning was selectively impaired following early exposure to an impoverished environment lacking some of the sensory and social interactions present in the hive. In parallel, the overall number of synaptic boutons increased within the MB olfactory neuropil, whose volume remained unaffected. This suggests that experience of the rich in-hive environment promotes MB maturation and the development of MB-dependent learning capacities. © 2017 Cabirol et al.; Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.

Regional Disease Vector Ecology Profile East Asia

Science.gov (United States)

2002-04-01

includes fever, headache, abdominal pain, cough and vomiting. Ingestion of organisms in contaminated food or water may produce a painful pharyngitis...Tick paralysis is a potentially fatal but easily cured affliction of man and animals. It is almost exclusively associated with hard (ixodid) ticks and...humans are the Vespidae (wasps, hornets, and yellow jackets), the Apidae ( honey bees and bumble bees), and the Formicidae (ants). Wasps and ants can

Isolation of biologically active peptides from the venom of Japanese carpenter bee, Xylocopa appendiculata

OpenAIRE

Kawakami, Hiroko; Goto, Shin G.; Murata, Kazuya; Matsuda, Hideaki; Shigeri, Yasushi; Imura, Tomohiro; Inagaki, Hidetoshi; Shinada, Tetsuro

2017-01-01

Background Mass spectrometry-guided venom peptide profiling is a powerful tool to explore novel substances from venomous animals in a highly sensitive manner. In this study, this peptide profiling approach is successfully applied to explore the venom peptides of a Japanese solitary carpenter bee, Xylocopa appendiculata (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Apidae: Anthophila: Xylocopinae: Xylocopini). Although interesting biological effects of the crude venom of carpenter bees have been reported, the struct...

Metoclopramide Injection

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... in the jaw or neck speech problems depression thinking about harming or killing yourself fever muscle stiffness confusion fast, slow, or irregular heartbeat sweating seizures rash hives swelling ...

[Bee diversity in Tecoma stans (L.) Kunth (Bignoniaceae): importance for pollination and fruit production].

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, Cláudia I; Augusto, Solange C; Sofia, Silvia H; Moscheta, Ismar S

2007-01-01

Tecoma stans (L.) Kunth is an exotic plant in Brazil, commonly distributed in urban areas, which is considered an invasive species in crop and pasture areas. In this study, the floral biology and the behavior of bees in flowers of T. stans from three urban areas in southeastern Brazil were investigated. In all study sites, T. stans was an important food resource to the Apoidea to 48 species of bees. Centris tarsata Smith and Exomalopsis fulvofasciata Smith (Hymenoptera: Apidae) were the effective pollinators more abundant, while Scaptotrigona depilis Moure (Hymenoptera: Apidae) was the more frequent robber species. The most part of T. stans visitors (87.5%) exploited exclusively nectar, which varied in sugar concentration depending on the day period and flower phase. In all flower stages, higher averages of nectar concentration (26.4% to 32.7%) occurred from 10 am to 2 pm. The presence of osmophore in the petals and protandry were detected. In two urban areas the number of visitors varied significantly during the day. The greatest abundance of pollinators occurred when pollen availability was higher and flowers showed receptive stigma, which could be contributing to the reproductive success of T. stans. The results indicate that the production of fruits increased in plants that received a higher number of effective pollinators.

A new technique in the excavation of ground-nest bee burrows (Hymenoptera: Apoidea

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Diego Marinho

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Bees have a diversified natural history, thus the methods applied to study such diversity are varied. When it comes to studies of nesting biology, bees which nest in pre-existing cavities have been reasonably well studied since researchers started using trap-nests. However, bees whose nests are built underground are poorly studied due to the difficulty of finding natural nesting areas and the absence of a method that facilitates bee nest excavation. The latter is evidenced by the lack of accurate descriptions in literature of how nests are excavated. In this study we tested cylindrical rubber refills of eraser pen as a new material to be used as a tracer of underground nest galleries in a natural nesting area of two species of Epicharis Klug, 1807 (Apidae. We compared this technique directly with plaster in powder form mixed with water and our results with other methodological studies describing alternative methods and materials. The rubber refill technique overcame the main issues presented by materials such as plaster, molten metal alloys and bioplastic, namely: death of the organisms by high temperatures and/or formation of plugs and materials unduly following the roots inside the galleries. Keywords: Apidae, Apoidea, Brood cells, Methodology, Solitary bees

Effects of golf courses on local biodiversity.

OpenAIRE

Gange, A.C.; Tanner, R.A.

2005-01-01

There are approximately 2600 golf courses in the UK, occupying 0.7% of the total land cover. However, it is unknown whether these represent a significant resource, in terms of biodiversity conservation, or if they are significantly less diverse than the surrounding habitats. The diversity of vegetation (tree and herbaceous species) and three indicator taxa (birds, ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) and bumblebees (Hymenoptera, Apidae)) was studied on nine golf courses and nine adja...

How Bees Deter Elephants: Beehive Trials with Forest Elephants (Loxodonta africana cyclotis in Gabon.

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Steeve Ngama

Full Text Available In Gabon, like elsewhere in Africa, crops are often sources of conflict between humans and wildlife. Wildlife damage to crops can drastically reduce income, amplifying poverty and creating a negative perception of wild animal conservation among rural people. In this context, crop-raiding animals like elephants quickly become "problem animals". To deter elephants from raiding crops beehives have been successfully employed in East Africa; however, this method has not yet been tested in Central Africa. We experimentally examined whether the presence of Apis mellifera adansonii, the African honey bee species present in Central Africa, deters forest elephants (Loxodonta Africana cyclotis from feeding on fruit trees. We show for the first time that the effectiveness of beehives as deterrents of elephants is related to bee activity. Empty hives and those housing colonies of low bee activity do not deter elephants all the time; but beehives with high bee activity do. Although elephant disturbance of hives does not impede honey production, there is a tradeoff between deterrence and the quantity of honey produced. To best achieve the dual goals of deterring elephants and producing honey colonies must maintain an optimum activity level of 40 to 60 bee movements per minute. Thus, beehives colonized by Apis mellifera adansonii bees can be effective elephant deterrents, but people must actively manage hives to maintain bee colonies at the optimum activity level.

Etude comparative de la rentabilité de deux types d'apiculture au Nord Ouest Cameroun

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Tsafack Matsop, AS.

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Comparative Study of the Profitability of Two Types of Bee Farming in the North West Cameroon. The present study examines the financial profitability of beekeeping in Cameroon. The global objective is to compare the profitability of two types of bee farms in the North West Region. The main hypothesis, however, is the following: there is a significant difference in output and in net benefit between traditional and semimodern bee farms. As regards the methodology used, a two stage stratified random sampling technique was used to select 100 bee farmers. Primary data was collected on elements of costs and revenue. The technique of cost benefit analysis was used to analyze the data. Findings showed that traditional beekeeping and semi-modern beekeeping (using Kenyan hives "KTBH" farms have an average production of 77.46 and 112.68 liters of honey per year respectively, for the respective average total revenue of 86 832.39 FCFA and 143 791 FCFA. The average annual value of their ratio Net Benefit/Total Cost is 1.168 and 1.193 respectively. The semi-modern bee hives perform better than the traditional one. Even with some difficulties faced by some farmers, bee farming in the North West Cameroon remains profitable. Despite the static character of this study, we suggest that beekeepers should adopt the semi-modern (Kenyan hives.

Infectivity of DWV associated to flower pollen: experimental evidence of a horizontal transmission route.

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Maurizio Mazzei

Full Text Available Deformed wing virus (DWV is a honeybee pathogen whose presence is generally associated with infestation of the colony by the mite Varroa destructor, leading to the onset of infections responsible for the collapse of the bee colony. DWV contaminates bee products such as royal jelly, bee-bread and honey stored within the infected hive. Outside the hive, DWV has been found in pollen loads collected directly from infected as well as uninfected forager bees. It has been shown that the introduction of virus-contaminated pollen into a DWV-free hive results in the production of virus-contaminated food, whose role in the development of infected bees from virus-free eggs has been experimentally demonstrated. The aim of this study was twofold: (i to ascertain the presence of DWV on pollen collected directly from flowers visited by honeybees and then quantify the viral load and (ii determine whether the virus associated with pollen is infective. The results of our investigation provide evidence that DWV is present on pollen sampled directly from visited flowers and that, following injection in individuals belonging to the pollinator species Apis mellifera, it is able to establish an active infection, as indicated by the presence of replicating virus in the head of the injected bees. We also provide the first indication that the pollinator species Osmia cornuta is susceptible to DWV infection.

The Influence of Gustatory and Olfactory Experiences on Responsiveness to Reward in the Honeybee

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Ramírez, Gabriela P.; Martínez, Andrés S.; Fernández, Vanesa M.; Corti Bielsa, Gonzalo; Farina, Walter M.

2010-01-01

Background Honeybees (Apis mellifera) exhibit an extraordinarily tuned division of labor that depends on age polyethism. This adjustment is generally associated with the fact that individuals of different ages display different response thresholds to given stimuli, which determine specific behaviors. For instance, the sucrose-response threshold (SRT) which largely depends on genetic factors may also be affected by the nectar sugar content. However, it remains unknown whether SRTs in workers of different ages and tasks can differ depending on gustatory and olfactory experiences. Methodology Groups of worker bees reared either in an artificial environment or else in a queen-right colony, were exposed to different reward conditions at different adult ages. Gustatory response scores (GRSs) and odor-memory retrieval were measured in bees that were previously exposed to changes in food characteristics. Principal Findings Results show that the gustatory responses of pre-foraging-aged bees are affected by changes in sucrose solution concentration and also to the presence of an odor provided it is presented as scented sucrose solution. In contrast no differences in worker responses were observed when presented with odor only in the rearing environment. Fast modulation of GRSs was observed in older bees (12–16 days of age) which are commonly involved in food processing tasks within the hive, while slower modulation times were observed in younger bees (commonly nurse bees, 6–9 days of age). This suggests that older food-processing bees have a higher plasticity when responding to fluctuations in resource information than younger hive bees. Adjustments in the number of trophallaxis events were also found when scented food circulated inside the nest, and this was positively correlated with the differences in timing observed in gustatory responsiveness and memory retention for hive bees of different age classes. Conclusions This work demonstrates the accessibility of

Radonuclide concentrations in bees and honey in the vicinity of Los Alamos National Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fresquez, P.R.; Armstrong, D.R.

1996-01-01

Honeybees are effective monitors of environmental pollution; they forage for P len and nectar over a large area (congruent 7 km 2 ), accumulate contaminants from air, water, plants, and soil, and return to a fixed location (the hive) for sampling. Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), in fact, has maintained a network of honeybee colonies within and around LANL for 16 years (1979 to 1994); the objectives for maintaining this honeybee network were to (1) determine the bioavailability of radionuclides in the environment, and (2) the committed effective dose equivalent (CEDE) to people who may consume honey from these beehives (Los Alamos and White Rock/Pajarito Acres lownsites). Of all the radionuclides studied over the years, tritium (314) was consistently picked up by the bees and was most readily transferred to the honey. Tritium in honey collected from hives located within LANL, for example, ranged in concentration from 0.07 Bq mL -1 (1.9 pCi mL -1 ) to 27.75 Bq mL -1 (749.9 pCi mL -1 ) (LANL Neutron Science Center); the average concentration of 3 H in honey Collected from hives located around the LANL area (perimeter) ranged in concentration from 0.34 Bq mL -1 (9.3 pCi mL -1 ) (White Rock/Pajarito Acres townsite) to 3.67 Bq mL -1 (99.3 pCi mL -1 ) (Los Alamos townsite). Overall, the CEDE-based on the average concentration of all radionuclides measured over the years-from consuming 5 kg (11 lbs) of honey collected from hives located within the townsites of Los Alamos and White Rock/Pajarito Acres, after regional (background) as been subtracted, was 0.074 μSv y -1 (0.0074 mrem y -1 ) and 0.024 pSv y -1 (0.0024 mrem y -1 ), respectively. The highest CEDE, based on the mean + 2 standard deviations (95% confidence level), was 0.334 fiSv y -1 (0.0334 mrem y -1 ) (Los Alamos townsitc)

Children's (Pediatric) CT (Computed Tomography)

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... for a few minutes. Occasionally, a patient will develop itching and hives, which can be relieved with medication, if necessary. If your child becomes light-headed or experiences difficulty breathing, you ...

Polyethylene Glycol 3350

Science.gov (United States)

... 3350 is in a class of medications called osmotic laxatives. It works by causing water to be ... experience either of them, call your doctor immediately: diarrhea hives Polyethylene glycol 3350 may cause other side ...

Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester (CAPE) mediated decrease in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... is a phytochemically active component obtained from honeybee hive propolis. ... We hypothesize the effect of CAPE on the metastasis of colon cancer cells in ... evaluated also expression of protein and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) ...

Orlistat

Science.gov (United States)

... you buy. When eating meat, poultry (chicken) or fish, eat only 2 or 3 ounces (55 or ... call your doctor immediately: hives rash itching difficulty breathing or swallowing severe or continuous stomach pain excessive ...

Hereditary angioedema

Science.gov (United States)

... disease; HAE- Hereditary angioedema; Kallikrein inhibitor-HAE: bradykinin receptor antagonist-HAE; C1-inhibitors-HAE; Hives-HAE ... aunt, uncle, or grandparent. Dental procedures, sickness (including colds and the flu), and surgery may trigger HAE ...

Abatacept Injection

Science.gov (United States)

... called selective costimulation modulators (immunomodulators). It works by blocking the activity of T-cells, a type of ... hives skin rash itching swelling of the eyes, face, lips, tongue, or throat difficulty breathing or swallowing ...

Tocilizumab Injection

Science.gov (United States)

... 6 (IL-6) receptor inhibitors. It works by blocking the activity of interleukin-6, a substance in ... rash flushing hives itching swelling of the eyes, face, lips, tongue, throat, arms, hands, feet, ankles, or ...

Naltrexone Injection

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... of medications called opiate antagonists. It works by blocking activity in the limbic system, a part of ... of breath hives rash swelling of the eyes, face, mouth, lips, tongue, or throat hoarseness difficulty swallowing ...

Eculizumab Injection

Science.gov (United States)

... of medications called monoclonal antibodies. It works by blocking the activity of the part of the immune ... feeling faint; rash; hives; swelling of the eyes, face, lips, tongue, or throat; hoarseness; or difficulty breathing ...

Etanercept Injection

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... tumor-necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors. It works by blocking the action of TNF, a substance in the ... skin rash hives itching swelling of the eyes, face, lips, tongue, throat, arms, hands, feet, ankles, or ...

Belimumab Injection

Science.gov (United States)

... of medications called monoclonal antibodies. It works by blocking the activity of a certain protein in people ... the infusion: rash; itching; hives; swelling of the face, eyes, mouth, throat, tongue, or lips; difficulty breathing ...

Psoriasis

Science.gov (United States)

... Development Infections Diseases & Conditions Pregnancy & Baby Nutrition & Fitness Emotions & Behavior School & Family Life First Aid & Safety Doctors & ... Hives Taking Care of Your Skin Your Skin Eczema View more About Us Contact Us Partners Editorial ...

Anaphylaxis

Science.gov (United States)

... lightheadedness Hives , itchiness, redness of the skin Nasal congestion Nausea or vomiting Palpitations Slurred speech Swelling of ... breathing. Paramedics or other providers may place a tube through the nose or mouth into the airways. ...

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.

Simplifying Effective Treatment of Chronic Hives in Children

Science.gov (United States)

... Conditions Drug Guide Conditions Dictionary Just for Kids Library School Tools Videos Virtual Allergist Education & Training Careers in ... Support the AAAAI Foundation Donate Utility navigation Español Journals Annual Meeting Member Login / My Membership Search navigation ...

Thumping the Hive: Russian Neocortical Warfare in Chechnya

Science.gov (United States)

2004-09-01

an act of aggression and the press described it as such. Any attempt to describe the average Chechen insurgent as an underdog who wanted to finish... armoured vehicles. Work among the population included the development of several factors: a base of social-political support for the [Chechen] armed...sets did not completely satisfy troop needs, as they lacked light, mobile, armour -protected stations. The satellites were also a problem due to

Alirocumab Injection

Science.gov (United States)

... 9 (PCSK9) inhibitor monoclonal antibodies. It works by blocking the production of LDL cholesterol in the body ... hives difficulty breathing or swallowing swelling of the face, throat, tongue, lips, and eyes Alirocumab injection may ...

Ondansetron

Science.gov (United States)

... serotonin 5-HT3 receptor antagonists. It works by blocking the action of serotonin, a natural substance that ... loss rash hives itching swelling of the eyes, face, lips, tongue, throat, hands, feet, ankles, or lower ...

Ondansetron Injection

Science.gov (United States)

... serotonin 5-HT3 receptor antagonists. It works by blocking the action of serotonin, a natural substance that ... treatment: rash hives itching swelling of the eyes, face, lips, tongue, throat, hands, feet, ankles, or lower ...

Evolocumab Injection

Science.gov (United States)

... 9 (PCSK9) inhibitor monoclonal antibody. It works by blocking the production of LDL cholesterol in the body ... hives difficulty breathing or swallowing swelling of the face, throat, tongue, lips, and eyes Evolocumab injection may ...

Nest initiation in three North American bumble bees (Bombus): gyne number and presence of honey bee workers influence establishment success and colony size.

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Samaru-Journal of Information studiesx

African Journals Online (AJOL)

USER

Repository derived from continuous efforts at digitizing all relevant ... achieved by the integration of data, interfaces, and mechanisms (i.e ... delivery solutions. Hive federates and .... operations are backed up on cloud storage server located in ...

Economics Of Honey Production In Nigeria: Implications For Poverty ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Global Approaches to Extension Practice: A Journal of Agricultural Extension ... indicates that honey production is very profitable with a gross income of 890 naira per ... Econometric analysis shows that number of hives, labour and fixed assets ...

Arthrography

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... you are in the scanner without causing any chemical changes in the tissues. As the hydrogen atoms ... material and experience hives, itchy eyes or other reactions. If you experience allergic symptoms, notify the technologist. ...

MRI of the Chest

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... you are in the scanner without causing any chemical changes in the tissues. As the hydrogen atoms ... material and experience hives, itchy eyes or other reactions. If you experience allergic symptoms, notify the technologist. ...

MRI of the Chest

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... Foreign bodies near and especially lodged in the eyes are particularly important because they may move during ... to the contrast material and experience hives, itchy eyes or other reactions. If you experience allergic symptoms, ...

Children's (Pediatric) Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... Foreign bodies near and especially lodged in the eyes are particularly important. Tooth fillings and braces usually ... to the contrast material and experience hives, itchy eyes or other reactions. If your child experiences allergic ...

Patrones de asociación entre insectos polinizadores y palmas silvestres en Colombia con énfasis en palmas de importancia económica

OpenAIRE

Núñez Avellaneda, Luis Alberto

2014-01-01

Se describe, analiza y valida el papel de los insectos que han sido considerados los principales polinizadores de palmas neotropicales: las especies del género Mystrops (Nitidulidae), diferentes grupos de gorgojos (Curculionidae), los escarabajos del género Cyclocephala (Dynastidae), especies de y Abejas sin aguijón (Apidae Meliponinae). El estudio se realizó a partir de un análisis multiespecífico y multitemporal de polinizadores que involucró la colecta, separación e identificacion de visit...

Agricultural pesticides and veterinary substances in Uruguayan beeswax.

Science.gov (United States)

Harriet, Jorge; Campá, Juan Pablo; Grajales, Mauricio; Lhéritier, Christophe; Gómez Pajuelo, Antonio; Mendoza-Spina, Yamandú; Carrasco-Letelier, Leonidas

2017-06-01

Over the last decade, Uruguay has expanded and intensified its rainfed crop production. This process has affected beekeeping in several ways: for example, by reducing the space available. This has increased the density of apiaries, the risk of varroosis and acaricide use. Additionally, the dominance of no-tillage crops has increased the frequencies of application and of loads of pesticides in regions where such crops share the land with beekeeping and honey production. Therefore, the exposure of bees to xenobiotics (agricultural pesticides and veterinary products) has increased in line with pollution of hives and their products. To document pollution from hive exposure to pesticides, we surveyed the presence of 30 xenobiotics normally used in Uruguay, in recycled beeswax (RB) and in honey cappings (HC) from the main Uruguayan beekeeping regions. There was contamination of all the analyzed samples (RB and HC) with the herbicide atrazine at a range of 1-2 ng g -1 . At least three or four additional xenobiotics were detected: insecticides (chlorpyrifos-ethyl and thiacloprid); fungicides (azoxystrobin and tebuconazole); and veterinary products (coumaphos, ethion, and tau-fluvalinate). The frequency of detection of chlorpyrifos-ethyl and coumaphos in RB samples was higher than in those of HC. Moreover, the concentrations of azoxystrobin, coumaphos, and tebuconazole in RB samples were higher than in HC samples. Therefore, we suggest the use of HC to produce recycled printed beeswax films for use in hives to minimize pollution transfer. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

New and improved methods for monitoring air quality and the terrestrial environment: Applications at Aberdeen Proving Ground-Edgewood area. Annual report, 1 April--14 November 1997

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bromenshenk, J.J.; Smith, G.C.

1998-03-01

Honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) have been shown to be multi-media monitors of chemical exposures and resultant effects. This five-year project has developed an automated system to assess in real-time colony behavioral responses to stressors, both anthropogenic and natural, including inclement weather. Field trials at the Aberdeen Proving Ground-Edgewood included the Old O Field and J field landfills, the Canal Creek and Bush River areas, and a Churchville, MD reference site. Preliminary results show varying concentrations of bioavailable inorganic elements and chlorinated hydrocarbons in bee colonies from all Maryland sites. Industrial solvents in the air inside beehives exhibited the greatest between site differences, with the highest levels occurring in hives near landfills at Old O Field, J Field, and at some sites in the Bush River and Canal Creek areas. Compared to 1996, the 1997 levels of solvents in Old O Field hives decreased by an order of magnitude, and colony performance significantly improved, probably as a consequence of capping the landfill. Recent chemical monitoring accomplishments include development of a new apparatus to quantitatively calibrate TD/GC/MS analysis, a QA/QC assessment of factors that limit the precision of these analyses, and confirmation of transport of aqueous contaminants into the hive. Real-time effects monitoring advances include development of an extensive array of software tools for automated data display, inspection, and numerical analysis and the ability to deliver data from remote locations in real time through Internet or Intranet connections.

Neonicotinoid-Coated Zea mays Seeds Indirectly Affect Honeybee Performance and Pathogen Susceptibility in Field Trials.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohamed Alburaki

Full Text Available Thirty-two honeybee (Apis mellifera colonies were studied in order to detect and measure potential in vivo effects of neonicotinoid pesticides used in cornfields (Zea mays spp on honeybee health. Honeybee colonies were randomly split on four different agricultural cornfield areas located near Quebec City, Canada. Two locations contained cornfields treated with a seed-coated systemic neonicotinoid insecticide while the two others were organic cornfields used as control treatments. Hives were extensively monitored for their performance and health traits over a period of two years. Honeybee viruses (brood queen cell virus BQCV, deformed wing virus DWV, and Israeli acute paralysis virus IAPV and the brain specific expression of a biomarker of host physiological stress, the Acetylcholinesterase gene AChE, were investigated using RT-qPCR. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS was performed to detect pesticide residues in adult bees, honey, pollen, and corn flowers collected from the studied hives in each location. In addition, general hive conditions were assessed by monitoring colony weight and brood development. Neonicotinoids were only identified in corn flowers at low concentrations. However, honeybee colonies located in neonicotinoid treated cornfields expressed significantly higher pathogen infection than those located in untreated cornfields. AChE levels showed elevated levels among honeybees that collected corn pollen from treated fields. Positive correlations were recorded between pathogens and the treated locations. Our data suggests that neonicotinoids indirectly weaken honeybee health by inducing physiological stress and increasing pathogen loads.

Using Colony Monitoring Devices to Evaluate the Impacts of Land Use and Nutritional Value of Forage on Honey Bee Health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthew Smart

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Colony monitoring devices used to track and assess the health status of honey bees are becoming more widely available and used by both beekeepers and researchers. These devices monitor parameters relevant to colony health at frequent intervals, often approximating real time. The fine-scale record of hive condition can be further related to static or dynamic features of the landscape, such as weather, climate, colony density, land use, pesticide use, vegetation class, and forage quality. In this study, we fit commercial honey bee colonies in two apiaries with pollen traps and digital scales to monitor floral resource use, pollen quality, and honey production. One apiary was situated in low-intensity agriculture; the other in high-intensity agriculture. Pollen traps were open for 72 h every two weeks while scales recorded weight every 15 min throughout the growing season. From collected pollen, we determined forage quantity per day, species identity using DNA sequencing, pesticide residues, amino acid content, and total protein content. From scales, we determined the accumulated hive weight change over the growing season, relating to honey production and final colony weight going into winter. Hive scales may also be used to identify the occurrence of environmental pollen and nectar dearth, and track phenological changes in plant communities. We provide comparisons of device-derived data between two apiaries over the growing season and discuss the potential for employing apiary monitoring devices to infer colony health in the context of divergent agricultural land use conditions.

Using colony monitoring devices to evaluate the impacts of land use and nutritional value of forage on honey bee health

Science.gov (United States)

Smart, Matthew; Otto, Clint R.; Cornman, Robert S.; Iwanowicz, Deborah

2018-01-01

Colony monitoring devices used to track and assess the health status of honey bees are becoming more widely available and used by both beekeepers and researchers. These devices monitor parameters relevant to colony health at frequent intervals, often approximating real time. The fine-scale record of hive condition can be further related to static or dynamic features of the landscape, such as weather, climate, colony density, land use, pesticide use, vegetation class, and forage quality. In this study, we fit commercial honey bee colonies in two apiaries with pollen traps and digital scales to monitor floral resource use, pollen quality, and honey production. One apiary was situated in low-intensity agriculture; the other in high-intensity agriculture. Pollen traps were open for 72 h every two weeks while scales recorded weight every 15 min throughout the growing season. From collected pollen, we determined forage quantity per day, species identity using DNA sequencing, pesticide residues, amino acid content, and total protein content. From scales, we determined the accumulated hive weight change over the growing season, relating to honey production and final colony weight going into winter. Hive scales may also be used to identify the occurrence of environmental pollen and nectar dearth, and track phenological changes in plant communities. We provide comparisons of device-derived data between two apiaries over the growing season and discuss the potential for employing apiary monitoring devices to infer colony health in the context of divergent agricultural land use conditions.

Journal of Agriculture and Social Research (JASR) VOL. 10, No. 2 ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

oma

INTRODUCTION. Honey is a popular sweetener throughout the world; it is made by bees generally from ... Confectionery in the United States use honey in various candies. In the world ... Pollen arrives in the hive; Queen starts laying eggs.

The status and future prospects of honeybee production in Africa ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The demand for honey and other hive products in the world market is high ... and development of apiculture as a commercial enterprise and the increases in the ... would contribute to enhanced household food security; increased incomes, and ...

REQUERIMENTOS DE POLINIZAÇÃO DO MELOEIRO (Cucumis melo l. NO MUNICÍPIO DE ACARAÚ - CE - BRASIL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raimundo Maciel Sousa

2009-01-01

Full Text Available This work was carried in commercial areas cultivate with muskmelon (Cucumis melo L., variety AF- 646, in the municipal district of Acaraú, state of Ceará, Brazil. The investigation was split in four treatments: hand cross pollination, open pollination in presence of the honey bee hives, open pollination and resricted pollination. The observed variables were: rate of fruit set, fruit weight and seed number of fruits. The hand cross pollination showed the best effect to number of fruit set, fruit weight and seed number of fruits, following to open pollination in presence of the honey bee hives, open pollination and resricted pollination, without fruit set. Considering the melon cultivated at open fields and during the dry season in NE Brazil, it is possible to conclude that it depends on biotic pollinators and that honeybees promote efficientily the pollination.

Screening Commercially Available Entomopathogenic Biocontrol Agents for the Control of Aethina tumida (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae in the UK

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giles E. Budge

2012-08-01

Full Text Available The Small hive beetle, Aethina tumida, is an invasive pest of honey bees. Indigenous to sub-Saharan Africa, it has now become established in North America and Australia. It represents a serious threat to European honey bees. Commercially available entomopathogenic agents were screened for their potential to control beetle larvae. Entomopathogenic fungi investigated had minimal impact. The nematodes Steinernema kraussei and S. carpocapsae provided excellent control with 100% mortality of larvae being obtained. Sequential applications of the nematodes following larvae entering sand to pupate also provided excellent control for up to 3 weeks. The information gained supports the development of contingency plans to deal with A. tumida should it occur in the UK, and is relevant to the management of Small hive beetle where it is already present.

Research Article Special Issue

African Journals Online (AJOL)

lanez

2018-03-15

Mar 15, 2018 ... the toxicity test revealed that the bee showed no sensitivity to this ... natural products of the hive known for their therapeutic properties (honey, pollen, wax, propolis ..... flowering stage of the Chrea region, Blida (altitude 946m).

Sobol’ sensitivity analysis for stressor impacts on honeybee colonies

Science.gov (United States)

We employ Monte Carlo simulation and nonlinear sensitivity analysis techniques to describe the dynamics of a bee exposure model, VarroaPop. Daily simulations are performed of hive population trajectories, taking into account queen strength, foraging success, mite impacts, weather...

2018-05-06T05:56:56Z https://www.ajol.info/index.php/index/oai oai ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

article/110 2018-05-06T05:56:56Z ajlex:ART Bee Hive management and colonisation: a practical approach Ahmed-Akinola, A.A.; Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, Onigambari, Ibadan. Nigeria Adekoya, A.E.; Department of Agricultural ...

Substituição natural de rainhas fisogástricas e distância de vôo dos machos em Tiuba (Melipona compressipes fasciculata Smith, 1854 e Uruçu (Melipona scutellaris Latreille, 1811 (Apidae, Meliponini Natural substitutions of queens and flight distance of males in tiuba (Melipona compressipes fasciculata Smith, 1854 and uruçu (Melipona scutellaris Latreille, 1811 (Apidae, Meliponini

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gislene Almeida Carvalho-Zilse

2004-12-01

inseminated in near the hive, therefore, gene dispersion depends more upon the males and of the occupation of a new cavity for nest.

Browse Title Index

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Items 1 - 50 of 130 ... Vol 7 (2009), Breeding seasonality and population dynamics of the catfish ... trap methods is verification of mosquito vector indices in an endemic area, Abstract ... on the rate of brood production in modern bee-hives, Abstract.

Sensitivity analyses for simulating pesticide impacts on honey bee colonies

Science.gov (United States)

We employ Monte Carlo simulation and sensitivity analysis techniques to describe the population dynamics of pesticide exposure to a honey bee colony using the VarroaPop + Pesticide model. Simulations are performed of hive population trajectories with and without pesti...

Compound list: 1% cholesterol + 0.25% sodium cholate [Open TG-GATEs

Lifescience Database Archive (English)

Full Text Available 1% cholesterol + 0.25% sodium cholate CH+DS-Na 00161 ftp://ftp.biosciencedbc.jp/arc...hive/open-tggates/LATEST/Rat/in_vivo/Liver/Repeat/1%25_cholesterol_%2B_0.25%25_sodium_cholate.Rat.in_vivo.Liver.Repeat.zip ...

Erythromycin and Sulfisoxazole

Science.gov (United States)

... dehydrogenase (G-6-PD) deficiency, yellowing of the skin or eyes, colitis, or stomach problems.tell your doctor if you ... rash If you experience any of the following symptoms, call your doctor immediately: severe skin rash itching hives difficulty breathing or swallowing wheezing ...

The pathways for small holder apiculture production in Swaziland ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The apiculture production pathways were identified as training (pre-farming and during farming), production materials and equipment, apiary environmental requirements and business skills. The qualitative results were summarised into theft of bee-hives, absconding of bees, business management problems and financial ...

Challenges for developing biopesticides against Varroa destructor (Mesostigamata: Varroidae)

Science.gov (United States)

Control of the major pest of apiculture, the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor, using biopesticides would resolve many of the problems experienced with other forms of control, such as chemical control, hive manipulation or selection of resistant strains. Several research groups have developed and...

File list: ALL.PSC.20.AllAg.iPS_derived_neural_cells [Chip-atlas[Archive

Lifescience Database Archive (English)

Full Text Available ALL.PSC.20.AllAg.iPS_derived_neural_cells hg19 All antigens Pluripotent stem cell iPS derived neural...hive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/hg19/assembled/ALL.PSC.20.AllAg.iPS_derived_neural_cells.bed ...

The effect of antagonistic micro-organisms on the brood of honeybees (Apis mellifera) and bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) 2003

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Steen, van der J.J.M.; Dik, A.J.

2002-01-01

Several plant pathogenic fungi enter the plant trough open flowers. Spores of antagonistic micro-organisms present on the flowers can successfully compete with the possible pathogens. Honeybees and bumblebees can be used for transporting these antagonistic micro-organisms from the hive into flowers

Cooperative random Levy flight searches and the flight patterns of honeybees

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reynolds, A.M.

2006-01-01

The most efficient Levy flight (scale-free) searching strategy for N independent searchers to adopt when target sites are randomly and sparsely distributed is identified. For N=1, it is well known that the optimal searching strategy is attained when μ=2, where the exponent μ characterizes the Levy distribution, P(l)=l -μ , of flight-lengths. For N>1, the optimal searching strategy is attained as μ->1. It is suggested that the orientation flights of honeybees can be understood within the context of such an optimal cooperative random Levy flight searching strategy. Upon returning to their hive after surveying a landscape honeybees can exchange information about the locations of target sites through the waggle dance. In accordance with observations it is predicted that the waggle dance can be disrupted without noticeable influence on a hive's ability to maintain weight when forage is plentiful

A new low-cost procedure for detecting nucleic acids in low-incidence samples: a case study of detecting spores of Paenibacillus larvae from bee debris.

Science.gov (United States)

Ryba, Stepan; Kindlmann, Pavel; Titera, Dalibor; Haklova, Marcela; Stopka, Pavel

2012-10-01

American foulbrood, because of its virulence and worldwide spread, is currently one of the most dangerous diseases of honey bees. Quick diagnosis of this disease is therefore vitally important. For its successful eradication, however, all the hives in the region must be tested. This is time consuming and costly. Therefore, a fast and sensitive method of detecting American foulbrood is needed. Here we present a method that significantly reduces the number of tests needed by combining batches of samples from different hives. The results of this method were verified by testing each sample. A simulation study was used to compare the efficiency of the new method with testing all the samples and to develop a decision tool for determining when best to use the new method. The method is suitable for testing large numbers of samples (over 100) when the incidence of the disease is low (10% or less).

Large-scale monitoring of effects of clothianidin-dressed OSR seeds on pollinating insects in Northern Germany: effects on large earth bumble bees (Bombus terrestris).

Science.gov (United States)

Sterk, Guido; Peters, Britta; Gao, Zhenglei; Zumkier, Ulrich

2016-11-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Elado ® -dressed winter oilseed rape (OSR, 10 g clothianidin & 2 g beta-cyfluthrin/kg seed) on the development, reproduction and behaviour of large earth bumble bees (Bombus terrestris) as part of a large-scale monitoring field study in Northern Germany, where OSR is usually cultivated at 25-33 % of the arable land. Both reference and test sites comprised 65 km 2 in which no other crops attractive to pollinating insects were present. Six study locations were selected per site and 10 bumble bee hives were placed at each location. At each site, three locations were directly adjacent to OSR fields and three locations were situated 400 m distant from the nearest OSR field. The development of colonies was monitored from the beginning of OSR flowering in April until June 2014. Pollen from returning foragers was analysed for its composition. An average of 44 % of OSR pollen was found in pollen loads of bumble bees indicating that OSR was a major resource for the colonies. At the end of OSR flowering, hives were transferred to a nature reserve until the end of the study. Colony development in terms of hive weight and the number of workers showed a typical course with no statistically significant differences between the sites. Reproductive output was comparatively high and not negatively affected by the exposure to treated OSR. In summary, Elado ® -dressed OSR did not cause any detrimental effects on the development or reproduction of bumble bee colonies.

Desensitization to ceftaroline in a patient with multiple medication hypersensitivity reactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Justin M; Richter, Lisa M; Alonto, Augusto; Leedahl, David D

2015-02-01

The case of a patient with multiple medication hypersensitivity reactions and a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection who underwent desensitization to ceftaroline is reported. A 32-year-old Caucasian woman with asthma, gastroesophageal reflux disease, heart murmur, and major depression was admitted for MRSA cellulitis with a subcutaneous abscess along the left sternomanubrial joint and clavicular osteomyelitis secondary to port placement after gastric bypass surgery. The patient had an extensive history of hypersensitivity reactions. Pertinent documented allergies were as follows: penicillin (anaphylaxis), daptomycin (anaphylaxis), vancomycin (hives), linezolid (hives), ertapenem (rash), ciprofloxacin (rash), and tigecycline (rash). The patient also reported previous reactions to aztreonam (unknown) and gentamicin (hives). The pharmacy was consulted to develop a desensitization protocol for ceftaroline. The desensitization protocol used three serial dilutions of ceftaroline to make 14 sequential infusions with escalating doses. Intramuscular epinephrine, i.v. diphenhydramine, and i.v. methylprednisolone were ordered as needed for the development of immediate hypersensitivity reactions during or after administration of ceftaroline. The cumulative dose (574.94 mg) was administered intravenously over 225 minutes with no breakthrough symptoms reported during or after the desensitization protocol. Ceftaroline fosamil 600 mg i.v. every 12 hours was continued for six weeks. Desensitization to ceftaroline was conducted for a patient with extensive history of hypersensitivity reactions to other drugs, including penicillin-induced anaphylaxis. Desensitization and subsequent treatment with full doses of ceftaroline were accomplished without apparent adverse effects. Copyright © 2015 by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Inc. All rights reserved.

Ecological Succession in the Honey Bee Gut: Shift in Lactobacillus Strain Dominance During Early Adult Development.

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Kirk E; Rodrigues, Pedro A P; Mott, Brendon M; Maes, Patrick; Corby-Harris, Vanessa

2016-05-01

In many vertebrates, social interactions and nutrition can affect the colonization of gut symbionts across generations. In the highly social honey bee, it is unknown to what extent the hive environment and older worker individuals contribute to the generational transmission of core gut bacteria. We used high-throughput sequencing to investigate the effect of nest materials and social contact on the colonization and succession of core hindgut microbiota in workers. With only brief exposure to hive materials following natural eclosion, gut bacterial communities at 3 and 7 days contained phylotypes typically found in the guts of mature adults regardless of treatment. Continuous exposure to nest materials or direct social interactions with mature adults did not affect the diversity or abundance of gut bacterial communities at the scale examined. Similarly, a common pollen supplement fed by beekeepers during pollen dearth had no effect. A consideration of unique OTUs revealed extensive microbial succession independent of treatment. The dominant Lactobacillus strain at 3 days was largely replaced by a different strain at day 7, revealing the colonization signature of a pioneer species. Similar but less pronounced patterns were evident in less abundant OTU's, many of which may influence community succession via alteration of the gut environment. Our results indicate that the process of bacterial community colonization in the hindgut is resilient to changes in the nutritional, hive, and social environment. Greater taxonomic resolution is needed to accurately resolve questions of ecological succession and typical proportional variation within and between core members of the gut bacterial community.

Kommenteret checkliste over Danmarks bier – Del 3

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Henning Bang; Calabuig, Isabel

2010-01-01

This paper presents Part 3 of a checklist for the taxa of bees occurring in Denmark, dealing with the families Melittidae and Megachilidae, and covering 53 species. The remaining two families (Halictidae and Apidae) will be dealt with in future papers. The following two species are hereby recorded...... as belonging to the Danish bee fauna: Melitta tricincta Kirby, 1802 and Hoplosmia spinulosa (Kirby, 1802). Megachile pyrenaea Pérez, 1890 and Osmia bicolor (Schrank, 1781) are excluded from the Danish checklist. Species that have the potential to occur in Denmark are discussed briefly....

Beekeeping as an income generating activity: a case study of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

One hundred and twenty beekeepers were selected from beekeepers association of Nigeria (BAN) Ibadan, Oyo State. Information on output of honey, number of hives, source of information on bee keeping, constraints etc were sought from the beekeepers. Statistical tools such as frequency distribution, averages, ...

Will-to-Fight: Japan’s Imperial Institution and the U.S. Strategy to End World War II

Science.gov (United States)

2012-05-17

In his testimony, Grew compared the Emperor to a queen bee , suggesting that wherever the queen decides to go, the hive will follow. Appreciating a...The document articulated that a statement would alleviate fears that the Japanese people face extinction upon surrender. More importantly, the

Potential of capillary electrophoresis for the profiling of propolis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hilhorst, M.J; Somsen, G.W; de Jong, G.J.

1998-01-01

The usefulness of capillary electrophoresis (CE) with diode array detection for the profiling of Propolis, a hive product, is investigated. Water extracts of Propolis were analyzed with both capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) at pH 7.0 and 9.3, and micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC)

Bee bread

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Evans, Joshua David

2015-01-01

Honeybees (Apis mellifera) have mastered feats of chemical engineering as various as they are alchemical. Their most well-known substances are of course honey, their concentrated, stable, hive-warming energy source, and wax, their pliable, moisture-proof structural material. Yet there are other s...

CloudETL: Scalable Dimensional ETL for Hadoop and Hive

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Xiufeng, Liu; Thomsen, Christian; Pedersen, Torben Bach

Extract-Transform-Load (ETL) programs process data from sources into data warehouses (DWs). Due to the rapid growth of data volumes, there is an increasing demand for systems that can scale on demand. Recently, much attention has been given to MapReduce which is a framework for highly parallel...

Omalizumab in patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria : A systematic review and GRADE assessment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Urgert, M. C.; Van Den Elzen, M. T.; Knulst, A. C.; Fedorowicz, Z.; Van Zuuren, E. J.

2015-01-01

Summary Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is characterized by the occurrence of hives, angio-oedema or both for a period of at least 6 weeks. Many patients remain symptomatic despite treatment with H1 antihistamines, even at higher doses. This systematic review assessed the quality of

Strengthening the resilience of women and youth in Somalia to ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Capacity development and material support were therefore identified as indispensable incentives for the sustainable production of honey and other hive products. Since 2013, FAO has intervened in apiculture in Somalia with the support of UKaid by forming rural beekeeping village groups and further supporting the groups ...

Occurrence, diversity and pattern of damage of Oplostomus species (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), honey bee pests in Kenya

Science.gov (United States)

Several arthropod pests including the hive beetles Aethina tumida and Oplostomus haroldi and the ectoparasite Varroa destructor have recently been identified as associated with honey bee colonies in Kenya. Here, we report the first documentation of O. fuligineus in Kenya, a related scarab of O. haro...

Analysis of farm household technical efficiency in small-scale ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was applied to farm-level cross-sectional data collected in mid-2013 after the implementation of CIP activities. Our empirical results indicate that CIP participants and improved farmers (using using both traditional and modern hives) had the highest average levels of technical efficiencies.

Malware Memory Analysis for Non specialists: Investigating Publicly Available Memory Images for Prolaco and SpyEye

Science.gov (United States)

2013-10-01

1_doc_RCData_612|virus|Trojan|rootkit|worm|Prolaco|rundll|msiexec|google|wmimngr|jusche d|wfmngr|wupmgr| java |wpmgr|nvscpapisvr)’ ” results in the...hashdump Dumps passwords hashes (LM/NTLM) from memory hibinfo Dump hibernation file information hivedump Prints out a hive hivelist Print list of

A survey of imidacloprid levels in water sources potentially frequented by honey bees (Apis mellifera) in the Eastern U.S.

Science.gov (United States)

This study was undertaken to examine contamination levels of imidacloprid (IMI), a water soluble neonicotinoid insecticide, in still or slow moving water sources of the sort often frequented by honey bees, Apis mellifera. Honey bees frequent open water to transport water into the hive for consumpti...

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) -- Head

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... vein in your hand or arm. A saline solution may be used to inject the contrast material. The solution will drip through the IV to prevent blockage ... to the contrast material and experience hives, itchy eyes or other reactions. If you experience allergic symptoms, ...

MRI of the Chest

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... vein in your hand or arm. A saline solution may be used to inject the contrast material. The solution will drip through the IV to prevent blockage ... to the contrast material and experience hives, itchy eyes or other reactions. If you experience allergic symptoms, ...

CloudETL

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Liu, Xiufeng; Thomsen, Christian; Pedersen, Torben Bach

2014-01-01

Extract-Transform-Load (ETL) programs process data into data warehouses (DWs). Rapidly growing data volumes demand systems that scale out. Recently, much attention has been given to MapReduce for parallel handling of massive data sets in cloud environments. Hive is the most widely used RDBMS...

A Genome Wide Genotyping Study To Find Candidate Genes That Influence Varroa-Sensitive Hygiene (VSH)

Science.gov (United States)

Varroa parasitism of honey bees is widely considered by apicultural researchers to be the greatest threat to beekeeping. Varroa-sensitive hygiene (VSH) is one of two identified behaviors that are highly important for controlling the growth of Varroa mite populations in bee hives. Bees exhibiting th...

Using Single-nucleotide Polymorphisms and Genetic Mapping to find Candidate Genes that Influence Varroa-Specific Hygiene

Science.gov (United States)

Varroa-sensitive hygienic (VSH) behavior is one of two behaviors identified that are most important for controlling the growth of Varroa mite populations in bee hives. A study was conducted to map quantitative trait loci (QTL) that influence VSH so that resistance genes could be identified. Crosses ...

Evidence of trapline foraging in honeybees.

Science.gov (United States)

Buatois, Alexis; Lihoreau, Mathieu

2016-08-15

Central-place foragers exploiting floral resources often use multi-destination routes (traplines) to maximise their foraging efficiency. Recent studies on bumblebees have showed how solitary foragers can learn traplines, minimising travel costs between multiple replenishing feeding locations. Here we demonstrate a similar routing strategy in the honeybee (Apis mellifera), a major pollinator known to recruit nestmates to discovered food resources. Individual honeybees trained to collect sucrose solution from four artificial flowers arranged within 10 m of the hive location developed repeatable visitation sequences both in the laboratory and in the field. A 10-fold increase of between-flower distances considerably intensified this routing behaviour, with bees establishing more stable and more efficient routes at larger spatial scales. In these advanced social insects, trapline foraging may complement cooperative foraging for exploiting food resources near the hive (where dance recruitment is not used) or when resources are not large enough to sustain multiple foragers at once. © 2016. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Chemical Composition and Biological Activities of Beebread – Review

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Adriana Cristina URCAN

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Beebread is a product of the hive obtained from pollen collected by bees, to which they add honey, digestive enzymes and subsequently is stored in the combs. The bees transform the bee pollen in beebread by an anaerobic fermentation process. A proper hive management promotes beebread collection, aimed at marketing it for human consumption since it can be considered a valuable food supplement due to its content of a wide range of nutrients. Its value is given by the content in protein, amino acids, fatty acids, carbohydrates, mineral salts, polyphenols and flavonoids, which depends on the botanical source of bee pollen. The nutritional and functional composition of beebread is widely reported; nevertheless, few studies on transformation processes of the pollen to improve the availability of the compounds present in this product were found. Overall, beebread is a recent collected and consumed bee product and at this stage it can be used as a food supplement.

A short-term supranutritional vitamin E supplementation alleviated respiratory alkalosis but did not reduce oxidative stress in heat stressed pigs.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Fan; Celi, Pietro; Chauhan, Surinder Singh; Cottrell, Jeremy James; Leury, Brian Joseph; Dunshea, Frank Rowland

2018-02-01

Heat stress (HS) triggers oxidative stress and respiratory alkalosis in pigs. The objective of this experiment was to study whether a short-term supranutritional amount of dietary vitamin E (VE) can mitigate oxidative stress and respiratory alkalosis in heat-stressed pigs. A total of 24 pigs were given either a control diet (17 IU/kg VE) or a high VE (200 IU/kg VE; HiVE) diet for 14 d, then exposed to thermoneutral (TN; 20°C, 45% humidity) or HS (35°C, 35% to 45% humidity, 8 h daily) conditions for 7 d. Respiration rate and rectal temperature were measured three times daily during the thermal exposure. Blood gas variables and oxidative stress markers were studied in blood samples collected on d 7. Although HiVE diet did not affect the elevated rectal temperature or respiration rate observed during HS, it alleviated (all prespiratory alkalosis but did not reduce oxidative stress in heat-stressed pigs.

Major challenges of beekeeping in Chiron Worde of West Harangue ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

According to respondents the main sources of the foundation colony were catching swarm, gifting by family members and purchase of colonies. Respondents indicated that the three sources were unreliable because of different factors. The respondents kept their colonies both in and out door, but with no internal hive ...

Urticaria and angioedema – more than just skin deep! | Holtzhausen ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Urticaria and angioedema are characterized by pruritic hives and sometimes swelling of deeper mucocutaneous layers. Urticaria is caused by release of histamine and other mediators from mast cells. A cut-off of six weeks distinguishes acute and chronic forms, as these seem to differ regarding etiological and response ...

Assessment of chronic sublethal effects of imidacloprid on honey bee colony health

Science.gov (United States)

Here we present results of a three-year study to determine the fate of imidacloprid residues in hive matrices and to assess chronic sublethal effects on whole honey bee colonies fed supplemental pollen diet containing imidacloprid at 5, 20 and 100 µg/kg over multiple brood cycles. Various endpoints ...

Feeding toxicity and impact of imidacloprid formulation and mixtures with six representative pesticides at residue concentrations on honey bee (Apis mellifera)

Science.gov (United States)

Imidacloprid is the most widely used insecticide in agricultural. In this study, we used both feeding and spraying methods to simulate in-hive exposures of formulated imidacloprid (Advise® 2FL) alone and mixtures with six representative pesticides for different classes. Advise, fed at 4.3 mg/L (equa...

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.

Large-scale monitoring of effects of clothianidin-dressed oilseed rape seeds on pollinating insects in Northern Germany: effects on honey bees (Apis mellifera).

Science.gov (United States)

Rolke, Daniel; Fuchs, Stefan; Grünewald, Bernd; Gao, Zhenglei; Blenau, Wolfgang

2016-11-01

Possible effects of clothianidin seed-treated oilseed rape on honey bee colonies were investigated in a large-scale monitoring project in Northern Germany, where oilseed rape usually comprises 25-33 % of the arable land. For both reference and test sites, six study locations were selected and eight honey bee hives were placed at each location. At each site, three locations were directly adjacent to oilseed rape fields and three locations were situated 400 m away from the nearest oilseed rape field. Thus, 96 hives were exposed to fully flowering oilseed rape crops. Colony sizes and weights, the amount of honey harvested, and infection with parasites and diseases were monitored between April and September 2014. The percentage of oilseed rape pollen was determined in pollen and honey samples. After oilseed rape flowering, the hives were transferred to an extensive isolated area for post-exposure monitoring. Total numbers of adult bees and brood cells showed seasonal fluctuations, and there were no significant differences between the sites. The honey, which was extracted at the end of the exposure phase, contained 62.0-83.5 % oilseed rape pollen. Varroa destructor infestation was low during most of the course of the study but increased at the end of the study due to flumethrin resistance in the mite populations. In summary, honey bee colonies foraging in clothianidin seed-treated oilseed rape did not show any detrimental symptoms as compared to colonies foraging in clothianidin-free oilseed rape. Development of colony strength, brood success as well as honey yield and pathogen infection were not significantly affected by clothianidin seed-treatment during this study.

Native Honey Bees Outperform Adventive Honey Bees in Increasing Pyrus bretschneideri (Rosales: Rosaceae) Pollination.

Science.gov (United States)

Gemeda, Tolera Kumsa; Shao, Youquan; Wu, Wenqin; Yang, Huipeng; Huang, Jiaxing; Wu, Jie

2017-12-05

The foraging behavior of different bee species is a key factor influencing the pollination efficiency of different crops. Most pear species exhibit full self-incompatibility and thus depend entirely on cross-pollination. However, as little is known about the pear visitation preferences of native Apis cerana (Fabricius; Hymenoptera: Apidae) and adventive Apis mellifera (L.; Hymenoptera: Apidae) in China. A comparative analysis was performed to explore the pear-foraging differences of these species under the natural conditions of pear growing areas. The results show significant variability in the pollen-gathering tendency of these honey bees. Compared to A. mellifera, A. cerana begins foraging at an earlier time of day and gathers a larger amount of pollen in the morning. Based on pollen collection data, A. mellifera shows variable preferences: vigorously foraging on pear on the first day of observation but collecting pollen from non-target floral resources on other experimental days. Conversely, A. cerana persists in pear pollen collection, without shifting preference to other competitive flowers. Therefore, A. cerana outperforms adventive A. mellifera with regard to pear pollen collection under natural conditions, which may lead to increased pear pollination. This study supports arguments in favor of further multiplication and maintenance of A. cerana for pear and other native crop pollination. Moreover, it is essential to develop alternative pollination management techniques to utilize A. mellifera for pear pollination. © 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.

Production of antibacterial peptide from bee venom via a new strategy for heterologous expression.

Science.gov (United States)

Hou, Chunsheng; Guo, Liqiong; Lin, Junfang; You, Linfeng; Wu, Wuhua

2014-12-01

Honey bee is important economic insect that not only pollinates fruits and crops but also provides products with various physiological activities. Bee venom is a functional agent that is widely applied in clinical treatment and pharmacy. Secapin is one of these agents that have a significant role in therapy. The functions of secapin from the bee venom have been documented, but little information is known about its heterologous expression under natural condition. Moreover, few scholars verified experimentally the functions of secapin from bee venom in vitro. In this study, we successfully constructed a heterologous expression vector, which is different from conventional expression system. A transgenic approach was established for transformation of secapin gene from the venom of Apis mellifera carnica (Ac-sec) into the edible fungi, Coprinus cinereus. Ac-sec was encoded by a 234 bp nucleotide that contained a signal peptide domain and two potential phosphorylation sites. The sequence exhibited highly homology with various secapins characterized from honey bee and related species. Southern blot data indicated that Ac-sec was present as single or multiple copy loci in the C. cinereus genome. By co-transformation and double-layer active assay, Ac-sec was expressed successfully in C. cinereus and the antibacterial activity of the recombinants was identified, showing notable antibacterial activities on different bacteria. Although Ac-sec is from the venom of Apidae, phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that Ac-sec was more closely related to that of Vespid than to bee species from Apidae. The molecular characteristics of Ac-sec and the potential roles of small peptides in biology were discussed.

Diversity and Phenology of Wild Bees in a Highly Disturbed Tropical Dry Forest "Desierto de la Tatacoa", Huila-Colombia.

Science.gov (United States)

Poveda-Coronel, C A; Riaño-Jiménez, D; Cure, J R

2018-01-12

Colombian tropical dry forest is considered the most endangered tropical biome due to anthropic activities. Desierto de la Tatacoa (DsT) is an example of high disturbed tropical dry forest which still maintains a high biodiversity. The objective of the study was to record the diversity and phenology of wild bees in this place by monthly sampling between December 2014 and December 2016 in a 9-km 2 area. During the study, there was a prolonged El Niño-Southern Oscillation period. Bees were collected by entomological nets, malaise traps, eugenol scent trapping, and nest traps. Shannon index was calculated to estimate diversity and Simpson index to determine dominance of a species. The effect of environmental conditions (wet and dry season) in richness and abundance was analyzed by paired T tests. A total of 3004 bee specimens were collected, belonging to 80 species from Apidae, Megachilidae, Halictidae, and Colletidae. Apidae was the most diverse. Shannon index value was 2.973 (discarding Apis mellifera Linnaeus 1758 data); thus, DsT can be considered as a zone of high wild bee diversity. Dry and rainy season showed differences in diversity (p < 0.05). Rainy season showed larger blooming periods and higher bee diversity than dry season. In both seasons, social species were dominant (e.g., A. mellifera or Trigona fulviventris Guérin 1844). Although DsT is a highly disturbed ecosystem, this study found it has the second highest number of genera and the fourth highest number of species reported in Colombia.

Acute Contact Toxicity Test of Oxalic Acid on Honeybees in the Southwestern Zone of Uruguay Prueba de Toxicidad Aguda por Contacto de Ácido Oxálico en Abejas de la Zona Sudoeste de Uruguay

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leonidas Carrasco-Letelier

2012-06-01

Full Text Available This work studies the acute contact toxicity of oxalic acid (OA on a honeybee polyhybrid subspecies (Apis mellifera, which is the dominant biotype in southwestern zone of Uruguay (SWZU and the country's most important honey-producing region. We determined the mean lethal dose (LD50, as well as the no observed effect level (NOEL and the lowest observed effect level (LOEL values. We also estimated the total number of honeybees per hive in the test area. The aim was to assess the relationship between the maximum OA dose used in Uruguay (3.1 g OA per hive and the toxicological parameters of honeybees from SWZU. The current dose of 3.1 g OA per hive corresponds to 132.8 OA per honeybee since determined NOEL is 400 OA per honeybee; our results indicate that the current dose could be increased to 9.3 g OA per hive. The results also highlight some differences between the LD50 value in SWZU honeybees (548.95 OA per honeybee and some published LD50 values for other honeybee subspecies.Este trabajo estudió la toxicidad aguda por contacto del ácido oxálico (AO sobre una subespecie poli-híbrida de abejas (Apis mellifera, la cual es el biotipo dominante en la zona sudoeste de Uruguay (SWZU, la región más importante para la producción de miel en este país. Este estudio determinó la dosis letal 50 (DL50, así como el nivel de efecto no observado (NOEL, el nivel de efecto mínimo observado (LOEL, y el número total de individuos por colmena. El propósito fue evaluar la relación entre la dosis máxima de AO usada en Uruguay (3.1 g AO por colmena y los parámetros toxicológicos de las abejas de la SWZU. Los resultados mostraron que es posible elevar la dosis actual de AO por colmena a 9.3 g, ya que la dosis actual de 3.1 g de AO corresponde a 132.8 AO por abeja, y el NOEL determinado es 400 AO por abeja. Los resultados también destacaron algunas diferencias entre la DL50 de las abejas del SWZU (548.95 AO por abeja y algunos valores de DL50 publicados

Índices de prevalencia del ácaro Varroa destructor (Acari: Varroidae en cuadros de cría nuevos o previamente utilizados por Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae Infestation levels of the mite Varroa destructor (Acari: Varroidae in new and old honeybee brood combs of Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jorge, A. Marcangeli

2007-07-01

evaluate infestation levels of the mite Varroa destructor (Anderson & Trueman in new and old honeybee brood combs of creole honeybee (hybrid of Apis mellifera mellifera Linnaeus and Apis mellifera ligustica Spinola. Work was done at Coronel Vidal city on 20 Langstroth hives during spring months 2005. In each colony an old frame (2 years and a new one were selected and placed in the middle of brood chamber. When both frames were operculated, they were carried to the laboratory for inspection. Each cell was desoperculated and total number of mite adult female was registered. Infestation level was calculated as number of infested cells divided by total number of desoperculated cells. Results showed significant differences between old and new comb infestation levels (13.52% ± 3.35 and 6.18% ± 2.12 respectively; t = 10.62; p = 1.9 E-9; g. l.= 19. Same results were observed in the average number of mites in combs (443.3 ± 70.54 and 217.85 ± 51.76 for old and new combs respectively; t = 23.87; p = 1.24 E-15; g. l.= 19. Mites show a strong preference for old combs directed by attractant alien scents of brood cells. Also, these scents masked the mites and prevent to honeybees to eliminate them by hygienic behaviour.

Bee Stings

Science.gov (United States)

... 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 ...

Control del parásito Varroa destructor (Acari: Varroidae en colmenas de la abeja Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae mediante la aplicación de la técnica de entrampado Control of the parasite Varroa destructor (Acari: Varroidae in honeybee colonies of Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae applying brood trap combs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natalia Damiani

2006-07-01

technique as possible control method of mite Varroa destructor (Anderson & Trueman. Work was done at Coronel Vidal, province of Buenos Aires using Langstroth hives of the local hybrid of Apis mellifera (Linneaus. In each colony, the queen was confined in one brood comb to control queen oviposition. After capped, these combs were taken to the laboratory to uncapp each cell and to examinate the total number of trapped parasites. This technique was applied varying the number of brood tramp combs (1-3 for worker and drone brood cells. Also, the impact of this technique on normal development of the colonies were evaluated by means of its honey production. Results showed that this technique is only effective when three drone brood tramp combs were applied, reaching a total efficacy of 84%. When worker brood combs were used, total efficacy was significant lower (14%. Honey production was significant lower in test colonies compared to control ones. Brood tramp combs technique represent a good alternative method to be combined with other control methods, decreasing the presence of chemical sustances and residues in honey and the possible resistant mite populations.

Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Formation of Long-Term Reward Memories and Extinction Memories in the Honeybee ("Apis Mellifera")

Science.gov (United States)

Eisenhardt, Dorothea

2014-01-01

The honeybee ("Apis mellifera") has long served as an invertebrate model organism for reward learning and memory research. Its capacity for learning and memory formation is rooted in the ecological need to efficiently collect nectar and pollen during summer to ensure survival of the hive during winter. Foraging bees learn to associate a…

Effects of honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) and bumble bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) presence on cranberry (Ericales: Ericaceae) pollination.

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Economic Risk of Bee Pollination in Maine Wild Blueberry, Vaccinium angustifolium.

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Multiple routes of pesticide exposure for honey bees living near agricultural fields.

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Christian H Krupke

Full Text Available Populations of honey bees and other pollinators have declined worldwide in recent years. A variety of stressors have been implicated as potential causes, including agricultural pesticides. Neonicotinoid insecticides, which are widely used and highly toxic to honey bees, have been found in previous analyses of honey bee pollen and comb material. However, the routes of exposure have remained largely undefined. We used LC/MS-MS to analyze samples of honey bees, pollen stored in the hive and several potential exposure routes associated with plantings of neonicotinoid treated maize. Our results demonstrate that bees are exposed to these compounds and several other agricultural pesticides in several ways throughout the foraging period. During spring, extremely high levels of clothianidin and thiamethoxam were found in planter exhaust material produced during the planting of treated maize seed. We also found neonicotinoids in the soil of each field we sampled, including unplanted fields. Plants visited by foraging bees (dandelions growing near these fields were found to contain neonicotinoids as well. This indicates deposition of neonicotinoids on the flowers, uptake by the root system, or both. Dead bees collected near hive entrances during the spring sampling period were found to contain clothianidin as well, although whether exposure was oral (consuming pollen or by contact (soil/planter dust is unclear. We also detected the insecticide clothianidin in pollen collected by bees and stored in the hive. When maize plants in our field reached anthesis, maize pollen from treated seed was found to contain clothianidin and other pesticides; and honey bees in our study readily collected maize pollen. These findings clarify some of the mechanisms by which honey bees may be exposed to agricultural pesticides throughout the growing season. These results have implications for a wide range of large-scale annual cropping systems that utilize neonicotinoid seed

High levels of miticides and agrochemicals in North American apiaries: implications for honey bee health.

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Mullin, Christopher A; Frazier, Maryann; Frazier, James L; Ashcraft, Sara; Simonds, Roger; Vanengelsdorp, Dennis; Pettis, Jeffery S

2010-03-19

Recent declines in honey bees for crop pollination threaten fruit, nut, vegetable and seed production in the United States. A broad survey of pesticide residues was conducted on samples from migratory and other beekeepers across 23 states, one Canadian province and several agricultural cropping systems during the 2007-08 growing seasons. We have used LC/MS-MS and GC/MS to analyze bees and hive matrices for pesticide residues utilizing a modified QuEChERS method. We have found 121 different pesticides and metabolites within 887 wax, pollen, bee and associated hive samples. Almost 60% of the 259 wax and 350 pollen samples contained at least one systemic pesticide, and over 47% had both in-hive acaricides fluvalinate and coumaphos, and chlorothalonil, a widely-used fungicide. In bee pollen were found chlorothalonil at levels up to 99 ppm and the insecticides aldicarb, carbaryl, chlorpyrifos and imidacloprid, fungicides boscalid, captan and myclobutanil, and herbicide pendimethalin at 1 ppm levels. Almost all comb and foundation wax samples (98%) were contaminated with up to 204 and 94 ppm, respectively, of fluvalinate and coumaphos, and lower amounts of amitraz degradates and chlorothalonil, with an average of 6 pesticide detections per sample and a high of 39. There were fewer pesticides found in adults and brood except for those linked with bee kills by permethrin (20 ppm) and fipronil (3.1 ppm). The 98 pesticides and metabolites detected in mixtures up to 214 ppm in bee pollen alone represents a remarkably high level for toxicants in the brood and adult food of this primary pollinator. This represents over half of the maximum individual pesticide incidences ever reported for apiaries. While exposure to many of these neurotoxicants elicits acute and sublethal reductions in honey bee fitness, the effects of these materials in combinations and their direct association with CCD or declining bee health remains to be determined.

Age-specific olfactory attraction between Western honey bee drones (Apis mellifera) and its chemical basis.

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Bastin, Florian; Savarit, Fabrice; Lafon, Grégory; Sandoz, Jean-Christophe

2017-01-01

During the mating season, drones (males) of the Western honey bee (Apis mellifera) form congregations numbering thousands high in the air. Virgin queens arrive at these congregations after they have formed and mate on the fly with 15-20 drones. To explain the formation of drone congregations, a drone-produced aggregation pheromone has been proposed many years ago but due to the low accessibility of natural mating sites in bees, its study has progressed slowly. Recently, we used a walking simulator in controlled laboratory conditions to show that drones are indeed attracted by groups of other drones. Since these previous experiments were carried out with drones captured when flying out of the hive, it is currently unclear if this olfactory attraction behaviour is related to the drones' sexual maturity (usually reached between 9 and 12 days) and may thus be indicative of a possible role in congregation formation, or if it is observed at any age and may represent in-hive aggregation. We thus assessed here the dependency of drone olfactory attraction on their age. First, we performed behavioural experiments in the walking simulator to measure olfactory preferences of drones in three age groups from 2-3 to 12-15 days. Then, we performed chemical analyses in the same age groups to evaluate whether chemical substances produced by the drones may explain age differences in olfactory attraction. We show that honey bee drones are attracted by conspecifics of the same age when they are sexually mature (12-15 days old) but not when they are younger (2-3 and 7-8 days old). In parallel, our data show that drones' chemical profile changes with age, including its most volatile fraction. These results are discussed in the context of drone mutual attraction both within the hive and at drone congregations.

Studies on the antioxidant properties of Tualang honey of Malaysia ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Honey has been used since ancient times for its nutritional as well as curative properties. Tualang honey is collected from wild honey bees' hives on Tualang trees found in the Malaysian rain forest. It has been used traditionally for the treatment of various diseases, where its therapeutic value has partly been related to its ...

Does the removal of mite-infested brood facilitate grooming?

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The relationship between the removal of mite-infested brood and mite drop was compared using Russian (RHB, n = 9) and Italian (IHB, n = 9) honey bee colonies. A cloake board was used to isolate test brood frame on the top hive body and the metal sheet served as a varroa trap. Inoculum mites were col...

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African Journals Online (AJOL)

Items 101 - 148 of 148 ... Vol 7, No 2 (2015), Performance of Wind Pump Prototype, Abstract PDF ... Vol 6, No 2 (2014), Performance test of Parabolic Trough Solar ... from traditional and modern hive production systems in Tigray region, ... Vol 4, No 1 (2012), Preliminary Study on the Impact of Water Quality and Irrigation ...

Omalizumab for treating chronic spontaneous urticaria: an expert review on efficacy and safety.

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Giménez-Arnau, Ana M

2017-03-01

Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is characterized by the recurrence of itchy hives and/or angioedema for greater than six weeks, with no known external trigger. Omalizumab, a humanized, recombinant, monoclonal anti-IgE antibody, is the only approved add-on therapy for H1-antihistamine refractory CSU patients. Areas covered: The objective of this article is to discuss the mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of omalizumab for the treatment of CSU. The review also summarizes efficacy and safety data from proof-of-concept, phase II (X-CUISITE, MYSTIQUE), and pivotal phase III omalizumab studies (ASTERIA I, ASTERIA II, and GLACIAL). Expert opinion: Omalizumab is a clinically effective and safe biological therapy for treating H1-antihistamine refractory CSU patients. It significantly reduces CSU symptoms (hives, itch and angioedema), and improves patient health-related quality of life. While omalizumab is already integral to the treatment of antihistamine refractory CSU, widespread use will depend on legal and economic factors, as well as improvements in the early and accurate diagnosis of CSU patients who would benefit from treatment.

Effect of a thymol application on olfactory memory and gene expression levels in the brain of the honeybee Apis mellifera.

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Bonnafé, Elsa; Drouard, Florian; Hotier, Lucie; Carayon, Jean-Luc; Marty, Pierre; Treilhou, Michel; Armengaud, Catherine

2015-06-01

Essential oils are used by beekeepers to control the Varroa mites that infest honeybee colonies. So, bees can be exposed to thymol formulations in the hive. The effects of the monoterpenoid thymol were explored on olfactory memory and gene expression in the brain of the honeybee. In bees previously exposed to thymol (10 or 100 ng/bee), the specificity of the response to the conditioned stimulus (CS) was lost 24 h after learning. Besides, the octopamine receptor OA1 gene Amoa1 showed a significant decrease of expression 3 h after exposure with 10 or 100 ng/bee of thymol. With the same doses, expression of Rdl gene, coding for a GABA receptor subunit, was not significantly modified but the trpl gene was upregulated 1 and 24 h after exposure to thymol. These data indicated that the genes coding for the cellular targets of thymol could be rapidly regulated after exposure to this molecule. Memory and sensory processes should be investigated in bees after chronic exposure in the hive to thymol-based preparations.

Experimental evidence that honeybees depress wild insect densities in a flowering crop.

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Lindström, Sandra A M; Herbertsson, Lina; Rundlöf, Maj; Bommarco, Riccardo; Smith, Henrik G

2016-11-30

While addition of managed honeybees (Apis mellifera) improves pollination of many entomophilous crops, it is unknown if it simultaneously suppresses the densities of wild insects through competition. To investigate this, we added 624 honeybee hives to 23 fields of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) over 2 years and made sure that the areas around 21 other fields were free from honeybee hives. We demonstrate that honeybee addition depresses the densities of wild insects (bumblebees, solitary bees, hoverflies, marchflies, other flies, and other flying and flower-visiting insects) even in a massive flower resource such as oilseed rape. The effect was independent of the complexity of the surrounding landscape, but increased with the size of the crop field, which suggests that the effect was caused by spatial displacement of wild insects. Our results have potential implications both for the pollination of crops (if displacement of wild pollinators offsets benefits achieved by adding honeybees) and for conservation of wild insects (if displacement results in negative fitness consequences). © 2016 The Author(s).

Impact of honeybee (Apis mellifera L. density on wild bee foraging behaviour

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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.

Do honeybees, Apis mellifera scutellata, regulate humidity in their nest?

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Human, Hannelie; Nicolson, Sue W.; Dietemann, Vincent

2006-08-01

Honeybees are highly efficient at regulating the biophysical parameters of their hive according to colony needs. Thermoregulation has been the most extensively studied aspect of nest homeostasis. In contrast, little is known about how humidity is regulated in beehives, if at all. Although high humidity is necessary for brood development, regulation of this parameter by honeybee workers has not yet been demonstrated. In the past, humidity was measured too crudely for a regulation mechanism to be identified. We reassess this issue, using miniaturised data loggers that allow humidity measurements in natural situations and at several places in the nest. We present evidence that workers influence humidity in the hive. However, there are constraints on potential regulation mechanisms because humidity optima may vary in different locations of the nest. Humidity could also depend on variable external factors, such as water availability, which further impair the regulation. Moreover, there are trade-offs with the regulation of temperature and respiratory gas exchanges that can disrupt the establishment of optimal humidity levels. As a result, we argue that workers can only adjust humidity within sub-optimal limits.

Dynamically Stable Legged Locomotion.

Science.gov (United States)

1983-01-27

digitai~y thro)ugh a ribbon cable. lhe dcsign effort required to mount power sources and computing u(m board would hive distracted us fiorn our main...angular momentum. "The model used in this paper, shown in Fig. 6-1, has 3 single springy leg that articular •s ,ith respect to a body about a simple hince

Dual Effect of Phenolic Nectar on Three Floral Visitors of Elsholtzia rugulosa (Lamiaceae) in SW China.

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Zhang, Feng-Ping; Yang, Qiu-Yun; Zhang, Shi-Bao

2016-01-01

Some plants secrete toxic nectar to appeal to most effective pollinators and deter non-pollinators or nectar thieves; however available information about ecological function of toxic nectar remains scarce. Elsholtzia rugulosa stands out as a plant with toxic nectar recorded in SW China. We focused on the functional significance of the phenolic compound that imparts toxic to the nectar of E. rugulosa. The effects of phenolic nectar were studied in three visitors of the flowers of the winter-blooming E. rugulosa Hemsl. (Lamiaceae) in SW China. The pollinating species Apis cerana Fabricius (Apidae; Asian honey bee) and two occasional visitors, Vespa velutina Lepeletier (Vespidae; yellow-legged Asian hornet) and Bombus eximius Smith (Apidae; a bumble bee) were tested for their preferences for low and high concentrations of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid in hexose and sucrose solutions. The pollinator is important for the plant, which is dependent on pollinator visits to attain a higher seed production and it is most likely that the combination of phenolic toxic nectar and the adaptation to phenolic nectar by A. cerana delivers an evolutionary advantage to both actors. The low and high concentrations of the phenolic acid were nearly totally refused by both occasional visitors V. velutina and B. eximius and were preferred by the pollinator A. cerana. E. rugulosa gains by having a much higher seed production and the pollinating honey bee by having an exclusive and reliable food source during the winter season at high altitudes in SW China. We found that the function of the toxic phenolic compound has dual roles by appealing to legitimate pollinators and deterring non-pollinators of E. rugulosa.

Dual Effect of Phenolic Nectar on Three Floral Visitors of Elsholtzia rugulosa (Lamiaceae in SW China.

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Feng-Ping Zhang

Full Text Available Some plants secrete toxic nectar to appeal to most effective pollinators and deter non-pollinators or nectar thieves; however available information about ecological function of toxic nectar remains scarce. Elsholtzia rugulosa stands out as a plant with toxic nectar recorded in SW China. We focused on the functional significance of the phenolic compound that imparts toxic to the nectar of E. rugulosa. The effects of phenolic nectar were studied in three visitors of the flowers of the winter-blooming E. rugulosa Hemsl. (Lamiaceae in SW China. The pollinating species Apis cerana Fabricius (Apidae; Asian honey bee and two occasional visitors, Vespa velutina Lepeletier (Vespidae; yellow-legged Asian hornet and Bombus eximius Smith (Apidae; a bumble bee were tested for their preferences for low and high concentrations of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid in hexose and sucrose solutions. The pollinator is important for the plant, which is dependent on pollinator visits to attain a higher seed production and it is most likely that the combination of phenolic toxic nectar and the adaptation to phenolic nectar by A. cerana delivers an evolutionary advantage to both actors. The low and high concentrations of the phenolic acid were nearly totally refused by both occasional visitors V. velutina and B. eximius and were preferred by the pollinator A. cerana. E. rugulosa gains by having a much higher seed production and the pollinating honey bee by having an exclusive and reliable food source during the winter season at high altitudes in SW China. We found that the function of the toxic phenolic compound has dual roles by appealing to legitimate pollinators and deterring non-pollinators of E. rugulosa.

Diversidade de insetos e frequência de abelhas visitantes florais de Serjania lethalis na Chapada do Araripe

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Társio Thiago Lopes Alves

2014-11-01

Full Text Available O cipó-uva Serjania lethalis pertence à Sapindacea, grupo de plantas escandentes reconhecidas por sua importância apícola. A espécie é encontrada naturalmente na Chapada do Araripe. O objetivo do trabalho foi estudar a diversidade e frequência dos visitantes florais do cipó-uva nos municípios de Santana do Cariri – CE e Moreilândia – PE nos meses de agosto a novembro entre2009 e 2010. Os visitantes florais foram conhecidos por meio de coletas regulares, usando-se rede entomológica durante o pico de floração. A frequência média de abelhas visitantes florais foi determinada através da contagem simples dos indivíduos, percorrendo por 20 minutos transectos pré-determinados, em sete horários diferentes ao longo dia. Os resultados mostraram indivíduos de Lepidoptera, Diptera, Apidae, Vespidea, Formicidae e Pompilidae visitando as inflorescências do Cipó - Uva, sendo os indivíduos de Apidae mais significativos. Conclui-se que a espécie S. lethalis atrai uma diversidade de visitantes florais, na grande maioria abelhas, especialmente Apis mellifera e Trigona spinipes que a visitam ao longo de todo o dia, indicando uma disponibilidade de recursos por todo esse período, sugerindo que a espécie vegetal possui potencial apícola. A visitação por outras espécies de abelhas nativas e insetos de outros grupos, demonstram a importância de S. lethalis para manutenção de visitantes florais silvestres da Chapada do Araripe.

Abejas englosinas de Colombia (Hymenoptera: Apidae I. Claves ilustradas Abejas englosinas de Colombia (Hymenoptera: Apidae I. Claves ilustradas

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Bonilla Gómez María Argenis

1992-09-01

Full Text Available One hundred and eight euglossine bee species are registered for Colombia, distributed in five genera: Aglae (1, Eufriesea (30, Euglossa (60, Eulaema (13 and Exaerete (4. New records for Colombia include: Eufriesea auripes, Ef. dressleri, Ef. fragrocara, Ef. xantha, Euglossa viridis, Eg. azureoviridis, Eg. cognata, Eg. singularis, EI. boliviensis, EI. seabrai and EI mocsaryi. Keys are given for males and females of Aglae, Exaerete, Eulaema and Eufriesea and for males of Euglossa of the 108 Colombian euglossines. A key for the subgenera of Euglossa is presented by the first time. Revisando diferentes fuentes de literatura y colecciones de abejas en Colombia y el exterior se encontró para Colombia un total de 108 especies de abejas de la subfamilia Euglossinae repartidas en 5 géneros: Aglae (1 especie, Eufriesea (30 especies, Euglossa (60 especies, Eulaema (13 especies y Exaerete (4 especies. Se registran por primera vez para Colombia 11 especies de abejas euglosinas: Eufriesea auripes, Ef. fragrocara, Ef. dressleri, Ef. xantha, Euglossa viridis, Eg. cognata, Eg. singularis, Eg. azureoviridis, Eulaema boliviensis, EI. seabrai y EI. mocsaryi. Se presentan claves para las 108 especies de los 5 géneros así, machos y hembras de Eufriesea, Exaerete y Aglae y los machos de Euglossa y por primera vez una clave para los subgéneros de Euglossa.

Ecologia da polinização da amoreira-preta (Rubus sp (Rosaceae em Timbó-SC, Brasil Pollination ecology of blackberry (Rubus sp. (Rosaceae in Timbo (SC, Brazil

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Leônidas João de Mello Junior

2011-09-01

Full Text Available O presente trabalho verificou experimentalmente a ecologia da polinização da amoreira-preta (Rubus sp.. Objetivou-se confirmar a síndrome de polinização de Rubus sp., por meio de análise de seu sistema reprodutivo, quantificação da produção diária de néctar, levantamento da entomofauna que visita as flores da amoreira na área de estudo e análise do seu comportamento polinizador. Os experimentos foram realizados em uma área de cultivo de amoreira-preta, no mês de dezembro de 2005, município de Timbó (SC. Constatou-se que a maior taxa de frutificação (48,3 % ± 3,2 ocorreu via polinização livre, onde os insetos não foram excluídos. Foi verificada a ocorrência de autopolinização, porém com taxa inferior de frutificação (12,2% ± 4,9. A anemofilia não foi constatada na espécie. A avaliação da produção de néctar em Rubus sp. resultou em valores compatíveis com a síndrome de melitofilia. Os visitantes florais coletados e observados sobre as flores de Rubus sp. foram predominantemente abelhas da ordem Hymenoptera (97%, que iniciam, em menor número, a atividade de forrageamento às 8h, com pico de atividade às 12h e declinando até às 16h. As coletas resultaram numa amostragem de 1.360 abelhas, divididas em quatro famílias e 13 espécies. A família com maior riqueza de espécies (N = 7 foi Halictidae e a mais abundante foi Apidae, com 1.288 indivíduos. Em Apidae, houve o predomínio da espécie exótica Apis mellifera, cuja representação na amostra foi de 1.246 indivíduos. Os dados da abundância e as observações naturalísticas do seu comportamento da flor apontaram A. mellifera como o principal polinizador de Rubus sp., mas confirmam que as demais espécies de abelhas também participam na polinização de Rubus sp.The pollination ecology of the blackberry (Rubus sp. was studied by means of determining its reproductive system, the analysis of flower's nectar production. Sampling the insects that visit

Final Environmental Assessment Addressing Tree Management at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-01

survival and recovery in the wild is appreciably reduced. An “endangered species” is defined by the ESA as any species in danger of extinction ...He wasn’t familittwilb ~~wboAII~Iabelieved berc-~i~~saidtbe to be 38 years old. The .wspeci iltdica!M be mi&bt other two bodies wen too hive bee !l

Getting More Value out of the Technology You Already Have

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Simkins, Michael

2011-01-01

Finding the money for new technology purchases is not easy in the best budget years. In today's economy, one will be lucky to keep the lights on and the Internet connected. Knowing that the hive as a whole can be wiser than the brightest bee, the author sought the counsel of professional friends and colleagues through an informal survey, to which…

Plant origin of Okinawan propolis: honeybee behavior observation and phytochemical analysis

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Kumazawa, Shigenori; Nakamura, Jun; Murase, Masayo; Miyagawa, Mariko; Ahn, Mok-Ryeon; Fukumoto, Shuichi

2008-08-01

Propolis is a natural resinous product collected by honeybees from certain plants. It has gained popularity as a food and alternative medicine. Poplar and Baccharis are well known as the source plants of European and Brazilian propolis, respectively. However, the propolis from Okinawa, Japan, contains some prenylflavonoids not seen in other regions such as Europe and Brazil, suggesting that the plant origin of Okinawan propolis is a particular plant that grows in Okinawa. To identify the plant origin of Okinawan propolis, we observed the behavior of honeybees as they collected material from plants and caulked it inside the hive. Honeybees scraped resinous material from the surface of plant fruits of Macaranga tanarius and brought it back to their hive to use it as propolis. We collected samples of the plant and propolis, and compared their constituents by high-performance liquid chromatography with a photo-diode array detector. We also compared their 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl radical scavenging activity. The chemical constituents and biological activity of the ethanol extracts of the plant did not differ from those of propolis. This indicates directly that the plant origin of Okinawan propolis is M. tanarius.

Automatic methods for long-term tracking and the detection and decoding of communication dances in honeybees

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Fernando eWario

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The honeybee waggle dance communication system is an intriguing example of abstract animal communication and has been investigated thoroughly throughout the last seven decades. Typically, observables such as durations or angles are extracted manually directly from the observation hive or from video recordings to quantify dance properties, particularly to determine where bees have foraged. In recent years, biology has profited from automation, improving measurement precision, removing human bias, and accelerating data collection. As a further step, we have developed technologies to track all individuals of a honeybee colony and detect and decode communication dances automatically. In strong contrast to conventional approaches that focus on a small subset of the hive life, whether this regards time, space, or animal identity, our more inclusive system will help the understanding of the dance comprehensively in its spatial, temporal, and social context. In this contribution, we present full specifications of the recording setup and the software for automatic recognition and decoding of tags and dances, and we discuss potential research directions that may benefit from automation. Lastly, to exemplify the power of the methodology, we show experimental data and respective analyses for a continuous, experimental recording of nine weeks duration.

Evaluating the Role of Drone-Produced Chemical Signals in Mediating Social Interactions in Honey Bees (Apis mellifera).

Science.gov (United States)

Villar, Gabriel; Wolfson, Megan D; Hefetz, Abraham; Grozinger, Christina M

2018-01-01

Pheromones play a critical role in shaping societies of social insects, including honey bees, Apis mellifera. While diverse functions have been ascribed to queen- and worker-produced compounds, few studies have explored the identity and function of male-produced (drone) compounds. However, several lines of evidence suggest that drones engage in a variety of social interactions inside and outside of the colony. Here we elucidate the chemical composition of extracts of the drone mandibular gland, and test the hypothesis that compounds produced in these glands, or a synthetic blend consisting of the six main compounds, mediate drone social interactions in and out of the colony. Drone mandibular glands primarily produce a blend of saturated, unsaturated and methyl branched fatty acids ranging in chain length from nonanoic to docosanoic acids, and both gland extracts and synthetic blends of these chemicals serve to attract drones outside of the hive, but do not attract workers inside the hive. These studies shed light on the role drones and drone-produced chemicals have on mediating social interactions with other drones and highlight their potential importance in communicating with other castes.

Performance of Africanized honeybee colonies settled by queens selected for different traits

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Tânia Patrícia Schafaschek

2016-01-01

Full Text Available We evaluated varroa infestation and the performance of Africanized honeybee colonies with queens selected for honey and royal jelly production, and also unselected queens, correlating with climatic variables. In Campo Alegre, Santa Catarina State, Brazil, the experiment I used 10 Langstroth hives and in Mafra, Santa Catarina State, Brazil, the experiment II was performed with 15 Schenk hives. A mapping in areas of sealed and unsealed brood, honey and pollen was carried out on days zero, 45 and 90 days after the introduction of the queen. In the experiment I, there was interaction between the type of queen selection and the evaluation period for areas of sealed brood, honey, and total stored food. The group selected for royal jelly production presented larger sealed brood area and smaller honey area at 90 days. Varroa infestation was lower (p < 0.05 at 90 days. The type of queen selection and the evaluation period influenced the sealed brood area, the total brood and the total area occupied in the colony. The high relative humidity caused greater honey storage for the local group. The different groups of queens presented different behavior according to the environment in which they are settled.

Reproduction in eusocial bees (Apidae: Apini, Meliponini)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chinh, T.X.

2004-01-01

This thesis presents some key aspects of the regulation and the mechanisms of colony reproduction in honeybees and stingless bees. Special attention is paid to key questions about how the production of males, gynes and swarms takes place, and what intranidal and extranidal factors are related to

Absence of ancient DNA in sub-fossil insect inclusions preserved in 'Anthropocene' Colombian copal.

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David Penney

Full Text Available Insects preserved in copal, the sub-fossilized resin precursor of amber, have potential value in molecular ecological studies of recently-extinct species and of extant species that have never been collected as living specimens. The objective of the work reported in this paper was therefore to determine if ancient DNA is present in insects preserved in copal. We prepared DNA libraries from two stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini: Trigonisca ameliae preserved in 'Anthropocene' Colombian copal, dated to 'post-Bomb' and 10,612±62 cal yr BP, respectively, and obtained sequence reads using the GS Junior 454 System. Read numbers were low, but were significantly higher for DNA extracts prepared from crushed insects compared with extracts obtained by a non-destructive method. The younger specimen yielded sequence reads up to 535 nucleotides in length, but searches of these sequences against the nucleotide database revealed very few significant matches. None of these hits was to stingless bees though one read of 97 nucleotides aligned with two non-contiguous segments of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene of the East Asia bumblebee Bombus hypocrita. The most significant hit was for 452 nucleotides of a 470-nucleotide read that aligned with part of the genome of the root-nodulating bacterium Bradyrhizobium japonicum. The other significant hits were to proteobacteria and an actinomycete. Searches directed specifically at Apidae nucleotide sequences only gave short and insignificant alignments. All of the reads from the older specimen appeared to be artefacts. We were therefore unable to obtain any convincing evidence for the preservation of ancient DNA in either of the two copal inclusions that we studied, and conclude that DNA is not preserved in this type of material. Our results raise further doubts about claims of DNA extraction from fossil insects in amber, many millions of years older than copal.

Vegetation Management and Host Density Influence Bee-Parasite Interactions in Urban Gardens.

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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.

A Distributed Model for Mobile Robot Environment-Learning and Navigation

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1990-05-01

are unex- pectedly removed, the bats continue to navigate around, as if they continue to be present [ Gallistel 89]. This behavior indicates the...itself ( Gallistel 80]. 11.2.2 Bees The behavior of bees has been intriguing biologists, behaviorists, and ethol- ogists for centuries. Bee hives...corresponding to their previous length [ Gallistel 80]. In experiments with rotated radial mazes, rats enter already sampled arms without realizing the

Meliponini Neotropicais: o gênero Dolichotrigona Moure (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Apinae Neotropical Meliponini: the genus Dolichotrigona Moure (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Apinae

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João M. F. Camargo

2005-03-01

Full Text Available O gênero neotropical de abelhas-sem-ferrão Dolichotrigona Moure, 1950, é revisado. Sete espécies novas são descritas: D. mendersoni sp. nov. (Brasil: AM, AC, RO, D. clavicornis sp. nov. (Brasil: AC, D. rondoni sp. nov. (Brasil: RO, D. tavaresi sp. nov. (Brasil: AM, AC, D. browni sp. nov. (Brasil: RO, AC, MT; Peru, Equador, Bolívia, D. moratoi sp. nov. (Brasil, AM, AC e D. chachapoya sp. nov. (Peru. O holótipo de Trigona martinezi Brèthes, 1920, e o lectótipo de Melipona longitarsis Ducke, 1916 - aqui designado -, foram examinados e redescritos. Trigona schulthessi Friese, 1900, foi interpretada com base na literatura. Chave para identificação das espécies e ilustrações dos principais caracteres diagnósticos são apresentadas.The Neotropical stingless bees genus Dolichotrigona Moure, 1950, is revised. Seven new species are described: D. mendersoni sp. nov. (Brazil: AM, AC, RO, D. clavicornis sp. nov. (Brazil: AC, D. rondoni sp. nov. (Brazil: RO, D. tavaresi sp. nov. (Brazil: AM, AC, D. browni sp. nov. (Brazil: RO, AC, MT; Peru, Equador, Bolivia, D. moratoi sp. nov. (Brazil, AM, AC and D. chachapoya sp. nov. (Peru. The holotype of Trigona martinezi Brèthes, 1920, and the lectotype of Melipona longitarsis Ducke, 1916 - herein designated -, were examined and redescribed. Trigona schulthessi Friese, 1900, was interpreted based on the literature. Identification key for species and illustrations of the main diagnostic characters are presented.

A four-year field program investigating long-term effects of repeated exposure of honey bee colonies to flowering crops treated with thiamethoxam.

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Edward Pilling

Full Text Available Neonicotinoid residues in nectar and pollen from crop plants have been implicated as one of the potential factors causing the declines of honey bee populations. Median residues of thiamethoxam in pollen collected from honey bees after foraging on flowering seed treated maize were found to be between 1 and 7 µg/kg, median residues of the metabolite CGA322704 (clothianidin in the pollen were between 1 and 4 µg/kg. In oilseed rape, median residues of thiamethoxam found in pollen collected from bees were between <1 and 3.5 µg/kg and in nectar from foraging bees were between 0.65 and 2.4 µg/kg. Median residues of CGA322704 in pollen and nectar in the oilseed rape trials were all below the limit of quantification (1 µg/kg. Residues in the hive were even lower in both the maize and oilseed rape trials, being at or below the level of detection of 1 µg/kg for bee bread in the hive and at or below the level of detection of 0.5 µg/kg for hive nectar, honey and royal jelly samples. The long-term risk to honey bee colonies in the field was also investigated, including the sensitive overwintering stage, from four years consecutive single treatment crop exposures to flowering maize and oilseed rape grown from thiamethoxam treated seeds at rates recommended for insect control. Throughout the study, mortality, foraging behavior, colony strength, colony weight, brood development and food storage levels were similar between treatment and control colonies. Detailed examination of brood development throughout the year demonstrated that colonies exposed to the treated crop were able to successfully overwinter and had a similar health status to the control colonies in the following spring. We conclude that these data demonstrate there is a low risk to honey bees from systemic residues in nectar and pollen following the use of thiamethoxam as a seed treatment on oilseed rape and maize.

Mapping floral resources for honey bees in New Zealand at the catchment scale.

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Ausseil, Anne-Gaelle E; Dymond, John R; Newstrom, Linda

2018-03-12

Honey bees require nectar and pollen from flowers: nectar for energy and pollen for growth. The demand for nectar and pollen varies during the year, with more pollen needed in spring for colony population growth and more nectar needed in summer to sustain the maximum colony size and collect surplus nectar stores for winter. Sufficient bee forage is therefore necessary to ensure a healthy bee colony. Land-use changes can reduce the availability of floral resources suitable for bees, thereby increasing the susceptibility of bees to other stressors such as disease and pesticides. In contrast, land-based management decisions to protect or plant bee forage can enhance pollen and nectar supply to bees while meeting other goals such as riparian planting for water-quality improvement. Commercial demand for honey can also put pressure on floral resources through over-crowding of hives. To help understand and manage floral resources for bees, we developed a spatial model for mapping monthly nectar and pollen production from maps of land cover. Based on monthly estimated production data we mapped potential monthly supply of nectar and pollen to a given apiary location in the landscape. This is done by summing the total production within the foraging range of the apiary while subtracting the estimated nectar converted to energy for collection. Ratios of estimated supply over theoretical hive demand may then be used to infer a potential landscape carrying capacity to sustain hives. This model framework is quantitative and spatial, utilizing estimated flight energy costs for nectar foraging. It can contribute to management decisions such as where apiaries could be placed in the landscape depending on floral resources and where nectar limited areas may be located. It can contribute to planning areas for bee protection or planting such as in riparian vegetation. This would aid managed bee health, wild pollinator protection, and honey production. We demonstrate the methods in a

A Four-Year Field Program Investigating Long-Term Effects of Repeated Exposure of Honey Bee Colonies to Flowering Crops Treated with Thiamethoxam

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Pilling, Edward; Campbell, Peter; Coulson, Mike; Ruddle, Natalie; Tornier, Ingo

2013-01-01

Neonicotinoid residues in nectar and pollen from crop plants have been implicated as one of the potential factors causing the declines of honey bee populations. Median residues of thiamethoxam in pollen collected from honey bees after foraging on flowering seed treated maize were found to be between 1 and 7 µg/kg, median residues of the metabolite CGA322704 (clothianidin) in the pollen were between 1 and 4 µg/kg. In oilseed rape, median residues of thiamethoxam found in pollen collected from bees were between <1 and 3.5 µg/kg and in nectar from foraging bees were between 0.65 and 2.4 µg/kg. Median residues of CGA322704 in pollen and nectar in the oilseed rape trials were all below the limit of quantification (1 µg/kg). Residues in the hive were even lower in both the maize and oilseed rape trials, being at or below the level of detection of 1 µg/kg for bee bread in the hive and at or below the level of detection of 0.5 µg/kg for hive nectar, honey and royal jelly samples. The long-term risk to honey bee colonies in the field was also investigated, including the sensitive overwintering stage, from four years consecutive single treatment crop exposures to flowering maize and oilseed rape grown from thiamethoxam treated seeds at rates recommended for insect control. Throughout the study, mortality, foraging behavior, colony strength, colony weight, brood development and food storage levels were similar between treatment and control colonies. Detailed examination of brood development throughout the year demonstrated that colonies exposed to the treated crop were able to successfully overwinter and had a similar health status to the control colonies in the following spring. We conclude that these data demonstrate there is a low risk to honey bees from systemic residues in nectar and pollen following the use of thiamethoxam as a seed treatment on oilseed rape and maize. PMID:24194871

Mitochondrial tRNA gene translocations in highly eusocial bees

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniela Silvestre

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Mitochondrial gene rearrangement events, especially involving tRNA genes, have been described more frequently as more complete mitochondrial genome sequences are becoming available. In the present work, we analyzed mitochondrial tRNA gene rearrangements between two bee species belonging to the tribes Apini and Meliponini within the "corbiculate Apidae". Eleven tRNA genes are in different genome positions or strands. The molecular events responsible for each translocation are explained. Considering the high number of rearrangements observed, the data presented here contradict the general rule of high gene order conservation among closely related organisms, and also represent a powerful molecular tool to help solve questions about phylogeny and evolution in bees.

Melittofauna and Other Potential Pollinators in Wetland and Uplands in South Central Nebraska (Insecta: Apoidea).

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Park, Cynthia N; Overall, Lisa M; Smith, Loren M; Lagrange, Ted; McMurry, Scott

2017-03-10

Our objective was to document potential wild pollinating insects in south central Nebraska. This intensively cultivated region is known as the Rainwater Basin and contains some of the most endangered wetland systems in North America. We used blue vane traps to passively collect insects and insect nets to actively collect on flowering plants from April through October in 2014 and 2015. Habitat types included playa wetlands, adjacent mixed and tallgrass prairies, and agricultural fields. Over 112,000 insects were collected; Hymenoptera represented 78% of the total, and the families Apidae and Halictidae comprised 99% of the total melittofauna. Insects from 13 orders were collected, but Hymenoptera, Diptera, and Coleoptera were the most abundant potential pollinators.

Defending the hive: social mechanisms complement individual immunity in honey bees

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Honey bees live in large colonies (~50,000 individuals), but sociality has both costs and benefits. In some ways, social life enables individuals within colonies to better fend off pathogens and parasites than if they were solitary. However, an environment with many genetically related individuals i...

Eficiência polinizadora de Apis mellifera L. e polinização entomófila em pimentão 'Cascadura Ikeda' Pollination efficiency of honeybees and entomophilous pollination in sweet pepper 'Cascadura Ikeda'

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luiz Roberto Ribeiro Faria Júnior

2008-01-01

visited by insects; (2 caged plots; (3 caged plots containing a hive of honeybees. Twelve species of insects visited the flowers. Exomalopsis spp. (Hymenoptera, Apidae were the commonest ones (53,9% of visits. Fruits yielded in treatments (1 and (3 were heavier, presented higher diameter, thicker pericarp and more seeds per fruit than fruits in treatment (2. Results showed that fruits from insect pollinated plots presented better quality. Honeybeesas as pollinators were efficient as the other insects.

Shark: SQL and Analytics with Cost-Based Query Optimization on Coarse-Grained Distributed Memory

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-13

RDBMS and contains a database (often MySQL or Derby) with a namespace for tables, table metadata and partition information. Table data is stored in an...serialization/deserialization) Java interface implementations with corresponding object inspectors. The Hive driver controls the processing of queries, coordinat...native API, RDD operations are invoked through a functional interface similar to DryadLINQ [32] in Scala, Java or Python. For example, the Scala code for

Aspectos da biologia de Euplusia violacea (Blanchard (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Euglossini Aspects of biology of Euplusia violacea (Blanchard (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Euglossini

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Rui Carlos Peruquetti

1997-01-01

Full Text Available Nests of orchid bee Euplusia violacea (Blanchard, 1840 colleted in trap-nests and in the wood of a construction in Viçosa, Minas Gerais (20º45'30"S, 42º52'05"W, Brazil, were studied under laboratory condictions. Some aspects of the biology of these bees were observed, such as sex-ratio, development time, Iongevity and others. Some aspects of the behavior of E. violada were also studied.

Positive impact of omalizumab on angioedema and quality of life in patients with refractory chronic idiopathic/spontaneous urticaria: analyses according to the presence or absence of angioedema.

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Maurer, M; Sofen, H; Ortiz, B; Kianifard, F; Gabriel, S; Bernstein, J A

2017-06-01

Approximately 50% of patients with chronic idiopathic/spontaneous urticaria (CIU/CSU) report hives and angioedema; some experience hives/angioedema only. Assess omalizumab's effect on angioedema and quality of life (QoL) in subgroups with refractory CIU/CSU: those with and without angioedema. Patients received omalizumab (75, 150 or 300 mg) or placebo every 4 weeks for 12/24 weeks. Angioedema and QoL were assessed [Urticaria Patient Daily Diary and Dermatology Quality of Life Index (DLQI)]. Subgroups were based on the presence/absence of baseline angioedema 7 days prior to randomization. Patients with baseline angioedema randomized to omalizumab 300 mg had a greater reduction in mean weekly incidence of angioedema and mean number of days/week with angioedema vs. placebo at 12 and 24 weeks. A 3.3- to 4.5-point greater mean reduction in DLQI score was achieved with omalizumab 300 mg treatment vs. placebo, above the minimal clinically important difference threshold. Results with lower doses vs. placebo were variable. Compared with placebo, omalizumab 300 mg treatment over 12-24 weeks resulted in marked reduction in incidence and number of days/week with angioedema accompanied by clinically relevant improvement in QoL. © 2016 European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology.

The Prevalence of Symptoms of Asthma and Allergic Diseases through ISSAC Method in Teenagers

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Jafar Hassanzadeh

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Background: Asthma is the most important chronic disease in children and one of the causes of school absenteeism, which is getting more prevalent by the increase of environmental pollutants and industrial life. This study was planned and performed to estimate the prevalence of asthma and other allergic diseases.Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2009 on 3000 female and male students of first grade of guidance school, who were selected by multistage sampling. Data were collected by standard questionnaire and after data collection and entering ISSAC SPSS software the prevalence of asthma and allergic diseases was estimated. Statistical analysis was performed using χ2 statistical test at significance level of 0.05.Results: Prevalence of asthma, hives, eczema and atopic disease was respectively 3.8 percent, 10.4%, 18.3% and 42%. Prevalence of hives, eczema, atopic disease, watery eyes and wheezing after exercise in both genders showed a statistically significant difference (p 0.05Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that although the prevalence of asthma in Shirazi children is less than some other cities, the increased development of disease in recent years will be a threatening risk and this phenomenon requires serious attention and planning by authorities as well as health policymakers.

An amino acid substitution (L925V associated with resistance to pyrethroids in Varroa destructor.

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Joel González-Cabrera

Full Text Available The Varroa mite, Varroa destructor, is an important pest of honeybees and has played a prominent role in the decline in bee colony numbers over recent years. Although pyrethroids such as tau-fluvalinate and flumethrin can be highly effective in removing the mites from hives, their intensive use has led to many reports of resistance. To investigate the mechanism of resistance in UK Varroa samples, the transmembrane domain regions of the V. destructor voltage-gated sodium channel (the main target site for pyrethroids were PCR amplified and sequenced from pyrethroid treated/untreated mites collected at several locations in Central/Southern England. A novel amino acid substitution, L925V, was identified that maps to a known hot spot for resistance within the domain IIS5 helix of the channel protein; a region that has also been proposed to form part of the pyrethroid binding site. Using a high throughput diagnostic assay capable of detecting the mutation in individual mites, the L925V substitution was found to correlate well with resistance, being present in all mites that had survived tau-fluvalinate treatment but in only 8 % of control, untreated samples. The potential for using this assay to detect and manage resistance in Varroa-infected hives is discussed.

Detection of Methyl Salicylate Transforted by Honeybees (Apis mellifera) Using Solid Phase Microextration (SPME) Fibers; TOPICAL

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BENDER, SUSAN FAE ANN; RODACY, PHILIP J.; BARNETT, JAMES L.; BENDER, GARY L.

2001-01-01

The ultimate goal of many environmental measurements is to determine the risk posed to humans or ecosystems by various contaminants. Conventional environmental monitoring typically requires extensive sampling grids covering several media including air, water, soil and vegetation. A far more efficient, innovative and inexpensive tactic has been found using honeybees as sampling mechanisms. Members from a single bee colony forage over large areas ((approx)2 x 10(sup 6) m(sup 2)), making tens of thousands of trips per day, and return to a fixed location where sampling can be conveniently conducted. The bees are in direct contact with the air, water, soil and vegetation where they encounter and collect any contaminants that are present in gaseous, liquid and particulate form. The monitoring of honeybees when they return to the hive provides a rapid method to assess chemical distributions and impacts (1). The primary goal of this technology is to evaluate the efficiency of the transport mechanism (honeybees) to the hive using preconcentrators to collect samples. Once the extent and nature of the contaminant exposure has been characterized, resources can be distributed and environmental monitoring designs efficiently directed to the most appropriate locations. Methyl salicylate, a chemical agent surrogate was used as the target compound in this study

Social Learning in Bumblebees (Bombus impatiens: Worker Bumblebees Learn to Manipulate and Forage at Artificial Flowers by Observation and Communication within the Colony

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Hamida B. Mirwan

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Social learning occurs when one individual learns from another, mainly conspecific, often by observation, imitation, or communication. Using artificial flowers, we studied social learning by allowing test bumblebees to (a see dead bumblebees arranged in foraging positions or (b watch live bumblebees actually foraging or (c communicate with nestmates within their colony without having seen foraging. Artificial flowers made from 1.5 mL microcentrifuge tubes with closed caps were inserted through the centres of blue 7 cm plastic discs as optical signals through which the bees could not forage. The reinforcer reward syrup was accessible only through holes in the sides of the tubes beneath the blue discs. Two colonies (A and B were used in tandem along with control (C and D colonies. No bee that was not exposed (i.e., from the control colonies (C and D to social learning discovered the access holes. Inside colony B, we imprisoned a group of bees that were prevented from seeing or watching. Bees that saw dead bumblebees in foraging positions, those that watched nest-mates foraging, and those that had only in-hive communication with successful foragers all foraged successfully. The means of in-hive communication are not understood and warrant intense investigation.

Detection of Methyl Salicylate Transforted by Honeybees (Apis mellifera) Using Solid Phase Microextration (SPME) Fibers

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BENDER, SUSAN FAE ANN; RODACY, PHILIP J.; BARNETT, JAMES L.; BENDER, GARY L.

2001-12-01

The ultimate goal of many environmental measurements is to determine the risk posed to humans or ecosystems by various contaminants. Conventional environmental monitoring typically requires extensive sampling grids covering several media including air, water, soil and vegetation. A far more efficient, innovative and inexpensive tactic has been found using honeybees as sampling mechanisms. Members from a single bee colony forage over large areas ({approx}2 x 10{sup 6} m{sup 2}), making tens of thousands of trips per day, and return to a fixed location where sampling can be conveniently conducted. The bees are in direct contact with the air, water, soil and vegetation where they encounter and collect any contaminants that are present in gaseous, liquid and particulate form. The monitoring of honeybees when they return to the hive provides a rapid method to assess chemical distributions and impacts (1). The primary goal of this technology is to evaluate the efficiency of the transport mechanism (honeybees) to the hive using preconcentrators to collect samples. Once the extent and nature of the contaminant exposure has been characterized, resources can be distributed and environmental monitoring designs efficiently directed to the most appropriate locations. Methyl salicylate, a chemical agent surrogate was used as the target compound in this study.

Knowledge about useful entomofauna in the county of La Purísima Palmar de Bravo, Puebla State, Mexico

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D. H. Zetina

2007-06-01

Full Text Available Eighteen species of edible insects belonging to 15 families of six orders of Insecta were recorded in the county of La Purísima Palmar de Bravo in Puebla State, Mexico. They had the following taxonomic distribution among the different families: Lygaeidae, Pentatomidae, Membracidae, Cercopidae, Psocidae, Melolonthidae, Curculionidae, Cossidae, Megathymidae, Pyralidae, Geometridae and Apidae, all with a single recorded species; the families Acrididae, Formicidae and Vespidae with two species in each family. The latter were the most abundant families, and Hymenoptera was the most salient order with five species. Three species were reported as new registers of edible insects for Mexico and also for the world. The nutritive value of insects in terms of macro and micronutrients is discussed.

Who Do You Know? Developing and Analyzing Entrepreneur Networks: Data Collection in the Tech Entrepreneurial Environment of Six African Cities

Science.gov (United States)

2015-01-01

supported by Google, Deloitte, and Samsung . Outbox markets itself not just as an incubator, but also as a place for the tech community to meet with...different membership focus than Hive CoLab and Outbox and their members have a much more diverse background. In addition to tech-focused...and conference room. The businesses under incubation at Mara LaunchPad are more diverse than those at the other incubators that we visited. Their

Pop nädal : Popuudised. Raadio 2 annab rohkem alternatiivmuusikat / J. L.

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

J. L.

2002-01-01

Ansambli Toto uuest albumist "Trough the Looking Glass", mis tuleb müügile 14. okt. ning Toto Euroopa-maailmaturneest alates 27. oktoobrist ja lõpetades 2003. aastal. Ansambli The Breeders uuest albumist "Son of Three". Ansambli The Hives' lepingust plaadifirmaga Universal Records. 21. okt. müügile saabuvast Richard Ashcrofti plaadist "Human Conditions" ja singlist "Check the Meaning". Ansambli U2 uuest singlist "Electrical Storm". Raadio 2 poolt pakutavast moodsast klubimuusikast

Própolis: 100 anos de pesquisa e suas perspectivas futuras Propolis: 100 years of research and future perspectives

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Alberto dos Santos Pereira

2002-05-01

Full Text Available Propolis is a multifunctional material used by bees in the construction and maintenance of their hives. The chemical composition and pharmacological properties have been studied for centuries. Today they represent an important raw material for many health products and constitute a new interdisciplinary area for research. Among others they show important antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities and various pharmacological properties. This paper presents an overview of the scientific literature and patents concerning propolis.

The Crimean Tatars and Their Influence on the Triangle of Conflict’ - Russia-Crimea-Ukraine

Science.gov (United States)

2008-03-01

Ottoman Empire, threatening the strategic Bosporus Straits. To protect them, France , Britain and Sardinia joined the Ottomans in the war. Allied forces...educated in a local Islamic school, and then in Russia and France .259 He recognized the threat of Russification, and sought to counter it through a...269 On the other hand, Lenin claimed Crimea was a hive of bourgeoisie , and sent the Cheka (Soviet secret police) to deal with those who opposed the

Evaluation of Metarhizium anisopliae var. anisopliae Qu-M845 Isolate to Control Varroa destructor (Acari: Varroidae in Laboratory and Field Trials Evaluación del Aislamiento Qu-M845 de Metarhizium anisopliae var. anisopliae para el Control de Varroa destructor (Acari: Varroidae en Ensayos de Laboratorio y Terreno

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Marta Rodríguez

2009-12-01

Full Text Available The effectiveness of the Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschinkoff Qu-M845 isolate was evaluated in laboratory and field trials. It was previously selected for thermal resistance (at 30 and 35 ºC and pathogenicity on Varroa destructor (Anderson and Trueman. In the laboratory, the first evaluations were carried out by spraying and increasing the concentration from zero to 10(8 conidia mL-1 on varroa adults. Lethal concentrations required for 50 and 90% mite mortality (LC50 and LC90 were 3.8 x 10(5 and 8 x 10(7 conidia mL-1, respectively (χ2 = 2.03. In the autumn field trials, three application methods (doses of 5 x 10(10 conidia per hive were evaluated. The treatments were: a conidia stamped on filter paper, located on every second frame inside the hive; b dry conidia sprinkled on and between frames; and c dry conidia in a dispenser path at the entrance of the hive. Furthermore, untreated hives were included as controls. After 21 days of treatment, the dry conidia sprinkled on and between frames showed 67% less bees infested by the mite than the control (p La efectividad del aislamiento Qu-M845 de Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschinkoff, seleccionado previamente por su resistencia a temperaturas de 30 y 35 ºC, y patogenicidad sobre Varroa destructor Anderson y Trueman fue evaluada en laboratorio y en ensayos de terreno. Las primeras pruebas consistieron en pulverizar concentraciones crecientes de 0 a 10(8 conidias mL-1 sobre varroas adultas. La concentración letal para matar el 50 y 90% de la población (CL50 y CL90 fueron de 3,8 x 10(5 y 8 x 10(7 conidias mL-1, respectivamente (χ² = 2,03. En otoño se evaluaron en terreno tres métodos de aplicación de una dosis de 5 x 10(10 conidias por colmena. Los tratamientos fueron: a conidias estampadas en papel filtro ubicado cada dos panales móviles al interior de la colmena; b conidias espolvoreadas sobre y entre los panales; y c dispensador de conidias ubicado en la piquera de las colmenas. Además se

Flight activity of Melipona asilvai Moure (Hymenoptera: Apidae

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B. A. Souza

Full Text Available Many stingless bee species are specific to their areas of occurrence. Even when adapted to their local climate and flora conditions, they are subject to modifications in the environment, directly influencing flight activity. The aim of this work is to obtain information about the flight activity of the stingless bee Melipona asilvai Moure, thus contributing to the knowledge of this species. The flow of bees entering and leaving the colony was evaluated, and the type of transported material was identified. This information was correlated with climatic data collected at the time of observations, performed between June 2002 and March 2003. It can be proved that temperature was the factor with the greatest influence on the external activity of this species, showing a significant positive correlation with the entry of bees into the colony and pollen collection. Mud collecting showed a significant positive correlation with a humidity increase. Flight activity began at a temperature of 21.0 °C and humidity of 84.5%, peaking at 27.4 °C and 60.6% RH, respectively.

Flight activity of Melipona asilvai Moure (Hymenoptera: Apidae).

Science.gov (United States)

Souza, B A; Carvalho, C A L; Alves, R M O

2006-05-01

Many stingless bee species are specific to their areas of occurrence. Even when adapted to their local climate and flora conditions, they are subject to modifications in the environment, directly influencing flight activity. The aim of this work is to obtain information about the flight activity of the stingless bee Melipona asilvai Moure, thus contributing to the knowledge of this species. The flow of bees entering and leaving the colony was evaluated, and the type of transported material was identified. This information was correlated with climatic data collected at the time of observations, performed between June 2002 and March 2003. It can be proved that temperature was the factor with the greatest influence on the external activity of this species, showing a significant positive correlation with the entry of bees into the colony and pollen collection. Mud collecting showed a significant positive correlation with a humidity increase. Flight activity began at a temperature of 21.0 degrees C and humidity of 84.5%, peaking at 27.4 degrees C and 60.6% RH, respectively.

Handling sticky resin by stingless bees (Hymenoptera, Apidae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Markus Gastauer

2011-06-01

Full Text Available For their nest defense, stingless bees (Meliponini collect plant resins which they stick on intruders like ants or cleptobiotic robber bees causing their immobilization. The aim of this article is to identify all parts of stingless bee workers contacting these sticky resins. Of special interest are those body parts with anti-adhesive properties to resin, where it can be removed without residues. For that, extensive behavioral observations during foraging flight, handling and application of the resin have been carried out. When handling the resin, all tarsi touch the resin while walking above it. For transportation from plants to the nest during foraging flight, the resin is packed to the corbicula via tarsi and basitarsi of front and middle legs. Once stuck to the resin or after the corbicula had been unloaded, the bee's legs have to be cleaned thoroughly. Only the tips of the mandibles, that form, cut and apply the sticky resin, seem to have at least temporarily resin-rejecting properties.

Mastering Hadoop

CERN Document Server

Karanth, Sandeep

2014-01-01

Do you want to broaden your Hadoop skill set and take your knowledge to the next level? Do you wish to enhance your knowledge of Hadoop to solve challenging data processing problems? Are your Hadoop jobs, Pig scripts, or Hive queries not working as fast as you intend? Are you looking to understand the benefits of upgrading Hadoop? If the answer is yes to any of these, this book is for you. It assumes novice-level familiarity with Hadoop.

Network Science Center Research Team’s Visit to Kampala, Uganda

Science.gov (United States)

2013-07-01

the intersection of open data, human rights, and African development. Jon is the founder or co- founder of several organizations and initiatives...drove across Kampala to meet with Teddy Ruge, a co- founder of Hive CoLab and a noted Ugandan Social Entrepreneur, and Brian Ndyaguma, the operations...www.netscience.usma.edu 845.938.0804 At Outbox, we were hosted by Richard Zulu , the general manager. Outbox was founded in 2012 and is the newest business incubator

‚esponse of —n o™e—n gener—l ™ir™ul—tion model to wind —nd ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

exe™utionF ƒome of these —dv—nt—ges m—ke this. —ppro—™h prefer—˜le over other —ppro—™hesF. „he wind field used for these simul—tion experiE ments —re derived from igw‡p ews€ —r™hivesF „he experiment w—s performed ˜y spinning up the model from — st—te of rest with pres™ri˜ed thermodyn—mi™.

Pilvipohjaiset langattomat lähiverkot

OpenAIRE

Hakola, Iira

2016-01-01

Työssä tutustuttiin Cisco Systemsin, AeroHive Networksin ja Aruba Networksin pilven kautta hallittaviin tukiasemiin, pilvihallinta-alustoihin, ja niiden teknisiin ominaisuuksiin. Työn tavoitteena oli selvittää jokaisen tutkitun kokonaisuuden tekniset ja totutukselliset erot ja selvittää, mikä näistä kolmesta yrityksestä kannattaa valita verkon toteuttamiseksi. Työssä tulee myös esille pilvipohjaisen verkkoratkaisun edut. Työn teon yhteydessä Metropolia Ammattikorkeakoululle tilattiin opetuskä...

Blink and it's done: Interactive queries on very large data

OpenAIRE

Agarwal, Sameer; Iyer, Anand P.; Panda, Aurojit; Mozafari, Barzan; Stoica, Ion; Madden, Samuel R.

2012-01-01

In this demonstration, we present BlinkDB, a massively parallel, sampling-based approximate query processing framework for running interactive queries on large volumes of data. The key observation in BlinkDB is that one can make reasonable decisions in the absence of perfect answers. BlinkDB extends the Hive/HDFS stack and can handle the same set of SPJA (selection, projection, join and aggregate) queries as supported by these systems. BlinkDB provides real-time answers along with statistical...

Using camera traps and digital video to investigate the impact of Aethina tumida pest on honey bee (Apis mellifera adansonii) reproduction and ability to keep away elephants (Loxodonta africana cyclotis) in Gamba, Gabon

OpenAIRE

Steeve Ngama; Lisa Korte; Mireille Johnson; Jérôme Bindelle; Auguste Ndoutoume Ndong; Cédric Vermeulen

2018-01-01

Bees and elephant interactions are the core of a conservation curiosity since it has been demonstrated that bees, one of the smallest domesticated animals, can keep away elephants, the largest terrestrial animals. Yet, insects' parasites can impact the fitness and activity of the bees. Since their activity is critical to the repellent ability against elephants, this study assessed the impact of small hive beetles (Aethina tumida) on bee (Apis mellifera adansonii) reproduction and ability to k...

Rapid Prototyping of a Map-Based Android App

OpenAIRE

Flanagan, Nicholas M; Theller, Eric; Theller, Larry

2013-01-01

This project tries to provide a mobile phone-based solution app named “DriftWatch Pollinator Mapper” that will allow beekeepers, apiary inspectors, and association staff to easily register and map a hive into the Driftwatch system, where local pesticide applicators will notice it and be aware of the presence of pollinators. The purpose of the mobile application is to speed the process of registering beekeepers within DriftWatch, since many beekeepers have significant trouble using only web-ba...

Pushing XPath Accelerator to its Limits

OpenAIRE

Grün, Christian; Holupirek, Alexander; Kramis, Marc; Scholl, Marc H.; Waldvogel, Marcel

2006-01-01

Two competing encoding concepts are known to scale well with growing amounts of XML data: XPath Accelerator encoding implemented by MonetDB for in-memory documents and X-Hive's Persistent DOM for on-disk storage. We identified two ways to improve XPath Accelerator and present prototypes for the respective techniques: BaseX boosts in-memory performance with optimized data and value index structures while Idefix introduces native block-oriented persistence with logarithmic update behavior for t...

The Effect of Nest Box Distribution on Sustainable Propagation of Osmia lignaria (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) in Commercial Tart Cherry Orchards

OpenAIRE

Boyle, N. K.; Pitts-Singer, T. L.

2017-01-01

The blue orchard bee, Osmia lignaria (Say), is a solitary bee that is an excellent pollinator of tree fruit orchards. Due to the annual rising costs of honey bee hive rentals, many orchardists are eager to develop management tools and practices to support O. lignaria as an alternative pollinator. Establishing O. lignaria pollination as a sustainable industry requires careful consideration of both bee and orchard management. Here, we test the effect of artificial nest box distribution on in-or...

Espectro polínico de amostras de mel de Apis mellifera L., coletadas na Bahia Pollen spectrum of samples of Apis mellifera L., honey collected in Bahia State, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

AUGUSTA CAROLINA DE CAMARGO CARMELLO MORETI

2000-01-01

Full Text Available O espectro polínico encontrado em amostras de mel provenientes de seis municípios do Estado da Bahia foi analisado com o objetivo de contribuir para o conhecimento da flora visitada por Apis mellifera L. 1758 (Hymenoptera: ApidaeA identificação dos tipos polínicos foi feita por meio de literatura especializada e de informações de campo. Foram encontrados 43 tipos de pólen, sendo consideradas como dominantes as espécies Eucalyptus sp. (Myrtaceae, Mimosa verrucosa Benth. (Mimosaceae, M. scabrella Benth. (Mimosaceae e Bauhinia sp. (Caesalpiniaceae. Os tipos acessórios foram Alternanthera ficoidea R.Br. (Amaranthaceae, tipo Compositae (Asteraceae e Cecropia sp. (Moraceae. Destacou-se a participação de Mimosa sp. (Mimosaceae e de outras espécies silvestres na composição dos méis nos municípios considerados, registrando-se ainda a espécie Eucalyptus sp. (Myrtaceae como uma das principais fontes de alimento das abelhas dessa região.Pollen spectrum found in honey samples from six localities of Bahia State, Brazil, was analyzed with the objective to contribute for the knowledge of the plants used by Apis mellifera L., 1758 (Hymenoptera: Apidae. The identification of the pollen types was made by specialized literature and by field information. Two hundred pollen grains were studied in order to determine the percentage and the occurrence of each type. Forty three pollen types were identified, being considered as the predominant types Eucalyptus sp. (Myrtaceae, Mimosa verrucosa Benth. (Mimosaceae, M. scabrella Benth. (Mimosaceae and Bauhinia sp. (Caesalpiniaceae. The accessory pollen types were Alternanthera ficoidea R.Br. (Amaranthaceae, Compositae type (Asteraceae and Cecropia sp. (Moraceae. It is intense the participation of Mimosa sp. (Mimosaceae and other wild species in the honey composition of the six localities considered. Eucalyptus sp. (Myrtaceae is one of the dominant sources of bee food in some regions of Bahia State.

Biologia floral e polinização por abelhas em siratro (Macroptilium atropurpureum Urb. Floral biology and bees pollination by bees in siratro (Macroptilium atropurpureum Urb

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Claudia Colla Ruvolo-Takasusuki

2002-04-01

Full Text Available O objetivo deste trabalho foi realizar estudos sobre polinização em siratro, avaliando o período de antese, abelhas visitantes, viabilidade dos grãos de pólen e produção de sementes, utilizando dois tratamentos, um de plantas cobertas e outro de descobertas. O período de antese foi 2,48 dias e 3,56 dias (P = 0,0023 e a produção foi de 8,62 e 11,15 sementes (P = 0,0001, para os tratamentos descoberto e coberto, respectivamente. O teste de receptividade do estigma indicou que 91,95% das flores abertas estavam receptivas. A viabilidade dos grãos de pólen foi 100%. Das seis famílias de abelhas que ocorrem no Brasil, foram encontradas cinco delas visitando as flores desta planta: Andrenidae (12%, Anthophoridae (4%, Apidae (56%, Halictidae (16% e Megachilidae (12%. Pode-se concluir que as flores de siratro são importantes fontes de pólen e néctar para as abelhas que contribuem para a polinização desta planta.This research was carried out to evaluate the pollination in siratro studying the anthesis period, pollen grain viability and seed production. Two treatments were used, one covered and another uncovered. The anthesis period was 2.48 days and 3.56 days (p = 0.0001 and the production was 8.62 and 11.15 seeds (p = 0.0023, in covered and uncovered treatments, respectively. The stigma receptivity test showed that 91.95% of opened flowers were receptive. Pollen grains viability was 100%. In Brazil, there are six families of bees and we have found five of them in Maringá region visiting the flowers of this plant: Apidae (56%, Megachilidae (12%, Halictidae (16%, Andrenidae (12% and Anthophoridae (4%. Results showed that the flowers of siratro are important as pollen and nectar source for bees which contribute to its pollination.

Concentrations of neonicotinoid insecticides in honey, pollen and honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) in central Saskatchewan, Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Codling, Garry; Al Naggar, Yahya; Giesy, John P; Robertson, Albert J

2016-02-01

Neonicotinoid insecticides (NIs) and their transformation products were detected in honey, pollen and honey bees, (Apis mellifera) from hives located within 30 km of the City of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Clothianidin and thiamethoxam were the most frequently detected NIs, found in 68 and 75% of honey samples at mean concentrations of 8.2 and 17.2 ng g(-1) wet mass, (wm), respectively. Clothianidin was also found in >50% of samples of bees and pollen. Concentrations of clothianidin in bees exceed the LD50 in 2 of 28 samples, while for other NIs concentrations were typically 10-100-fold less than the oral LD50. Imidaclorpid was detected in ∼30% of samples of honey, but only 5% of pollen and concentrations were hives, consumption of honey and pollen during over-wintering might have adverse effects on bees. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evidence of immunocompetence reduction induced by cadmium exposure in honey bees (Apis mellifera).

Science.gov (United States)

Polykretis, P; Delfino, G; Petrocelli, I; Cervo, R; Tanteri, G; Montori, G; Perito, B; Branca, J J V; Morucci, G; Gulisano, M

2016-11-01

In the last decades a dramatic loss of Apis mellifera hives has been reported in both Europe and USA. Research in this field is oriented towards identifying a synergy of contributing factors, i.e. pathogens, pesticides, habitat loss and pollution to the weakening of the hive. Cadmium (Cd) is a hazardous anthropogenic pollutant whose effects are proving to be increasingly lethal. Among the multiple damages related to Cd contamination, some studies report that it causes immunosuppression in various animal species. The aim of this paper is to determine whether contamination by Cd, may have a similar effect on the honey bees' immunocompetence. Our results, obtained by immune challenge experiments and confirmed by structural and ultrastructural observations show that such metal causes a reduction in immunocompetence in 3 days Cd exposed bees. As further evidence of honey bee response to Cd treatment, Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (X-EDS) has revealed the presence of zinc (Zn) in peculiar electron-dense granules in fat body cells. Zn is a characteristic component of metallothioneins (MTs), which are usually synthesized as anti-oxidant and scavenger tools against Cd contamination. Our findings suggest that honey bee colonies may have a weakened immune system in Cd polluted areas, resulting in a decreased ability in dealing with pathogens. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Essential oil from Eupatorium buniifolium leaves as potential varroacide.

Science.gov (United States)

Umpiérrez, María Laura; Santos, Estela; Mendoza, Yamandú; Altesor, Paula; Rossini, Carmen

2013-10-01

Beekeeping has experienced a great expansion worldwide. Nowadays, several conventional pesticides, some organic acids, and essential oil components are the main means of chemical control used against Varroa destructor, an ectoparasite that may contribute to the colony collapse disorders. Varroa resistance against conventional pesticides has already been reported; therefore it is imperative to look for alternative control agents to be included in integrated pest management programs. A good alternative seems to be the use of plant essential oils (EOs) which, as natural products, are less toxic and leave fewer residues. Within this context, a bioprospecting program of the local flora searching for botanical pesticides to be used as varroacides was launched. A primary screening (driven by laboratory assays testing for anti-Varroa activity, and safety to bees) led us to select the EOs from Eupatorium buniifolium (Asteraceae) for follow up studies. We have chemical characterized EOs from twigs and leaves collected at different times. The three E. buniifolium EOs tested were active against Varroa in laboratory assays; however, there are differences that might be attributable to chemical differences also found. The foliage EO was selected for a preliminary field trial (on an experimental apiary with 40 hives) that demonstrated acaricidal activity when applied to the hives. Although activity was less than that for oxalic acid (the positive control), this EO was less toxic to bees than the control, encouraging further studies.

Tritium concentrations in bees and honey at Los Alamos National Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fresquez, P.R.; Armstrong, D.R.; Salazar, J.G.

1994-12-01

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) has maintained a network of honey bee colonies at LANL, perimeter (Los Alamos townsite and White Rock/Pajarito Acres) and regional (background) areas for over 15 years; the main objective of this honey bee network was to help determine the bioavailability of certain radionuclides in the environment. Of all the radionuclides studied ( 3 H, 57 Co, 7 Be, 22 Na, 54 Mn, 83 Rb, 137 Cs, 238 Pu, 239 Pu, 90 Sr and total U), tritium was consistently detected in bees and was most readily transferred to the honey. In fact, honey collected from hives located at TA-21, TA-33, TA-50, TA-53, and TA-54 and from White Rock/Pajarito Acres contained significantly higher concentrations of 3 H than regional background hives. Based on the average concentration of all radionuclides measured over the years, the effective dose equivalent (EDE) from consuming 5 kg (11 lb) of honey collected from Los Alamos (townsite) and White Rock/Pajarito Acres, after regional background has been subtracted, was 0.0186 (±0.0507) and 0.0016 (±0.0010) mrem/yr, respectively. The highest EDE, based on the mean + 2SD (95% confidence level), was 0.1200 mrem/y; this was <0.2% of the International Commission on Radiological Protection permissible dose limit of 100 mrem/yr from all pathways

Impact of beneficial bacteria supplementation on the gut microbiota, colony development and productivity of Apis mellifera L.

Science.gov (United States)

Alberoni, D; Baffoni, L; Gaggìa, F; Ryan, P M; Murphy, K; Ross, P R; Stanton, C; Di Gioia, D

2018-02-27

Honey bees are important pollinators of several crops and ecosystems, having a great ecological and economic value. In Europe, the restricted use of chemicals and therapeutic agents in the beekeeping sector has stimulated the search for natural alternatives with a special focus on gut symbionts. The modulation of the gut microbiota has been recognised as a practical and successful approach in the entomological field for the management of insect-related problems. To date, only a few studies have investigated the effect of bacterial supplementation on the health status of colonies, colony productivity and gut symbionts. To this purpose, a preparation of sugar syrup containing bifidobacteria and lactobacilli isolated from bee gut was sprayed on the frames of an apiary located in open field once a week for four weeks. Treated and control hives were monitored for two months for brood extension, honey and pollen harvest. The presence of beneficial gut microorganisms within bee gut was investigated with denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and next generation sequencing. The administered bacteria led to a significant increase of brood population (46.2%), pollen (53.4%) and harvestable honey in honey supers (59.21%). Analysis of the gut microbiota on the new generation of bees in treated hives showed an increase in relative abundance of Acetobacteraceae and Bifidobacterium spp., which are known to be involved in bee nutrition and protection.

The Acoustic Emission in the Nest of the Honey Bee Depending on the Extreme Weather Conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaromír Tlačbaba

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The vibroacoustic signals are an important part of communication in the honey bees (Apis mellifera L.. The aim of this study was to observe the acoustic emission that varies in a bee colony during different weather phenomena (strong winds and hailstorms and to estimate the nature and the extent of the reactions of the colony by the analysis of the obtained data. Experiments were carried out in the volume-reduced hives. The specific weather phenomena were followed by significant (P < 0.0001 increasing of the intensity of the acoustic emission in the colony in comparison with acoustic emission before or after the phenomena. Close linear positive relationship was confirmed between the intensity of wind gusts and intensity of acoustic emission (r = 0.72; P < 0.001. With the increase in the maximum gust of 1 km·h−1, the intensity of acoustic emission increased by 0.1466 mV. The character and degree of reaction of the colony can be estimated with analysis of the measured data. Permeability of vibration signals directly induced weather phenomena through the construction of the experimental hive and the stress in the colony are discussed. Observation of the acoustic emission distributed within the colony is one of the methodical alternatives for research of the vibroacoustic communication in the colony.

Volume and density of microglomeruli in the honey bee mushroom bodies do not predict performance on a foraging task.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Nest, Byron N; Wagner, Ashley E; Marrs, Glen S; Fahrbach, Susan E

2017-09-01

The mushroom bodies (MBs) are insect brain regions important for sensory integration, learning, and memory. In adult worker honey bees (Apis mellifera), the volume of neuropil associated with the MBs is larger in experienced foragers compared with hive bees and less experienced foragers. In addition, the characteristic synaptic structures of the calycal neuropils, the microglomeruli, are larger but present at lower density in 35-day-old foragers relative to 1-day-old workers. Age- and experience-based changes in plasticity of the MBs are assumed to support performance of challenging tasks, but the behavioral consequences of brain plasticity in insects are rarely examined. In this study, foragers were recruited from a field hive to a patch comprising two colors of otherwise identical artificial flowers. Flowers of one color contained a sucrose reward mimicking nectar; flowers of the second were empty. Task difficulty was adjusted by changing flower colors according to the principle of honey bee color vision space. Microglomerular volume and density in the lip (olfactory inputs) and collar (visual inputs) compartments of the MB calyces were analyzed using anti-synapsin I immunolabeling and laser scanning confocal microscopy. Foragers displayed significant variation in microglomerular volume and density, but no correlation was found between these synaptic attributes and foraging performance. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 77: 1057-1071, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Principles of customer service provider management; Prinzipien der Steuerung von Kundenservice-Dienstleistern

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wiebe, Christian; Jung, Viktor; Liebrecht, Lutz [Managementberatung Corporate Transformation Group (CTG), Berlin (Germany)

2011-01-15

In response to the unbundling regime imposed by the Federal Network Agency many power supply companies have hived off or outsourced their customer service operations. In doing so have parted with an important interface with their customers and market partners and placed it in the hands of independent companies. Efficient and effective management of these customer service providers is therefore of strategic importance for power supply companies and a major contributor to cost effective customer service and high customer satisfaction.

Con el diablo adentro. El consumo medicinal y ritual del balche’ entre los mayas de Yucatán visto desde una perspectiva etnohistórica.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniela Sánchez Aroche

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This article aims to bring forward historiographical information regarding the consumption of balche’ between the peninsular Maya people from an ethnohistorical framework. First, exposing epigraphic approaches regarding former notions about beekeeping, favorable dates for the realization of such activities, and offerings deposited in hives. Subsequently, we analyze the restrictions imposed in the colonial era contained in records where its medicinal uses and ritual functions are shown. Finally, using ethnographic historiography, we identify balche’s continued therapeutic and ritual usage.

China Report, Agriculture, No. 260.

Science.gov (United States)

1983-06-09

million poultry and 770,000 hives of honey bees in 1982. By the end of that year, the poultry on hand was three and a half times the number at the end of...transformation overnight. There must be a process of the combina- tion of things and the substitution of one for the other. And it is neces- sary to...nutritional analysis of fodder and did work on the concocting and screening of scientific preparation formulas. Its research unearthed a new protein feed

Photovoltaic Barometer - EurObserv'ER - April 2012

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2012-04-01

The global photovoltaic market has continued to expand despite the economic and financial crisis. Capacity in excess of 29 000 MWp was connected in 2011, which is roughly 12 200 MWp more than in 2010. The European Union is still the main hive of installation activity. It added more than 21 500 additional MWp of capacity to the grid last year, while outside the EU, the surging Chinese, American and Japanese markets vouch for the enormous growth potential offered by solar power worldwide

System and Analysis for Low Latency Video Processing using Microservices

OpenAIRE

VASUKI BALASUBRAMANIAM, KARTHIKEYAN

2017-01-01

The evolution of big data processing and analysis has led to data-parallel frameworks such as Hadoop, MapReduce, Spark, and Hive, which are capable of analyzing large streams of data such as server logs, web transactions, and user reviews. Videos are one of the biggest sources of data and dominate the Internet traffic. Video processing on a large scale is critical and challenging as videos possess spatial and temporal features, which are not taken into account by the existing data-parallel fr...

Pollen analysis of honey and beebread derived from Brazilian mangroves

OpenAIRE

Luz, Cynthia Fernandes Pinto da; Barth, Ortrud Monika

2012-01-01

Pollen analyses were performed on honey and beebread from hives in apiaries located in two distinct mangrove areas dominated by Laguncularia racemosa (L.) C.F. Gaernt. One apiary was located at the edge of Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro State, and the other near Maranguá Bay, Bahia State, Brazil. We investigated the contribution of nectar and pollen from mangrove vegetation to Apis mellifera L. honey and beebread stocks. Intensive visitation to this plant species by honeybees and the presence ...

Notas sistemáticas sobre abejas Meliponini del Chaco (Hymenoptera, Apidae Systematic notes on Meliponini bees of the Chaco Region (Hymenoptera, Apidae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arturo Roig Alsina

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Se tratan dos especies características de la Región Chaqueña: Scaptotrigona jujuyensis (Schrottky y Lestrimelitta chacoana n. sp. Se clarifica la identidad de Trigona jujuyensis Schrottky, 1911, y se le designa un neotipo. Se presentan descripciones, ilustraciones y datos de distribución para cada especie.Two species characteristic of the Chaco region are treated in this contribution: Scaptotrigona jujuyensis (Schrottky and Lestrimelitta chacoana n. sp. The identity of Trigona jujuyensis Schrottky, 1911, is clarified and a neotype is designated. Descriptions, illustrations and distributional data are presented for each species.

A review of the albidohirta group of Ptilothrix (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Emphorini Revisión del grupo albidohirta de Ptilothrix (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Emphorini

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arturo Roig Alsina

2007-12-01

Full Text Available The albidohirta group of Ptilothrix Smith includes three species: Ptilothrix albidohirta Brèthes, P. concolor sp. nov., and P. nemoralis sp. nov. The group is known from northern and western Argentina and from central Bolivia. One of its species, P. albidohirta, reaches high altitudes in the Andes mountains, up to 3600 m a.s.l., while the other two species occur in the lowlands. A characterization of the group, descriptions of the species, and illustrations are provided.El grupo albidohirta de Ptilothrix Smith incluye tres especies: Ptilothrix albidohirta Brèthes, P. concolor sp. nov. y P. nemoralis sp. nov. Este grupo se conoce del oeste y norte de la Argentina y del centro de Bolivia. Una de sus especies, P. albidohirta, llega hasta los 3.600 m s.n.m. en la cordillera de los Andes, en tanto que las otras dos especies habitan en el llano. Se caracteriza el grupo y se describen e ilustran las especies.

Albania; Background Information

OpenAIRE

International Monetary Fund

1995-01-01

This paper describes a evolution of the financial system in Albania. The paper highlights that a two-tier banking system was created following passage of a new Central Bank Law and Commercial Banking Law in April 1992. The State Bank of Albania became the Bank of Albania and retained only the functions of a central bank. Its commercial operations were hived off to become the National Bank of Albania in July 1992, which was subsequently merged with the Albanian Commercial Bank to form the Nati...

The shaking signal of the honey bee informs workers to prepare for greater activity

OpenAIRE

Seeley, Thomas D.; Weidenmüller, Anja; Kühnholz, Susanne

2010-01-01

One of the most conspicuous activities o f worker bees inside a hive is the shaking of other wc~rliersT. his shaking has long been suspected to be a communication behavior, but its information content and function have until recently remained mysterious. Prior studies of the colony-level patterns of the production of ihc shaking signal supgest strongly that this signal semes to arouse workers to greater activity, such as at times of good foraging. Data from our obsenrauons of mdividual bees h...

Small-cell comb does not control Varroa mites in colonies of honeybees of European origin

OpenAIRE

Seeley , Thomas; Griffin , Sean

2011-01-01

International audience; We tested the idea that Varroa destructor can be controlled in colonies of the European subspecies of Apis mellifera by providing them with combs built of small cells, in which immature mites might have difficulty developing for lack of space. We established seven pairs of equal-size colonies that started out equally infested with mites. In each pair, one hive contained only standard-cell (5.4 mm) comb, and the other contained only small-cell (4.8 mm) comb. We measured...

Compound list: naphthyl isothiocyanate [Open TG-GATEs

Lifescience Database Archive (English)

Full Text Available naphthyl isothiocyanate ANIT 00009 ftp://ftp.biosciencedbc.jp/archive/open-tggates/...LATEST/Human/in_vitro/naphthyl_isothiocyanate.Human.in_vitro.Liver.zip ftp://ftp.biosciencedbc.jp/archive/op...en-tggates/LATEST/Rat/in_vitro/naphthyl_isothiocyanate.Rat.in_vitro.Liver.zip ftp://ftp.biosciencedbc.jp/arc...hive/open-tggates/LATEST/Rat/in_vivo/Liver/Single/naphthyl_isothiocyanate.Rat.in_...vivo.Liver.Single.zip ftp://ftp.biosciencedbc.jp/archive/open-tggates/LATEST/Rat/in_vivo/Liver/Repeat/naphthyl_isothiocyanate.Rat.in_vivo.Liver.Repeat.zip ...

Fertility signals in the bumblebee Bombus terrestris (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

Science.gov (United States)

Sramkova, A.; Schulz, C.; Twele, R.; Francke, W.; Ayasse, M.

2008-06-01

In eusocial Hymenoptera, queen control over workers is probably inseparable from the mechanism of queen recognition. In primitively eusocial bumblebees ( Bombus), worker reproduction is controlled not only by the presence or absence of a dominant queen but also by other dominant workers. Furthermore, it was shown that the queen dominance is maintained by pheromonal cues. We investigated whether there is a similar odor signal released by egg-laying queens and workers that may have a function as a fertility signal. We collected cuticular surface extracts from nest-searching and breeding Bombus terrestris queens and workers that were characterized by their ovarian stages. In chemical analyses, we identified 61 compounds consisting of aldehydes, alkanes, alkenes, and fatty acid esters. Nest-searching queens and all groups of breeding females differed significantly in their odor bouquets. Furthermore, workers before the competition point (time point of colony development where workers start to develop ovaries and lay eggs) differed largely from queens and all other groups of workers. Breeding queens showed a unique bouquet of chemical compounds and certain queen-specific compounds, and the differences toward workers decrease with an increasing development of the workers’ ovaries, hinting the presence of a reliable fertility signal. Among the worker groups, the smallest differences were found after the competition point. Egg-laying females contained higher total amounts of chemical compounds and of relative proportions of wax-type esters and aldehydes than nest-searching queens and workers before the competition point. Therefore, these compounds may have a function as a fertility signal present in queens and workers.

Genetic divergence between Melipona quadrifasciata Lepeletier (Hymenoptera, Apidae) populations.

Science.gov (United States)

Tavares, Mara Garcia; Pietrani, Nathalia Teixeira; de Castro Durvale, Maxwell; Resende, Helder Canto; de Oliveira Campos, Lucio Antonio

2013-03-01

Melipona quadrifasciata is a stingless bee widely found throughout the Brazilian territory, with two recognized subspecies, M. quadrifasciata anthidioides, that exhibits interrupted metasomal stripes, and M. quadrifasciata quadrifasciata, with continuous metasomal stripes. This study aimed to estimate the genetic variability of these subspecies. For this purpose, 127 colonies from 15 Brazilian localities were analyzed, using nine species-specific microsatellite primers. At these loci, the number of alleles ranged from three to 15 (mean: 7.2), and the observed heterozygosity (Ho) ranged from 0.03-0.21, while the expected heterozygosity (He) ranged from 0.23-0.47. The genetic distances among populations ranged from 0.03-0.45. The FST multilocus value (0.23) indicated that the populations sampled were structured, and the clustering analysis showed the formation of two subgroups and two more distant populations. The first group contained the subspecies M. quadrifasciata quadrifasciata, and the other, the subspecies M. quadrifasciata anthidioides and the two M. quadrifasciata populations with continuous metasomal stripes from northern Minas Gerais. These results confirmed that the yellow metasomal stripes alone are not a good means for correctly identifying the different subspecies of M. quadrifasciata.

Bees of the Azores: an annotated checklist (Apidae, Hymenoptera).

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Bees of the Azores: an annotated checklist (Apidae, Hymenoptera

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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.

Effects of Apis mellifera adansonii, L. 1758 (Apidae: Hymenoptera ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

pollination on yields of Cucumeropsis mannii (Naudin) in Kisangani, ... 1Unit of Functional and Evolutionary Entomology, University of Liège, ... number of fruits per plant, average weight of seeds extracted per fruit, ... enhance symbiotic interactions Apis mellifera with C. mannii in DRC. ..... Trends in Ecology and Evolution,.

Disinfection of the bee hive's American Foulbrood by gamma radiation from Cobalt-60

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gosselin, P.; Charbonneau, R.

1990-01-01

Gamma radiation from Cobalt-60 was used to sterilize honeybee combs contaminated by Bacillus larvae. The determination of the radiosensitivity (D 10 ) was done on cultured cells in Brain Heart Infusion broth and was found to be determined at 125 Gy. The D 10 of isolated spores from contaminated combs was then determined at 0,518 kGy and the D 10 of spores irradiated in their own original environment was found at 2,05 kGy. These treated combs were then sent back in the beehives. The bees cleaned the combs thoroughly and started the storage of honey in some cells. Eggs were also layed in others. Forty five days later, there were still no sing of re-appearance of the American Foulbrood disease. (author)

Phenology and floral visitors of Erythrina crista-galli L. (Leguminosae: Faboideae in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

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Ana Beatriz Barros de Morais

2008-06-01

Full Text Available Erythrina crista-galli is a characteristic species of the Pampa biome also used as an ornament in urban arborization. Erythrina crista-galli flourishes more intensively from November to Decem¬ber. Anthesis starts around 7:00 am to 11:00 am, and flowers last five days. A total of 1,275 floral visits were registered over 57h of observations. Apidae bees (Trigona spinipes and Apis mellifera were the most frequent visitors (88.23%, followed by Muscidae flies (5.50%, Formicidae ants (2.35%, Vespidae wasps (1.56%, and Chrysomelidae beetles (1.56%. Trochilidae hummingbirds (Chlorostilbon aureoventris (0.79% also visited the flowers. Trigona spinipes was observed at throughout the daytime and behaved as a probable pollinator, along with A. mellifera and C. aureoventris. E. crista-galli is autocompatible, producing fruits and seeds after manual pollination and under natural conditions.

FDA's Activities Supporting Regulatory Application of "Next Gen" Sequencing Technologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Carolyn A; Simonyan, Vahan

2014-01-01

Applications of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies require availability and access to an information technology (IT) infrastructure and bioinformatics tools for large amounts of data storage and analyses. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) anticipates that the use of NGS data to support regulatory submissions will continue to increase as the scientific and clinical communities become more familiar with the technologies and identify more ways to apply these advanced methods to support development and evaluation of new biomedical products. FDA laboratories are conducting research on different NGS platforms and developing the IT infrastructure and bioinformatics tools needed to enable regulatory evaluation of the technologies and the data sponsors will submit. A High-performance Integrated Virtual Environment, or HIVE, has been launched, and development and refinement continues as a collaborative effort between the FDA and George Washington University to provide the tools to support these needs. The use of a highly parallelized environment facilitated by use of distributed cloud storage and computation has resulted in a platform that is both rapid and responsive to changing scientific needs. The FDA plans to further develop in-house capacity in this area, while also supporting engagement by the external community, by sponsoring an open, public workshop to discuss NGS technologies and data formats standardization, and to promote the adoption of interoperability protocols in September 2014. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies are enabling breakthroughs in how the biomedical community is developing and evaluating medical products. One example is the potential application of this method to the detection and identification of microbial contaminants in biologic products. In order for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be able to evaluate the utility of this technology, we need to have the information technology infrastructure and

Factors influencing survival duration and choice of virgin queens in the stingless bee Melipona quadrifasciata

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Kärcher, Martin H.; Menezes, Cristiano; Alves, Denise A.; Beveridge, Oliver S.; Imperatriz-Fonseca, Vera-Lucia; Ratnieks, Francis L. W.

2013-06-01

In Melipona quadrifasciata, about 10 % of the females develop into queens, almost all of which are killed. Occasionally, a new queen replaces or supersedes the mother queen or heads a new colony. We investigated virgin queen fate in queenright and queenless colonies to determine the effects of queen behaviour, body mass, nestmate or non-nestmate status, queenright or queenless colony status, and, when queenless, the effect of the time a colony had been queenless, on survival duration and acceptance. None of 220 virgin queens observed in four observation hives ever attacked another virgin queen nor did any of 88 virgin queens introduced into queenright colonies ever attack the resident queen. A new queen was only accepted in a queenless colony. Factors increasing survival duration and acceptance of virgin queens were to emerge from its cell at 2 h of queenlessness, to hide, and to avoid fights with workers. In this way, a virgin queen was more likely to be available when a colony chooses a new queen, 24-48 h after resident queen removal. Running, walking or resting, antennating or trophallaxis, played little or no role, as did the factors body mass or nestmate. "Queen choice" took about 2 h during which time other virgin queens were still being killed by workers. During this agitated process, the bees congregated around the new queen. She inflated her abdomen and some of the workers deposited a substance on internal nest surfaces including the glass lid of the observation hive.

Microbial characterization of bee pollen from the Vesuvius area collected by using three different traps

Science.gov (United States)

De Prisco, Annachiara; Di Prisco, Gennaro; La Storia, Antonietta; Caprio, Emilio

2017-01-01

Flower pollen is collected by honeybee foragers, adhered on their rear legs and transported into the hives in the form of pellets. Once in the hives, bee pollen is moisturised with nectar and bee mouth secretions and due to enzymatically modifications it becomes the so-called bee-bread, the protein reservoir of young bees. Bee pollen can be artificially removed from bee legs and collected by using specific systems, the bee pollen traps. Bee pollen is commercialized for human consumption as fresh product and after freezing or drying. Although bee pollen is nowadays largely consumed in developed countries, as food or food supplement according to local legislation, little is known on its safety related to microbiological hazards. In this work, we aimed to characterize for the first time the microbiological profile of Italian bee pollen in fresh, frozen and dried form collected along an entire harvesting season. Moreover, monthly microbiological analyses were performed on frozen (storage at -18°C) and dried (storage at room temperature) bee pollen over a 4 months period. Further aim of this work was the evaluation of the possible impact on production level of three different traps used for pollen collection. Our results on microbial contamination of fresh and frozen bee pollen show that a more comprehensive microbiological risk assessment of bee pollen is required. On the other side, dried pollen showed very low microbial contamination and no pathogen survived after the drying process and during storage. PMID:28934240

The recruiter's excitement--features of thoracic vibrations during the honey bee's waggle dance related to food source profitability.

Science.gov (United States)

Hrncir, Michael; Maia-Silva, Camila; Mc Cabe, Sofia I; Farina, Walter M

2011-12-01

The honey bee's waggle dance constitutes a remarkable example of an efficient code allowing social exploitation of available feeding sites. In addition to indicating the position (distance, direction) of a food patch, both the occurrence and frequency of the dances depend on the profitability of the exploited resource (sugar concentration, solution flow rate). During the waggle dance, successful foragers generate pulsed thoracic vibrations that putatively serve as a source of different kinds of information for hive bees, who cannot visually decode dances in the darkness of the hive. In the present study, we asked whether these vibrations are a reliable estimator of the excitement of the dancer when food profitability changes in terms of both sugar concentration and solution flow rate. The probability of producing thoracic vibrations as well as several features related to their intensity during the waggle phase (pulse duration, velocity amplitude, duty cycle) increased with both these profitability variables. The number of vibratory pulses, however, was independent of sugar concentration and reward rate exploited. Thus, pulse number could indeed be used by dance followers as reliable information about food source distance, as suggested in previous studies. The variability of the dancer's thoracic vibrations in relation to changes in food profitability suggests their role as an indicator of the recruiter's motivational state. Hence, the vibrations could make an important contribution to forager reactivation and, consequently, to the organisation of collective foraging processes in honey bees.

Mating flights select for symmetry in honeybee drones ( Apis mellifera)

Science.gov (United States)

Jaffé, Rodolfo; Moritz, Robin F. A.

2010-03-01

Males of the honeybee ( Apis mellifera) fly to specific drone congregation areas (DCAs), which virgin queens visit in order to mate. From the thousands of drones that are reared in a single colony, only very few succeed in copulating with a queen, and therefore, a strong selection is expected to act on adult drones during their mating flights. In consequence, the gathering of drones at DCAs may serve as an indirect mate selection mechanism, assuring that queens only mate with those individuals having a better flight ability and a higher responsiveness to the queen’s visual and chemical cues. Here, we tested this idea relying on wing fluctuating asymmetry (FA) as a measure of phenotypic quality. By recapturing marked drones at a natural DCA and comparing their size and FA with a control sample of drones collected at their maternal hives, we were able to detect any selection on wing size and wing FA occurring during the mating flights. Although we found no solid evidence for selection on wing size, wing FA was found to be significantly lower in the drones collected at the DCA than in those collected at the hives. Our results demonstrate the action of selection during drone mating flights for the first time, showing that developmental stability can influence the mating ability of honeybee drones. We therefore conclude that selection during honeybee drone mating flights may confer some fitness advantages to the queens.

Mating flights select for symmetry in honeybee drones (Apis mellifera).

Science.gov (United States)

Jaffé, Rodolfo; Moritz, Robin F A

2010-03-01

Males of the honeybee (Apis mellifera) fly to specific drone congregation areas (DCAs), which virgin queens visit in order to mate. From the thousands of drones that are reared in a single colony, only very few succeed in copulating with a queen, and therefore, a strong selection is expected to act on adult drones during their mating flights. In consequence, the gathering of drones at DCAs may serve as an indirect mate selection mechanism, assuring that queens only mate with those individuals having a better flight ability and a higher responsiveness to the queen's visual and chemical cues. Here, we tested this idea relying on wing fluctuating asymmetry (FA) as a measure of phenotypic quality. By recapturing marked drones at a natural DCA and comparing their size and FA with a control sample of drones collected at their maternal hives, we were able to detect any selection on wing size and wing FA occurring during the mating flights. Although we found no solid evidence for selection on wing size, wing FA was found to be significantly lower in the drones collected at the DCA than in those collected at the hives. Our results demonstrate the action of selection during drone mating flights for the first time, showing that developmental stability can influence the mating ability of honeybee drones. We therefore conclude that selection during honeybee drone mating flights may confer some fitness advantages to the queens.

Range and Frequency of Africanized Honey Bees in California (USA)

Science.gov (United States)

Kono, Yoshiaki; Kohn, Joshua R.

2015-01-01

Africanized honey bees entered California in 1994 but few accounts of their northward expansion or their frequency relative to European honey bees have been published. We used mitochondrial markers and morphometric analyses to determine the prevalence of Africanized honeybees in San Diego County and their current northward progress in California west of the Sierra Nevada crest. The northernmost African mitotypes detected were approximately 40 km south of Sacramento in California’s central valley. In San Diego County, 65% of foraging honey bee workers carry African mitochondria and the estimated percentage of Africanized workers using morphological measurements is similar (61%). There was no correlation between mitotype and morphology in San Diego County suggesting Africanized bees result from bidirectional hybridization. Seventy percent of feral hives, but only 13% of managed hives, sampled in San Diego County carried the African mitotype indicating that a large fraction of foraging workers in both urban and rural San Diego County are feral. We also found a single nucleotide polymorphism at the DNA barcode locus COI that distinguishes European and African mitotypes. The utility of this marker was confirmed using 401 georeferenced honey bee sequences from the worldwide Barcode of Life Database. Future censuses can determine whether the current range of the Africanized form is stable, patterns of introgression at nuclear loci, and the environmental factors that may limit the northern range of the Africanized honey bee. PMID:26361047

Hadoop the definitive guide

CERN Document Server

White, Tom

2011-01-01

Discover how Apache Hadoop can unleash the power of your data. This comprehensive resource shows you how to build and maintain reliable, scalable, distributed systems with the Hadoop framework -- an open source implementation of MapReduce, the algorithm on which Google built its empire. Programmers will find details for analyzing datasets of any size, and administrators will learn how to set up and run Hadoop clusters. This revised edition covers recent changes to Hadoop, including new features such as Hive, Sqoop, and Avro. It also provides illuminating case studies that illustrate how Hado

Survey of the Health Status of Some Honey Bee Queens in Italy

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Porporato Marco

2015-12-01

Full Text Available While observing: non-acceptance, frequent replacements, and reduced performance in honey bee (Apis mellifera ligustica queens, we were induced to analyse a certain number of queens to detect the causes. For this purpose, 99 newly mated queens were bought from 20 Italian queen breeders. In addition, 109 older or at-the-end-of-their-career queens, that showed poor productivity, were collected from honey production hives throughout Italy. All the queens were dissected to check the status of their reproductive system and/or the presence of various anomalies and diseases.

The Pentomic Era. The U. S. Army Between Korea and Vietnam

Science.gov (United States)

1986-01-01

34had no more Intention of bequeathing the world to the oyster-boring sea worm than we hive.," Wymnin, "The United States Army: Its Doctrine and in...strategy of "massive retaliation," At the heart of this strategy was greatly Increased reliance on nuclear weap- ons-on what Secretary of State John...spent $18.4 billion, $1 bil- lion less than the total outlays of the other two Services,r’ As the Air Force’s importance grew under the "New Look," that

La chaux et la diatomite comme moyens de lutte alternatifs contre Aethina tumida Murray (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae)

OpenAIRE

Buchholz , Sven; Merkel , Katharina; Spiewok , Sebastian; Pettis , Jeff S.; Duncan , Michael; Spooner-Hart , Robert; Ulrichs , Christian; RITTER , Wolfgang; Neumann , P.

2009-01-01

International audience; Aiming at alternative small hive beetle control, slaked lime, powdered limestone and diatomaceous earth (Fossil Shield® FS 95, FS 90.0 and FS 90.0s) were evaluated for their effects on pupation and adult emergence in the laboratory. Limestone, FS 90.0 and FS 95 showed no significant effect. Slaked lime in autoclaved soil prevented pupation, but was lethal only in high dosages of 10 and 15 g per 100 g soil. In non-autoclaved soil, low slaked lime dosages of 0.5 and 5 g ...

The bee tree of life: a supermatrix approach to apoid phylogeny and biogeography.

Science.gov (United States)

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

Abelhas (Hymenoptera: Apoidea visitantes das flores do feijão guandu no Recôncavo Baiano, Brasil Bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea on pigeonpea flowers in 'Recôncavo Baiano' region, Brazil

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Ruberval Leone Azevedo

2007-10-01

Full Text Available O feijão guandu Cajanus cajan L. é uma cultura comum, encontrada com freqüência em todo o Brasil, principalmente em pequenas propriedades rurais. Este trabalho teve por objetivo obter informações sobre a diversidade de abelhas visitantes das flores do feijão guandu, gerando informações sobre a estrutura da comunidade de abelhas e a importância desta leguminosa como fonte de recursos tróficos. As coletas foram feitas semanalmente, entre maio e outubro de 2005, na área experimental de Entomologia do Centro de Ciências Agrárias da UFBA, localizada no município de Cruz das Almas, Bahia, no intervalo entre as 6:00 e as 18:00 horas. Um total de 4.676 indivíduos foi coletado visitando as flores do feijão guandu. A família Apidae foi representada por 99,3% dos indivíduos e 76,2% das espécies amostradas. Os gêneros Xylocopa e Trigona foram os que apresentaram maior riqueza, com quatro e três espécies, respectivamente. Trigona spinipes foi a espécie mais abundante, com freqüência relativa igual a 83,1%, seguida de Nannotrigona testaceicornis (5,1%.Pigeonpea, Cajanus cajan L. is a common crop, frequently found throughout Brazil, mainly in small rural properties. This research was aimed at geting information on the diversity of visiting bees to flowers of pigeonpea, generating information on the structure of the bee community and the importance of this Leguminosae as source of food resources. Collections had been made weekly, between May and October 2005 in the Experimental area of the Center of Agrarian Sciences and Environmental of the UFBA, located in the Cruz das Almas, Bahia, in the interval between 6:00 AM and 06:00 PM. A total of 4.676 individuals was collected visiting the pigeonpea flowers. The Apidae family was represented by 99.25% of individuals and 76.19% of total species. The genera Xylocopa and Trigona were the ones that showed greater richness, with four and three species, respectively. Trigona spinipes was the most

Levantamento da fauna de abelhas silvestres na "zona da mata" de Minas Gerais: III. Mata secundária na região de Viçosa (Hymenoptera, Apoidea Survey of the wild bees of the "zona da mata" of Minas Gerais, Brazil: III. Secondary forest in Viçosa region (Hymenoptera, Apoidea

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José Ricardo Cure

1992-01-01

Full Text Available The outcome of a wild bee fauna survey in a secondary forest is reported. Sampling was carried out mainly on herbaceous and shrubby vegetation under and at the border of the forest. Results are compared with data collected with the same methodology from a previously surveyed grassland nearby. The secondary forest was richer in Anthophoridae and Apidae species, and less diverse in Megachilidae. Similarity between the two habitats was low. Several unidentified species of Ceratinula, Trichocerapis mirabilis and the stingless bees Melipona bicolor, M. quadrifasciata, M. marginata, Paratrigona subnuda, Scaptotrigona tubiba and S. xanthotricha, are among the species dependent on the forest environment to survive. Bee population densities in the forest understory are as large as the largest values found for open vegetation in Southeastern Brazil; species richness is also comparable to those of other areas in Southeastern Brazil. Sampling strategies are discussed.

Behavior genetics: Bees as model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nates Parra, Guiomar

2011-01-01

The honeybee Apis mellifera (Apidae) is a model widely used in behavior because of its elaborate social life requiring coordinate actions among the members of the society. Within a colony, division of labor, the performance of tasks by different individuals, follows genetically determined physiological changes that go along with aging. Modern advances in tools of molecular biology and genomics, as well as the sequentiation of A. mellifera genome, have enabled a better understanding of honeybee behavior, in particular social behavior. Numerous studies show that aspects of worker behavior are genetically determined, including defensive, hygienic, reproductive and foraging behavior. For example, genetic diversity is associated with specialization to collect water, nectar and pollen. Also, control of worker reproduction is associated with genetic differences. In this paper, I review the methods and the main results from the study of the genetic and genomic basis of some behaviors in bees.

Biologia de nidificação de Centris (Hemisiella trigonoides Lepeletier (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Centridini Nesting biology of Centris (Hemisiella trigonoides Lepeletier (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Centridini

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Cândida M. L. Aguiar

2006-06-01

Full Text Available O comportamento de nidificação de Centris (Hemisiella trigonoides Lepeletier, 1841, e o comportamento de seus cleptoparasitas foram estudados em Monte Santo, Bahia, Brasil. As abelhas construíram seus ninhos com uma mistura de solo e óleo, dentro de cavidades preexistentes na madeira de uma construção abandonada, assim como em gomos de bambu de 8 e 9 mm de diâmetro. Os ninhos completados tinham de uma a cinco células alongadas, arranjadas em uma série linear e orientadas horizontalmente. O tempo gasto para construir uma célula foi altamente variável, sendo em geral de 4,5 a 5,5 h. Após finalizar a construção da célula, as fêmeas fizeram uma ou duas viagens para coletar um líquido incolor, provavelmente óleo floral, usado para revestir as paredes internas da célula. Para aprovisionar uma célula foram realizadas de cinco a oito viagens de coleta para obtenção de pólen e néctar, e de quatro a seis viagens para coleta de óleo. Imediatamente após a oviposição, as fêmeas fecharam as células usando o solo que elas tinham coletado previamente. Três espécies cleptoparasitas pertencentes ao gênero Coelioxys Latreille, 1809 atacaram os ninhos. Entradas de cleptoparasitas dentro dos ninhos occorreram, na maioria dos casos, enquanto a fêmea hospedeira estava ausente do ninho. As fêmeas de C. (H. trigonoides apresentaram comportamentos defensivos para evitar parasitismo, tais como expulsar os parasitas e guardar os ninhos. Machos de C. (H. trigonoides usaram o local de nidificação como abrigo durante as horas mais quentes do dia, assim como para dormir. Eles deixavam as cavidades no dia seguinte entre 09:00 e 10:30 h. Isto sugere que machos e fêmeas têm padrões temporais de atividade distintos.The nesting behavior of Centris (Hemisiella trigonoides Lepeletier, 1841, and the behavior of their cleptoparasites were studied at Monte Santo, Bahia, Brazil. The females constructed their nests within preexisting holes in wood from an abandoned building as well as in bamboo canes of 8 and 9 mm in diameter, using a mixture of soil and oil. Completed nests had one to five elongated cells arranged in a linear series and oriented horizontally. The time spent to construct a cell was highly variable, but it was generally between 4.5 to 5.5 h. After finishing the construction of a cell, females made one or two trips to collect a colorless liquid, probably floral oil, used to line the inner cell walls. Five to eight pollen-nectar collecting trips and from four to six oil-collecting trips were made to provision one cell. Immediately after oviposition, the females closed the cells using soil that they had previously gathered. Three cleptoparasites species belonging to the genera Coelioxys Latreille, 1809 attacked the nests. Visits of cleptoparasites into the nests occurred mainly while the host female was absent from the nest. Centris (H. trigonoides females showed defensive behaviors to avoid parasitism, such as chasing the parasites and guarding the nests. Centris (H. trigonoides males used the nesting sites for shelter during the hottest hours of the day, as well as for sleeping. They would leave the cavities the following day between 09:00 and 10:30 a.m. That suggests that males and females have distinct temporal activity patterns.

Notas sobre a bionomia de Trichotrigona extranea Camargo & Moure (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini Notes on the bionomy of Trichotrigona extranea Camargo & Moure (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini

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João M. F. Camargo

2007-03-01

Full Text Available Três ninhos de T. extranea, encontrados nas matas de igapó, na localidade de Samaúma, foz do rio Daraã (64°45'35" W, 0°27'7" S, AM, Brasil, são descritos e ilustrados. Este é o único lugar onde esta espécie é conhecida. Todos os ninhos estavam em ocos de ramos secos de "Tanimbuca" - Buchenavia suaveolens Eichler (Combretaceae. Dois deles compartilhavam o oco com ninhos de Frieseomelitta sp. e um era solitário. Um ninho continha 46 células de cria, 43 operárias adultas e uma rainha fisogástrica; o segundo, 240 células, 117 operárias, 25 machos e uma rainha fisogástrica; o terceiro, 260 células, 163 operárias, uma rainha fisogástrica e uma pupa de rainha. As células são construídas na forma de cacho, como em Friseomelitta, e as células de rainha são do mesmo tamanho e forma que as de operária. Não há potes de alimento - este é o único Meliponini que se conhece que não armazena alimento. Supostamente, esta espécie tem hábitos cleptobióticos. Rainhas e machos são também descritos.Three nests of T. extranea, found in "igapó" forests in the locality of Samaúma, mouth of Daraã river (64°45'35" W, 0°27'7" S, AM, Brazil, are described and illustrated. This is the only place from where this species is known. All nests were located in hollow of dried branches of "Tanimbuca" - Buchenavia suaveolens Eichler (Combretaceae. Two of them were sharing the hollow with nests of Frieseomelitta sp. and one was solitary. One nest had 46 brood cells, 43 adult workers and one physogastric queen; the second one, 240 cells, 117 adult workers, 25 males and one physogastric queen; the third one, 260 cells, 163 workers, one physogastric queen and one queen pupa. The cells are arranged in clusters, like in Frieseomelitta, and the queen cells has the same shape and size as the worker ones. There are no food pots - this is the only known Meliponini that does not store food. Supposedly, this species is cleptobiotic. Queens and males are also described.

Hadoop-GIS: A High Performance Spatial Data Warehousing System over MapReduce.

Science.gov (United States)

Aji, Ablimit; Wang, Fusheng; Vo, Hoang; Lee, Rubao; Liu, Qiaoling; Zhang, Xiaodong; Saltz, Joel

2013-08-01

Support of high performance queries on large volumes of spatial data becomes increasingly important in many application domains, including geospatial problems in numerous fields, location based services, and emerging scientific applications that are increasingly data- and compute-intensive. The emergence of massive scale spatial data is due to the proliferation of cost effective and ubiquitous positioning technologies, development of high resolution imaging technologies, and contribution from a large number of community users. There are two major challenges for managing and querying massive spatial data to support spatial queries: the explosion of spatial data, and the high computational complexity of spatial queries. In this paper, we present Hadoop-GIS - a scalable and high performance spatial data warehousing system for running large scale spatial queries on Hadoop. Hadoop-GIS supports multiple types of spatial queries on MapReduce through spatial partitioning, customizable spatial query engine RESQUE, implicit parallel spatial query execution on MapReduce, and effective methods for amending query results through handling boundary objects. Hadoop-GIS utilizes global partition indexing and customizable on demand local spatial indexing to achieve efficient query processing. Hadoop-GIS is integrated into Hive to support declarative spatial queries with an integrated architecture. Our experiments have demonstrated the high efficiency of Hadoop-GIS on query response and high scalability to run on commodity clusters. Our comparative experiments have showed that performance of Hadoop-GIS is on par with parallel SDBMS and outperforms SDBMS for compute-intensive queries. Hadoop-GIS is available as a set of library for processing spatial queries, and as an integrated software package in Hive.

The connection between landscapes and the solar ephemeris in honeybees.

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Towne, William F; Moscrip, Heather

2008-12-01

Honeybees connect the sun's daily pattern of azimuthal movement to some aspect of the landscape around their nests. In the present study, we ask what aspect of the landscape is used in this context--the entire landscape panorama or only sectors seen along familiar flight routes. Previous studies of the solar ephemeris memory in bees have generally used bees that had experience flying a specific route, usually along a treeline, to a feeder. When such bees were moved to a differently oriented treeline on overcast days, the bees oriented their communicative dances as if they were still at the first treeline, based on a memory of the sun's course in relation to some aspect of the site, possibly the familiar route along the treeline or possibly the entire landscape or skyline panorama. Our results show that bees lacking specific flight-route training can nonetheless recall the sun's compass bearing relative to novel flight routes in their natal landscape. Specifically, we moved a hive from one landscape to a differently oriented twin landscape, and only after transplantation under overcast skies did we move a feeder away from the hive. These bees nonetheless danced accurately by memory of the sun's course in relation to their natal landscape. The bees' knowledge of the relationship between the sun and landscape, therefore, is not limited to familiar flight routes and so may encompass, at least functionally, the entire panorama. Further evidence suggests that the skyline in particular may be the bees' preferred reference in this context.

Behavioral and neural plasticity caused by early social experiences: the case of the honeybee

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Andrés eArenas

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Cognitive experiences during the early stages of life play an important role in shaping future behavior. Behavioral and neural long-term changes after early sensory and associative experiences have been recently reported in the honeybee. This invertebrate is an excellent model for assessing the role of precocious experiences on later behavior due to its extraordinarily tuned division of labor based on age polyethism. These studies are mainly focused on the role and importance of experiences occurred during the first days of the adult lifespan, their impact on foraging decisions and their contribution to coordinate food gathering. Odor-rewarded experiences during the first days of honeybee adulthood alter the responsiveness to sucrose, making young hive bees more sensitive to assess gustatory features about the nectar brought back to the hive and affecting the dynamic of the food transfers and the propagation of food-related information within the colony as well. Early olfactory experiences lead to stable and long-term associative memories that can be successfully recalled after many days, even at foraging ages. Also they improve memorizing of new associative learning events later in life. The establishment of early memories promotes stable reorganization of the olfactory circuits inducing structural and functional changes in the antennal lobe. Early rewarded experiences have relevant consequences at the social level too, biasing dance and trophallaxis partner choice and affecting recruitment. Here, we revised recent results in bees´ physiology, behavior and sociobiology to depict how the early experiences affect their cognition abilities and neural-related circuits.

Reducing Sex under the Influence of Drugs or Alcohol for Patients in Substance Abuse Treatment

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Calsyn, Donald A.; Crits-Christoph, Paul; Hatch-Maillette, Mary A.; Doyle, Suzanne R.; Song, Yong S.; Coyer, Susan; Pelta, Sara

2009-01-01

Aims In a previous report, the effectiveness of the Real Men Are Safe (REMAS) intervention in reducing the number of unprotected sexual occasions among male drug abuse treatment patients was demonstrated. A secondary aim of REMAS was to reduce the frequency with which men engage in sex under the influence (SUI) of drugs or alcohol. Design Men in methadone maintenance (n=173) or outpatient psychosocial treatment (n=104) completed assessments at baseline, 3- and 6-months post intervention. Participants were randomly assigned to attend either REMAS (five sessions containing information, motivational exercises and skills training, including one session specifically targeting reducing SUI), or HIV education (HIV-Ed; one session containing HIV prevention information). SUI during the most recent sexual event served as the primary outcome in a repeated measures logistic regression model. Findings Men assigned to the REMAS condition reporting SUI at the most recent sexual event decreased from 36.8% at baseline to 25.7% at 3 months compared to a increase from 36.9% to 38.3% in the HIV-Ed condition (tintervention=−2.16, p=.032). No difference between the treatment groups was evident at 6-month follow-up. At each assessment time point, sex with a casual partner versus a regular partner, and being in methadone maintenance versus psychosocial outpatient treatment, were associated with engaging in SUI. Conclusions Overall a motivational and skills training HIV prevention intervention designed for men was associated with greater reduction in SUI than standard HIV education at the 3-month follow-up. PMID:20078464

Differential expression of a fructose receptor gene in honey bee workers according to age and behavioral role.

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Takada, Tomoyuki; Sasaki, Taiyo; Sato, Ryoichi; Kikuta, Shingo; Inoue, Maki N

2018-02-01

Honey bee (Apis mellifera) workers contribute to the maintenance of colonies in various ways. The primary functions of workers are divided into two types depending on age: young workers (nurses) primarily engage in such behaviors as cleaning and food handling within the hive, whereas older workers (foragers) acquire floral nutrients beyond the colony. Concomitant with this age-dependent change in activity, physiological changes occur in the tissues and organs of workers. Nurses supply younger larvae with honey containing high levels of glucose and supply older larvae with honey containing high levels of fructose. Given that nurses must determine both the concentration and type of sugar used in honey, gustatory receptors (Gr) expressed in the chemosensory organs likely play a role in distinguishing between sugars. Glucose is recognized by Gr1 in honey bees (AmGr1); however, it remains unclear which Gr are responsible for fructose recognition. This study aimed to identify fructose receptors in honey bees and reported that AmGr3, when transiently expressed in Xenopus oocytes, responded only to fructose, and to no other sugars. We analyzed expression levels of AmGr3 to identify which tissues and organs of workers are involved in fructose recognition and determined that expression of AmGr3 was particularly high in the antennae and legs of nurses. Our results suggest that nurses use their antennae and legs to recognize fructose, and that AmGr3 functions as an accurate nutrient sensor used to maintain food quality in honey bee hives. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Sepsis and Hemocyte Loss in Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) Infected with Serratia marcescens Strain Sicaria.

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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.

Correlation of proteome-wide changes with social immunity behaviors provides insight into resistance to the parasitic mite, Varroa destructor, in the honey bee (Apis mellifera).

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Parker, Robert; Guarna, M Marta; Melathopoulos, Andony P; Moon, Kyung-Mee; White, Rick; Huxter, Elizabeth; Pernal, Stephen F; Foster, Leonard J

2012-06-29

Disease is a major factor driving the evolution of many organisms. In honey bees, selection for social behavioral responses is the primary adaptive process facilitating disease resistance. One such process, hygienic behavior, enables bees to resist multiple diseases, including the damaging parasitic mite Varroa destructor. The genetic elements and biochemical factors that drive the expression of these adaptations are currently unknown. Proteomics provides a tool to identify proteins that control behavioral processes, and these proteins can be used as biomarkers to aid identification of disease tolerant colonies. We sampled a large cohort of commercial queen lineages, recording overall mite infestation, hygiene, and the specific hygienic response to V. destructor. We performed proteome-wide correlation analyses in larval integument and adult antennae, identifying several proteins highly predictive of behavior and reduced hive infestation. In the larva, response to wounding was identified as a key adaptive process leading to reduced infestation, and chitin biosynthesis and immune responses appear to represent important disease resistant adaptations. The speed of hygienic behavior may be underpinned by changes in the antenna proteome, and chemosensory and neurological processes could also provide specificity for detection of V. destructor in antennae. Our results provide, for the first time, some insight into how complex behavioural adaptations manifest in the proteome of honey bees. The most important biochemical correlations provide clues as to the underlying molecular mechanisms of social and innate immunity of honey bees. Such changes are indicative of potential divergence in processes controlling the hive-worker maturation.

Selection and breeding of honey bees for higher or lower collection of avocado nectar.

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Afik, Ohad; Dag, Arnon; Yeselson, Yelena; Schaffer, Arthur; Shafir, Sharoni

2010-04-01

Intensive activity of honey bees, Apis mellifera L., is essential for high fruit set in avocado, Persea americana Mill., orchards, but even when hives are located inside the orchard, many bees still search for alternative blooms. We tested for a possible genetic component for a preference of avocado bloom relative to competing bloom. The honey from each hive was extracted at the end of the avocado bloom and the concentration of perseitol, a carbohydrate that is unique to avocado, was analyzed as a measure for avocado foraging. During the first year, five bee strains were compared in three different sites in Israel. Significant differences were found between strains in honey perseitol concentrations, suggesting differences in their efficiency as avocado pollinators, although these differences were site dependent. At two sites, colonies with the highest and lowest perseitol concentrations were selected as parental "high" and "low" lines. Queens were raised from the selected colonies and were instrumentally inseminated by drones from other colonies of this line. During the second and third years, colonies with inseminated queens were introduced to the avocado orchards, together with the selected colonies still surviving from the previous year. Colonies of the high line had greater perseitol concentrations than those of the low line. Selected colonies that survived from the previous year performed consistently vis-à-vis perseitol concentration, in the second year of testing. Heritability value of 0.22 was estimated based on regression of offspring on midparent. The results reveal a heritable component for willingness of honey bees to collect avocado nectar.

Pathogenesis of varroosis at the level of the honey bee (Apis mellifera) colony.

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Wegener, J; Ruhnke, H; Scheller, K; Mispagel, S; Knollmann, U; Kamp, G; Bienefeld, K

2016-01-01

The parasitic mite Varroa destructor, in interaction with different viruses, is the main cause of honey bee colony mortality in most parts of the world. Here we studied how effects of individual-level parasitization are reflected by the bee colony as a whole. We measured disease progression in an apiary of 24 hives with differing degree of mite infestation, and investigated its relationship to 28 biometrical, physiological and biochemical indicators. In early summer, when the most heavily infested colonies already showed reduced growth, an elevated ratio of brood to bees, as well as a strong presence of phenoloxidase/prophenoloxidase in hive bees were found to be predictors of the time of colony collapse. One month later, the learning performance of worker bees as well as the activity of glucose oxidase measured from head extracts were significantly linked to the timing of colony collapse. Colonies at the brink of collapse were characterized by reduced weight of winter bees and a strong increase in their relative body water content. Our data confirm the importance of the immune system, known from studies of individually-infested bees, for the pathogenesis of varroosis at colony level. However, they also show that single-bee effects cannot always be extrapolated to the colony as a whole. This fact, together with the prominent role of colony-level factors like the ratio between brood and bees for disease progression, stress the importance of the superorganismal dimension of Varroa research. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A large-scale field study examining effects of exposure to clothianidin seed-treated canola on honey bee colony health, development, and overwintering success.

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Cutler, G Christopher; Scott-Dupree, Cynthia D; Sultan, Maryam; McFarlane, Andrew D; Brewer, Larry

2014-01-01

In summer 2012, we initiated a large-scale field experiment in southern Ontario, Canada, to determine whether exposure to clothianidin seed-treated canola (oil seed rape) has any adverse impacts on honey bees. Colonies were placed in clothianidin seed-treated or control canola fields during bloom, and thereafter were moved to an apiary with no surrounding crops grown from seeds treated with neonicotinoids. Colony weight gain, honey production, pest incidence, bee mortality, number of adults, and amount of sealed brood were assessed in each colony throughout summer and autumn. Samples of honey, beeswax, pollen, and nectar were regularly collected, and samples were analyzed for clothianidin residues. Several of these endpoints were also measured in spring 2013. Overall, colonies were vigorous during and after the exposure period, and we found no effects of exposure to clothianidin seed-treated canola on any endpoint measures. Bees foraged heavily on the test fields during peak bloom and residue analysis indicated that honey bees were exposed to low levels (0.5-2 ppb) of clothianidin in pollen. Low levels of clothianidin were detected in a few pollen samples collected toward the end of the bloom from control hives, illustrating the difficulty of conducting a perfectly controlled field study with free-ranging honey bees in agricultural landscapes. Overwintering success did not differ significantly between treatment and control hives, and was similar to overwintering colony loss rates reported for the winter of 2012-2013 for beekeepers in Ontario and Canada. Our results suggest that exposure to canola grown from seed treated with clothianidin poses low risk to honey bees.

A Field Experiment to Assess the Rate of Infestation in Honey Bee Populations of Two Metarhizium Anisopliae Isolates on Varroa Destructor (Acari: Mesostigmata

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Khodadad Pirali-kheirabadi

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Background: The protective effect of two isolates of an entomopathogenic fungus, Metarhizium anisopliae (DEMI 002 and Iran 437C on the adult stage of Varroa destructor was evaluated in comparison with fluvalinate strips in the field.Methods: A total of 12 honey bee colonies were provided from an apiculture farm. The selected hives were divided into 4 groups (3 hives per group. The first group was the control, treated with distilled water. The other two groups were exposed to different fungi (M. anisopliae isolates DEMI 002 and Iran 437C and the last group was treated with one strip of fluvalinate per colony. The number of fallen mites was counted using sticky traps during a 6-day period, six days before and after treatments. A fungal suspension at a concentration of 5× 106 conidia/mL was sprayed onto the frames and the number of fallen mites was counted.Results: Metarhizium anisopliae DEMI 002 and Iran 437C isolates were as effective (i.e., caused as much mite fall as the fluvalinate strip in controlling bee colonies than no treatment.Conclusion: Both M. anisopliae isolates are promising candidates as agents in the control of Varroa mites under field conditions. Isolate DEMI 002 can be considered as a possible non-chemical biocontrol agent for controlling bee infestation with V. destructor in the field. In order to substantiate this hypothesis, tests are currently being performed using larger colonies and larger doses than tested in the present study in our beekeeping.

RNAi-mediated silencing of vitellogenin gene function turns honeybee ( Apis mellifera) workers into extremely precocious foragers

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Marco Antonio, David Santos; Guidugli-Lazzarini, Karina Rosa; Do Nascimento, Adriana Mendes; Simões, Zilá Luz Paulino; Hartfelder, Klaus

2008-10-01

The switch from within-hive activities to foraging behavior is a major transition in the life cycle of a honeybee ( Apis mellifera) worker. A prominent regulatory role in this switch has long been attributed to juvenile hormone (JH), but recent evidence also points to the yolk precursor protein vitellogenin as a major player in behavioral development. In the present study, we injected vitellogenin double-stranded RNA (dsVg) into newly emerged worker bees of Africanized genetic origin and introduced them together with controls into observation hives to record flight behavior. RNA interference-mediated silencing of vitellogenin gene function shifted the onset of long-duration flights (>10 min) to earlier in life (by 3 4 days) when compared with sham and untreated control bees. In fact, dsVg bees were observed conducting such flights extremely precociously, when only 3 days old. Short-duration flights (<10 min), which bees usually perform for orientation and cleaning, were not affected. Additionally, we found that the JH titer in dsVg bees collected after 7 days was not significantly different from the controls. The finding that depletion of the vitellogenin titer can drive young bees to become extremely precocious foragers could imply that vitellogenin is the primary switch signal. At this young age, downregulation of vitellogenin gene activity apparently had little effect on the JH titer. As this unexpected finding stands in contrast with previous results on the vitellogenin/JH interaction at a later age, when bees normally become foragers, we propose a three-step sequence in the constellation of physiological parameters underlying behavioral development.

Assessing pollinators’ use of floral resource subsidies in agri-environment schemes: An illustration using Phacelia tanacetifolia and honeybees

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Rowan Sprague

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Background Honeybees (Apis mellifera L. are frequently used in agriculture for pollination services because of their abundance, generalist floral preferences, ease of management and hive transport. However, their populations are declining in many countries. Agri-Environment Schemes (AES are being implemented in agricultural systems to combat the decline in populations of pollinators and other insects. Despite AES being increasingly embedded in policy and budgets, scientific assessments of many of these schemes still are lacking, and only a few studies have examined the extent to which insect pollinators use the floral enhancements that are part of AES and on which floral components they feed (i.e., pollen and/or nectar. Methods In the present work, we used a combination of observations on honeybee foraging for nectar/pollen from the Californian annual plant Phacelia tanacetifolia in the field, collection of pollen pellets from hives, and pollen identification, to assess the value of adding phacelia to an agro-ecosystem to benefit honeybees. Results It was found that phacelia pollen was almost never taken by honeybees. The work here demonstrates that honeybees may not use the floral enhancements added to a landscape as expected and points to the need for more careful assessments of what resources are used by honeybees in AES and understanding the role, if any, which AES play in enhancing pollinator fitness. Discussion We recommend using the methodology in this paper to explore the efficacy of AES before particular flowering species are adopted more widely to give a more complete illustration of the actual efficacy of AES.

Sepsis and Hemocyte Loss in Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) Infected with Serratia marcescens Strain Sicaria

Science.gov (United States)

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

Objective evaluation of acute adverse events and image quality of gadolinium-based contrast agents (gadobutrol and gadobenate dimeglumine) by blinded evaluation. Pilot study.

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Semelka, Richard C; Hernandes, Mateus de A; Stallings, Clifton G; Castillo, Mauricio

2013-01-01

The purpose was to objectively evaluate a recently FDA-approved gadolinium-based contrast agent (GBCA) in comparison to our standard GBCA for acute adverse events and image quality by blinded evaluation. Evaluation was made of a recently FDA-approved GBCA, gadobutrol (Gadavist; Bayer), in comparison to our standard GBCA, gadobenate dimeglumine (MultiHance; Bracco), in an IRB- and HIPAA-compliant study. Both the imaging technologist and patient were not aware of the brand of the GBCA used. A total of 59 magnetic resonance studies were evaluated (59 patients, 31 men, 28 women, age range of 5-85 years, mean age of 52 years). Twenty-nine studies were performed with gadobutrol (22 abdominal and 7 brain studies), and 30 studies were performed with gadobenate dimeglumine (22 abdominal and 8 brain studies). Assessment was made of acute adverse events focusing on objective observations of vomiting, hives, and moderate and severe reactions. Adequacy of enhancement was rated as poor, fair and good by one of two experienced radiologists who were blinded to the type of agent evaluated. No patient experienced acute adverse events with either agent. The target minor adverse events of vomiting or hives, and moderate and severe reactions were not observed in any patient. Adequacy of enhancement was rated as good for both agents in all patients. Objective, blinded evaluation is feasible and readily performable for the evaluation of GBCAs. This proof-of-concept study showed that both GBCAs evaluated exhibited consistent good image quality and no noteworthy adverse events. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

High loading uranium plate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wiencek, T.C.; Domagala, R.F.; Thresh, H.R.

1990-01-01

Two embodiments of a high uranium fuel plate are disclosed which contain a meat comprising structured uranium compound confined between a pari of diffusion bonded ductile metal cladding plates uniformly covering the meat, the meat hiving a uniform high fuel loading comprising a content of uranium compound greater than about 45 Vol. % at a porosity not greater than about 10 Vol. %. In a first embodiment, the meat is a plurality of parallel wires of uranium compound. In a second embodiment, the meat is a dispersion compact containing uranium compound. The fuel plates are fabricated by a hot isostatic pressing process

System for Computer Automated Typesetting ((SCAT) of Computer Authored Texts.

Science.gov (United States)

1980-07-01

amnmwar 3330 DEFFN’ 127 3340 REM ; if line not blank : IF Q$(L)<>" a THEN 3350 : COSUB �(16) : GOTO 3480 - 3350 REM ;begin tab .GOSUB �(’bt...recall, the peg words that rhyme with each of the numbers. Zero is for Hero One is for Gun Two is for Shoe Three is for Tree Four is for Door Five is...for Hive Six is for Stick Seven is for Heaven Eight is for Gate Nine is for Wine 114 Goto8 TAEG Report No. 88 MEMORY AIDS Knowing the peg words (and