中华蜜蜂急造王台的工蜂亲属优惠

人为使3群中华蜜蜂(Apis cerana cerana)失王而出现急造王台后,应用3个蜜蜂微卫星位点A14、A107和B124对蜂群、急造王台中的幼虫及其哺育蜂的亚家庭进行鉴别,以此来研究中华蜜蜂急造王台的工蜂亲属优惠.结果显示:在3个实验蜂群Ⅰ、Ⅱ、Ⅲ中分别检测到11、13和14个亚家庭,各蜂群各亚家庭之间的工蜂分布差异不显著.然而各蜂群中急造王台却分别只出现在少数的3、4和5个亚家庭中,各亚家庭之间在王台出现率上存在极显著的差异.另外,各急造王台的所有哺育蜂并非只来自幼虫所在的亚家庭,而是分布在更多的亚家庭里,并且各亚家庭之间差异不显著.以上结果证明:中华蜜蜂急造王台时,在蜂王幼虫的选择过程中存在工蜂亲属优惠行为,但蜂王幼虫与它们的哺育工蜂之间并不存在工蜂亲属优惠     

中华蜜蜂自然分蜂中的亲属优惠行为

以3群中华蜜蜂Apiscerana cerana Fabricius为材料,研究自然分蜂中的亲属优惠行为。分蜂开始后,分别对参与分蜂的工蜂和留在原巢内的工蜂随机取样,用95%酒精保存待用。取下所有王台,放入培养箱中培养出房,每30min观察1次,记录处女王的出房顺序。运用3个MRJP(major royal jelly protein)标记分析蜂群的亲缘关系和亚家系组成。3群实验蜂群分别由13,12和9个亚家系组成。分蜂过程中,王台的全同胞姐妹工蜂绝大多数都选择留在原巢内,说明工蜂能够辨认出全同胞姐妹王台,并且给予优惠。参与分蜂的工蜂和留在原巢内的工蜂间亚家系分布差异极显著,说明一些亚家系分蜂性更强,而另一些亚家系分蜂性较弱。实验首次运用MRJP分子标记技术证明:在自然分蜂过程中,工蜂和王台之间存在亲属优惠行为,并且这种优惠行为可能会刺激其它工蜂产生分蜂趋向性。     

不同水平亮氨酸对繁殖期意大利蜜蜂蜂群群势及工蜂发育的影响

【目的】评价日粮中不同水平亮氨酸对繁殖期意大利蜜蜂Apis mellifera ligustica蜂群群势及工蜂发育的影响。【方法】选取重庆荣昌本地繁殖期意大利蜜蜂21群,随机分为7组,分别饲喂添加0,15.30,17.50,26.25,35.00,43.75和52.5 g/kg亮氨酸的试验日粮,每12 d测定各组蜂群群势、封盖子量、蜂群取食量和营造王台情况,24 d后测定蜂群采集行为、工蜂初生重、工蜂虫体蛋白质含量及工蜂寿命。【结果】当亮氨酸添加水平为43.75和52.50 g/kg时能够显著提高繁殖期意大利蜜蜂的蜂群群势、封盖子量、蜂群取食量及采集行为(P0.05)。与空白对照组相比,基础日粮组及各亮氨酸添加组的新出房蜂和6日龄幼虫体蛋白质含量较高(P0.05);各亮氨酸添加组的工蜂初生重显著高于空白组(P0.05);不同亮氨酸添加水平对意大利蜜蜂工蜂寿命影响较小。此外,亮氨酸添加水平26.25,35.00和43.75 g/kg能够在饲喂0-24 d时促进蜂群营造自然王台,刺激蜂群分蜂。【结论】配方日粮中43.75和52.5 g/kg的亮氨酸能够显著促进繁殖期意大利蜜蜂蜂群发展,其中43.75 g/kg的亮氨酸饲喂量还能刺激蜂群营造自然王台,激发蜂群分蜂。     

栖息条件对中华蜜蜂遗传多样性的影响

为了评估不同栖息条件对中华蜜蜂(简称中蜂)种群遗传多样性的影响,本研究运用微卫星标记的方法,对皖南山区4个不同采样点120个中华蜜蜂群体的2400只工蜂样本进行了分析.结果表明:与天然林野生中蜂群相比,单一茶树种植结构下,皖南中蜂群的等位基因数、平均期望杂合度和多态信息含量的差异均不显著;人工驯养中蜂群的等位基因数、多态信息含量差异显著,平均期望杂合度差异不显著;2006年采集的野生中蜂群与天然林野生中蜂群的等位基因数、平均期望杂合度和多态信息含量均差异显著.各种群间存在极显著的遗传分化,平均分化系数为0.32.说明皖南地区茶树单一化种植不会影响中蜂的遗传结构与资源保护.     

具有不同嗅觉学习能力的工蜂的遗传背景分析

【目的】蜜蜂是由不同亚家系组成的社会性群居昆虫,为了研究具有不同嗅觉学习能力的工蜂的遗传背景差异。【方法】本试验以中华蜜蜂Apis cerana cerana为材料,通过微卫星技术分析了两组嗅觉学习能力不同工蜂的亚家系分布情况。【结果】同一蜂群中拥有两种不同学习能力的工蜂在各亚家系的分布不存在显著差异(P>0.05)。【结论】蜜蜂嗅觉学习能力可能与亚家系组成无关,而由更精确的遗传因子调控。     

蜜蜂群内生殖分工体系的形成及其维持

本文对蜜蜂群内生殖分工体系的形成及其维持机制进行综述。蜜蜂群体具有完善的劳动分工(包括生殖分工)体系,蜂王垄断生殖权力,而工蜂生殖器官发育不完全,在蜂王信息素和幼虫信息素的作用下产卵受到抑制。蜂王的多雄交配机制降低了群内个体间的亲缘关系,但也促进了工蜂间相互监督机制的形成。工蜂间的相互监督,结合蜂王和幼虫信息素对工蜂卵巢发育的影响,解决了蜂王与工蜂、工蜂与工蜂间的生殖利益冲突,保障了蜂群内的生殖分工体系,提高了群体效率,维护了蜂群的真社会性。     

意大利蜜蜂工蜂卵巢发育的研究

蜜蜂Apis mellifera L.蜂群中的工蜂卵巢发育和工蜂产卵现象受多种因素控制,了解其影响因素对养蜂生产具有重要意义。本研究将意大利蜜蜂蜂群设置为囚王群(tg1)、无王有子群(tg2)、无王无子群(tg3)以及正常有王蜂群(CK)4个试验组,通过对工蜂卵巢管的显微观察,确定不同处理组工蜂在不同时间段内卵巢的发育情况。结果表明:随着时间的延长,与CK处理组相比,tg3处理组中的工蜂卵巢发育水平最高,tg2次之,tg1最低;在31d时,4个处理组两两之间差异均达到显著水平(P<0.05)。tg1、tg2和tg3处理组中工蜂产卵前期时间分别为35、22和17d,而CK蜂群在试验期内未出现工蜂产卵现象;tg2和tg3处理组的工蜂产卵的封盖前期时间分别为8和6d,而tg1和CK组在试验期内未出现子房封盖现象。蜂群失王时间过长会刺激工蜂卵巢发育,并导致其产卵;蜂群的短期失王和蜂王老化也会刺激工蜂卵巢发育,但是刺激程度较低;蜂群中的蜂子能抑制工蜂卵巢管的发育,因此在蜂群短时间失王时可以适当地补充子脾延缓工蜂卵巢发育。     

地熊蜂蜂群发育性状评价及其饲料花粉配比优化

【目的】为了明确熊蜂蜂群发育过程中具有代表性的性状指标及其饲料花粉最优配比。【方法】以山杏Armeniaca sibirica花粉、山柳Salix caprea花粉和油菜Brassica rapa花粉为原料,通过{3,3}混料设计得到7种配比的混合花粉,分析不同混合花粉对地熊蜂Bombus terrestris(L.)无王工蜂群的产卵前时间、幼虫拖出数、幼虫总数量、幼虫总重量、蛹总数量、蛹总重量、雄蜂出房时间、出房雄蜂数量和雄蜂出生重9个蜂群性状指标的影响,使用主成分分析对蜂群性状指标进行综合评价,并通过混料回归模型预测熊蜂蜂群饲养过程中的最优花粉配比。【结果】地熊蜂无王工蜂群发育过程的9个性状指标可以归纳为幼虫发育、蛹发育、成蜂发育、蜂群发育周期4类评价因子,其中幼虫总数量、蛹总重量、雄蜂出生重、产卵前时间和雄蜂出房时间是5个主要性状指标;以蜂群主要性状指标为评价依据,得出蜂群饲养过程中最优花粉配比:当以油菜花粉单独饲喂蜂群时蜂群产卵前时间短、幼虫总数量最多、蛹总重量最大,当山杏花粉、山柳花粉和油菜花粉以1︰1.5︰1.5比例饲喂蜂群时雄蜂出房时间最短,当山柳花粉和油菜花粉以3︰1比例饲喂蜂群时雄蜂出生重最大。【结论】明确了地熊蜂无王工蜂群发育过程中的重要性状指标和饲料花粉最优配比,为进一步研究商品化熊蜂群不同发育阶段的营养需求奠定了基础。     

云南短头熊蜂的繁育特性研究

短头熊蜂Bombus breviceps是云南省优势蜂种,为更好地挖掘本土熊蜂资源,繁育农业授粉蜂群,本研究从云南3个地区（屏边、个旧和昆明）收集短头熊蜂蜂王后,在相同条件下饲养,统计分析其蜂王产卵前期、工蜂发育期、蜂群生长特性、群势、产卵蜂王率及蜂群可应用率等繁育特性指标。结果表明：3个地区工蜂的发育期相同,屏边地区的蜂王产卵前期最长,蜂群始见工蜂时间及工蜂数量达到6头、30头和60头的时间也最长,均显著高于个旧地区和昆明地区（P<0.05）。3个地区短头熊蜂的群势差异不显著（P>0.05）,但昆明地区的工蜂数量最少,显著低于屏边地区和个旧地区（P<0.05）,而子代蜂王数量显著高于屏边地区和个旧地区（P<0.05）,雄性蜂数量显著高于屏边地区（P<0.05）。昆明地区的产卵蜂王率和蜂群可应用率高于屏边地区和个旧地区。总体而言,云南的短头熊蜂群势强,产卵蜂王率75%以上,蜂群可应用率均在63%以上,易于人工繁育,具有重要的授粉利用价值。     

蜂群中蜜蜂个体之间的关系

蜜蜂是营群体生活的昆虫。一个蜜蜂群体实际上是一个家庭,由一个母亲(蜂王)、几个父亲(雄蜂、交配后死亡)和它的后代(工蜂和雄蜂)组成。初看起来它们的关系很简单,但由于蜂王的交配方式不同,蜂王可以产受精卵和未受精卵,而且蜜蜂还存在着单倍、二倍性,蜜蜂家庭中蜜蜂个体的关系却相当复杂。认识一个蜂群中可能存在的关系,有助于了解蜂群的遗传组成,对于蜜蜂遗传育种有重要意义。近几十年来,经过各国蜜蜂遗传育种学家的不断努力,才逐渐搞清楚蜂群中蜜蜂个体的关系。为了说明这个问题,这里简单介绍一下蜜蜂的细胞学、蜜蜂卵子和精子的发生以及蜂王的交配方式。蜜蜂的细胞学对大多数动物来说,一个新生命是由一个精细胞和一个卵细胞结合而来。每种性细胞各含有一组染色体,因而给予新的个体两组染色体,称为二倍体数。蜂王和工蜂是雌性蜜蜂,它     

Estimation of intracolonial worker relationship in a honey bee colony (Apis mellifera L.) using DNA fingerprinting

Summary The number and frequencies of subfamilies in a honey bee colony were determined by DNA fingerprinting. Queen and brood samples were taken from three colonies with artificially inseminated queens and from one colony with a naturally mated queen. UsingHae III restriction enzyme and (GATA)₄ oligonucleotide, the number of subfamilies in the colonies with artificially inseminated queens corresponded with the number of drones used for insemination. In the colony with the naturally mated queen, 12 subfamilies were found in a random sample of 104 workers. Considering that subfamily frequencies range from 1 to 26%, introcolonial worker relationship was estimated to be 0.328, corresponding to a genetical effective number of 6.4 matings.     

Intra-Colonial Variability in the Dance Communication in Honeybees (Apis mellifera)

Honeybees have evolved numerous mechanisms for increasing colony-level foraging efficiency, mainly the combined system of scout-recruit division of labour and recruitment communication. A successful forager performs waggle dances on the surface of the comb where it interacts with nectar receivers and dance followers. A forager uses tremble dance when it experiences difficulty finding a receiver bee to unload food upon return to the hive. A bee colony containing numerous subfamilies may increase its efficiency in dance communication if dances are realized by particular groups of specialized individuals or subfamilies rather than by undifferentiated workers. In this study, we determined the subfamily frequencies of waggle and tremble dancers in a colony headed by a naturally mated queen, where the 17 subfamilies can be identified by microsatellite genetic markers. Our results demonstrate that a genetic component is associated with the dance communication in honeybees. More than half of the waggle dances and the tremble dances were performed by workers from only four subfamilies in each case.     

Intra-colonial variation of the sting extension response in the honey bee Apis mellifera

The workers’ sting extension in response to noxious stimulations is a common test used to study physiological modulations of behaviour in the honey bee. In this study, we investigated the variation of the sting extension response between honey bee workers from different patrilines in a colony with a naturally mated queen. We found that the sting extension response varied according to patrilines, indicating a genetic contribution to the intra-colonial variation of this behaviour. Patrilines differed in their responses during successive stimulations applied at a constant level: bees belonging to some patrilines exhibited a constant level of response during repeated stimulations, while others showed a decreasing response under the same conditions. These results fit well with the models of division of labour based on differences in response thresholds among workers of different subfamilies. This study was carried out in the Laboratoire de Neurobiologie Comparée des Invertébrés (INRA) in Bures-sur-Yvette, France Received 29 April 2005; revised 8 July 2005; accepted 25 July 2005.     

Polyandry in Honey Bees (APIS MELLIFERA L.): Sperm Utilization and Intracolony Genetic Relationships

Sperm usage by queen honey bees was examined by progeny analyses using six phenotypically distinct genetic markers. No evidence was found for sperm displacement or precedence. All queens used the sperm of all males that inseminated them during all sampling periods. Sperm usage, as measured by phenotypic frequencies, did fluctuate nonrandomly but did not result in abnormally high representation of a single phenotype or the elimination of other phenotypes as has often been suggested. The genetic relationships of workers within honey bee colonies are estimated from the data presented. Average genetic relatedness is shown to be low among colony nestmates and probably approaches 0.25 in colonies with naturally mated queens. There is no evidence for elevated relatedness among colony subfamilies due to nonrandom fluctuations in sperm usage by queens or for numerical dominance of any subfamilies.     

Absence of reproductive conflict during queen rearing in Apis cerana

Polyandry in honeybee queens (Apis) causes many patrilines (subfamilies) within a colony, which may lead to a potential conflict of interest among workers. This may be most apparent during queen rearing when nepotistic worker behavior could influence the genetics of future generations. Several studies have searched for such conflict in European honeybees (A. mellifera), but studies on other Apis species remain lacking. We investigated the presence of reproductive conflict in A. cerana japonica by comparing the patriline proportion of queen larvae to that of adult workers. We determined the patrilines of 272 workers and 57 queen larvae using four polymorphic microsatellite markers that were sampled from queenless colonies originally derived from four naturally mated queen-right colonies. The number of patrilines in each colony was 9, 12, 8, and 7, respectively, which is lower than that observed in continental Asia. We found no difference in patriline proportion between adult workers and queen larvae. Our data support neither genetic variance for royalty or existence of worker nepotism in A. cerana japonica.     

Worker demography in a large-colony,swarm-founding wasp

Neotropical swarm-founding wasps build nests enclosed in a covering envelope, which makes it difficult to count individual births and deaths. Thus, knowledge of worker demography is very limited for swarm-founding species compared with that for independent-founding species. In this study, we explored the worker demography of the swarm-founding wasp Polybia paulista, the colony size of which usually exceeds several thousand adults. We considered each wasp colony as an open-population and estimated the survival probability, recruitment rate, and population size of workers using the developments of the Cormack–Jolly–Seber model. We found that capture probability varied considerably among the workers, probably due to age polyethism and/or task specialization. The daily survival rate of workers was high (around 0.97) throughout the season and was not related to the phase of colony development. On the other hand, the recruitment rate ranged from 0 to 0.37, suggesting that worker production was substantially less important than worker survival in determining worker population fluctuations. When we compared survival rates among worker groups of one colony, the mean daily survival rate was lower for founding workers than for progeny workers and tended to be higher in progeny workers that emerged in winter. These differences in survivorship patterns among worker cohorts would be related to worker foraging activity and/or level of parasitism.     

Effects of overwintering temperature on the survival of the black garden ant (Lasius niger)

The overwintering temperatures of ants might well be elevated due to climate change. We studied whether the overwintering temperature affects the survival of the queens and whole colonies of the black garden ant, Lasius niger (Linnaeus, 1758). In two consecutive years (2009, 2010) we collected mated, colony founding queens (n=280) from the urban area of Turku, Finland. Half of the queens overwintered in +7 to +8 °C and the other half in +2 °C. After the overwintering period, we determined their survival rate and measured the body fat content, body size and immune defence (encapsulation rate) of overwintering queens. Using the same setup, we studied the survival of 1-year-old L. niger colonies (queen & workers). Overwintering at a lower temperature (+2 °C) decreased the survival of workers. The survival of colony founding queens differed between years, but unlike with workers, the overwintering temperature did not affect their survival: neither in the colony experiment nor in the single queen experiment. All of the surviving queens managed to produce their worker offspring at the same rate. The relative amount of body fat of queens was higher for those who overwintered at a lower temperature, which is likely a result of lower energy consumption. We did not detect differences in the encapsulation rate between the temperature treatment groups. The ability of colony founding queens to tolerate wide overwintering temperature variations present in urban environments may explain the success of the colony in urban areas. As the colony grows, the overwintering chambers may extend more deeply into the ground. Thus, workers may not have to cope with such cold conditions as colony founding queens.     

Caste differentiation and growth of laboratory colonies of Reticulitermes urbis (Isoptera, Rhinotermitidae)

A total of 280 laboratory colonies of Reticulitermes urbis were raised for 3 years, in order to observe caste differentiation and overall colony growth, and to investigate whether the initial composition (0, 2 or 4 nymphs; 0, 5, 10, 20 or 50 workers) affected colony survival, population growth and other colony dynamics. We also wanted to determine the minimum number of individuals needed to establish a vital colony. As a result, every colony beginning with less than 20 workers died within 60 weeks, while colonies beginning with at least 20 workers survived until the end of the tests, with varied survival rates dependent upon the initial size and the time of formation (summer or autumn). The number of nymphs did not affect colony survival and colony growth. Reproductives developed from nymphs within 2 weeks and later from workers. Many of the reproductives derived from nymphs were killed by workers. The majority of the colonies contained two reproductives 3 years after initiating the tests. In addition, a few individual workers were still alive at the end of the 3-year tests. At the end of the tests, the proportion of soldiers ranged anywhere from 5.23 to 7.69% of the total population. The number of viable “juveniles” from each colony was relatively low throughout the tests and the overall population growth was not sufficient enough to replace dead workers or increase the colony size considerably. These results indicate that the potential to establish viable and sustainable colonies for groups of R. urbis composed of 5–50 workers is very low.     

Non-destructive genotyping and genetic variation of fanning in a honey bee colony

The relationship between workers from different patrilines in a naturally mated queen honey bee colony is very complex due to queen polyandry, and still poorly characterized. Here, we report a means of determining the genotype of living workers in a natural honey bee colony by a new non-destructive method, which makes it possible to observe the relationship between behaviours and genotypes. DNA was extracted from the exuvia, found at the bottom of each brood cell, and confirmed to be identical to the DNA extracted from the thorax muscle of the bee emerging from that particular cell. The genotypes were thus determined using DNA from the exuviae without having to hurt or kill the organisms. The emerging workers were marked with coloured, numbered tags to enable behavioural observations over their entire life. Using this new method, we determined 20 patrilines in a naturally mated queen colony, and discovered that the patriline composition of bees exhibiting fanning behaviour was significantly different from the patriline composition of the whole colony. Our results confirm that the genetic structure of a natural insect society plays a fundamental role in the division of labour. The new non-destructive method reveals a novel avenue for the determination of relationships between the behaviours and genes of social insects.