明亮熊蜂的生物学特性及其授粉应用

明亮熊蜂Bombus lucorumL.是我国重要的授粉昆虫之一,该种熊蜂在北京地区1年1代,以蜂王休眠方式越冬。越冬蜂王4月中旬出蛰,2周以后开始产卵,5月下旬第1批工蜂开始出房,7月上旬工蜂数量达到150只左右,随后蜂群中出现雄蜂和蜂王,8~9月蜂王和雄蜂交配。10月上旬,天气逐渐变冷,交配后的蜂王开始在地下休眠越冬。在人工控制条件下可以打破蜂王的休眠期、实现1年多代繁育,提供设施农业授粉应用。     

熊蜂成群与未成群蜂王体内氨基酸和脂肪酸含量的比较研究

为探究熊蜂Bombus spp.蜂王体内氨基酸和脂肪酸对其不同繁殖状态的影响,本研究分别利用高效液相色谱方法和气质联用方法测定成群蜂王和未成群蜂王体内氨基酸和脂肪酸的含量并进行比较分析。研究结果表明：熊蜂蜂王体内分别包含16种氨基酸和17种脂肪酸。熊蜂蜂王体内含量最多6种的水解氨基酸为谷氨酸、丙氨酸、亮氨酸、丝氨酸、天冬氨酸和苏氨酸,含量最多的3种脂肪酸为油酸、亚油酸和α-亚油酸。成群与未成群阶段熊蜂蜂王体内13种氨基酸含量存在显著差异（P<0.05）,且除丙氨酸外,成群蜂王体内其余12种氨基酸含量均显著低于未成群蜂王。成群与未成群阶段熊蜂蜂王体内有6种脂肪酸含量存在显著差异（P<0.05）,其中未成群蜂王体内辛酸、癸酸、月桂酸的含量较高,而成群蜂王体内亚油酸、顺-11-二十烯酸、二十三酸的含量较高。本研究结果表明,熊蜂成群和未成群蜂王体内氨基酸和脂肪酸含量存在显著差异（P<0.05）,蛋白质和脂类代谢异常可能是导致熊蜂蜂王成群率低的一个主要原因。     

熊蜂营养与饲料研究进展

熊蜂是重要的商业传粉昆虫之一,人工驯养和应用熊蜂传粉是弥补自然传粉蜂锐减,满足现代农业授粉需求的重要举措。营养和饲料是实现熊蜂驯养和工厂化生产的关键问题之一。本文综述了单一和混合花粉饲料,不同蛋白质和脂肪比例的饲料,不同氨基酸水平的饲料,以及碳水化合物饲料中添加营养元素或者蜂王浆等对熊蜂发育的影响。其中,混合花粉相比单一花粉对幼虫体重发育有促进作用;欧洲地熊蜂Bombus terrestris成年蜂摄取的蛋白质和脂肪的最佳比例为14∶1;高浓度的氨基酸饲料对蜂王产卵和幼虫成熟有促进作用;碳水化合物中添加营养元素能够促进蜂王产卵,蜂群成群;饲料中添加蜂王浆能够提高蜂王存活率和产卵率。建议未来以本土熊蜂的生产群体为研究对象,针对熊蜂阶段性营养需求及可能影响熊蜂发育的肠道共生菌等因素开展研究。     

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。     

熊蜂气管内寄生螨布赫纳蝗螨的生物学特性观察

对新疆与河北地区野生明亮熊蜂及小峰熊蜂蜂王内寄生螨布赫纳蝗螨Locustacarus buchneri的生物学特性进行了初步观察。结果表明： 该螨对两种熊蜂的寄生率分别为10.43%和8.3%,寄生部位为气管与气囊。室内饲养至30天的蜂王体内寄生螨量明显高于饲养至60天的蜂王。未被螨寄生的蜂王与被寄生者比较,前者体重显著高于后者,但二者间产卵始期、产卵率、食卵率和存活率差异不显著。     

意大利蜂多王群的组建及蜂王产卵力的观察

采用生物诱导和环境诱导相结合的技术方法,成功组建多只蜂王在同一产卵区内自由活动、正常产卵的多王群,并且实现了多王同巢越冬,修订了“人工组成的同巢多王群,多只蜂王只能相处几个月”的传统观念。通过对多王群蜂王产卵力的观察发现,经生物诱导处理的单只蜂王的产卵力与未经处理蜂王的产卵力相比无显著差异;而3王群和5王群蜂王的产卵力分别是单只蜂王产卵力的222.94%和367.09%。最后,对多王群在蜜蜂生物学的理论研究和养蜂生产应用中的意义进行了讨论。
     

微生态制剂EM原露对熊蜂蜂王产卵前期卵巢发育及卵子发生的影响

用60%蔗糖,60%蔗糖加EM原露,60%蔗糖加花粉,60%蔗糖加花粉加EM原露4种食料饲喂复苏熊蜂Bombus terrestris L.蜂王,研究EM原露对复苏蜂王产卵前期卵巢发育及卵子发生的影响。结果表明,EM原露对熊蜂蜂王产卵前期卵巢发育及卵子发生表现出一定抑制性,但影响不显著。虽然于第2天,EM原露对其开始发生显著抑制性影响(P=0.047),且EM原露与花粉的交互作用对其发育促进影响亦显著(P=0.014),但从第5天始,EM原露对其影响下降为不显著,而花粉开始表现出显著性促进熊蜂蜂王卵巢发育(P=0.000)。EM原露对熊蜂蜂王卵子发生并无促进或抑制作用,然而花粉的缺失促使熊蜂蜂王卵子发生停滞。     

河北地区熊蜂物种多样性与蜂群繁育特性

基于2005-2009年从河北地区（包括河北省、北京市和天津市）所采集的1893号熊蜂标本资料,结合中国科学院动物研究所馆藏记录,分析了河北地区熊蜂物种多样性和蜂群繁育特性. 结果表明：河北地区共有熊蜂属昆虫8亚属32种,其中河北省32种,北京市18种,天津市5种;西部太行山区、北部燕山山区和坝上高原地区熊蜂种类丰富度和多度较高;河北地区熊蜂的访花植物涉及到21科80种,其中,菊科、豆科和唇形科植物是大多数熊蜂种类访问的主要对象;小峰熊蜂、红光熊蜂、密林熊蜂、火红熊蜂和重黄熊蜂5种熊蜂群势强大,平均单群蜂的工蜂数量在110只以上,雄蜂数量在160只以上,子代蜂王数在30只以上;这5种熊蜂的繁育成群率均在50%以上,易于人工驯养,具有重要的传粉利用价值.     

水稻二化螟的交配行为

在室内条件下,对水稻二化螟Chilo suppressalis的交配行为及能力进行了研究.结果表明：大多数二化螟雌蛾一生只交配一次,平均0.92次;而雄蛾具有多次交配能力,最多达4次,平均2.72次.二化螟雌蛾的日龄影响其交配率、交配起始时间和持续时间,随二化螟雌蛾日龄的增加,其交配率逐渐下降,交配起始时间逐渐提前,而交配持续时间逐渐上升.相反,二化螟雄蛾日龄对其交配率、交配起始时间和持续时间没有明显影响.交配日龄对二化螟雌蛾的生殖力也存在显著影响,随着二化螟雌蛾交配日龄的增加,雌蛾产卵量下降,卵孵化率降低,产卵期缩短,它们都与雌蛾交配日龄存在显著的负相关;而雌蛾产卵前期和雌蛾寿命随雌蛾交配日龄的增加而延长,与雌蛾交配日龄存在显著的正相关.但二化螟雄蛾交配日龄对雌蛾的生殖力没有明显影响,二化螟雄蛾一生都具有较强的交配繁殖能力.同时,不同交配史的雄蛾与雌蛾交配,对雌蛾的生殖力也没有显著影响.表明二化螟的交配活动是由雌蛾主导控制的.最后,对这些结果在二化螟性信息素防治中应用的可行性进行了探讨.在应用性信息素控制二化螟的实践中,可以在两方面取得实效,一是性信息素可以阻碍雌雄之间正常交配,降低交配率;二是可以推迟二化螟雌虫的交配,使其产卵量和卵孵化率降低.     

延迟交配对橘小实蝇繁殖适度的影响

橘小实蝇Bactrocera dorsalis Hendel是一种世界性的入侵害虫,严重为害多种经济果蔬。本文通过响应面分析方法,研究了延迟交配对橘小实蝇交配率、产卵量、孵化率和寿命的影响。结果表明,交配率随雌虫交配日龄的延迟先增后减,雌、雄成虫均为35日龄处理组中的交配率最高,为81.00%±2.00%;而雄虫交配日龄的延迟则对其卵孵化率有明显的负面作用,在56日龄雄虫与35日龄雌虫处理组中,其卵孵化率最低,仅为27.56%±4.55%。雌成虫产卵量和寿命受到雌、雄虫双方交配日龄的的影响,产卵量（y）与雄虫日龄（x1）和雌虫日龄（x2）的回归方程为y=514.36+3.08x1-11.05x2,雌成虫寿命（y）与雄虫日龄（x1）和雌虫日龄（x2）的回归方程为y=35.85+0.23x1+0.40x2。研究结果为田间使用性信息素迷向法防治橘小实蝇提供了理论依据。     

Impact of artificial photoperiodism on the colony development of the bumblebee Bombus terrestris

This study investigated the effect of the photoperiodic regimes 0 h light : 24 h dark (LD 0:24), LD 8:16, LD 16:8 and LD 24:0 at 28°C and 50% Relative Humidity (RH) on the colony development of hibernated (2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5 and 4.0 months) bumblebee queens. The queens which had hibernated for 3.0 months and which were reared in a LD 8:16 photoperiod showed the highest rate of colony initiation (88.2%), colony foundation (67.6%) and progeny queen production (38.2%). The photoperiod LD 8:16 also produced the shortest period of colony initiation and colony foundation. The highest number of sexual males (171.2 ± 12.2) and queens (91.2 ± 9.9) were produced in the colonies when 3.5 and 3.0 month hibernated queens were kept in an LD 8:16 photoperiod. The results show that light regime and hibernation duration affect colony characteristics of Bombus terrestris.     

Male parentage and queen mating frequency in the bumblebee <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bombus ignitus</Emphasis> (Hymenoptera: bombinae)

Kin selection theory predicts conflict between queens and workers in the social insect colony with respect to male production. This conflict arises from the haplodiploid system of sex determination in Hymenoptera that creates relatedness asymmetries in which workers are more closely related to the sons of other workers than to those of the queen. In annual hymenopteran societies that are headed by a single queen, the mating frequency of the queen is the only factor that affects the colony kin structure. Therefore, we examined the mating structure of queens and the parentage of males in a monogynous bumblebee, Bombus ignitus, using DNA microsatellites. In the seven colonies that were studied, B. ignitus queens mated once, thereby leading to the prediction of conflict between the queen and workers regarding male production. In each of the five queen-right colonies, the majority of the males (95%) were produced by the colony’s queen. In contrast, workers produced approximately 47% of all the males in two queenless colonies. These results suggest that male production in B. ignitus is a conflict between queen and workers.     

Comparing Alternative Methods for Holding Virgin Honey Bee Queens for One Week in Mailing Cages before Mating

In beekeeping, queen honey bees are often temporarily kept alive in cages. We determined the survival of newly-emerged virgin honey bee queens every day for seven days in an experiment that simultaneously investigated three factors: queen cage type (wooden three-hole or plastic), attendant workers (present or absent) and food type (sugar candy, honey, or both). Ten queens were tested in each of the 12 combinations. Queens were reared using standard beekeeping methods (Doolittle/grafting) and emerged from their cells into vials held in an incubator at 34C. All 12 combinations gave high survival (90 or 100%) for three days but only one method (wooden cage, with attendants, honey) gave 100% survival to day seven. Factors affecting queen survival were analysed. Across all combinations, attendant bees significantly increased survival (18% vs. 53%, p<0.001). In addition, there was an interaction between food type and cage type (p<0.001) with the honey and plastic cage combination giving reduced survival. An additional group of queens was reared and held for seven days using the best method, and then directly introduced using smoke into queenless nucleus colonies that had been dequeened five days previously. Acceptance was high (80%, 8/10) showing that this combination is also suitable for preparing queens for introduction into colonies. Having a simple method for keeping newly-emerged virgin queens alive in cages for one week and acceptable for introduction into queenless colonies will be useful in honey bee breeding. In particular, it facilitates the screening of many queens for genetic or phenotypic characteristics when only a small proportion meets the desired criteria. These can then be introduced into queenless hives for natural mating or insemination, both of which take place when queens are one week old.     

明亮熊蜂繁育室内印度谷斑螟的形态特征与生物学特性

明亮熊蜂Bombus lucorum L.是一种重要的温室果菜传粉昆虫,印度谷斑螟Plodia interpunctella(Hbner)是危害明亮熊蜂繁育的主要害虫之一。2年的研究结果表明,印度谷斑螟的形态特征与危害蜜蜂巢房的大蜡螟Gallerie mellonellaL.和小蜡螟Achroia grisella Fabricius明显不同。印度谷斑螟以饲喂熊蜂的花粉为载体传播进熊蜂繁育室,在熊蜂繁育室内可以连续繁殖,1年发生6～8代,且世代重叠。印度谷斑螟幼虫主要以蜂群内的剩花粉为食,当花粉不足时,就开始取食巢房和蜂蛹,对熊蜂的规模化繁育危害较大,每年的5～8月、11～2月为危害高峰期。印度谷斑螟的发育受环境和食物的影响很大,在温度为28℃、相对湿度为60%熊蜂繁育室内,印度谷斑螟的卵期为4d,幼虫期为19～23d,蛹期为11d,成虫期为4～20d。成虫羽化后3～4h即可进行交配,雌蛾交配后当天就开始产卵,产卵期4～10d不等,平均产卵量107.8粒。在熊蜂繁育室消毒期间,食物短缺,印度谷斑螟幼虫进入休眠状态,各龄幼虫均可发生休眠现象。印度谷斑螟不危害蜜蜂,在蜜蜂巢房中不能存活。     

Effect of different narcosis procedures on initiating oviposition of prediapausingBombus terrestris queens

Four experiments aimed at the stimulation of starting oviposition were carried out with bumblebee queens (Bombus terrestris L.) from colonies belonging to the ecotype of Central Western France and reared in a glasshouse. After mating, queens were narcotized with carbon dioxide, confined singly in small boxes (11×5×4.5 cm) and kept in a dark room at 28–29 °C and 60%–65% r.h. They were fed on a sugar solution and a pollen-syrup mixture. No effects were discernible if the narcosis was applied 20 to 30 days after mating instead of 5 days, nor if the queens were submitted to a 4 to 5 day period at 34°C following narcosis. Survival rates ranged from 65% to 68 %. If the queens were reared under fluorescent tubes (L8∶D16) after narcosis the mean delays to egg-laying were significantly reduced compared to a dark treatment (21 days instead of 39), as was their variability (s.e.=1.6 day instead of 3.1 days). The survival rates were respectively 73% and 67%. Under the same photoperiod (L8∶D16) the CO₂ narcosis repeated at a 24h interval had the same efficacy whether its duration was 10 min or 5 min. The delays to egg-laying were respectively 20 days (s.e=1.5) and 25 days (s.e.=4.8) with survival rates close to 73%. Egg-laying could also be induced in non-narcotized queens with a survival rate of 54% and delays to oviposition close to those of queens narcotized 2×10 min.     

Male fitness of honeybee colonies (Apis mellifera L.)

Honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) have an extreme polyandrous mating system. Worker offspring of 19 naturally mated queens was genotyped with DNA microsatellites, to estimate male reproductive success of 16 drone producing colonies. This allowed for estimating the male mating success on both the colony level and the level of individual drones. The experiment was conducted in a closed population on an isolated island to exclude interferences of drones from unknown colonies. Although all colonies had produced similar numbers of drones, differences among the colonies in male mating success exceeded one order of magnitude. These differences were enhanced by the siring success of individual drones within the offspring of mated queens. The siring success of individual drones was correlated with the mating frequency at the colony level. Thus more successful colonies not only produced drones with a higher chance of mating, but also with a significantly higher proportion of offspring sired than drones from less successful colonies. Although the life cycle of honeybee colonies is very female centred, the male reproductive success appears to be a major driver of natural selection in honeybees.     

Correlates of reproductive success among field colonies of Bombus lucorum: the importance of growth and parasites

Abstract.

• 1 In natural populations, colonies of bumble bees vary in many important life history traits, such as colony size and age at maturity, or the number and sex of reproductives produced. We investigated how the presence of parasites in field populations of the bumble bee Bombus lucorum L. relates to variation in life history traits and reproductive performance. A total of thirty-six colonies was placed in accessible nest sites in the field and monitored at regular intervals throughout a season.
• 2 Among the life history correlates, early nest foundation was strongly associated with large maximum colony size, old age and large size at maturity, and this in turn with successful production of males and queens, as well as with the number of sexuals produced. Overall, reproductive success was highly skewed with only five colonies producing all the queens. Sixteen colonies failed to reproduce altogether.
• 3 The social parasite Psithyrus was abundant early in the Bombus colony cycle and preferentially invaded host nests with many first brood workers and thus disproportionately large size, i.e. those colonies that would otherwise be more likely to reproduce or produce (daughter) queens rather than males. To prevent nest loss, Psithyrus had to be removed soon after invasion. Therefore, the effects reported here can only be crude estimates.
• 4 Parasitoid conopid flies are likely to cause heavy worker mortality when sexuals are reared by the colonies. Their inferred effect was a reduction in biomass that could be invested in sexuals as well as a shift in the sex ratio at the population level resulting from failure to produce queens. We suggest to group the inferred correlates into ‘early events’ surrounding colony initiation and social parasitism, and ‘late events’ surrounding attained colony size in summer and parasitism by conopid flies. Our evidence thus provides a heuristic approach to understand the factors that affect reproductive success of Bombus colonies.

     

Copulation duration of bumblebee Bombus terrestris (Hymenoptera: Apidae): Impacts on polyandry and colony parameters

The influence of copulation duration on mating frequency and colony development were studied in Bombus terrestris (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Copulation time was recorded in transparent plastic boxes and was manipulated by separating mating pairs. Mean copulation duration was found to be 30.0 ± 8.0 (mean ± se) minutes and most matings lasted 20 to 40 min. When queens were only allowed to mate for 2 to 5 min, the chance that they would accept a second mating was 7.2 ± 5.0 % (mean ± se). Incompletely mated queens delayed to initiate colonies but they did not show significant difference from fully mated queens in production of new queens and males. This study shows that colony development was not affected by short copulation duration.