A melissopalynological study of artisanal honey produced in Catamarca (Argentina)

Spores belonging to 43 taxa of pteridophytes were observed from the ambient air of 11 localities in India. It is suggested that pteridophyte spores could be listed among viable particulate air pollutants, especially in the light of the earlier reports regarding their allergenicity.     

蜜蜂食物矿物质成分分析

分别应用电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱法（ICP－AES）和重量法测定意大利蜜蜂ApismelliferaL．食物（蜂蜜和花粉）矿物质成分和灰分含量。小叶桉EucalyptustereticornisSmith蜂蜜和花粉分别含有16种和23种矿质元素,矿物质含量分别为0．122％和1．651％,灰分含量分别为0．22％和1．33％。野坝子ElsholtziarugulosaHemslL．蜂蜜含9种元素,矿物质和灰分含量分别为0．057％和0．06％。蜜蜂食物中含量过高的矿物质和多种有害元素的存在,可能是工矿区蜜蜂的致死因素。     

1. Fláje–Kiefern (Krušné Hory Mountains): Late Glacial and Holocene vegetation development

This work characterises monofloral honeys of the Yucatán Peninsula based on their pollen content. The sampling was carried out from January to July 2000. We examined 78 different honey samples from various parts of the Yucatán Peninsula including the states of Yucatán, Campeche and Quintana Roo. Pollen separated from honey was acetolysed, identified and counted. Through pollen analysis, 250 pollen taxa were identified, 180 of which had not been reported previously in Mexican honeys. Thirteen different types of monofloral honeys were found (with a percentage of ≥ 45%) within the honey produced in the Yucatán, Peninsula. These were: Viguiera dentata, Bursera simaruba, Piscidia piscipula, Eugenia sp. 2, Pimenta dioica, Melothria pendula, Gymnanthes lucida, Phoradendron quadrangulare, Gymnopodium floribundum, Rubiaceae 1, Thouinia paucidentata, Thouinia sp. 1, and Pouteria mammosa. This is the first study of monofloral honeys in Mexico and Central America. The characterisation of the honey may give an added market value as it permits us to separate the honeys of monofloral or multifloral origin. The results of this study indicate that it is possible to produce several monofloral honeys in a region with great plant diversity as the Yucatán Peninsula. We recommend installing apiaries in disturbed vegetation zones of the Yucatán Peninsula where an advanced succession of a tree layer exists. This supplies the nectar and pollen during the critical period in March and April which is the driest season.     

Pollen analysis of Atlantic forest honey from the Vale do Ribeira Region,state of São Paulo,Brazil

The pollen contents of 34 Apis mellifera honey samples from the Quilombola Community of Porto Velho (Vale do Ribeira, state of São Paulo, Brazil) were studied in order to identify their botanical and geographical origin. A total number of 114 pollen types distributed in 43 families were identified. Fabaceae pollen types were the most diverse (20). Dominant pollen was observed in 27 samples. The dominant type Piper was found in 21 samples and Zanthoxylum, Mikania cordifolia, Cupania oblongifolia, Cecropia, Attalea and Poaceae only in one sample. The quantitative analysis revealed a predominance of very-high pollen concentrations in the samples (Category IV, 35.3%). A second frequency of occurrence analysis revealed 67 pollen types from 26 botanical families from nectariferous species. Fabaceae was also the family with the largest number of nectariferous pollen types (15), followed by Sapindaceae, Asteraceae (six pollen types each), and Euphorbiaceae (five types). Dominant pollen occurred in 19 samples. The main nectariferous sources of pollen in the present study were: Arecaceae (Attalea and Euterpe/Syagrus), Asteraceae (Mikania cordifolia), Fabaceae (Machaerium), Rutaceae (Zanthoxylum), and Sapindaceae (Cupania oblongifolia). The honey was classified as predominantly heterofloral (67.6%). Monofloral honey from Mikania cordifolia, Machaerium, Zanthoxylum, Cupania oblongifolia, Euterpe/Syagrus and Attalea were also identified. The geographical origin demonstrates Apis mellifera using nectariferous sources available from the Atlantic Rainforest in the south and southeast of Brazil, as well as in the brushwood, secondary forest and field plants. This is one of the first works about melissopalynology in the Vale do Ribeira Region.     

Pollen analysis of honeys from Caatinga vegetation of the state of Bahia,Brazil

Based on pollen analysis, 17 honey samples collected in the Caatinga area from Nova Soure city were classified by botanical origin to identify the most important floral sources. Most of the honey samples were obtained in August and September. A total of 73 pollen types were identified belonging to 30 families, 64 genera and 30 species. The families best represented by their number of pollen types were Mimosaceae (11), Caesalpiniaceae (9), Rubiaceae and Fabaceae (5 each). Predominant pollen types were: Mimosa arenosa in four samples, M. sensitiva and M. tenuiflora in one sample. Pollen from Mimosa ursina was registered for the first time in the pollen spectrum of the Caatinga vegetation. The correspondence analysis showed a similarity among the honey samples based on pollen composition. The high representation of pollen from native species such as Chamaecrista nictitans, C. ramosa, C. swainsonii and Copaifera martii (Caesalpiniaceae); Aeschynomene martii and Zornia sericea (Fabaceae); Herissantia tiubae (Malvaceae); Mimosa arenosa, M. quadrivalvis, M. sensitiva, M. tenuiflora, M. ursina, Piptadenia moniliformis and Plathymenia reticulata (Mimosaceae), and Ziziphus joazeiro (Rhamnaceae) supports the origin of these honeys from Caatinga vegetation.     

安徽省七种蜜蜂病毒的发生与流行研究

【目的】调查安徽省内7种常见蜜蜂病毒:蜜蜂畸翅病毒(Deformed wing virus,DWV)、以色列急性麻痹病毒(Israeli acute paralysis virus,IAPV)、急性蜜蜂麻痹病毒(Acute bee paralysis virus,ABPV)、慢性麻痹病毒(Chronic bee paralysis virus,CBPV)、黑蜂王台病毒(Black queen cell virus,BQCV)、囊状幼虫病病毒(Sacbrood virus,SBV)、克什米尔病毒(Kashmir bee virus,KBV)的感染发生情况,为安徽养蜂业可持续健康发展提供理论依据。【方法】运用反转录RT-PCR和序列分析比对的方法对安徽省内21个乡镇中的38个蜂场蜜蜂样品进行研究分析,以获得以上7种蜜蜂病毒的特异性发生情况。【结果】意大利蜜蜂Apis mellifera蜂场感染率:DWV(64%),IAPV(43%),CBPV(32%),ABPV(14%),BQCV(11%);中华蜜蜂Apis cerana蜂场感染率:DWV(80%),IAPV(40%),CBPV(30%),ABPV(10%),BQCV(0)。SBV和KBV在所有的蜜蜂样品中均未检测到。【结论】DWV,IAPV,CBPV,ABPV,BQCV在安徽省内大范围都存在发生流行现象,SBV和KBV对安徽蜜蜂的潜在危害可能性小。     

Botanical characterisation of Mexican honeys from a subtropical region (Oaxaca) based on pollen analysis

Melissopalynological analysis of 39 honey samples from Oaxaca, Mexico, enabled us to establish the important plant sources exploited by bees during the principal harvest in four districts of the State of Oaxaca, Mexico. A total of 64 taxa belonging to 29 families were recorded. These subtropical honeys were characterised by their botanical origin as follows: (a) monofloral honeys of Bursera simaruba, Clethra mexicana, Cordia alliodora, Lonchocarpus sp., Mangifera indica, Miconia argentea, Orbignya cohune and Quercus sp.; (b) bifloral honeys with an association of Heliocarpus donnell-smithii and Ceiba sp., Lonchocarpus sp. and Mimosa pudica, H. donnell-smithii and Mangifera indica, Miconia argentea and Miconia tenuiflora; (c) oligofloral honeys of Asteraceae; and (d) multifloral honeys with three or four species ≥10%. Monofloral honeys were placed in classes I, II, III, IV and V. Oligofloral were class II, bifloral were classes I and II, and polyfloral honeys were assigned to classes I, II and III. Honey samples of Apis mellifera had a diversity index range of 0.3 to 2.7. It is well known that this bee is polylectic and has a heterogeneous foraging behaviour. In the State of Oaxaca, it prefers resources of secondary vegetation from low deciduous forest, although taxa of economic importance were also utilised, for instance, Mangifera indica and Citrus sinensis. Oaxaca has important and diverse native resources, and beekeeping activity needs to be promoted because of its potential to develop new types of honey.     

Microsatellite loci for the fungus Ascosphaera apis: cause of honey bee chalkbrood disease

The fungus Ascosphaera apis is a worldwide fungal pathogen of honey bees. To provide tools for understanding the dispersal history of this pathogen, strain differences in virulence, and host-pathogen interactions, we used the draft genome assembly of A. apis to develop microsatellite loci for this species. We present testing results for 25 scorable loci revealing two to eight alleles per locus in a survey of Maryland isolates of this fungus.     

Laboratory testing of a mycopesticide on non‐target organisms: The effects of an oil formulation of Metarhizium flavoviride applied to Apis mellifera

A technique was developed to allow ultra‐low volume (ULV) application of an oil formulation of the deuteromycete, Metarhizium flavoviride Gams & Rozsypal, to Apis mellifera (Linnaeus). In the first experiment, application of a dose equivalent to twice the expected field application rate killed 30% of the bees and a twenty‐fold dose killed 87%. In a second experiment, a realistic field dose formulated in oil killed 11% of the bees and a similar dose formulated in water killed 8%. The dose applied effectively killed the target host, the desert locust Schistocerca gregaria (Forskål). Application of a chemical pesticide comprising an organophosphate and two pyrethroids at a dose that was just sub‐lethal to locusts, killed all treated bees. Very few untreated bees died. The results demonstrated the feasibility of safety testing a mycopesticide with bees as a non‐target organism. In addition, it was demonstrated that the mycopesticide currently under development for the control of locusts and grasshoppers was quantifiably less hazardous to bees than the chemical pesticide.     

不同组配的蜜蜂信息素对西方蜜蜂的蜂蜜生产及繁殖性能影响

为了探究不同组配的蜜蜂信息素对西方蜜蜂Apis mellifera蜂蜜生产及繁殖性能的影响。本研究在不同浓度（0.05 μg/μL、0.10 μg/μL和0.15 μg/μL）反式-9-氧代-2-癸烯酸[(E)-9-oxodec-2-enoicacid,9-ODA]对工蜂卵黄原蛋白基因（Vg）表达影响基础上,以蜂蜡为载体,用4种蜂王上颚腺信息素（9-ODA,9-HDA,HOB,HVA）与蜜蜂幼虫饥饿信息素（β-罗勒烯）按照一定比例组配了4种蜜蜂信息素挂片（T1-1、T1-2、T2-1、T2-2）,同时以纯蜂蜡挂片作为空白对照组（CK）。系统研究了4种蜜蜂信息素挂片对西方蜜蜂无王群急造王台以及有王群的蜂蜜产量、封盖子数和群势影响。结果表明：人工饲喂0.05 μg/μL、0.10 μg/μL和0.15 μg/μL的9-ODA,对工蜂Vg表达水平具有显著抑制作用（P<0.05）;与对照组相比,4个实验组（T1-1、T1-2、T2-1和T2-2组）出现封盖王台的时间均有显著延迟（P<0.05）,推迟时间2~3 d;T2-1组蜂蜜产量显著高于对照组（P<0.05）,蜂蜜产量提高24.00%;T1-2组、T2-1组和T2-2组封盖子数量都显著高于对照组（P<0.05）,分别提高84.52%、64.50%和80.09%;T1-2组和T2-1组蜂群群势显著高于对照组（P<0.05）,分别提高了53.37%和50.85%。因此不同组配的蜜蜂信息素对西方蜜蜂蜂蜜生产及繁殖性能都起到了积极作用,相关研究结果对养蜂生产中合理利用蜜蜂信息素有指导意义。     

Comparison of two juvenile hormone radioimmunoassays

Juvenile hormone from the hemolymph of adult worker honey bees of known age and behavioral status was extracted and analyzed by two different radioimmunoassays in two independent laboratoies. The assays are different in hapten attachment, radiolabeled tracer, and the method by which bound and unbound hormone are separated. Despite these differences in the methods, hormone determinations were in excellent agreement at lower levels (0–50 ng/ml) but diverged as the hormone concentrations increased (> 50 ng/ml). The relative changes are in good agreement, with a correlation coefficient of 0.97. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.