Characteristics of honey bee and non-Apis bee (Hymenoptera) farms in Canada

Here, we present a farm-level, Canada-wide analysis of Canadian bee farms in 2006; this article is the first report to distinguish between honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) farms and non-Apis bee (Hymenoptera) farms. Farms are characterized according to bee species, bee stocks, and whether the farm makes 50% or more of gross sales from bee-related activities. Farm characteristics, including bee stocks, gross sales, capital investments, land base, specialization, location, and operator demographics, are reported for the different farm types and sizes. Non-Apis bee farms are revealed to be a nontrivial part of the Canadian bee industry: 21.2% of Canadian bee farms have non-Apis bees and 16.6% have exclusively non-Apis bees. Important differences between honey bee farms and non-Apis bee farms also are found. These differences include the more land-intensive nature of non-Apis bee farms and the finding that non-Apis bee farms have greater diversity in terms of their primary commodity, even at higher bee stock levels.     

中华蜜蜂雄蜂脑部组织结构观察

通过组织化学方法,对中华蜜蜂Apis cerana cerana Fabricius雄蜂的脑部的形态结构进行观察。结果表明,雄蜂的脑由前脑、中脑和后脑三部分构成,前脑视叶两侧具有大而显著的复眼,而其他结构相对较小。蕈形体在脑中所占的比例小于工蜂和蜂王;中心体的比例小于工蜂,与蜂王接近;中脑的嗅叶相对较为发达,这使它们在同蜂王的交配过程中,能够更灵敏地接收来自于蜂王性外激素的刺激。中华蜜蜂雄蜂的嗅叶具有性二态现象,但是与意大利蜜蜂Apis mellifera L.雄蜂发达的巨大纤维球复合体相比,中华蜜蜂并不明显;除此之外,它们在脑部结构上没有显著差异。     

感染囊幼病的工蜂咽下腺细胞的超微结构的变化

前言 中华蜜蜂囊幼病是我国养蜂业的一种重要病毒病,发病率很高,有的地区造成大量的幼虫死亡,给我国养蜂生产带来一定的危害,为了对防治病害提供科学的依据,我们首先对该病病原进行了分离、提纯及电子显微镜的研究等工作。发现该病毒对幼虫和成蜂,尤其对工蜂体内各个器官都有程度不同的影响。在幼虫发病期症状特别明显,病幼虫身体松软多水,其表皮容易破裂,当悬挂幼虫时其幼虫末端积聚有透明的液滴,在巢房内幼虫头部尖并变成黑色,头部稍微向上抬起呈船形。死后的幼虫干涸变为褐色的外壳留于巢房内,当感染的幼虫全部封盖后,巢房盖的中央有一小孔,这些异常的变化都是囊幼病的典型症状。幼虫症状虽很明显,但工蜂感染病毒后在外部形态上却没有明显     

Quality Assessment of Bee Pollen-Honey Mixtures Using Thin-Layer Chromatography in Combination with Chemometrics

The aim of this study is to develop a rapid, effect-directed screening method for quality assessment of bee pollen-honey mixtures. The comparative antioxidant potential and phenolic content of honey, bee pollen, and the bee pollen-honey mixtures, was performed using spectrophotometry. The total phenolic content and antioxidative activity of bee pollen-honey mixtures with 20 % bee pollen share were in the range 3.03–3.11 mg GAE/g, and 6.02–6.96 mmol TE/kg, respectively, while mixtures with 30 % bee pollen share contained 3.92–4.18 mg GAE/g, and 9.69–10.11 mmol TE/kg. Chromatographic fingerprint of bee pollen-honey mixtures was performed by high-performance thin-layer chromatography with conditions developed by authors and reported for the first time. Fingerprint analysis hyphenated with chemometrics enabled authenticity assessments of honey in mixtures. Results indicate that bee pollen-honey mixtures represent a food with highly, both, nutritious characteristics and health-promoting effect.     

Detection of deformed wing virus in the greenhouse for possible horizontal transmission of virus in honey bee colony

The honey bee Apis mellifera L. is a crucial insect in the agricultural industry and natural ecosystem by being a major pollinator. Nevertheless, honey bee population has been recently facing a decline. Among the several factors responsible for this decline, deformed wing virus (DWV) is considered a primary cause that negatively affects honey bee health. DWV is a cosmopolitan honey bee pathogen and causes morphological disadvantages in individual honey bees and colony collapse. Regarding the horizontal transmission of DWV, in addition to Varroa destructor, a well-known major vector of DWV, flowers have recently been implied as a transmission route. Therefore, in this study, we detected DWV from various substances, including flowers, honey bee feces, pupa, larva, nurse bee, surface of nurse bee, pollen collected by forager bee, and forager bee samples in four strawberry greenhouses, which could suggest the potential for the horizontal transmission of DWV in the semi-field condition. We also detected DWV in pollen collected by DWV-negative forager bees, implying that flowers can serve as a potential source of virus infection. These findings suggest that the surrounding environment such as shared floral sources affects the spread of DWV.     

Do competing honey bees matter? Dynamics and abundance of native bees before and after honey bee invasion

To provide replicate samples of local bee populations in a nature preserve, light traps operated continuously on Barro Colorado Island (BCI), Panama, collected bees for 17 years, including 10 years following invasion by African Apis mellifera. Honey bees appeared in light traps as the first swarms colonized the Panama Canal area. Their numbers followed seasonal trends shown in inde-pendent studies, thus indicating bee abundance and activity in a large area. No measurable population-level impact of competition between this invading honey bee and native bees, despite many demonstrations of resource competition at flower patch and colony levels, changed annual abundances of all 15 native bee species. Native bee abundance did not decrease, nor did native bees show substantial reciprocal yearly change with honey bee abundance. One strong negative correlation of bee catches with an extremely rainy year was found. However, multiple regression using rainfall and honey bee abundance as the independent variables showed that neither was responsible for bee population change over 17 years. Nearly half the native species declined during a year that displayed peak honey bee number. That competition from honey bees on an island the size of BCI was necessarily reduced below impact levels expected on the mainland is discussed using a model of resource and consumer density, foraging range, and island size.     

Pollination of strawberry by the stingless bee,Trigona minangkabau,and the honey bee,Apis mellifera: An experimental study of fertilization efficiency

To know basic information about the stingless bee, Trigona minangkabau, and the European honey bee, Apis mellifera, as pollinator of strawberry, we set three greenhouse areas: the honey bee introduced area, the stingless bee introduced area and the control area. Foraging and pollination efficiencies of the two bee species were studied comparatively. During the experimental period (10 days), the stingless bee foraged well and the nest weight did not change, though the honey bee often foraged inefficiently and the nest weight decreased by 2 kg. The average nectar volume of a flower was lower in the honey bee area (0.02 μl) and nearly the same in the other two areas (0.1 μl). We make a numerical model to describe pollination and fertilization process. This model shows that one visit of the honey bee pollinated 11% of achenes and one visit of the stingless bee did 4.7% on average and that 11 visits of the honey bee or 30 visits of the stingless bee are required per flower to attain normal berry (fertilization rate, 87%). In this study, the rate of deformed berries in the stingless bee area (73%) was lower than that of the control area (90%), but higher than that of the honey bee area (51%). From our numerical model, we conclude the stingless bee could pollinate strawberry as well as the honey bee if we introduced 1.8 times of bees used in this experiment.     

Temporal changes of nutrient composition from pollen patty to bee bread with special emphasis on amino and fatty acids composition

Bee bread is prepared from pollen sources and salivary secretions by honey bee workers to serves the nutritional purpose of colony members. However, changes in nutrient composition occurring in bee bread from the pollen sources including pollen patty are poorly understood. We, therefore, examined the nutrient contents of pollen patty, used as source pollen feed of honey bee colony, and bee bread prepared by honey bee from this source at different time interval. Results revealed that amino acid content was increased from pollen patty to bee bread but fatty acid content was decreased. Essential amino acids like valine, lysine, and nonessential amino acids such as proline and alanine increased significantly over time. Among fatty acids, oleic acid, linoleic acid and linolenic acid decreased significantly from pollen patty to bee bread. Minerals contents in bee bread did not show any significant change during the study period. These changes could be presumably justified due to addition of nectar, honey, gland secretions and also microbial symbionts which remains as a task of further study.     

Guidelines on sampling intensity of bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Apiformes)

Changes in bee fauna, such as the disappearance of certain species or increasing abundance of others, are very important. The common belief that pollinating insects are facing problems also prompts detailed studies of the bee fauna in order to track on-going changes. Assessment of the state of bee communities in particular ecosystems or ecosystem complexes within a landscape, tracing the course of trends in fauna and also predicting their future structures resulting from current changes, are only possible if sampling is carried out at an appropriate frequency, so that representative materials are obtained. The aim of the present study was to determine what sampling intensity during the growing season would enable the collection of representative materials to evaluate species diversity of bees in a study area. Repeated bee sampling at monthly intervals throughout the period of activity of bees resulted in the identification of 73 bee species, corresponding to 51.4 % of the estimated number of bee species in the study area. When samples were obtained twice a month, 93 bee species were captured, accounting for 65.5 % of the estimated number of bee species. When sampling took place nearly four times a month, 108 bee species were captured, making up 76 % of the estimated number of bee species; the materials obtained at this sampling rate may be regarded as representative. The importance of accounting for the phenology of a given animal group during a sampling effort is also emphasised.     

Redundancy in wildflower strip species helps support spatiotemporal variation in wild bee communities on diversified farms

Wildflower strips are a management practice increasingly used to provide floral resources to wild bees in agroecosystems. Yet, despite known spatiotemporal variation in wild bee communities, the degree to which different wildflower strip species consistently support wild bee communities is poorly understood. Additionally, whether such consistency is related to the functional roles wildflower species play (e.g., in supporting diverse, rare, or unique suites of bee species) has not been considered. Over three years and on four diversified farms, we evaluated spatiotemporal variation in wild bee communities and bee-flower interactions in wildflower strips to better understand the roles of flower strip species in supporting bees. We documented spatiotemporal variation in the abundance, richness, and composition of local wild bee communities. Certain wildflower species consistently supported the highest richness of wild bees across years. These wildflower species were regularly core members of the bee-flower interaction network, visited by both generalist and specialist bees. By contrast, wildflower species supporting the most unique suites of bees were variable in this role among farms. In order to select plant species for wildflower strips that consistently support a high diversity of wild bee communities within farm landscapes, it is useful to consider several different functional roles that plants may play. Whereas a handful of wildflower species may be visited by the majority of local wild bee species, achieving support for the remaining, and perhaps rarer, bee species will require planting additional flower species, which may appear redundant until the spatiotemporal variation in wild bee communities is more thoroughly considered. This functional approach to selecting wildflower species for bee conservation efforts is important for making practical recommendations to land managers and for guiding best management practices in different regions and with diverse management goals.     

Resource Partitioning between Highly Eusocial Bees and Possible Impact of the Introduced Africanized Honey Bee on Native Stingless Bees in the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest

The highly eusocial bee community of the neotropical Atlantic Rainforest was studied at Boracéia Biological Station in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. In this reserve, 17 species of stingless bees and the introduced Africanized honey bee were found, the latter being the most abundant flower visitor. Of all flowering plants, Asteraceae and Myrtaceae were particularly important as resources for bees. Trophic niche overlap between the various species of stingless bees is evident, and it was generally larger within the tribes Meliponini and Trigonini than between members of different tribes. Nevertheless, in the stingless bee community the competitive pressure is rather uniformly spread. The trophic niche of the Africanized honey bee can be positioned between those of Meliponini and Trigonini. Today this introduced species represents the main competitor in this bee community. However, its impact on native stingless bee populations is apparently buffered by mass-flowering trees which are the most important food plants of the indigenous highly eusocial bees.     

基于微卫星标记的饶河黑蜂亲缘关系分析

为了摸清我国饶河黑蜂(亦称东北黑蜂)群体与俄罗斯蜜蜂(亦称USDA-ARS俄罗斯蜜蜂)、C形态学分支的卡尼鄂拉蜂Apis mellifera carnica、O形态学分支的高加索蜂Apis mellifera caucasica和安拉托尼亚蜂Apis mellifera anatoliaca之间的亲缘关系,本试验运用16个微卫星DNA标记,以来自饶河县7个区域(东北黑蜂国家级自然保护区所在地)的东北黑蜂为研究对象,其它5个蜜蜂群体为对照,分析了东北黑蜂与其他西方蜜蜂的亲缘关系、群体遗传结构和种质特性。结果表明东北黑蜂群体与俄罗斯蜜蜂亲缘关系最近(遗传距离(dμ)2=0.31～0.55),在遗传进化关系上处于同一进化分支,而与高加索蜂、安拉托尼亚蜂和卡尼鄂拉蜂的亲缘关系相对较远(遗传距离(dμ)2=0.52～0.86)。该实验结果进一步证明东北黑蜂起源于俄罗斯蜜蜂,其对东北黑蜂的选育、推广和保护具有重要的现实意义。     

Flowers morphology and nectar concentration determine the preferred food source of stingless bee,Heterotrigona itama

Heterotrigona itama is a stingless bee species from Meliponini tribe. The bee collects nectar, pollen and resin to produce honey, bee bread, and propolis. The bee is also known to visit and collect nectar from various types of flowers but there are limited studies on why this species of bee prefers to visit certain types of flowers. This study was conducted to identify the nectar concentration in selected flowers favoured by H. itama and the relationship between the bee and the morphology of the flowers. Nectar was obtained from different species of flowers and the concentrations were measured using a digital refractometer. The tube length of each flower species and the tongue length of the bees were also measured. The results revealed that flowers preferred by H. itama have high nectar concentrations. The tube lengths of the preferred flowers were between 2.0 and 4.0 mm, which is compatible with the tongue length of the bee. This study revealed that both nectar concentration and flower morphology are important factors for the bees in choosing their food sources. The results from this study will benefit the beekeepers in the identification of flowers that should be planted in their farms to improve stingless bee beekeeping activities. Understanding the relationship between the bees and their flower preferences could also help us to understand the importance of conserving both the bee colonies and the various species of flowering plants to ensure the sustainability of flora and fauna in the ecosystem.     

Laboratory investigations of the electrical characteristics of honey bees and their exposure to intense electric fields

Bees exposed to 60-Hz electric (E) fields greater than 150 kV/m show field-induced vibrations of wings, antennae, and body hairs. They also show altered behavior if exposed while in contact with a conductive substrate. Measurements indicate that approximately 240 nA is coupled to a bee standing on a conductive substrate in a 100-kV/m E field. In lab experiments, bee disturbance and sting result from exposure to E field greater than 200 kV/m (bee current greater than 480 nA) and reduced voluntary movements at greater than 300 kV/m (greater than 720 nA bee current) only if the bee is on a conductive substrate. It is hypothesized that in the latter situation coupled bee current drains through the lower thorax and legs to the conductive substrate, and that the resulting enhanced current density in these regions is the cause of observed responses. The observation that bees exposed to intense E fields on an insulator show vibration of body parts but no behavioral response suggests that vibration contributes little to the disturbance of bees in intense E fields. Lab measurements of bee impedance from front-to-rear leg pairs were made on wet and dry conductors. Measurements validate the selection of 1 M omega as a middle value for bee impedance used in the design of devices used to generate step-potential-induced currents in bees.     

Native bees provide insurance against ongoing honey bee losses

One of the values of biodiversity is that it may provide 'biological insurance' for services currently rendered by domesticated species or technology. We used crop pollination as a model system, and investigated whether the loss of a domesticated pollinator (the honey bee) could be compensated for by native, wild bee species. We measured pollination provided to watermelon crops at 23 farms in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, USA, and used a simulation model to separate the pollen provided by honey bees and native bees. Simulation results predict that native bees alone provide sufficient pollination at > 90% of the farms studied. Furthermore, empirical total pollen deposition at flowers was strongly, significantly correlated with native bee visitation but not with honey bee visitation. The honey bee is currently undergoing extensive die-offs because of Colony Collapse Disorder. We predict that in our region native bees will buffer potential declines in agricultural production because of honey bee losses.     

Competition between honey bees and wild bees and the role of nesting resources in a nature reserve

The European honey bee exploits floral resources efficiently and may therefore compete with solitary wild bees. Hence, conservationists and bee keepers are debating about the consequences of beekeeping for the conservation of wild bees in nature reserves. We observed flower-visiting bees on flowers of Calluna vulgaris in sites differing in the distance to the next honey-bee hive and in sites with hives present and absent in the Lüneburger Heath, Germany. Additionally, we counted wild bee ground nests in sites that differ in their distance to the next hive and wild bee stem nests and stem-nesting bee species in sites with hives present and absent. We did not observe fewer honey bees or higher wild bee flower visits in sites with different distances to the next hive (up to 1,229 m). However, wild bees visited fewer flowers and honey bee visits increased in sites containing honey-bee hives and in sites containing honey-bee hives we found fewer stem-nesting bee species. The reproductive success, measured as number of nests, was not affected by distance to honey-bee hives or their presence but by availability and characteristics of nesting resources. Our results suggest that beekeeping in the Lüneburg Heath can affect the conservation of stem-nesting bee species richness but not the overall reproduction either of stem-nesting or of ground-nesting bees. Future experiments need control sites with larger distances than 500 m to hives. Until more information is available, conservation efforts should forgo to enhance honey bee stocking rates but enhance the availability of nesting resources.     

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

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.     

Diverse Microbiota Identified in Whole Intact Nest Chambers of the Red Mason Bee Osmia bicornis (Linnaeus 1758)

Microbial activity is known to have profound impact on bee ecology and physiology, both by beneficial and pathogenic effects. Most information about such associations is available for colony-building organisms, and especially the honey bee. There, active manipulations through worker bees result in a restricted diversity of microbes present within the colony environment. Microbial diversity in solitary bee nests remains unstudied, although their larvae face a very different situation compared with social bees by growing up in isolated compartments. Here, we assessed the microbiota present in nests and pre-adults of Osmia bicornis, the red mason bee, by culture-independent pyrosequencing. We found high bacterial diversity not comparable with honey bee colonies. We identified a variety of bacteria potentially with positive or negative interactions for bee larvae. However, most of the other diverse bacteria present in the nests seem to originate from environmental sources through incorporated nest building material and stored pollen. This diversity of microorganisms may cause severe larval mortality and require specific physiological or symbiotic adaptations against microbial threats. They may however also profit from such a diverse environment through gain of mutualistic partners. We conclude that further studies of microbiota interaction in solitary bees will improve the understanding of fitness components and populations dynamics.     

Both population size and patch quality affect local extinctions and colonizations

Currently, the habitat of many species is fragmented, resulting in small local populations with individuals occasionally dispersing between the remaining habitat patches. In a solitary bee metapopulation, extinction probability was related to both local bee population sizes and pollen resources measured as host plant population size. Patch size, on the other hand, had no additional predictive power. The turnover rate of local bee populations in 63 habitat patches over 4 years was high, with 72 extinction events and 31 colonization events, but the pollen plant population was stable with no extinctions or colonizations. Both pollen resources and bee populations had strong and independent effects on extinction probability, but connectivity was not of importance. Colonizations occurred more frequently within larger host plant populations. For metapopulation survival of the bee, large pollen plant populations are essential, independent of current bee population size.     

Changes in nutritional composition from bee pollen to pollen patty used in bumblebee rearing

Pollen patties are generally supplied to augment the nourishment of honey bee or bumblebee colonies during late winter or early spring. In the present study, we examined nutrient content of bee collected pollen (BP) and pollen patties (PT) prepared from those bee collected pollens in order to understand the chemical compositional change of pollen to pollen patty and figure out the possible benefits for bee’s health. Protein and fat contents of pollen patties were found lower than that reported for the respective bee pollens. Amino and fatty acids followed the same trend for the simple logical reason. In contrast, carbohydrate contents of pollen patties were found much higher than the bee pollen. The addition of sugar solution in the process of pollen patty preparation could presumably explain the change. Another possible determinant factor of bee’s preference of feed protein to fat ratio was found the highest for PT 2 (5.5) followed by PT 1 and BP 2 (4.1), BP Ref. (2.9) and the least value obtained for BP 1 (2.2). Additionally, we discuss the possible health benefits if the bee collected pollen is used as a human food supplement.