scholarly journals Nutritional benefit of fungal spores for honey bee workers

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorgiane B. Parish ◽  
Eileen S. Scott ◽  
Katja Hogendoorn
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Nutritional Value ◽  
Fungal Spores ◽  
Fungal Spore ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Colletotrichum Acutatum ◽  
Hypopharyngeal Glands ◽  
Ovarian Activation ◽  
Honey Bee Workers

Abstract The collection of fungal spores by honey bees, Apis mellifera, can be classified as active or passive, the latter when spores are associated with pollen, nectar or honey dew. While low quality and shortage of pollen have been raised as hypotheses for fungal spore collection, the nutritional value of fungal spores for honey bees is poorly understood. Here we investigated the effect of consumption of fungal spores on survival, ovarian activation and the development of the hypopharyngeal glands (HPGs) in honey bee workers. Two pollen diets (Eucalyptus sp. pollen and a multifloral pollen) supplemented or not with spores of Botrytis cinerea, Cladosporium sp. or Colletotrichum acutatum were used. Consumption of diets that contained fungal spores increased the longevity of honey bee workers but had no significant effect on the development of their HPGs and ovaries. This demonstrates that fungal spores may have nutritional value for honey bees and that the consumption of fungal spores may compensate for nutritional imbalances of poor-quality pollen diets.

scholarly journals Survival and probability of transmission of plant pathogenic fungi through the digestive tract of honey bee workers

Apidologie ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (6) ◽  
pp. 871-880 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorgiane B. Parish ◽  
Eileen S. Scott ◽  
Raymond Correll ◽  
Katja Hogendoorn
Keyword(s):  
Digestive Tract ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Plant Pathogens ◽  
Fungal Spores ◽  
Pathogenic Fungi ◽  
Colletotrichum Acutatum ◽  
Plant Pathogenic Fungi ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Honey Bee Workers

AbstractHoney bees, Apis mellifera, have been implicated as vectors of plant pathogens. However, the survival of spores of plant pathogenic fungi through the digestive tract of workers has not been investigated. As workers defecate outside the hive, transport of hives could give rise to biosecurity concerns if fungal spores remain viable following passage through the digestive tract. To determine the likelihood that honey bees serve as vectors, this study investigated the viability of spores of Botrytis cinerea and Colletotrichum acutatum after passing through the digestive tract of summer and autumn worker bees. For both fungi, the mean viability of spores in faeces suspensions was less than one percent of the initial dose fed to the bees. Although survival was low, the large number of workers per hive implies a high probability of transmission of viable spores through honey bee faeces. Hence, in the case of economically important fungal diseases, transported hives could be a source of inoculum and quarantine restrictions should be considered.

scholarly journals Pollen Source Affects Development and Behavioral Preferences in Honey Bees

Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 130
Author(s):  
Jun Lan ◽  
Guiling Ding ◽  
Weihua Ma ◽  
Yusuo Jiang ◽  
Jiaxing Huang
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bees ◽  
Nutritional Value ◽  
Choice Test ◽  
Physiological Status ◽  
Significant Preference ◽  
Hypopharyngeal Glands ◽  
Pollen Types ◽  
Behavioral Preferences ◽  
Foraging Preference ◽  
Pollen Consumption

With the availability of various plants in bloom simultaneously, honey bees prefer to collect some pollen types over others. To better understand pollen’s role as a reward for workers, we compared the digestibility and nutritional value of two pollen diets, namely, pear (Pyrus bretschneideri Rehd.) and apricot (Armeniaca sibirica L.). We investigated the visits, pollen consumption, and pollen extraction efficiency of caged Apis mellifera workers. Newly emerged workers were reared, and the effects of two pollen diets on their physiological status (the development of hypopharyngeal glands and ovaries) were compared. The choice-test experiments indicated a significant preference of A. mellifera workers for apricot pollen diets over pear pollen diets (number of bees landing, 29.5 ± 8.11 and 9.25 ± 5.10, p < 0.001 and pollen consumption, 0.052 ± 0.026 g/day and 0.033 ± 0.013 g/day, p < 0.05). Both pollen diets had comparable extraction efficiencies (67.63% for pear pollen and 67.73% for apricot pollen). Caged workers fed different pollen diets also exhibited similar ovarian development (p > 0.05). However, workers fed apricot pollen had significantly larger hypopharyngeal glands than those fed pear pollen (p < 0.001). Our results indicated that the benefits conferred to honey bees by different pollen diets may influence their foraging preference.

scholarly journals The effect of a lack of uncapped brood on social interactions between honey bee workers and the queen

Apidologie ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylwia Łopuch ◽  
Adam Tofilski
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
The Other ◽  
High Speed Camera ◽  
Time Required ◽  
Honey Bee Workers

AbstractVibro-acoustic communication is used by honey bees in many different social contexts. Our previous research showed that workers interact with their queen outside of the swarming period by means of wing-beating behaviour. Therefore, the aim of this study was to verify the hypothesis that the wing-beating behaviour of workers attending the queen stimulates her to lay eggs. The behaviour of workers and the queen was recorded using a high-speed camera, at first in the presence of uncapped brood in the nest and then without one. None of the queens performed wing-beating behaviour. On the other hand, the workers attending the queen demonstrated this behaviour two times per minute, on average, even in the presence of uncapped brood in the nest. After removing the combs with the uncapped brood, the incidence of wing-beating behaviour increased significantly to an average of four times per minute. Wing-beating behaviour did not differ significantly in its characteristics when uncapped brood was present or absent in the nest. During 3 days after removing the combs with the uncapped brood, there was no significant increase in the rate of egg lying by the queen. Therefore, the results presented here do not convincingly confirm that the wing-beating behaviour of workers affects the rate of queen's egg-lying. This negative result can be related to colony disturbance and longer time required by the queen to increase egg production.

scholarly journals Deformed Wing Virus Infection in Honey Bees (Apis mellifera L.)

2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 636-641 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roman V. Koziy ◽  
Sarah C. Wood ◽  
Ivanna V. Kozii ◽  
Claire Janse van Rensburg ◽  
Igor Moshynskyy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Rna Virus ◽  
Mandibular Glands ◽  
Deformed Wing Virus ◽  
Clinically Normal ◽  
Bee Health ◽  
Honey Bee Health ◽  
Honey Bee Workers

Deformed wing virus (DWV) is a single-stranded RNA virus of honey bees ( Apis mellifera L.) transmitted by the parasitic mite Varroa destructor. Although DWV represents a major threat to honey bee health worldwide, the pathological basis of DWV infection is not well documented. The objective of this study was to investigate clinicopathological and histological aspects of natural DWV infection in honey bee workers. Emergence of worker honey bees was observed in 5 colonies that were clinically affected with DWV and the newly emerged bees were collected for histopathology. DWV-affected bees were 2 times slower to emerge and had 30% higher mortality compared to clinically normal bees. Hypopharyngeal glands in bees with DWV were hypoplastic, with fewer intracytoplasmic secretory vesicles; cells affected by apoptosis were observed more frequently. Mandibular glands were hypoplastic and were lined by cuboidal epithelium in severely affected bees compared to tall columnar epithelium in nonaffected bees. The DWV load was on average 1.7 × 106 times higher ( P < .001) in the severely affected workers compared to aged-matched sister honey bee workers that were not affected by deformed wing disease based on gross examination. Thus, DWV infection is associated with prolonged emergence, increased mortality during emergence, and hypoplasia of hypopharyngeal and mandibular glands in newly emerged worker honey bees in addition to previously reported deformed wing abnormalities.

EVALUATION OF THE REPELLENT EFFECTS OF A NEEM INSECTICIDE ON FORAGING HONEY BEES AND OTHER POLLINATORS

1994 ◽  
Vol 126 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ken Naumann ◽  
Rob W. Currie ◽  
Murray B. Isman
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Azadirachta Indica ◽  
Active Ingredient ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Insect Pests ◽  
Seed Extract ◽  
Phytophagous Insect ◽  
Sugar Syrup ◽  
Pollinator Species ◽  
Honey Bee Workers

AbstractA standardized, oil-free neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss) seed extract (NSE) was tested for repellency to honey bees using a feeding-dish choice bioassay, and to honey bees and other pollinators in field applications on blooming canola. Foraging honey bee workers were able to discriminate between untainted sugar syrup and syrup containing formulated NSE at concentrations as low as 0.1 ppm azadirachtin, the principal active ingredient of NSE. However there were no significant differences in the numbers of foraging bees collected in neem-treated, solvent-treated, or untreated canola plots. Other pollinator. species present were similarly unaffected. Our results suggest that honey bees may be successfully utilized in blooming crops that have been treated with doses of NSE sufficient to control phytophagous insect pests. The results of this study also suggest that using feeding-dish bioassays to screen potential repellent compounds, although demonstrating the ability of honey bees to detect compounds, may not yield similar results in the field.

scholarly journals Toxicity of Anethole and the Essential Oils of Lemongrass and Sweet Marigold to the Parasitic Mite Varroa destructor and Their Selectivity for Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) Workers and Larvae

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Qodratollah Sabahi ◽  
Mollah Md. Hamiduzzaman ◽  
Juan S. Barajas-Pérez ◽  
Jose M. Tapia-Gonzalez ◽  
Ernesto Guzman-Novoa
Keyword(s):  
Essential Oils ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Varroa Destructor ◽  
Acetyl Cholinesterase ◽  
Cymbopogon Citratus ◽  
Toxic Compound ◽  
Parasitic Mite ◽  
Detoxifying Enzyme ◽  
Honey Bee Workers

This study examined the toxicity of anethole and that of the essential oils of lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) and sweet marigold (Tagetes lucida) to the mite Varroa destructor and to honey bee workers and larvae. Anethole was the most toxic compound to V. destructor (LC50: 304.9 μg/ml), whereas Tagetes oil was the least toxic (LC50: 1256.27 μg/ml). The most and least toxic compounds to worker bees were anethole and Tagetes oil with LD50s of 35942 and 85381 μg/ml, respectively. For larvae, Tagetes oil was the most toxic compound (LD50: 9580.7 μg/ml) and anethole the least toxic (LD50: 14518.0 μg/ml). Anethole and Cymbopogon oil had the highest selectivity ratios. The expression of AChE, a gene that regulates the production of acetyl cholinesterase, a detoxifying enzyme, was not altered in bees treated with the plant compounds at 48 h post-treatment. This study showed that anethole and Cymbopogon oil have potential for controlling Varroa mites and seem to be relatively safe for larvae and adult honey bees.

Nutritional Value and Physiological Effects of Some Proteinaceous Diets on Honey Bee Workers (Apis mellifera L.)

Bee World ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-31
Author(s):  
Zeinab H. Ahmed ◽  
Amer I. Tawfik ◽  
M. F. Abdel-Rahman ◽  
A. M. Moustafa
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Nutritional Value ◽  
Physiological Effects ◽  
Honey Bee Workers

Trapping of feral honey bee workers (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in a coastal prairie landscape: effects of season and vegetation type

2006 ◽  
Vol 138 (2) ◽  
pp. 228-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen A. Baum ◽  
William L. Rubink ◽  
Robert N. Coulson
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Vegetation Type ◽  
Food Resource ◽  
Temporal Distribution ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Vegetation Communities ◽  
Live Oak ◽  
Honey Bee Workers ◽  
Capture Rates

AbstractWe examined capture rates of honey bee workers (Apis mellifera L.) throughout the year and compared capture rates among four different vegetation communities. Capture rates varied throughout the year, with the largest number of bees collected from December through February, when nectar and pollen availability were low. Capture rates also varied among vegetation communities. Traps located in the woodland community contained fewer honey bees than those located in live oak in February and live oak and brushland in December, corresponding to lower estimates of nectar availability in the woodland. Few honey bees were collected during swarming periods, suggesting that most of the captured honey bees were searching for food sources. The number of honey bees collected in the traps provided a qualitative estimate of food resource availability. The traps also may be used to collect insects for genetic analysis or to examine the spatial and temporal distribution of other species.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document