Behavioral responses of honey bees, Apis cerana and Apis mellifera, to Vespa mandarinia marking and alarm pheromones

Repellent volatiles to insects might be an important tool for management of bees in areas which the presence of these organisms is not required. This study aimed to evaluate the electroantennal and behavioral responses of Africanized honeybees (workers), Apis mellifera (Lepeletier) (Hymenoptera Apidae), at different ages, to benzaldehyde (BA) and methyl anthranilate (MA) and to evaluate the potential repellency of these compounds under field conditions. Laboratory tests were conducted to study electroantennographic responses (mV) and chemotactic behavior of worker bees aged 1-5 (young) and 20-30 (old) days in four choice olfactometer. Electrophysiological responses to each compound did not differ between young and old workers. Bees antennae (young) triggered significantly greater responses to BA, in the older ones, a higher response was observed to MA, both compared to control (ethanol). The threshold response to BA and MA was achieved at 10 µg/µL, both compounds repelled bees at the same dose in olfactometer. Treatments with BA and MA, in field conditions, were less visited by scouter honey bees than those without these compounds (control).

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T-RFLP analysis of bacterial communities in the midguts of Apis mellifera and Apis cerana honey bees in Thailand

FEMS Microbiology Ecology ◽

10.1111/j.1574-6941.2011.01216.x ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 79 (2) ◽

pp. 273-281 ◽

Cited By ~ 41

Author(s):

Terd Disayathanoowat ◽

John Peter W. Young ◽

Thorunn Helgason ◽

Panuwan Chantawannakul

Keyword(s):

Apis Mellifera ◽

Honey Bees ◽

Bacterial Communities ◽

Apis Cerana ◽

Rflp Analysis

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Pyrosequencing analysis of the bacterial communities in the guts of honey bees Apis cerana and Apis mellifera in Korea

The Journal of Microbiology ◽

10.1007/s12275-012-2188-0 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 50 (5) ◽

pp. 735-745 ◽

Cited By ~ 67

Author(s):

Jae-Hyung Ahn ◽

In-Pyo Hong ◽

Jeung-Im Bok ◽

Byung-Yong Kim ◽

Jaekyeong Song ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Apis Mellifera ◽

Honey Bees ◽

Bacterial Communities ◽

Apis Cerana ◽

Pyrosequencing Analysis

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Comparison of Hygienic Behavior of Exotic Honey Bee Apis mellifera L. and Indigenous Honey Bee Apis cerana of Pakistan

Sociobiology ◽

10.13102/sociobiology.v67i1.4503 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 67 (1) ◽

pp. 74

Author(s):

Muhammad Shakeel ◽

Hussain Ali ◽

Sajjad Ahmad

Keyword(s):

Apis Mellifera ◽

Exotic Species ◽

Honey Bee ◽

Honey Bees ◽

Climatic Condition ◽

Apis Cerana ◽

Hygienic Behavior ◽

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ◽

Equal Strength ◽

Significant Difference

Indigenous and exotic honey bee species were evaluated for their hygienic behavior in the climatic condition of Peshawar Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Colonies of equal strength from indigenous (Apis cerana) and exotic (Apis mellifera) species were selected for the study. The same colonies were tested in two seasons. Sealed brood were killed with different methods i.e pin killed and freeze killed. The uncapping of cells and brood removal was recorded at different intervals. Significant differences were recorded between hygienic behavior of both species of honey bees. Apis cerana showed significantly superior hygienic behavior than Apis mellifera in both seasons. At different intervals in both species significant differences were recorded. A significant difference was recorded after 12 and 24 hours between the species in both seasons. No significant differences were recorded after 48hours in both species. From the study it is concluded that indigenous honey bee species has superior hygienic behavior than exotic species.

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Comparison of the two microsporidia that infect honey bees – a review

Agricultura ◽

10.1515/agricultura-2017-0006 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 13 (1-2) ◽

pp. 49-56 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Mateja Soklič ◽

Aleš Gregorc

Keyword(s):

Apis Mellifera ◽

Honey Bees ◽

Apis Cerana ◽

Clinical Signs ◽

Nosema Apis ◽

Obligate Intracellular ◽

Intracellular Parasites ◽

Special Concern ◽

Scientific Attention ◽

Energetic Reserves

Abstract Two microsporidian species, Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae, infect honey bees (Apis mellifera) worldwide. They are obligate intracellular parasites that multiply in the epithelial lining of the bee’s midgut and cause nosemosis. N. ceranae infections were primarily found in Apis cerana and raised interest in the last decade with the discovery of their presence in the European honey bee (Apis mellifera). Nosema spp. utilizes hosts’ energetic reserves for the purpose of propagation and disrupts the digestive processes of the bee. Nosemosis reduces the lifespan of a single bee and affects the performance of the colony. It also has an economic impact through the reduction in the honey and pollen yield of severely infected colonies or even causes them to collapse. Lack of effective therapy for nosemosis is of special concern and calls for scientific attention. Although N. ceranae and N. apis are similar in many aspects, there are important differences between them such as clinical signs of infection or the ability to resist low temperatures.

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Differences in sugar metabolism between the honey bees Apis mellifera and Apis cerana impact floral attractiveness

Journal of Apicultural Research ◽

10.3896/ibra.1.46.3.09 ◽

2007 ◽

pp. 181-190 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

D P Abrol

Keyword(s):

Apis Mellifera ◽

Honey Bees ◽

Apis Cerana ◽

Sugar Metabolism

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No evidence of queen thelytoky following interspecific crosses of the honey bees Apis cerana and Apis mellifera

Insectes Sociaux ◽

10.1007/s00040-016-0538-3 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 64 (2) ◽

pp. 241-246 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

R. Gloag ◽

K. Tan ◽

Y. Wang ◽

W. Song ◽

W. Luo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Apis Mellifera ◽

Honey Bees ◽

Apis Cerana ◽

Interspecific Crosses

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Differential autogrooming response to the tracheal mite Acarapis woodi by the honey bees Apis cerana and Apis mellifera

Insectes Sociaux ◽

10.1007/s00040-019-00732-w ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 67 (1) ◽

pp. 95-102 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Y. Sakamoto ◽

T. Maeda ◽

M. Yoshiyama ◽

F. Konno ◽

J. S. Pettis

Keyword(s):

Apis Mellifera ◽

Honey Bee ◽

Honey Bees ◽

Behavioral Response ◽

Apis Cerana ◽

Response Threshold ◽

Acarapis Woodi ◽

Tracheal Mite ◽

Apis Cerana Japonica ◽

The Difference

AbstractThe infestation of honey bees by the endoparasitic tracheal mite Acarapis woodi was first discovered in Apis mellifera on the Isle of Wight, England, and the mite has since spread to all continents except Australia. Since 2010, this tracheal mite has spread rapidly in the Japanese honey bee, Apis cerana japonica, of mainland Japan, causing considerable colony mortality. In contrast, infestations by the mites in the imported and managed European honey bee, A. mellifera, have rarely been observed in Japan. A previous laboratory experiment revealed a difference in susceptibility by demonstrating that the tracheal mite more frequently enters tracheae of A. cerana than those of A. mellifera. In this study, we compared autogrooming responses of A. cerana and A. mellifera by depositing a mite on each honey bee’s mesoscutum, and we then assessed the efficacy of autogrooming to remove the mite. The bees that received mites more frequently showed an autogrooming response compared to unchallenged bees in both bee species. However, a significantly greater proportion of A. mellifera individuals autogroomed compared to A. cerana. In addition, when bees autogroomed, A. mellifera removed the tracheal mite more effectively than A. cerana. When considering all bees in the mite-deposited group, the proportion of mite removal in A. mellifera was almost twice as high as that in A. cerana. Thus, the difference in susceptibility to the tracheal mite between these two bee species is attributed to the difference in the behavioral response threshold to mites and the effectiveness of mite removal by grooming.

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Lethality of Honey Bee Stings to Heavy Armored Hornets

Biology ◽

10.3390/biology10060484 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (6) ◽

pp. 484

Author(s):

Gaoying Gu ◽

Yichuan Meng ◽

Ken Tan ◽

Shihao Dong ◽

James C. Nieh

Keyword(s):

Apis Mellifera ◽

Elevated Temperature ◽

Honey Bees ◽

Apis Cerana ◽

Arms Race ◽

Average Amount ◽

Vespa Velutina ◽

Bee Sting ◽

Large Ball

The heat ball defense of honey bees against their sympatric hornet predators is a classic and spectacular outcome of a co-evolutionary race. Hundreds of bees can encapsulate a hornet within a large ball that kills it with elevated heat. However, the role of stinging in this defense has been discounted, even though sting venom is an important weapon in bees. Surprisingly, no studies have tested the role of bee sting venom alone or in conjunction with elevated temperature on hornet survival. We surveyed dead Vespa velutina hornets found near and inside Apis cerana colonies and found stings retained in hornet bodies, most often in an intersegmental neck-like region, the veracervix. Experimentally stinging hornets in this region with A. cerana and Apis mellifera guards significantly increased hornet mortality. The combination of sting venom and elevated heat ball temperature (44 °C) was the most lethal, although there was no synergistic interaction between sting venom and temperature. As expected, hornet mortality increased when they were stung more often. The average amount of venom per insect species and the length of stinger lancets correlated with insect mass. Sting venom thus remains important in the arms race between bees and their hornet predators.

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